Dina Podnar (Zeta Psi-Dayton) is the director of branding and customer engagement for Engine Brands, an e-commerce consumer brand company building the next generation of world-class consumer brands. She remains an active member of Alpha Phi through years of dedicated volunteering. Dina currently serves as the chapter advisor for the Theta- Michigan chapter, is on the Committee on Leadership and on the Collegiate Chapter Strategy Committee. She previously served as the vice president of membership recruitment and as chapter president as a collegian, and she held several other key alumna volunteer roles. Ellie Carani (Zeta Psi-Dayton) is the incoming chapter president of Zeta Psi and pursuing a degree in marketing and communications. According to one of Zeta Psi’s recent Instagram posts, Ellie is excited to see what the future holds for her chapter, and she can’t wait to meet all of the amazing women who will soon be joining this special sisterhood. We asked both sisters the same questions to compare their collegiate and sorority experiences. Here’s what they had to say! What was/is your favorite place to hang out on campus? Dina (D): Between classes, I used to always be in the Hangar, but other than that the Brown Street Starbucks. Ellie (E): Probably KU, which has a bunch of food spots and hangout areas.
What were/are the preferred social media platforms used by students? D: Instagram and Snapchat, but we still used Facebook groups to communicate. E: Instagram and Snapchat are by far the most preferred social media platforms used by students. What is your favorite chapter memory? D: Living in 1302 Brown Street senior year or when I made our chapter go on an overnight retreat, and our entire PC sat on the top bunks and talked all night. E: Our POTH Practices! During Greek Week, each sorioty performs a dance with a mash up of songs. We all compete and one sorioty will bring home a trophy! What was/is an accessory you couldn’t live without? D: iPhone! E: My junior class ring from high school. Any advice for incoming members? D: You get out of Alpha Phi what you put into it, and that's true beyond college too! Also, hang out with the older girls while they're still there. Those were some of my favorite relationships! E: To not be afraid of the older girls. Last year, I would be scared to get to know the older girls, but once I did, they helped me with so many things and always gave me the best advice. It’s like having 40 moms. You always have a shoulder to lean on!
Rachel Hutching Dina Podnar and Ellie Carani joined Alpha Phi’s Zeta Psi chapter at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, 10 years apart. Dina joined in 2013, and Ellie joined in 2023. But despite the decade- long gap and each being in different life stages, these two have more in common than you might think beyond their shared love of Alpha Phi. Do you know two sisters who were initiated at the same chapter with 10+ years between them? Email us at quarterly@ alphaphi.com for a chance to see them featured on this page in the future!
CampusTrends
Who were/are the popular bands?
D: Oh gosh ... these pictures haunt me. Bubble, statement necklaces. Colored jeans. Heels and skinny jeans (together)! What are/were the popular fashion trends on campus? E: Everyone loves a good pair of jeans with a cute top, but also our girls love matching sets with cute Alpha Phi symbols.
D: The song "Classic" by MKTO was Alpha Phi's recruitment theme song. Chainsmokers, Lana Del Rey, Darius Rucker ("Wagon Wheel", specifically).
Credit: Amazon
Credit: Spotify
E: Personally, I love Morgan Wallen, Zac Brown Band, Chris Stapleton … anything country!
Credit: Amazon
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