In a few short weeks, I will be celebrating my chapters one-year anniversary since its founding. As a founder of Sigma Delta Tau’s newest chapter, Delta Pi, at Stockton University, I have seen the chapter grow so much over the past year. Since becoming a member, I have been given opportunities that were unimaginable, a sisterhood that is unbreakable and memories that are unforgettable.
I am an only child and was very used to keeping myself occupied and being an independent person, as cliché, as it sounds what I am most thankful for, are my sisters. I never thought I’d have one sister and now I have 90. At any hour I can call them in need of advice, in need of food and in need of a laugh. My sisters are people I can always count on. I have made my best friends through this sorority and it has been so amazing to go through this process with them. I know when I go in the coffee line I will see a sister to keep me company. When I go to the gym I know I will have a sister to workout with, and when I go to the library I will have multiple sisters to study with. For the first time in my life, I know that I will never be alone and I have Sigma Delta Tau to thank for that. It is a feeling I know will never go away and I am forever grateful for.
I was lucky enough to be chosen by the national team to be Delta Pi’s founding philanthropist and to be part of our first-ever executive board. Being the founding philanthropist has been such an honor and has taught me so many things about myself and about being a leader.
Early on, I realized that I needed to make philanthropy exciting for everyone. My goal was to have chapter members love our philanthropic work as much as I did. In the spring semester. I would frequently say, “get hype for PCAA” and in response, all my sisters would cheer and get excited about our events and helping the kids. In the fall semester, I created “gain season,” which was my goal to help us raise additional funds for our philanthropies, but in the end, it was to gain a stronger sisterhood and confidence a new chapter needed. To keep sisters engaged, I would scream it whenever I saw a sister and encourage the phrase hashtag on social media.
One of our philanthropies is Jewish Women International (JWI) and our mission statement is to empower women as JWI does. Every time I stood to speak to my sisters, talk to our Greek advisors, or other Panhellenic members I wanted to empower them. I had the confidence to plan our first events and I tried my hardest to empower my sisters to realize we may be a new chapter, but we are great and will succeed. It was an honor and pleasure to watch my sisters have such excitement about philanthropy while also empowering women. If being in a sorority has taught me anything it is that one woman is good, but a team of women, working towards a common goal, is great.
When we celebrate our one-year anniversary, I hope my sisters realize a few things. The first being that we are all leaders, we are empowered women with the goal of empowering, not just women, but everyone around us. That the bond we have created over this year is unbreakable, a year ago, we stood in the same room not knowing each other’s names and now it is as if we have known each for a lifetime. We all had the courage to step out of our comfort zone to be a founder, to be part of something bigger than ourselves and to create traditions and events that will empower members for years to come. Even though we may not all get along all the time, we are all here for one another, just a call or text away. I am so proud to be a founder of this chapter. We went from being the new sorority on campus to an empowering, strong team of women. Each and every one of us should be proud to be a sorority woman.
