COVER | story
Not long after her presentation at the reciprocity meeting, Adrienne received an invitation to a Founders’ Day celebration and shortly after that, an invitation to become a P.E.O. in Chapter GR. “[Being a P.E.O.] is absolutely a natural fit, said Adrienne. “One thing I think about on a regular basis are my intersecting interests—sisterhood, scholarship and service. As a scientist, I often think about how I fit these things together—these things that are the foundation of who I am…and one doesn’t exist without the other. I’m a scientist, I’m a scholar and I’m a service leader. That’s why P.E.O. was such a natural fit. All of what we do involves sisterhood— in the local chapter, at the international level and to women all over the world. I got to know everything P.E.O. does has service at the heart of it. My intersecting passions really fit with P.E.O.” Because of her position at FSU, Adrienne is not involved in the nominating process to avoid any conflicts of interest, but remains actively involved with Chapter GR in other ways. In addition to helping with the chapter’s annual garage sale fundraiser, Adrienne has served on the membership committee and is currently chair of the philanthropic committee. In this role, her focus is on getting P.E.O. connected to the community. She has spearheaded community service projects such as food drives, book drives, school supply drives and a mask distribution project. Adrienne says, “I love the power of WE that comes from Chapter GR; they recognize none of us do this work alone. Together, with other chapters, we can give back, touch lives and make a difference in the Tallahassee community.” Adrienne continues, “We’re lifting while we climb. While we grow, we get to bring other people along— women pursing higher education, younger kids in community and other people engaged in what we are doing. That’s a bright spot in P.E.O. I am really grateful for P.E.O. and my P.E.O. sisters in Chapter GR. I absolutely love the work we do together. What I love most is that we recognize when we support people in the community, that opens up a world of possibilities for them. We don’t get to see the results right away, but years later we have women who either join our chapter or reach out to say what we’ve done made a difference. This is our return on investment—this is what’s coming out of it. It’s creating lifelong impact—it’s the gift that keeps on giving.”
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3, 4: Adrienne instantly clicked with Chapter GR when she met them in 2017. She says, “I love the power of WE that comes from Chapter GR. They recognize none of us do this work alone.”
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March–April 2022 | THE P.E.O. RECORD
WWW.PEOINTERNATIONAL.ORG
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