Spring 4.0's!

Congratulations to all of our brilliant sisters who achieved 4.0 GPA's last semester!

Jordan Batson
Hillary Boaz
Kate Bondurant
Alex Breazeale
Katie Cass
Kathryn Clary
Natalie Coones
Savannah Danahey
Kourtney Dworsky
Michelle Faucett
Haleigh Fox
Kaitlyn Gronauer
Madison Hilliard
Alyssa Ives
Nina Johnnie
Livia Johnson
Amanda Juhasz
Alexia Karpen
Kelsie Kessler
Mary Kate Korpita
Gionna Lesky
Chloe Lillard
Kaylen Loflin
Kathleen McKeon
Kelsey McNichols
Grayson Miller
Andriana Nazarian
Brady Newell
Jordan Osborne
Gamble Ouzts
Zoe Pleasants
Taylor Rogers
Savannah Salter
Ellen Short
Meaghan Smith
Bridgette Snyder
Jackie Snyder
Lauren Stitzlein
Darby Thompson
Brooke Watson
Margaret Ann Williams

Sisterhood night at Plex!

Last night here in Columbia the Trideltas had a very special event to relieve some of the stress of recruitment- at the Plex Indoor Sports center! 

Plex was wonderful and so accommodating to our whole chapter, providing an astroturf field, roller skating rink, pizza, and much more. We all had such an an amazing night bonding with our sisters, and especially jumping on the inflatable bounces! 

A big thank you to our recruitment chair Anna Drew Jackson who took the time to plan this incredible and unique event during the hectic time of recruitment for all of our girls to really relax and just enjoy themselves. I personally had a blast and know everyone else did too! An additional thanks goes out to Plex Indoor Sports. Check out the short video below of some of our sisters enjoying their night!

Sister Spotlight: Brooks Burdette

Today, I strongly encourage any of our Delta Diaries readers to take a moment out of your day to read this post. Submitted by sophomore Brooks Burdette, it is written about her time this summer working at Camp Kemo, a summer camp for children and their siblings affected by childhood cancer. As St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is Tridelta's beloved philanthropy, this post holds a special place in all of our hearts. Brooks is truly a beautiful girl inside and out and I am lucky to call her my sister. I can tell she has created such an impact through this amazing and inspirational program, and will continue to do so in the future. 

This June, I was so privileged with the amazing opportunity to be a CIT (counselor in training) at Camp Kemo, which is a week long summer camp at Camp Kinard in Leesville, for patients with cancer, ages 5-18, and their siblings. When I first found out that I was selected to be one of the six new counselors at Camp Kemo, I never could have imagined how life changing the experience would be. Weeks prior to camp, I was so excited and counting down the days, yet nervous because I didn’t know exactly what to expect with it being my first year. Finally the day arrived that the five other CIT’s and I were off to Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina. All of the counselors got to camp a few days earlier than the campers to set up for the week to come, and to also have bonding and team building experiences. As we pulled up to camp, my butterflies were going crazy and I was more nervous than ever to meet all of the counselors. When I stepped out the car and met all of the counselors, we all received such an amazing welcoming into the group and an immediate feeling of acceptance and love radiated off of everyone there. From the get go, I felt comfortable and met so many kindhearted and completely genuine people. The counselors at Camp Kemo are indescribable, and everyone is such a big family (but literally, four couples met at camp kemo and are now married). I couldn’t wait to be a part of the Camp Kemo family.

The old camp director, Jeanne Schmidt, passed away tragically that year. So before all of the campers got there on Monday, they had a memorial campfire in honor of her. Even though I did not have the privilege of meeting her, hearing everyone’s stories and seeing pictures and videos of her, there was no doubt what an amazing person she was. She touched so many peoples’ lives and that was absolutely incredible to see. She had a glow about her in pictures that radiated the image of Christ.

After the meaningful night, Monday was finally here which meant all of the campers would be arriving! This year’s theme for the camp was County Fair, so the dining hall was decked out in fair decorations and farm animals! The beginning of the week, the group that I would be with was the “Peanuts”, which are ages 5 to 7, and the second part of the week I would switch to the “Heartbreakers”, which are ages 10 to 13. All of the counselors gathered outside to greet the new campers. As the police-escorted buses arrived the butterflies were back and we all cheered and waved as they pulled up. We grabbed all of their bags and led them to the cabins to begin what was going to be an incredible week!

Both of the groups that I worked with were the sweetest, and the most fun filled kids that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. They were all really outgoing and so much fun to be around. We did so many different activities, from swimming to arts and crafts, sing-a-longs, even an actual fair with rides and cotton candy! We went to Lake Murray and Pine Island for a day, had a camp wide dance, and other smaller dances with the older groups, a carnival with games and prizes, yoga, video games, and so much more! Some of these children had never experienced anything like this before, and it was such a blessing seeing their smiling faces trying new games and activities and meeting new friends who were facing similar adversities as they were. The activities were nothing compared to the bonds that I formed with the campers and counselors at Camp Kemo. If a five year old can get on the teacups at the fair three times in a row, you bet that I was right there next to him spinning faster and faster each time.

The CIT’s all kept a journal for the week, and one amazing moment that I wrote down was the first day of camp as it was a little girl named Zyann’s fifth birthday. She was diagnosed with AT/RT (Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor), which is a bunch of fancy words for a really rare brain tumor. We brought out a cake to her and all sang happy birthday with The Peanuts, and then later on got to sing to her with the whole entire camp. She had the sweetest smile and truly was a precious and amazing little girl. Unfortunately Zyann was really sick and only got to stay for one day, her birthday, and later lost her fight with cancer on July 7^th to be at home with the Lord and became a beautiful little angel. (For more on Zyann, visit http://www.preciousandpricelesskids.com/2013/04/princess-zyann-and-her-fight-with-atrt.html)

Every patient and child at Camp Kemo changed and touched my heart in so many ways that I didn’t know were possible. Too often do we take for granted what we have and envy others who have what we do not. Each and every one of these children was beautiful inside and out and they have humbled my heart to walk by faith and in God’s light. Every day is such a blessing, and there are so many children who are fighting every day for their lives. It was amazing to experience the children who were battling cancer, beat cancer, or had a brother or sister with cancer, act and do anything that a normal child who was 100 percent healthy could do. I can still hear and see their positive attitudes and contagious laughter. Closing campfire was an emotional experience, and saying bye to all of the children and counselors that I had made such close relationships with was definitely the hardest part. We sang “Lean on me” one last time and ended an amazing week. Camp Kemo truly changed my life and there’s no words that I could write or say to describe the impact that one week has left on me. “Cancer is a word, not a sentence."

If you are interested in learning more about Camp Kemo, check out this awesome video link provided by Brooks!

Recruitment Begins!

Recruitment 2013 starts tomorrow here at South Carolina! We are so thrilled and excited to finally get to meet all of the potential new members. We have been working very hard every day during Spirit Week to get ready to put on our best recruitment yet! 
Shout out to our lovely President and Recruitment Chair, Kaitlin Laxer and Anna Drew Jackson respectively, for doing an amazing job tonight at Recruitment orientation for all of the girls going through. 
We wish all of the other amazing chapters here at USC the best of luck as well! 
Delta Love,

Ashley

Sister Spotlight: Margot and Kathryn Clary

Margot and Kathryn, from left to right

Our post for you today truly is one of my favorites so far! It is written by sophomore Margot Clary on behalf of her and her sister Kathryn. Kathryn and Margot are not only sisters in Tri Delta, but biological sisters as well. Last fall, when we found out Margot was coming through recruitment we were all so excited to potentially have another Clary. Today, they are both assets to our chapter and we are lucky to have such an amazing pair of women. Enjoy!

"For the first eighteen years of my life, sisterhood has meant only the biological bond between two girls who were conceived by the same parents. My understanding of sisterhood was that when I was too scared to order my meal at Chilis, my sister would be sitting next to me with an open ear to which I could whisper, only for her to translate my order to the waitress. When there was a boy teasing me in my 7th grade English class, my sister was right down the hall to come “straighten things out” when needed, which she did. When I couldn’t decide between two dresses at the mall (which I never could), there would be my sister, making a “pros and cons” list in the middle of the dressing room for me. 

Over the past year, however, my sister Kathryn has contributed not only the above but much, much more to my journey through college and becoming a young adult. While I am extremely thankful for having such an empowering, loyal biological sister, I am lucky enough to call Kathryn my sister in Tri Delta as well. Biological sisters are bonded by blood, yes, but Tri Delta has brought Kathryn and I closer than I ever thought possible by providing us with not only new bonding opportunities, but new perspectives about each other as well. For the entirety of my senior year of high school, (then, her Freshman year of college and first year in Tri Delta) Kathryn would call me almost every day telling me of the many adventures she experienced while being in Tri Delta and in turn, my interest in Greek Life grew exponentially. Come August, I could not wait to move to USC and experience Greek Life purely because of Kathryn’s involvement. For all the orders Kathryn has placed for me and all the dress-decisions she has helped me make, Tri Delta is the most significant and notable choice in which my sister has assisted, and I am honored to stand beside her in all types of sisterhood."
-Margo

Sister Spotlight: Kendall Boothe

Hi everyone! Today's post was submitted by junior Kendall Boothe, about her experience abroad this summer. Kendall consistently brings a positive attitude and an amazing sense of humor to our chapter and we are so lucky to have her as such a wonderful rode model! Enjoy!

This summer I had an amazing opportunity to study abroad in Barcelona for six long weeks. I had no idea what to expect and was really nervous about flying internationally by myself. I was heading straight for a program where I knew no one in my group but ultimately this factor opened up a whole new world of independence to me. Even though I was going completely out of my comfort zone, I knew that I was about to have an experience unlike anything I could’ve imagined.
When I stepped off the plane (at LAX, just kidding) in Barcelona, I couldn’t believe how great it felt outside. Not only was there no humidity, but the breeze from the ocean literally made its way throughout the entire city at all times. The first few days, our program director gave us endless tours of the whole city. I have to admit that the tours were a little annoying and I was worn out from all the walking, but it really did help when it came to getting my bearings straight for the city.
It wasn’t long before I didn’t need my program director to help me get around. I really clicked with two of the girls in my group and together we explored the city on our own from the amazing views to the rich history. It’s crazy how different the culture is in Barcelona from America and it took a little while to get used to their social norms. By this I mean, southern hospitality simply doesn’t exist in Barcelona. Aside from European fellas being a little more forward, I was ridiculed daily by group members for my “southern accent.” All I have to say to that is lol.

Another obstacle I faced in Barcelona was the language barrier. I went to Barcelona knowing little to no Spanish and when I got there, I found that in addition to Spanish they also speak Catalan, so the little Spanish I knew was not very helpful. It seemed like the whole city was split between Catalan and Spanish so I did my best to learn the basics of both languages.

One of my favorite things about Barcelona is that because of its location, it’s really easy to travel to other cities in Spain. While on my trip, I also got the chance to visit cities including Madrid, Toledo, the island of Ibiza and other cool towns in the Costa Brava region.

I really enjoyed meeting amazing people from all over the United States and the world who came from all different backgrounds and walks of life. My experience in Barcelona can hardly be described in just a few short paragraphs, but I really learned a lot about myself. I’m so lucky to have gotten the opportunity to live in this beautiful country for six weeks, it’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Although I was having the time of my life, I still missed my family and friends, especially the ones I made in tri delt! It was fun experiencing school in a different country but I am so excited to be back at school in a few weeks with all my sistas!
XOXO, Kenny