Q&A with Dr. Clarissa Lonn and Britanya Rodriguez

Theta Mu Chapter at California State University - Stanislaus

Today’s interview is with Dr. Clarissa Lonn, alumna of the Theta Mu Chapter at California State University - Stanislaus, former CKA for the Gamma Iota Chapter at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, former co-advisor to the Zeta Rho Chapter at Fitchburg State University and has been serving as CKA to the Theta Mu Chapter since 2007. Clarissa is joined by Britanya Rodriguez, alumna of the Theta Mu Chapter at California State University - Stanislaus.

Britanya, can you tell me what drew you to Phi Sigma Sigma, the leadership roles you held in the chapter and how you worked with Clarissa?

BR: I was a transfer student coming from a community college, so was a little bit older than everybody. I really felt like I needed to dive in and get that college experience, so I lived on campus for my first year. 

My first semester didn't go too well. I thought working on campus would give me a chance to get more involved, but that didn’t work out the way I expected. During the spring semester, I heard that a co-worker was doing some kind of recruitment. I didn't even know what sorority was, but I heard about an event. I ended up finding out it was a sorority event, and it was so amazing. I thought it might be my chance to finally get involved, finally make some friends. 

It wasn't really until I got initiated that I realized how many leadership roles there actually were in sorority. At first, I joined Phi Sig to get more involved on campus and to find my community. After joining, I was determined to see how I could get some leadership roles in. 

I held a few positions in my chapter — public relations, parent & alum, insignia. The position I still hold so close to my heart is member-at-large. 

I kind of fell into MAL because they were having a hard time finding the right person. I was recommended for it, and it was really intimidating, but I knew it was something I wanted to do. So, I took the position. I was really, really excited. 

I really enjoyed MAL, not only because it was my role as an officer, but because I understood how important the role was once I got into it. 

I truly appreciated the leadership opportunities my chapter trusted me with, and I had a lot of good people to reach out to, role models to look up to if I ever needed help.

Clarissa is an inspring and dedicated advisor. I currently got the chance to work closely with her as archon of my chapter. I find Clarissa to be one of the most helpful women in chapter and in my life in general. For sorority business or whenever I run into an issue, I know Clarissa is someone I can turn to. With her positivity and solution-oriented mindset, Clarissa is able to guide me in the right direction and brainstorm with me until a plan or a solution is made. Besides sorority business, Clarissa checks in on me and my sisters' mental and physical health with such care and grace! Clarissa constantly expresses her gratitude to me and my chapter and has been a woman I greatly look up to for how she carries our values. To have an advisor so nuturing and invested has been nothing short of a blessing. LITP Clarissa! —Lydia Albarati

Clarissa, what prompted you to want to continue in Phi Sig service and become an advisor?

CL: I advise because I want sorority to be transformative and empowering for the sisters. It was for me, in the best way and shape of my life possible, career-wise in every dimension of wellbeing and goals. And I really want that for the women I advise. 

I joined Phi Sig only a few weeks into my first year of college. As a first generation college student, I didn’t know what college was going to be like, or what sorority even was. 

I went to a sorority info session with my childhood best friend. I think we skipped zoology lab, but we went. Her cousin’s best friend was a Phi Sig. 

We went to the info session and it was the kindest group of women I had really ever met. They were really accomplished, too, but in a very quiet way. Like, “oh, yeah, this sister, she played soccer, too.” And, "oh, yeah, you want to go to law school. Let me introduce you to this person who's going to go to law school and who got into law school.” The Phi Sig sisters were interested in what I wanted to do, my goals and how they could help. 

That was the draw. By the third night, we were on the party line, waiting for a phone call to see if we got invited to preference. This was back in 1998, so we had to wait for the invitations to pref and then another to see who got a bid. 

I was hooked on Phi Sig after just that first hour. It's partly intuition and partly the fact that these women all have goals and talk about how they help each other. And they also do these really cool things on campus, like student government and sports and honor society. They get into credentialed teaching programs, law school. 

It was inspiring to be around so many women who genuinely took interest in helping one another. I went home and I told my mom everything I had experienced, and she encouraged me to join.

My chapter key advisor, Clarissa, played a meaningful role in my growth throughout college and my involvement in Phi Sigma Sigma. Through the different chapter positions I held, she was someone I consistently looked up to for guidance, always offering support, perspective and encouragement. While I was driven to pursue new opportunities on my own, her mentorship helped shape my experience and build my confidence in stepping into leadership roles. She was one of the advisors who truly influenced my journey, inspiring me to continue growing within the organization, which eventually led me to pursue an opportunity working for HQ. That same influence has carried into my career, as I now work in education and strive to support and guide others the way she did for me. —Natalia Verduzco

When did the two of you first meet? Was it when Britanya was member-at-large, or when she first joined the chapter?

BR: The first time I remember meeting her was at one of our first formal or ritual meetings. With it being one of the first formal ritual meetings I attended, I was super quiet, super intimidated. 

I didn't know who to talk to, but there was one sister who came up and asked if I’d met the chapter’s advisor. She said, “I think you’ll really like her; let me introduce you.” 

She took me straight to Clarissa and said, “If you have any issues going on, go to her. She can help you out with anything.” 

At first, I thought she was only saying that because Clarissa was our advisor, she has to be there for me. But again, it wasn't until I really got into sorority that I realized how meaningful this relationship would be between us. 

It's awesome to think about how I still remember that first interaction between us. And of course, she was friendly and ready to talk. I was just so, so, so excited to see where I was going to go after I met her.

Clarissa, do you remember that first meeting, or do you have any other instances you'd like to share?

CL: Brit first stood out to me because of her depth. She's super thoughtful. She's intellectually very curious. She was deeply committed to making an impact — and not just in words. She was doing things to help other people and wanted to make a difference in how she helped them. Early on for me, I thought, I really just wanted to help her see her full scope of her potential. 

I know she has the drive, the discipline and the purpose. She was a self-starter from the beginning. When I met her, I thought she was so mature and driven. And she wants, from a heartfelt place, to serve others. That servant leadership doesn't just happen, I think, in your early years. 

When I learned she was a transfer student, it made sense that she was so mature. But she also had this innate purpose of wanting to make an impact. And that is special. You don't see that all the time right off the gate. That's what I admired first about Brit.

During my time as a collegian, Clarissa was more than simply my sorority advisor, she was my mentor — an intentional leader with purpose and substance. She showed me how to be both purposeful and professional. She walks the walk and talks the talk. She wouldn’t ask a sister to do anything she wouldn’t do herself. She always made herself available for help that went beyond Chapter Excellence questions or advice for events. This was a big ask, during my time as archon. She was also working on her doctorate. The fact that she could be such an effective advisor while advancing her education at the same time was always a marvel to me. She conducted herself how any loving older sister should — with heart and accountability. Thank you, Clarissa! —Emily (Benefield) Ruiz

Are there any challenges or triumphs that stand out from your time working together? A situation that you both dealt with together?

CL: There was an instance in the spring of 2024 where Brit really had a profound impact. The chapter needed to reimagine and reenvision a new path forward, and a lot of questions were raised to sisters — what is your purpose, why did you join, what's your why, are you acting in ways that meet your values and how you want to live them?  

Brit was a key player in helping the chapter focus and shape itself. We really tried to reimagine the chapter’s goals as well as each sister’s goals, purpose and how they wanted to grow and contribute. Our ritual and what they hoped to gain and contribute were the key underpinnings to bringing the chapter back on track. 

Brit and I talked frequently then, and we still do, about what that looks like. It's not just the sisterhood. It's our deeper purpose and how that shapes us. It's pinpointing the courageous conversations we need to have so we can help each other fulfill our dreams and our goals. But it has to include what we want to contribute. 

BR: Being member-at-large, I really saw how I could make an impact on the chapter. Not just on the surface, but with our actual sisterhood. I made it a point to tell them, we're ultimately here for our friends, but we joined Phi Sigma Sigma to be a part of something bigger, and we all need to put in the effort to make the whole thing work. 

It was like Clarissa said, kind of trying to redefine and recreate a new path to help the women find their potential. 

CL: Every chapter goes through tough times, but recruitment was challenging for us. The chapter got down to 12 members at one point. 

We had to figure out what this new, post-COVID world could look like and what we wanted out of it. 

Brit and I talked last night a little bit about the membership experience. What does the engagement actually look like? It's not just saying you're a member, but what do you want to be engaged in? What types of events? What's your passion? What do you want to do? How do you make this a transformative experience that's meaningful? It's not just having events, but how do you meaningfully want to contribute, and what do you want to get out of it?

Brit, you just graduated last year. Have the two of you kept in touch? Do you stay in touch with the chapter?

BR: Of course. I'm currently in a graduate program here, so I still live on campus. It’s really easy to text the chapter sisters, and I see them on campus. And, if I don’t see Clarissa for a while, I text her to meet up. We catch up, just the two of us, but I always have to ask how the chapter is doing. 

The semester before I went alum, I was a Sapphire Sister, and my little and I are still in touch, too.

I started to work for Clarissa in 2006 under the faculty mentor program. She is the reason I am the professional I am today and is the reason that I grew such an intense love for sorority in general. She understood my passion for Panhellenic and helped foster the correlation between every position I held with how it could help me professionally. Clarissa has always gone above and beyond for Theta Mu; it’s her legacy. —Julie (Turney) Anaya

Do either of you have any advice for women who are thinking about becoming an advisor or volunteer?

CL: I think the best part of advising is that you can help other women achieve their dreams, meet their goals and expand their horizons. We’ve all experienced something where somebody gave us advice. They mentored us, they helped us grow and they made an impact on our lives. 

When you can help somebody in their growth and have an impact in their life, you're setting them up to pass that down to somebody else. That lasting influence of mentoring makes a difference. It's a domino effect. 

It's why I think perpetuity is included in our ritual as well. But you can also make an impact by mentoring people through tougher times, right? You can teach them how to overcome adversity, how to problem solve. 

I think of my relationship with Brit and her relationship with her little. Brit's genuine growth and guidance, wanting to, again, from a servant's heart, help others with their growth. That is, I think, the lasting influence of an advisor.  

And that's why, if you want to be an advisor, the best thing that you can do in the whole world is to learn about other people's lives and how you can support them. And know that sometimes support means having challenging conversations where we problem solve and get through it together. 

It’s also important to remember that advising isn’t one-sided. The women teach me; I learn from them every day. The ideas don’t all come from me. That's not the purpose of mentoring or advising.  

The purpose is helping them uncover their goals or dreams, how they ignite their passion. And that lives in perpetuity.

BR: I would just add to anybody who's interested in a leadership role, to not be intimidated by a title. Focus on the impact you can make within yourself, with other people, in the chapter, your community, on campus, everything. That's really how I got into my role, and I don't think I would be where I'm at right now if I hadn't been thrown into the member-at-large role.