So far, it has been 3 of 6 months as my chapter (shoutout Dafna BBG #1110)’s Mazkirah! It has been the best 3 months ever. Being Mazkirah gives you the opportunity to do it all—get to know the members and MITs, use your creativity daily, and promote and grow your chapter. In addition to loving what I do, I’ve also learned a lot. So far, here are my biggest takeaways in the form of the 5 things I’ve learned and 5 things I love. (Not in any particular order!)

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5 Things I’ve Learned:

1. Pay attention to detail: The most important part of promotion and how you present your chapter on social media is details. Having a set color palette/scheme is super important and keeps your feed looking organized and consistent! Using story highlights is also a good idea–it can showcase past events, as well as things you’ve posted and reposted onto your story. You can also do smaller things like always having the same little graphic in each flyer (example: my chapter mascot is a turtle, so finding a good Canva turtle graphic to put in the corner of each flyer is super cute and fun!)
2. Communication is key: This applies both to your chapter and yourself! The position Mazkirah is titled head of promotion and communication. I had to learn that the communication part applies in many ways, not just for phonesquads and texting in the groupme, but also personally. Expressing what you need from the KOMS network and having important discussions with the N’siah are also a huge part of the role.
3. Don’t compare yourself to your counterparts: Mazkirah is a very personal and creative position. This can lead to sometimes obsessively checking the other chapters’ Instagrams to see what the other Mazkirim are posting, often with thoughts in your head that their flyers are better than yours, they’re more creative, and they’re better. It's hard, but it is best to shut those thoughts down and focus on doing your personal best for the chapter that you love.
4. Enforce deadlines: As annoying it is to continuously text the board group chat or individual board members, it can be necessary. If there’s someone who never finishes their phonesquads on time, having a respectful conversation with them about why the timing is important is okay!
5. Be personal: Simple things like being featured in the Instagram can make someone’s day, so encourage them to go to an event! The next time you’re making a flyer, try to include a photo of a member who’s been inactive recently and see if they show up to that event. However, including active members is also important, fun, and helps with retention!

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5 Things I Love:

1. Making flyers: This is my favorite part of the position. Being able to express my creativity through my chapter’s colors (purple and green) while promoting events and growing my chapter is so cool! I would highly recommend getting the (overpriced but still worth it) Canva “pro version” so you can have access to all the graphics, fonts, and colors to make your instagram feed the best it can be.
2. Taking pictures: Whether it’s on my phone camera or my digital camera, taking pictures at events is so much fun! Even though that results in you not being in many of the photos, it’s worth it to get home from an event, open your camera roll, and relive the moments and memories you just experienced. 
3. Personalization: I absolutely love the way that you can customize everything through this position. You design the flyers and stories for the Instagram, as well as incorporating your own ideas! Whether it’s big things like starting on a new social media platform for your chapter, or creating the chapter spotify, or smaller things like color-coding the promo plans and phonesquads, it’s all up to you.
4. Getting to know members and MITs: Always being in contact with everyone in the chapter through texting and the Groupme is an amazing opportunity to get to know members more! When sending out the phonesquads, instead of rushing to just ask them to come to an event, asking them about the last event they went to or talking to them about their interests not only makes members feel happy and special, but you benefit by creating new connections for yourself. I’ve loved being able to do that more easily through this position. 
5. Working with KOMS: In my region, along with many others, there is something called the KOMS network, which stands for Katvanit, Orechet, Mazkirah, and Safranit. These are the positions on board related to promotion and communication! In my chapter, along with a Mazkirah we have an Orechet and a Safranit, and working with them is so much fun! While some may view it as a chore, I always look forward to our bi-weekly KOMS calls. We get to bounce ideas off of each other and discuss promo plans, and the calls usually end in talking about something like concerts, school, or how excited we are for things in the future like summer programs and regional board. Shoutout to Marley and Rachael for being the best KOMS network ever!

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Being Mazkirah has already been such an incredible experience, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the term will bring!