The week of November 5th through the 11th marked “Fall into Flourish Week” facilitated by the Ladies of the Gamma Phi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Sorority, Incorporated here at Alcorn State University (ASU). The week hosted daily activities in hopes of engaging, empowering and elevating the campus.
The AKA’s Week was scheduled to begin on Sunday, November 5th with a “Hurricane Relief Benefit Koncert” in the James L. Bolden Campus Union Ballroom at 7:00 pm but due to unforeseen circumstances it was cancelled.
Monday, November 6th’s event went along without a hitch as the AKAs featured “Keeping up with AKA Trivia Game Night,” which was held in the Multipurpose Room in the James L. Bolden Campus Union at 6:00 pm. This event brought out a great number of students who participated in this interactive session.
On Tuesday, November 7th, the Ladies hosted “AKArobics: Aromatheraphy Yoga” located in the Davey L. Whitney HPER Complex Dance Room at 5:00 pm. Brianna Bailey-Nolan, a Senior Biology/Pre-Physical Therapy major from Chicago, Illinois and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., conveyed the fundamentals of the session by stating,“For Aromatherapy, you can have different types of essential oils diffused in water to give different scents which works well with the calming essence of Yoga.” She expressed that they decided to use lavender for the day’s session due to its relaxation capabilities.
Be The Voice was the theme for Wednesday morning’s campaign event which took place in the Clinton Bristow Jr. Dining Facility at 11:00 am. This event encouraged students to register to vote and to support the Ladies’ Rise Against Hunger Meal Packaging Event. This event is set to take place on Wednesday, November 29th, 2017 in the E.E. Simmons Gym (Old Gym) at 5:00 pm. Later on that day at 6:00 pm in the J.D. Boyd Library Auditorium, the Be The Voice Campaign lead a ‘Black Lives Matter’ discussion.
The Ladies, on Thursday, November 9th, partnered with the men of the Delta Kappa Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. to feature a financial literacy workshop entitled “Kashing Out: The Next Step” which was a part two of a two-part series, in the James L. Bolden Campus Union Multipurpose Room at 5:30 pm. According to Heather Jackson, a Senior Biology Pre-Medicine major from Memphis, Tennessee, “Part one of ‘Kashing Out’ featured basic financial literacy relating to writing checks and credit card usage.” The speaker for part two was Kenneth L. McGriggs, a Financial Advisor at Modern Woodmen of America and a graduate of Alcorn State University. He touched on various aspects of financial planning and urged students to start now. Sparkle Davis, a Junior Social Work major expressed her thoughts on the event by stating, “The event was very enlightening. It taught us to be more aware of our funds and the speaker encouraged us to invest in ourselves so that we will have stable finances and not have to live check to check.”
On Friday, November 10th, the AKAs along with the men of the Gamma Pi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. presented a session called “Keeping it Klassy: A Guide to Professional Social Media Usage”. Hosted in the J.D. Boyd Library Auditorium at 5:00 pm, the session provided points on what men and women should be aware of regarding their social media pages as it relates them being hired.
To conclude their week of activities on Saturday, November 11th, the Ladies hosted “Acts of Green: Tailgate Kleanup Awareness.” They passed out handouts and posted signs that had information on the effects of bad tailgating. This, in hopes of providing smooth tailgating tips on game days and proper clean-up information to keep Alcorn beautiful.
Overall, “Fall into Flourish Week” was very informative and it was received well by the students, faculty and staff at ASU.