Sigma Alpha Iota

2 0 2 5 S I G M A A L P H A I O T A A W A R D S PHILANTHROPIES PAN PIPES FALL 2025 42 This summer, I was blessed to be financially supported by my sisters through an SAI Philanthropies, Inc. Professional Development and Education Grant as I completed my first semester of graduate school. I am pursuing a master's degree in higher education and took classes about student development and affairs this summer. These courses are an important foundation for the rest of my program and will also help me in my current work supporting students and faculty at the University of Arkansas. One of the topics I found the most interesting in my Student Development in Higher Education class was Gilligan's moral development theory of women. Carol Gilligan was a researcher who specifically studied women's ethical and moral development after realizing that they were historically either left out of research or glossed over due to their differences from men. One past researcher, Kohlberger, claimed that women weren't as mature as men due to their moral development and how it manifests outwardly. Gilligan posited that instead, their maturity is just displayed differently and that women tend to value interpersonal connections and responsibility to others, in what she called the care orientation, which complements the justice orientation, which is seen more commonly in men's development. Obviously, this is a very binary description of what is actually a spectrum, but it was meaningful to me to see Gilligan's research and elevation of women as equal in research as a cornerstone of my coursework. I see her findings in many of the women around me, especially my SAI sisters. Our mission is to encourage, nurture, and support the art of music. To me, this is a literal representation of Gilligan's care orientation. In addition to this, we support one another as individuals. Within and between chapters, sisters build, maintain, and develop strong interpersonal relationships that last long beyond college days, as evidenced by our healthy network of alumnae chapters. I have seen this care myself through the sisterhood of the Fayetteville, AR Alumnae Chapter as well as financial support of a Professional Development and Education Grant from SAI Philanthropies, Inc. for my education. I look forward to when I can give back to my sisters. I am so grateful for the nurture and care of our sisterhood! Sigma Alpha Iota is a living representation of some of the very best aspects of sisterhood, care, and support and I will always be grateful to be a member. Grace Gierach Fayetteville, Mu B, Region IV PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT/ EDUCATION GRANTS FOR ALUMNAE & AFFILIATED PATRONESSES

• Cover