Every spring, members of the Greek community come together to raise money and awareness for several local and national charities. The events take place over a week-long period, feautring events such as the Greek Olympics, a blood drive and service projects. It’s a great opportunity for Greeks to work together on campus to support several great causes. The entirety of Greek Week is planned by a selected Steering Committee. This year, the committee is lead by senior Carly Cykiert. Even though the events are not for another month, Carly has been working since this fall to make sure all of the planning and arrangements are completed. She was kind enough to sit down with Her Campus to give us the lowdown on the upcoming Greek events this March 25th-April 1st.
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Her Campus: How did you get involved in Greek Week Steering?
Carly Cykiert: I’ve been a huge supporter of Greek Week since my freshman year. After participating in Greek Week through my sorority, I wanted to be a part of planning this amazing week. I applied to be a member of the Steering committee last year and was in charge of planning State Street Day. I absolutely loved [it] and knew at the beginning of winter term last year that I wanted to apply for director.
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HC: What’s your favorite part about being on the “inside” with Greek Week?
CC: There’s a lot more that goes into planning a successful Greek Week that people don’t get to see. I love being a part of a committee of 27 people,who come from different houses in the Greek community and are currently working so hard to make sure Greek Week 2014 is the best Greek Week yet!Â
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HC: What are you looking forward to most for this year’s Greek Week and how is it going to be different/improved from last year?
CC: I’m really looking forward to seeing the Greek community come together to participate in the Greek Week Awards! It’s a lot of fun to watch people enjoying events that you helped plan. I’m also really looking forward to handing the charities a giant check at sing and variety and seeing their faces light up. This year we have a lot of new events and ideas that haven’t been a part of Greek Week in the past and we’ve changed a lot of the events. Some of the new events are an opening ceremony, banner competition, and daily service projects.
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HC: Are there any events non-Greeks can get involved with/be a part of?
CC: Absolutely! Non-Greeks are more than welcome to come watch any event throughout Greek Week! We would love the support of non-Greeks and encourage their attendance at events such as Mr. Greek Week and Sing and Variety, where they can purchase tickets and be a part of the donations to the charities.
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HC: In your opinion, what is the most rewarding part of being a part of Greek Week?
CC: It’s definitely rewarding to watch the Greek community come together,working with houses they may have never interacted with otherwise in order to raise money. However, the most rewarding part of being a part of Greek Week is seeing the appreciation and happiness shown by the charities for being selected to be a part of Greek Week 2014. Their email responses after being told they were selected were truly wonderful and heart warming. In fact, one of the charities that was selected last year was selected again, The Miracle League of Michigan, and they sent me a picture of the concession stand they’re building with the money from last year. It really shows the big difference Greek Week and the support from the University of Michigan Greek community can make. Â