Woodstock!

This saturday, Tri Delta had a blast from the past and hosted our very own first Woodstock function! 

True to theme, the event was held at a local organic farm in Columbia called City Roots. Planned by our fantastic social chair (Name removed for Pi Chi), our women paired up with Kappa Delta sorority to celebrate the end of another amazing year. 

This event was one of our very favorite functions so far this semester, complete with an incredible live band and food truck catered by famous local restaurant Pawley's front porch.

This event was a perfect toast to our beloved seniors for their last function, and will definitely be remembered for years to come. Thank you to (Name removed for Pi Chi) for making this event become a reality! 

Caroliniana Award Winner

I am so proud to announce that one of our own amazing sisters, Kelsey McNichols, is the 2013 recipient of the Caroliniana Award here at the University of South Carolina! 

This award goes to one senior who has given so much to the University over the years, described as "tireless, behind the scenes workers", in addition to "leaders through their actions". Kelsey is without a doubt both of these things and more. In her four years here at Carolina, she has given so much to not only Tri Delta but the entire community through various organizations, especially through the University 101 program. Kelsey has served as a Peer Leader, a mentor for incoming freshman students as well as a co-instructor of a freshmen seminar course, for the past two years. We interviewed her co-instructor, Ms. Kimberly Dressler, on Kelsey's contributions. 

"She has been the most wonderful student leader to work with over the last two years. She goes out of her way to make people feel welcome and can always find a way to connect with someone. She has really made an impact on the lives of students in our class and I think has set them up for success at USC. She has been so candid with them about what her experience has been- both highs and lows, I really think she has been a great role model for them." Below, Kelsey is pictured with her students. 

Congratulations Kelsey on your award, no one could deserve it more! Thank you for all that you do for our chapter, as well as always representing us in such a positive light. We will miss you so much when you graduate and wish you the best of luck!

Thank you to Callie Butterworth for helping me with this post. Surprise Kelsey!

Pi Chi Announcement

As we prepare for fall recruitment, our seventeen amazing Pi Chis must disaffiliate temporarily from Tri Delta. This means that starting today until Bid Day, August 25th, any pictures or posts including these women have been removed from the blog! If you notice some of your favorites missing, do not worry they will be back after recruitment is over and our Pi Chis are once again affiliated with us. Additionally, if a Pi Chi was mentioned in a post their name has been removed and replaced with "Name removed for Pi Chi". We are so proud of our awesome presence with Pi Chis this year and can't wait to have you back home already! See you after recruitment! 

Southeastern Panhellenic Conference

On March 21st, Megan Early, Addie Brown, and Alex Hall got on a charter bus to head to Atlanta, GA for a weekend filled of amazing speakers, helpful seminars, and bonding with collegiate women from colleges all across the southeast. They had the amazing opportunity to attend the 2013 Southeastern Panhellenic Conference. This conference was a 3 day experience of a lifetime. Key speakers included Stacey Nadeau, one of the beautiful women of the 2005 Dove Campaign for Real Beauty; Corey Ciocchetti, a inspiring professor from the University of Colorado; Lori Hart, a vivacious woman that used her personal and hilarious accounts to make every woman in attendance want to be better, and Ginny Carroll, the founder of the Circle of Sisterhood. 

Other than attending these speakers, Addie, Megan, and Alex got the chance to meet other women in Tri Delta from different schools and swap both traditions, tshirts, and some embarrassing stories of preference night mishaps! It also gave the girls an opportunity to bond with women in different affiliations from USC.

Overall, this weekend was an awesome learning experience and a great way to meet and form connections with leading women across not only of the sorority life of USC but of the entire southeast.


                          

Thanks to Alex Hall for writing this post and congrats to Megan, Addie, and Alex for being able to have this great opportunity and experience! Delta Love!

Derby Days Champions 2013!

We are proud to announce that the women of Delta Delta Delta are the new champions of Derby Days 2013! Derby Days is a philanthropic competition between the sororities here at USC, hosted by Sigma Chi Fraternity. This year we went for the gold in hopes of raising the most money for the Children's Miracle Network, an organization that contributes towards over 170 children's hospitals across the nation, including Palmetto Health Children's Hospital right here at home in Columbia, South Carolina. 

Our team was lead by two amazing Tri Delta representatives, freshman Dana Hurtik and junior Becca Dougherty. Becca came in this semester as a transfer student and not only was nominated to be our Derby Days representative but also won. "It really brought me closer to the sisterhood here. I was very lucky to have the support of everyone in the chapter. And Dana! I couldn't have done it without her." We owe a big thank you to both Dana and Becca for all the time and effort you put in for your chapter!

The competition was a week long this year, including eight different events or contests which the sorority women of USC all participated in. Some of these included a 70's themed banner-painting competition, cosmic bowling, a brother auction in which Tri Delta came in first place, and a powderpuff football tournament. Check out the video below to see some of our sisters in action in the powderpuff games!




One of our biggest accomplishments of Derby Days as a whole was during an event called Airband, a dance competition in which each sorority choreographs a routine. This year, we made it our goal to focus on sportsmanship and positive public representation for the Children's Miracle Network and create a dance in which we would be proud to perform for anyone, even the families at the hospitals. Choreographed by junior Lauren Austin, the routine was a familiar take on youtube video sensation "The Evolution of Dance". When asked about our Airband submission, Dana commented "It was different! Our dance was appropriate. We broke the sterotype, and taking a risk really paid off. One of the boys said that we looked like we were really having fun up there. I told him it was because it's true, we were!". Pictured below are some of the girls who participated in the dance. 

Additionally, a big congratulations needs to be given to the beautiful (Name removed for Pi Chi), who took home first place in the Derby Days Pageant and was crowned 2013 Miss Venus! (Name removed for Pi Chi) made us proud with her great sense of humor and amazing singing voice for the talent portion that brought Delta Delta Delta the win. Thank you so much (Name removed from Pi Chi) for participating and all the effort you put in. You deserve it!

Although we are very proud of our first place title, most importantly, throughout the week, Tri Delta alone raised over $2,500 for the Children's Miracle Network. Thanks to Sigma Chi for such an amazing well planned whole week of philanthropy events that contributes so much money annually for a great cause. Congrats ladies on winning and thanks to everyone who participated! FTK!

Fight Like A Girl

This Sunday, April 7^th, the Tri Delta house cleared out the dining room to make space for our very own self-defense class! Our members learned techniques focused on protecting themselves against physical assault, from prevention, to engaging in defensive action in any situation. We had a great time learning the techniques and practicing on our sisters! Even pretending to be the "bad guys" and kicking, hitting, and striking the punching bags. Most importantly, we discussed what it means to truly "fight like a girl," to offer and demand respect and to be empowered and confident to speak up and be heard.

The class was organized by our Risk Management team, which works to promote a healthy and safe lifestyle for all members that so that we can enjoy our sisterhood to the fullest. Thank you to Lt Teena Gooding and Cpl Jessica Velders of the University of South Carolina Police Department for their time and expertise. We had a great time and learned so much; we hope to see you again next year!

Make sure to stay safe and follow the USCPD on Twitter at @USCPD for important updates around Columbia.

Thank you to Brady Newell for this post and organizing such a great event for our sisters! DL!

Fraternity and Sorority Life Awards

This Sunday, the University of South Carolina's Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life hosted an awards ceremony to present this years highest achievers with recognition. The awards are based off of our four pillars greek life; Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Friendship. We are happy to say we came home with some great awards and even had many individual sisters recognized for their contributions to not only Tri Delta but the entire Carolina community!

First, we received an overall "Chapter Excellence Award", and additionally "Achievement in Involvement". The involvement award is based off of the fact that over eighty five percent of our chapter is engaged in campus activities and organizations aside from Delta Delta Delta, ranging all over from Pre-Law Business Fraternities to the Skydiving Club. 

We also took home the "Achievement in Philanthropy" award, an honor given to those who raised at least one hundred and ninety dollars per member through philanthropic efforts. (We almost doubled that statistic!) Lastly, our chapter was presented with the "Achievement in Scholarship award", which states that our average chapter GPA was higher than the undergraduate female GPA for both 2012 Spring and Fall semesters. 

As for individual recognition, three of our women walked away with very large honors. Courtney Mauldin was presented with the "Outstanding New Member Award", recognizing only one freshman student out of the entire greek community on their contribution and involvement in and outside of their chapter. Courtney currently serves as our New Member Educator, a huge honor for a freshman to be slated in that position, and will teach our upcoming pledge class after recruitment in the fall all that it means to be a Tri Delta. We are so proud to have snagged the most outstanding student in the freshman class! Congratulations to Courtney, and thank you for all that you have already given to this chapter.

Secondly, junior Anna Drew Jackson was presented with a scholarship donated directly from the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. Anna Drew is extremely involved on campus, as a student in the South Carolina Honors College, a University Ambassador, and the head of the Carolina Clemson Blood Drive. Additionally, she is our Vice President of Membership meaning that she will head up our fall recruitment. We are lucky to have such a hard worker and dedicated sister to help us continue to find the most amazing pledge class here at South Carolina.

Freshman Brady Newell was awarded with our final achievement, another scholarship from The Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute. This institute hosts a conference for students involved in greek life from all over North America, focusing on values and living your ritual. Brady is our Risk Management Chair, an extremely crucial position to the health and security of our whole chapter. (Look for an upcoming post all about one of Brady's most recent contributions to our chapter!) We are so proud to have the opportunity to have a chapter member attend the UIFI conference, especially such a good representation of the Alpha Lambda Tri Deltas. 

Pi Chi Roll Call

Today the University of South Carolina hosted a special ceremony to celebrate the beginning of the Fall 2013 Pi Chi's term. Our women went out to support our sisters who will soon be officially disaffiliating from Tri Delta in order to serve as a Pi Chi, an important leadership and mentor role for students who are going to participate in sorority recruitment in the upcoming fall semester. Women are selected from all chapters here at South Carolina and 17 of them are Trideltas. We are so proud of all of our Pi Chis as it is a very competitive process and a huge honor to be selected! We will miss you so much, and are lucky to have such an amazing group of girls representing us. (Even without your letters on!) 

Welcome to Memphis

This past weekend 32 of our chapter members were able to travel to Memphis, TN to visit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. From road-tripping for nine hours with sisters to touring the halls of our hospital, the girls were able to develop stronger friendships and see first hand where their work goes. We toured the hospital and the Target House, one of three residential homes at St. Jude for the patients and their families while they are being treated. The weekend was a blast and the girls were able to learn so much! It was my third time being able to visit the hospital as a member of Tri Delta and every time I come I am reminded of just how special our commitment to St. Jude is and how proud I am to be a member of this sorority. I feel so blessed to have been able to share this feeling with every single one of these girls. 

Check out this short video re-capping the trip made by our very own Lauren Stitzlein!

Here are a few things that some of the girls had to say about the trip:

“My favorite part about visiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital this past weekend was seeing 29 of my sisters experience the hospital for the very first time. This trip was my fourth visit to St. Jude since I joined Tri Delta and every year it only gets more amazing. Watching the girls reaction as they walked onto the Tri Delta Bone Marrow Transplant Floor will be one of the highlights of my college years.” -Callie Butterworth, senior

I was really surprised how much this trip changed my outlook on our partnership with St. Jude. Before I visited the hospital, I was passionate about our philanthropy, but after visiting the hospital, I couldn't be more honored to help such a great organization. The staff and children are some of the most positive people I have ever met, and they're really inspiring. It's so neat that as a part of my sorority I have the opportunity to help such sweet people - it only makes me more proud to be a Tri Delta!” -Jillian Hayes, sophomore

“It was incredible to see firsthand all the good we do for St. Jude. Tri Delta was represented everywhere I turned and so many different rooms were funded by Tri Delta. I was able to see that St. Jude was so much more than a hospital.” -Shelly Shropshire, freshman

“I learned that anyone, with any talent or any gift can play a part in the mission of St. Jude if they care to. It's easy to assume that because St. Jude is a hospital, only doctors, nurses or researchers are really needed to make a difference there. I made that assumption. But after meeting our tour guides who worked in the hospital's legal department and spending the day with them they shared with us the enormous variety of jobs and ways to help beyond just giving money or being a medical professional. There's a media department, event planners who work on creating fun programs and activities for patients, the cooks at the hospital cafeteria and even manicurists or beauticians who work in the salon at the Target House for patients and their families to have as normal of a life as possible. Any volunteer can also come in and donate blood straight to St. Jude to alleviate their costs, which directly saves lives! Seeing how big the whole operation is, I got an appreciation for how small each Tri Delta's part is--but I was also reminded of the incredible work of St. Jude and how important it is to play our small part with everything we've got to give.” -Lauren Stitzlein, senior

“I would have to say my favorite part of the tour of the hospital was being able to see where all of our hard work and fund-raising money goes. It was so rewarding to see the changes that we are making happen even when we are so far away. St. Jude is an incredible place!” -Sara Velordi, junior

“I never realized that it costs over a million dollars a day to run the hospital. This showed me how important our donations are to its existence.” -Alyssa Agostino, sophomore

“My favorite part about the tour of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital was this really neat wall mural that was supposed to be of a town, and there was a mailman that had a bag of letters labeled "Delta Love". And there were all kinds of cute Delta related things painted into the scene. It was cool to know that I was a part of a sorority that is a part of such a wonderful institution, and that the institution is proud of that partnership.” -Rachelle Ciulla, sophomore

“We heard a story of a little boy who came to the hospital and wouldn't eat anything. The nurses and cooks tried everything, but he continued to refuse to eat. Finally, the nurses asked if he could have anything in the world to eat, what would it be? He said his grandmas mac’n’cheese. So one of the cooks in the hospital called his grandma, got the recipe, and cooked it for the little boy. This was the first thing the boy ate at St. Jude. This story was so inspiring to me and I realized how committed everyone at the hospital truly is. Everyone wants to help these precious children, just like Tri Delta!” -Rachel Tripp, sophomore

"Sometimes it's hard to have a passion for something that seems distant, but the St. Jude trip really put everything into perspective. Seeing our direct influence on the hospital was monumental. I had no idea how important our contributions were to sustaining the life changing hospital that runs on 1.8 million a day. I loved seeing our letters throughout the hospital, not just in the C-clinic wing that we sponsor. Our influence truly does change lives, and that is such an incredibly beautiful thing. It took seeing it firsthand to truly understand our impact, but now I am more passionate than ever for St. Jude. The trip was life changing!"
-Kellie McKinney, sophomore

Thank you to the always wonderful Julia Morgan for organizing this trip, we are all grateful to have had this opportunity and for all that you do!