One year ago, I received a bid for the Gamma Zeta chapter of Delta Phi Epsilon. I knew about their philanthropies and their founders, but I had no clue what else I would really get from joining this organization. A year later, I now live with a sister (who also happens to be my best friend) and I can truly show others why I love being a part of Delta Phi Epsilon.
In Delta Phi Epsilon, we value justice, sisterhood, and love. We volunteer with community organizations, both as a sisterhood and as individuals. We watch movies together while eating pizza and ice cream. We listen to one another cry over relationship troubles or about a hard test. We are excited when another sister is hired to a new job or internship, is accepted into the grad school of their dreams, or succeeds at one of their goals. We advocate for causes that are important, not only to the sisterhood, but also to our personal lives. I have found that these values of justice, sisterhood, and love never stop if we are away from a chapter or a sorority event; these values can be found if you see a sister out and about at a coffee shop or walking across campus.
Delta Phi Epsilon encourages sisters to become leaders. Like many sororities, each active sister has their own position for the semester. This position is something that we run for and are elected to because we feel the most ambitious about this role. The position itself could range from recruitment to academics to membership development and beyond. I am very invested in our philanthropies, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (C.F.F.), Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (A.N.A.D.), and the Delta Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation, so I was very excited to take on the role of Philanthropy Coordinator this current semester. Each sister has the opportunity and the support of other sisters to take on those leadership positions when they feel that they are ready.
Originally, I became interested in Delta Phi Epsilon because it was an opportunity to give back to my community and participate in community service with other college students. Only after my initiation and my first retreat did I realize that I had been looking for the support that I saw from all of my new sisters. I found the encouragement that I did not even know I was really searching for within all of my sisters. I thought that I had all the support I would ever need in my friends and family; however, I realized that having my one brother was not the same as having all of my sorority sisters.
Of course, with this support, comes my Big. I know, everyone says that they have the best Big, but I really lucked out. My Big, Angela, encouraged me to come to spring recruitment in December (actually, it was the first day that I had ever met her). She radiated leadership, happiness, and everything that I strived to be. After our Big/Little reveal, we went out to get pizza with the rest of our sorority family, only to find out that we had so much more in common than we initially thought. Angela constantly encourages me to become a better individual, both within the sorority and in striving to reach all my goals in life. I couldn't be prouder to call her my sister and Big, and there will definitely be tears at her last chapter meeting at the end of this semester (and probably at her graduation, too).
Joining Delta Phi Epsilon has made me realize that being in a sorority does not mean that I love parties, decorating coolers, and Total Sorority Move. Being a part of Delta Phi Epsilon means that I am a woman who is intelligent, strong, and compassionate. It means that I will support charitable organizations in my community. It means that I will continue on pursuing my education. It means that I will celebrate the people around me and what they can contribute. Delta Phi Epsilon is about the love that we have within a sisterhood and how we will continue advocating for what we find important, knowing that we have sisters who will catch us if we fall.
