Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • Winter 2025 23 SAIs In Action overwhelmed by the support and was able to step back from the brink of dissolution, holding on through the end of the school year. Two of the six actives graduated that spring, leaving the chapter at only four members when we returned in the fall. However, SAI was brimming with hope and excitement—the fraternity gained five new members that fall, including my friends and me. With just one MIT class, Sigma Mu doubled in size. I am now a senior in my final semester here at Hillsdale, and our chapter is twenty-eight members strong. Recruitment has improved with every semester. By my final chapter meeting at the end of this year, I will likely have more than thirty sisters sitting around me. The growth of this chapter is absolutely astonishing. It feels like a resurrection; we have not simply survived, we have thrived. I have full confidence that the chapter I will leave behind will continue to flourish, because these women who have become sisters to me are dedicated, creative, brilliant people who are truly devoted to this organization. They serve not because they are obligated, but because they are moved by love. Being a witness and contributor to SAI's resurgence on campus has been such a blessing. It has taught me a multitude of lessons, both about myself and the beauty of community, which music has such power to foster. This semester marks my fifth serving as Songmaster for my chapter, and being in this particular position has given me such a powerful perspective from which to view our growth. Each concert has served as a checkpoint in terms of our growth as a fraternity, and each concert has left me so incredibly proud of who we are and where we are headed. At our most recent concert, I nearly cried when we sang the SAI Chorale as our opening piece—and nearly cried again when we closed with a fraternity-wide group number. To hear the voices of twenty-eight women singing together, each part holding its own and complementing the others, filled my heart with joy and gratitude. I have been so honored to be a part of this metamorphosis—to see firsthand how this wonderful sisterhood, which seemed so close to death, was in fact on the brink of transformation, emerging from the chrysalis revived and spreading her wings for new flight. With the support of the administration, we have moved from somewhat frightening old housing tucked away in the woods at the edge of campus to brighter, more welcoming accommodations closer to its heart. We have created new charitable events and increased our representation and reputation at the college. With every semester, more and more women reach out to us inquiring about membership. But most importantly, more than any quantifiable measure or statistic, we have preserved and strengthened the presence of music in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Music is indeed a universal language—it speaks directly to the soul, moves us so deeply in ways that are inexpressible in words, and allows us to experience something transcendent through the process of exercising our creative abilities together. Further, music is a language of hope. It primes the soul to recognize how dissonance can be woven into something orderly, how one can encounter something discordant and transform it into something beautiful. Here at Hillsdale, my experience in SAI has been proof that music inspires hope within us. When SAI seemed about to disappear in front of our eyes, we realized that the composition was not yet finished. I am grateful to have played a part in this precious piece we are still in the process of composing, and I look forward to the many future movements to come. Fiona Mulley is a senior theatre major at Hillsdale College. She currently serves as Editor and Songmaster for Sigma Mu chapter. Sigma Mu's MIT class after Fall 2022 initiation (left to right: Rachel Houts, Phoebe Van Heyningen, Sigma Mu's MIT class after Fall 2022 initiation (left to right: Rachel Houts, Phoebe Van Heyningen, Katrin Surkan, Fiona Mulley, and Emily Griffith). This brought the chapter up to nine active members. Katrin Surkan, Fiona Mulley, and Emily Griffith). This brought the chapter up to nine active members.

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