Alpha Chi Omega’s dedication to domestic violence awareness

For second-year ASU student Grace Burry and her sisters in Alpha Chi Omega, their philanthropy is both a personal and community responsibility.

Burry is president of ASU’s Alpha Chi Omega chapter and a psychology and neuroscience major. She said her sisters’ dedication to and connection with domestic violence awareness work both on-campus and in the larger community is one of the things that drew her in to the group. The chapter recently earned Chapter of the Year for the Panhellenic Association and the President’s Cup at ASU’s Greek Awards for this work as well. They raised more than $10,000 and 1,500 school supplies to support the cause, and 175 volunteers served at Mesa-based shelter A New Leaf last fall. 

“During 2019 and 2020, our chapter focused itself on creating programs that not only uplifted the girls in this house but also connected us to the community around us,” said Burry. “Some of the programming that we did was visit the local domestic violence shelter that our philanthropy supports, A New Leaf, as a chapter to show the girls exactly why our philanthropy means so much and how our work has affected the local community.”

ASU Alpha Chi Omega members

Originally from Seattle, Burry joined Alpha Chi Omega in her first year at ASU. She said the executive board knew they wanted to make their mark this year. They redoubled their engagement efforts and encouraged members to join ASU clubs as well as focus on philanthropy. Burry said the chapter was thrilled to be recognized at this spring’s virtual awards ceremony.

“We knew regardless of whether or not we could win, striving toward Chapter of the Year would help grow our chapter in many different ways,” she said.  “It’s incredibly encouraging and humbling to know that something we set as a goal became a reality and that our hard work was really valued and seen by people outside of our chapter.” 

Burry talked with ASU Student Life to share more about her Greek life experience at Arizona State University. 

When was your group founded?

Oct. 15, 1885

Why did you join Greek life? 

Personally, I was looking for a way to connect myself to people and be involved on campus, and my roommates at the time recommended I go through recruitment. 

I came from a very small high school and didn't know anyone when I came to Arizona State my freshman year. Greek life provided me with the perfect opportunity to meet people as well as get involved through the many leadership and philanthropy opportunities it provides. 

What has it meant to be a part of your sorority? 

These past two years, I’ve seen incredible growth in myself, and I credit a large part of it due to the opportunities I’ve been given through being a member of Alpha Chi. I've served on the chapter executive board since my freshman year, which has taught me a lot of skills that I know will carry me far in life and my future career. 

Additionally, the relationships I’ve made as a member of this chapter are some of the most genuine friendships I’ve experienced, which makes being a leader in the chapter all the more enjoyable as I always feel supported when trying to achieve new goals, however ambitious they may be! 

With all the craziness that 2020 has brought, the love and support this chapter has shown me as a president and as a friend really put into perspective how lucky I am to be a part of such an amazing group. I know down the years, long after college, I’ll still be connected to many of the people in my life today. This chapter has completely made my college experience so much different than I expected, but I wouldn’t trade the memories I’ve made for the world. 

What do you think is special about your sorority? 

There’s a lot of unique things I love about my chapter, but what I value the most is our unity behind our philanthropy: domestic violence awareness. 

I fell in love with this chapter during recruitment when I saw how personally connected each individual was to this cause, and now being able to help facilitate our philanthropy work means the world to me. 

Living in a college environment where this issue is so prevalent, it’s often brought to our attention how important our philanthropy is for people who don't feel safe enough to speak up or aren't properly educated on the signs of domestic abuse. We make sure to have a lot of conversations, workshops and events focused around domestic violence awareness and our work with A New Leaf. 

In a lot of these moments, I see girls feel safe enough to be vulnerable and share stories either with a small group of friends or even the entire chapter, which really brings our chapter a lot closer. I know there are probably a bunch of other unique things that girls in our chapter love about being an Alpha Chi, but to me, our philanthropy gives us the perfect opportunity to grow closer as a chapter, as well as work with the community around us. 

How can people follow your group’s news? 

If anyone wants to keep up with our chapter and events, our Instagram page, @asu_axo, is one of the best ways to follow us. We also are on Twitter, TikTok (both as @asu_axo), and Facebook as well!