SMU is proud to be home to world changers, and it all starts with the moment a student decides to become a leader. We are proud here at Her Campus to present SMU’s Leading Ladies, taking charge and making a difference in the community.
This week, we had the pleasure of sitting down for an interview with Elainy Lopez, a senior at SMU working toward her BFA in studio art and BA in anthropology. Lopez also leads as president of SMU’s Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) sorority Sigma Lambda Gamma.
Courtesy of Elainy Lopez
“Starting freshman year, I knew a lot of people who were part of MGC. It was my first introduction to Greek Life on campus, and it really drew me in,” Lopez said. “Then one of my best friends joined [Sigma Lambda Gamma] in our first year. She slowly started introducing me to sisters and naturally talking about the sorority. It wasn’t her trying to tell me to join, but it was something she felt really passionate about.”
Lopez says she now feels just as passionate about her sorority, which lead to a great change within herself.
“It’s had a big impact on who I am as a person,” Lopez said. “Before [joining], I was a very shy, introverted person, very reserved. Since joining, it’s taken me out of my comfort zone and pushed me to be a little bit more social. It’s gotten to the point where my parents have seen a change in me too.”
When not here in Dallas, Lopez continues her leadership as a site leader for SMU’s Alternative Breaks, an organization she has been involved with since her first year. Just this past spring break, Lopez led a group of fellow students in Costa Rica, to work with children. This comes as no surprise, as she lives in the SMU Service House, which requires a minimum of 30 service hours per semester. The people she works with have become her inspiration to lead.
“You get to meet a lot of great people who are doing amazing things within their own fields and within the community,” Lopez said. “You can learn a lot from them by being around them and interacting with them.”
As for advising future leading ladies at SMU, Lopez speaks from personal experience.
“Find something you’re really passionate about and feel strongly for,” Lopez said. “If you feel passionate about it, the urge to become a leader and guide people that will come naturally.”
And when that time does come, there are two major skills that have aided her:
“Flexibility and being able to compromise with others,” Lopez said. “Flexibility because not everything is going to go the way you planned. Something may go wrong. You have to be able to stop and change course for a new plan. Compromise because, as a leader, you’re always going to be working with others. I do a lot of work with my executive board for [Sigma Lambda Gamma], and with Alternative Breaks with my fellow sight leaders and faculty advisers. It’s really important to be able to work well with others.”