Senior Farewell

As yet another semester comes to a close, it's hard to believe that we'll be returning in January with two less sisters by our sides.  Seniors Thea Dietrick and Anna Drew Jackson have been such integral parts of this chapter, so I wanted to be sure that they left knowing how truly loved and appreciated they are.

Thea will be spending her final semester in Hong Kong as part of USC's International Business program before moving to Tampa, Florida to pursue a career with Nestle.  Anna Drew will be graduating with honors in less than two weeks and plans to attend pharmacy school within the next year. 

Trust me when I say I could go on forever about how incredible these two young women are--however, I decided I would leave it up to some others.  Here are some quotes from different people they've influenced in their time at Carolina, including best friends, roommates, sisters and littles:

Thea Dietrick

"Thea, I can't believe that we only met one time before you became my big. Over the past year and a half you have become my best friend, mentor, and have been there every time I needed you.  You have completely changed my life for the better, and I can't believe that you won't be here next semester.  I'll miss people looking at us like we're crazy during meals at the house when we make all of our weird voices and noises. I'm so proud of you and excited for the next chapter in your life--you're gonna do amazing things no matter where you are." -Madeleine Partain

Thea and Madeleine

"Thea, I don't know what I will do without you next semester. For the longest time I was in denial that you'd even leave, convincing everybody that you wouldn't be going back. It's crazy for me to think about the fact that I've really only known you for a little over a year now, but that year is filled with so many memories. I'll cherish the times you lifted me up when I needed it, celebrated good news and accomplishments together, and made my stomach ache with laughter. Even though I know my last semester at USC will be so different without you, I know that our friendship does not end now! I look forward to some upcoming 7 a.m. Skype calls with you as you finish up school in Hong Kong." -Lauren Austin

Thea and Lauren

Anna Drew Jackson

"We've joked before that in an alternate universe, we probably wouldn't be friends: ADJ and I are polar opposites.  But after we met a birthday party in the seventh grade, it's hard to imagine who I would be if I never knew her.  I've always been amazed at Anna Drew's ability to accomplish whatever she puts her mind to.  Of course, everyone is told they can do anything by parents, teachers, mentors, but typically people settle for less.  Well, ADJ's picking up all our slack and then some.  Blood drives, recruitment chair, internships, service trips, it's nuts.  I don't think I've ever heard her say, 'I don't think I can do this.'  Well, there may have been one or two times... but guess what?  She did it anyways.  Her passion and work ethic are on a different level than anyone I've ever met.  She's also funny and makes a mean batch of banana bread.  I'm so glad we don't live in an alternate universe, that we did meet at that birthday party seven years ago and that I've had the privilege to have such a beautiful and ferociously loyal friend." -Ellen Fox

Anna Drew and Ellen

"When I think about my friendship with Anna Drew, I think about how there is no one else more hardworking and more deserving of a beautiful future.  Her drive makes me want to work harder, and her constant ability to put me (and others) in a good mood makes me wish she was spending another semester here.  Whether she's conquering the blood drive, recruitment, or her never ending load of schoolwork, ADJ will be one to watch.  Keep the endless snapchats coming; you'll be my 'girlfriend' for life." -Emma Huggins

Anna Drew and Emma

As sad as it is to see you go, we couldn't be prouder to have you represent Tri Delta as you go off into the world and do amazing things.  We love you, Thea and ADJ!

Homecoming Champions

Hi everyone! Today's post was written by Kourtney Dworsky, one of Tri Delta's representatives for the university's annual Homecoming week.  Homecoming is one of Tri Delta's favorite times of the year because it's a time when the whole university comes together.  We are so thankful for the countless hours Kourtney and her partner, Zoe Raine, spent preparing for the week's events and are proud to announce that we were the winners of this year's competition!

"This past October, Tri Delta partnered with Beta Theta Pi Fraternity to compete in a number of different competitions for the university’s annual Homecoming week. This year’s theme was 'United States of Carolina.' Tri Delta and Beta placed FIRST overall this year in Homecoming and were presented with a trophy on the field at halftime of the Mississippi State football game. 

Tri Delta has been making great strides over the past year in its involvement in on-campus events. Tri Delta and Beta Theta Pi placed third overall at last year’s Homecoming and then placed first in Sigma Chi’s Derby Days philanthropy competition last spring.

This year, Tri Delta and Beta placed second in Spurs and Struts, a dance competition in which members remixed four minutes worth of music relative to the theme and created and performed a dance in front a panel of judges and a large portion of the student body.




Tri Deltas also voted to support Michael Alexander, who represented our partner fraternity as a candidate for Homecoming King.  For the talent portion of the competition, he played an amazing mashup of Old Crow Medicine Show's "Wagon Wheel" and Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" on the guitar.  Vocals were done by fellow Beta Cameron Turner and Tri Delta's own Music Chair, Hannah Stroud!




Tri Delta and Beta also placed second in both the banner and "canned creations" competitions. Tri Delta girls spent hours painting a banner to look like a dollar bill with Cocky, the University’s mascot, and other University and South Carolina state emblems on it.  For canned creations, the team built a themed structure out of cans and then donated all of the cans to Harvest Hope, a local food bank. 

Our chapter donated over 700 cans to a local food bank as a result of this competition!

What really put our team ahead, though, was winning some of the most coveted awards given out by the Homecoming Committee.  Beta Theta Pi won the Gamecock Greatness Award, given to the fraternity that best represents the values of the Carolina Creed.  Tri Delta won the National Recognition Award because of our dedication and success in supporting our philanthropy, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. 

I was so honored to serve as this year’s Tri Delta Homecoming Co-Chair and could not be more proud that all of our hard work paid off and resulted in an overall first place victory for Tri Delta and Beta Theta Pi in Homecoming 2013!"

Kourtney Dworsky holds the first-place trophy with Beta Theta Pi representative Chris Kline.

Welcome to Kellie!

Kellie and I, from left to right

      
      When I first came up with the concept for this blog and began writing in January, I had no idea of the span and impact The Delta Diaries would have. It has reached far beyond families and alumni, the Carolina Community, and even our own Tri Delta Executive Office. I can honestly say that as I write this, our fledgling blog has grown to have well over 40,000 views, and readers in all 50 states and around the world! Today, I wanted to write one last goodbye post for the blog that has been my baby for the past year.

      Upon becoming VPPR, one of the things I hoped to change was some of the negative light that is unfortunately frequently thrown upon Greek Life nationally. That’s what makes headlines- not the phenomenal work that many members of Greek organizations contribute on a daily basis to our community and beyond. Through The Delta Diaries, we have been able to share all of this good- the philanthropy, the sisterhood, and the amazing individual members that make up our chapter and the incredible successes they are making out of themselves. I can only hope that by doing these things it has given some people a new view on what we are really up to in our sororities. 

     Lastly, to those reading this right now, thank you! Thank you to all of the friends, grandparents, professors, alumni, and many more who cherish these stories like we do. If it weren’t for you, this blog could never have been successful.  

     Most importantly, I want to introduce our brand new Vice President of Public Relations- Kellie McKinney! From now on, the posts and more that you all see on The Delta Diaries every day will be handled entirely by her. Kellie is a junior studying Public Relations from Bel Air, Maryland and truly, if I could have single handedly chosen the next VPPR it would have been her. I have no doubt that she will take the position and blog to new levels and do an even better job, and I couldn’t be prouder of her!  

Delta love and all of mine,
Ashley Claussen

Fall Semi Formal

This past Friday, Deltas got dressed up for our third function of the semester, Fall Semi Formal! They danced the night away at Jillian's of Columbia with their dates and sisters. 

November is the time of year here in Tri Delta in which our slate changes and new officers are elected. Therefore, thank you to our social Stephanie Brown for planning her final function! You have done a phenomenal job the past year and we have had some truly great events. This is the last function planned by Stephanie without the help of our brand new social chair, Alex Hall! Congratulations to Alex on her new position. I know you're the perfect girl for the job! Alex and Stephanie will collaborate on our next function which the whole chapter is looking forward to- Christmas in Dixie, a country twist on your typical Christmas event. 

See below to find lots of pictures from Semi Formal of all pledge classes and even our brand new initiates!   

Game Day for St. Jude!

Hi everyone! Today our post is about a philanthropy event that we throw each fall called Tri Delta Game Day. I'm especially excited to share this with yall, as since The Delta Diaries was started only in January, Gameday has not yet been featured for everyone to read about. This post is written by our incredible philanthropy chair, Julia Morgan. I think Tri Delta can agree that none of these events would have been half as great without her and all of her hard work and dedication! This position in the past in Alpha Lambda has typically gone to a senior, so the fact that Julia has done such a phenomenal job is even more impressive as she is currently a junior. Thank you so much Julia for planning this entire event with the help of your assistant, sophomore Sydnee Lasky. Great job! Delta love, and I hope you all enjoy our post today. I know that each and every fundraising event we have for St. Jude is close to our hearts and I believe that shines through in this blog. 

Julia is pictured on the bottom far left cheering on the Gamecocks with her Tri Delta sisters

"After raising a record high $112,247 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital during the 2012 - 2013 school year, us Alpha Lamdba Tri Deltas could not wait to start fundraising again for the best hospital in the world this fall. 

Our first event this year, Game Day, was held on October 12, 2013 at Carolina Walk (located right next to Williams-Brice Stadium!). This was the third year that we have held it and it was the most successful one yet!

Game Day is a tailgate themed event. We invited all of our family, friends, and the community as a whole to come eat delicious food (catered by Doc’s BBQ), watch the Gamecocks whoop Arkansas, and support St. Jude. 

There was also a silent auction with baskets made by members of the sorority, parents, and donations from local stores in Columbia. (The Southern Tide basket was a major hit, with two groups of friends bidding back and forth at the end for it!)

Our local St. Jude family, The Pertiles, even were able to come to the event to share their son Evan’s story. Evan is a courageous young boy who reminds us why we are so lucky and privileged to have St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as our philanthropy!

If you were able to make it to this year’s event we hope you had so much fun! If not, don’t fret, we have a few more events coming up this year (a couple new ones that we are excited to debut!)."

-Julia Morgan 

Delta's Only- State Fair

Every month, deltas all get together for a sisterhood event called "Delta's Only", planned by our incredible Member Development Chair Kellie McKinney. For the month of October, we all visited the South Carolina state fair, a much loved annual treat in Columbia. Thank you so much to the irreplaceable Kellie for always being so on top of things and planning such creative events for our chapter! I know we are all looking forward to November's Delta's Only- going to see the premiere of the new Hunger Games movie! Thank you as well to Kellie for writing today's posts and taking some amazing photos. It's one of my recent favorites- hope you all enjoy! 


As a sorority with over 300 active members, it's a rare opportunity for Tri Deltas to be in the same place at once.  So once a month, I organize an activity to encourage the chapter members to take a break from whatever stresses they're facing and simply enjoy the company of their sisters.

Kellie is pictured in the center with two other juniors, Lili Kinman and Olivia Weaver.

With midterms on the horizon and Fall Break just out of reach, it was obvious that the hardworking ladies of Tri Delta needed a break from the blase monotony of tests and papers.  It's as if the South Carolina State Fair came right on cue to lift our spirits.

I think I can sum up the State Fair in one word: indulgence.  In the best kind of way.  Indulgence in food, in joy, and in each other.  I don't think I saw a single frown the entire time I was there.  It warmed my heart to see my sisters take time out of their busy schedules to spend time reliving their childhoods together.

From being adventurous and trying the renowned donut burger and fried cookie dough, to taking a ride on an elephant, to enjoying live concerts, I think the State Fair brought a little something special to everyone who went.

P.S. Check it out-- Some of our sisters even got to meet Corey Smith after his show Thursday night.  Throw what you know, Corey! :)

Delta Strong Crush Party

On Thursday October 3rd, Tridelt enjoyed our very first date function of the year, Crush Party! 

Deltas danced the night away supporting our country in army gear for our Delta Strong theme. The event was hosted at Sharky's right in Five Points and planned by our fabulous social chair, senior Stephanie Brown. 

Thank you to Stephanie for another great event. Crush Party is consistently one of our favorite functions here at South Carolina and this year did not disappoint. I know we're all looking forward to the next three functions of the semester as well- stay tuned to see more! 

We are Delta Strong!