Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Theta Sigma chapter sprung into the new year this Tuesday, Jan. 17, at North Lawn Hall by hosting an event wherein attendees created “vision board” collages about goals for the new year.  

Students Kenedi Rittenberry and Dasia Bester and Vice-President of the Theta Sigma Chapter Jada Burroughs were among those leading the event, which came two days after the chapter celebrated the 115th anniversary of AKA’s national founding. They began by providing study tips and listing campus resources that are available to help students be successful in the new year before giving the audience time to create and share their “vision boards.” 

Vision boards are collages of personally meaningful photographs, quotes and symbols that represent one’s goals, both long- and short-term, to boost motivation in achieving these objectives. 

The goals on the vision boards the audience presented were wide in variety; from emphasizing self-love and committing to exercise, to deepening spirituality and strengthening resilience, to mastering Spanish and starting a business, no two attendees had the same array of hopes for their new year and beyond.  

“One quote I had was like ‘working on myself, for myself, by myself,’” said Rittenberry, a junior majoring in biology. “I also have things on here like fitness goals … financial things I want to work on … and [I] also have some vacation and bathe things as well to just better myself in every aspect.”  

Burroughs, a sophomore majoring in finance and accounting, said the idea for the event came naturally. 

“Me and my sisters were actually talking about making vision boards for ourselves because we know how important it is to set goals for the year and … [thought] this would be a great idea for the UA campus and community to come out and do too, because … everybody has goals,” she said. “We would love to just uplift our community to make goals for themselves and to write their visions out.” 

The University of Alabama is not alone in participating in the vision board phenomenon. TikTok hashtag #visionboard currently has 7.2 billion views, while Instagram users have made over 1.1 million posts using the same hashtag.  

With so much talk of vision boards, one might question whether the activity has real value. That said, while vision boarding may not work for everyone, Alexis Day, a sophomore majoring in apparel and textiles who was in attendance, said it does for her. 

“I think it’s good to be able to visualize and see what it is your goals are. So, that way, I feel like it’s easier for you to attain them,” Day said.  

 Psychology Today noted that vision boards help stir up positive emotions as the creator begins imagining a better future, which leads to an optimistic attitude and a greater chance of success. 

Even when using vision boards, however, sticking firmly to one’s goals can be challenging. 

“People are not consistent. It takes a lot of consistency with goals,” Rittenberry said. 

To combat this, Dasia Bester, a sophomore majoring in kinesiology, explained that no one in AKA will be going through the process of reaching their goal alone.  

“Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated is a sisterhood. So of course, we’re going to hold each other accountable by any means possible in all areas of life … being there for each other and making sure that we achieve our goals … is definitely something that we are capable of,” she said.