Page 9 - 2015 Summer - To Dragma

Viewpoint

It is a great honor and privilege to begin serving AOII as International President for the 2015-2017
biennium. During International Convention, we celebrated all of the exceptional things that AOII has
accomplished over the past biennium. We now turn our attention forward during this exciting time
for the Fraternity. I am reminded of a quote from Stella George Stern Perry, “We are all Founders

and we have the power to take Alpha Omicron Pi to new and
greater heights, to give the Fraternity meaning and purpose
in our lives.” As members, we all have a responsibility to take
the Fraternity to greater heights every day in what we do and
say. To focus on how to accomplish this, I would like to share
some principles from David Schwartz’s book, “The Magic of
Thinking Big.” He believes that there is a magic that happens
when you are willing to think big to achieve greater success.
For those who are willing to think big, every step forward pays
a dividend.

The first principle: Believe that you can succeed and you will.
We have set our sights to ‘Exceed the Expectation.’ That is the
AOII standard. As long as we work together as a team, the sky is
the limit in what we will achieve. It will take ‘One Red AOII’
team working together to help advance AOII. Henry Ford said,
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress;
working together is success.” Through collaboration together, I
know that we will do amazing things!

The second principle: Build confidence. With confidence, we
are able to take the lead, lead from the front and be the pacesetters. We will continue to be the leaders
on our college campuses, in our communities, in NPC and the world around us.

The third principle is: Get the action habit. For AOII to grow and move forward, we need to continue
to be women of action. Be inspired to be the one to take the lead and keep the momentum. Be the
trendsetter. Your ideas have value when you act upon them. Be accountable for those actions. Don’t sit
on the sidelines waiting for someone else to take the first step.

The fourth principle: Think big. Big thinkers train themselves to see what can be, not what is. Be that
inspiration to your sisters to believe that we will do what we set our minds to accomplish. Be a part
of the team that thinks out of the box. Be engaged so that you will have an exceptional membership
experience for a lifetime. Sheryl Sandberg said, “If you are offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what
seat! Just get on!” Get on the AOII rocket ship to be part of the experience of taking the Fraternity
forward, just like our Founders expected us to do.

I challenge us to think big, focus on success, be confident, and take action. We must believe that the
impossible is possible and strive for the same excellence that was envisioned by our Founders and
countless others who came before us. This is our AOII - we do have the power to take Alpha Omicron
Pi to new and greater heights - it’s part of the magic of thinking big!

Gayle Fitzpatrick, Alpha Rho (Oregon State U) To Dragma • 9
AOII International President

Issue no. 3 • Summer 2015