Alumnae - Omega Phi Alpha National Service Sorority

Alumnane SpotlightMy Sister Has a First Name…by Elizabeth Anderson, Mu alumnaIt’s S-E-L-E-N-A!Does this remind you of a famousadvertising jingle? It should—and ifyou are thinking of hotdogs and slabs ofbologna right now, then Psi Chapteralumna Selena Armendarez is the personto call. She is a bona fide, 100 percentOscar Mayer Hotdogger!What does that mean? It means thatSelena gets the important (and quitenoticeable) honor of driving one of thefamous Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles forone year. Aside from driving around thecountry inside an enormous hotdog,Selena and 13 other lucky recent collegeopportunity to travel in a 27-foot-longhotdog.” In the coming year, Selenawill be paired with a partner and theywill drive through the southern statesfor six months. “We have the opportunityto handle public relations, eventplanning, and marketing,” says Selena.“After …six months, we get a new partnerand a new region.”But don’t let the big funny hotdog carfool you. Competition for Hotdoggerpositions means serious business. “Thisis a much respected entry-level positionin the public relations world,” Selenaexplains. “I am very fortunate to haveserved as membership assistant, servicedirector, vice president and presidentbefore applying for alumnae status in2007. “OPA has taught me so much. Icontribute much of my success to myinvolvement with OPA,” Selena says.“It really helped me to transition into awoman (and) it has opened my eyes tothe needs in our communities, schoolsand in the world.”She will carry fond memories of PsiChapter to her new job. “One of myfavorite OPA memories comes from oneof (Psi’s) unique projects. Each spring,we host our annual LOVE IN A BOXgraduates will act as official travelingspokespersons for Oscar Mayer as they“spread miles of smiles to communitiesacross America.”“The Wienermobile was first designedby Carl Mayer, the nephew of OscarMayer, in 1936,” says Selena. “Thereare currently seven Wienermobiles inthis year’s fleet; six full-sizedWienermobiles and one Mini-Wienermobile that is built on a MiniCooper.” No word on whether or notshe will actually have hotdogs on board.Selena and her counterparts were chosenfrom over 1,000 applicants. “Iapplied for this position for many reasons;”she says, “to achieve experienceas a professional, avoid the typicaloffice job for a year, and (to have) anthis opportunity.”Public Relations is a field that is nothingnew to Selena; she minored in it asa communications major at TexasA&M-Corpus Christi, from whic shegraduated in May 2008. It was also at“Corpus” that she pledged Psi Chapterin the spring of 2005. By that time,OPhiA was in her blood.“My older sister, Adriana, was in collegewhen I was in high school. Shepledged…and I became very close witha lot of the OPA girls before I was evengraduated from high school,” Selenarecalls. “I really liked the strong sisterhoodbonds and the principles OPA isbased on. When I went to college, Iknew OPA was the place for me.”During her active years at Psi, Selenaproject where we sleep in cardboardboxes for 24 hours to help raise moneyfor the homeless,” recalls Selena. “Thisis the best sisterhood bonding experience.We are only allowed one blanket,one pillow, one meal, and one luxuryitem (no electronics). We would juststay up for 24 hours laughing, talkingand having a blast.”Selena would like to be an active partof Omega Phi Alpha as an alumna, butadmits that she may be hard to pindown for awhile with her job as anOscar Mayer Hotdogger and that herschedule will be filled with excitingadventures this year. Nevertheless, sheis excited about her unusual upcomingjob. “I (am embarking) on a journeythat I will relish forever!” she says.10 Chevron y Fall 2008