The North Carolina Chronicles: Part Three

What a month it’s been since I last updated my blog! Since Thanksgiving break, I finished out my first semester at Ole Miss before heading back to Executive Office in Atlanta. I cannot describe how exciting it was to see my fellow consultant sisters and catch up on their adventures on the road! One week together didn’t seem like enough, but we were all very anxious to head home for the holidays!

From Atlanta, I traveled to Charleston to visit with friends and family before making my way home to Greenville for the rest of break. It was good to catch up with old friends, and of course, enjoy some home-cooked food.

After a couple weeks back in South Carolina, I hit the road for spring semester. I went straight into formal recruitment at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC. Although it wasn’t too far from home, it was my first visit to the university and Winston-Salem. If you haven’t ever been, I highly recommend stopping in to see this beautiful campus! I loved getting to hear about the campus history, and learn more about our Alpha Delta Pi chapter there.

I can honestly say, these were some of the most incredible women inside and out! Formal recruitment can be a tiring week, but I never once saw their moral dip. Little sleep and tired feet can get to the best of us, but these sisters never complained and always came ready to work. I think this mentality definitely paid off on Bid Day when they welcome home 49 new members to our sisterhood!

Thank you Eta Upsilon sister for a great first week on the road! Thank you for catering to my coffee addiction and giving me one of my favorite recruitment weeks this year!

Next stop? I’m heading over to North Carolina State University to spend a few days with my Zeta Beta sisters in Raleigh!

By Living This Motto

November kicked off with a trip to the University of North Florida, where Alpha Delta Pi was invited give a presentation on colonizing this fall. The university, located in Jacksonville, has a picturesque campus, strong academic and flagship programs, and a thriving Greek life.

Before our campus visit, the team got to enjoy the Jacksonville beaches in the morning! One of our Grand Council Members offered her beach home to stay in during our visit, so this Leadership Consultant hit the jackpot with this visit. The UNF expansion presentation team spent the afternoon and evening on campus participating in tours and meetings, and polishing our presentation. I enjoyed getting to know the many Panhellenic women who attended our meetings and presentations in the search of the perfect fit for their community. I also loved getting to spend time with the International Officers and Expansion Team members who were on the visit!

From Jacksonville, I flew to Lafayette, Louisiana, for a reunion with my two consultant sisters, Savannah and Nicole, and more importantly, for the Installation activities for the Alpha Delta Pi colony at the University of Louisiana! The weekend was spent preparing for Diamond Days, Initiation and the Installation banquet. The Theta Phi Chapter was installed on Saturday, November 8^th as the 152^nd active chapter of Alpha Delta Pi! I was able to attend an installation banquet as a collegian, but this installation was even more special. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience that clearly shows the dedication of advancing of our sisterhood – it’s when you can see the partnership between Grand Council, International Officers, Executive Office Staff, advisors, campus administrators, campus leaders andthe new collegian members. Not everyone gets to be a charter member of their chapter, so this is a distinct honor bestowed upon exceptional young women who rise to the challenge to create and mold a sisterhood.

I was incredibly proud to be an Alpha Delta Pi that night, and every day of the year. I was proud of the support that our alumnae give to our collegian members, often volunteering their time on top of professional and other commitments. I was proud of my two consultant sisters, Savannah and Nicole, for their hard work this semester – marketing to colony recruitment, bid day to Diamond Days. How wonderful it is to work with them and to be a part of a program that is dedicated to leadership and development of our members. I was proud of the campus support from administrators, student affairs leaders and members of the Greek community. But most of all, I am proud of the newly installed officers of Theta Phi Chapter and their charter members.

After Installation Weekend was over, we helped with the new officers’ training workshop and finished up some odds and ends. Our last day in Lafayette including a little pampering, movie time and, of course, attending Chipotle’s Grand Opening in Lafayette.

In all, it was a wild, crazy busy, exciting ten days in Florida and Louisiana working to expand and strengthen Alpha Delta Pi! As sad as I was to say goodbye to UL and Savannah, I know that she is going to do an amazing job bringing this new chapter into its next phase of development! Nicole and I arrived back in Oxford for Delta Sigma’s Diamond Days on Wednesday, and we started the countdown to Thanksgiving Break, to our return to Executive Office in December and to Christmas Break!