Passing the Torch 

As the school year comes to an end, lots of change is emerging. The senior class is graduating, while the new freshmen will be entering. This calls for a lot of shifts within an officer team, but do not be overwhelmed. A smooth, organized transition will help ease the stress of the new responsibilities that the underclassmen will take on. 

Officer Selection Process 

Most schools begin to start reorganizing their officers during the spring semester. To ensure the best selections are being made, a thorough process must be implemented. This should start with a written application. The application portion can be on a Google Form for convenience. This should gather the applicant’s contact information and also basic information regarding their qualifications. Next, an interview should be conducted. This is where the interviewers can get a better understanding of each applicant through a face to face questioning session with them. The majority of the information should be gathered during the interview. 

Image of an individual passing a lit torch to another,

Switching Places 

Once the officer selection process has occurred and the new positions have been filled, it is time for the newly selected applicants to start taking their role. Before the graduating officers leave, try to schedule a time with them to grab coffee and talk! The best thing new officers can do is learn from those who had their roles before them, especially Chapter Presidents and Vice Presidents. Sitting down with the previous officer team and listening to how they ran the chapter is the most beneficial thing you can do. Hear what advice they can offer and learn from mistakes they might have made. Also, a great question to ask is, “What would you do differently?” to discover new ways to accomplish the same tasks. 

Additionally, making a Google Drive for your chapter and filling it with relevant documents is a great way to preserve previous officer tasks and reference them later when you need to complete them on your own. If your chapter does not already have a drive, create one and add previous meeting notes, agendas, and other documentation on there. 

Refilling positions on an officer team can be intimidating, but do not stress! Stay in touch with the previous officers and use this as a learning experience. Best of luck! 

In Friendship, 

Maya Ali