Growing up, I felt like I was always outshined by my brother and older cousins in my family. Being the only girl, and almost the youngest, I struggled with my voice being heard. This being said, when I got to high school, I did everything in my power to be seen. I participated in pageants, I was a part of every club offered and was an officer in almost all of them, I was on the homecoming court, and I sang and danced. However, it wasn’t until college, where I truly felt heard. As an incoming freshman, everyone on campus tells you all the organizations you can be a part of and all of the exciting things you can do to put yourself on the right track for your future. This was all so new and very exciting to me and I was ready to join! But one of the things that really stood out to me on campus was Greek Life and the Panhellenic community. As I learned more about it, it seemed like greek life gave an automatic sense of love and friendship on campus and I wanted to be a part of that support system.
I knew before coming to school that I wanted to be a part of Greek Life. None of my family had been, and I wanted to do something else that would be just mine. During rush, there are a lot of overwhelming feelings, but what really narrowed it down for me was having a conversation with Annalane and so many other members of the chapter. During both of these conversations, they told me with one hundred percent confidence that I could be a leader. All of these amazing young women saw the ability in me to be a leader, not only in Kappa Delta but also on campus, even as a first-year student. Through these conversations, I saw people who believed in me and had confidence in me when even though they had only known me for three weeks, and it started to make me believe in more in my own abilities.
Spoiler alert, I decided that night that I was meant to be a Kappa Delta, and this was my home. Kappa Delta was a place that I could grow and flourish to my full leadership potential, and this semester, I saw a glimpse of it. In February, I was selected to be assistant new member education as only a freshman! The joy I felt was indescribable. Not only would I be the right-hand man to our new member educator, but I also would have the ability to teach the new spring and fall members all the reasons why I fell in love with Kappa Delta!
The new member educator’s job is to plan bid day (aka the best day ever), plan and execute the six-week member education program, help with initiation, and, most importantly to be there for the new members and answer any questions they may have. As the assistant, I will be there to help VP-ME, no matter what she needs, and I will also just be another familiar face that the new members can come to if they need anything or just want someone to talk to! Since I will only be a sophomore when our sweet new members begin their journey towards initiation, I will also be close in age to them, making it easier for them to talk to me. I also understand all the freshman feelings, having just experienced them. Our four spring members: Josie, Brooke, Carly, and Lizzie were such a fantastic pledge class, and I got to experience their joy and light up close as Anna Jordan and I took them through the six-week program, which was unfortunately cut short (Thanks COVID). Although we do not know what the future holds for recruitment, or even school in the fall, I cannot wait to experience the excellent incoming pledge class that is going to light up our chapter and take our school by storm. PC ’20 - I can’t wait to meet you and see how you grow and flourish to your full leadership potential. :)
AOT,
AnnaMarie
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