Sister Spotlight: Colby Carter

This post was written by junior Colby Carter, who is currently serving as our Sponsorship Chair. As Sponsorship Chair, she has been working diligently for the past months to plan our Bid Day event; the very first experience our brand new pledge class will have as a part of Tri Delta! (Our new theme is fantastic- thank you Colby- and I cannot wait!!) Additionally, she will handle the crucial mutual selection process of pairing these New Members with their future Big Sisters. As Colby's assistant Pledge Mom, I can say confidently that Colby has stood out since first pledging Tri Delta and has consistently shown leadership in our chapter. A big shout out goes out to Colby, we wish you the best of luck on Bid Day and are so excited! Her post today is about her incredible summer internship with the famous annual music festival, Bonnaroo. 


"Hey everyone! My name is Colby Carter and I am a rising junior at USC. I also serve our chapter as this year's Sponsorship Chair- look for me on Bid Day and I’ll be the one running around like crazy! This summer, I had an incredible opportunity to intern with Superfly Music Production at Bonnaroo Music Festival 2013! I was encouraged to apply for the VIP Hospitality Intern position by a fellow Tri Delta sister, Eden Ellis. We are both in the College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management with focuses in Event Planning. I applied for the internship not thinking that I would receive an interview but to my surprise, I was offered a position. I was one of 15 student staffers from University of South Carolina, University of Central Florida, and Florida State University.  One of the best parts, my supervisor was a USC alum!!  

We arrived in Manchester, TN two days before the festivalgoers. "The Farm" is 700 acres of land that is entirely occupied once the festival begins. Overnight, Manchester, TN becomes the 3rd largest town in Tennessee with over 80,000 people in attendance. 

Colby pictured with the other interns

The first full day we were there we had workshops with different departments of the festival. We met the Production Manager/Stage Manager for all of Bonnaroo, which means he is in charge of making sure that every stage, tent, and venue for music will be fully operating throughout the festival, that every band has what they need for their set, and that each set runs smoothly. We then met the Supervisor for the “Roll like a Rock Star” program at Bonnaroo. Roll like a Rock Star consists of a secluded area on the Farm where patrons pay $30,000+ to spend the weekend in a real tour bus. It is an amazing program and the facilities were unbelievable! 

Once patrons started to arrive on The Farm, the work came with little rest. Our workdays were 10-12 hours, all outside in the hot Tennessee sun. We rotated each day where we were stationed to work. The stations were; working the Main VIP Lounge, VIP Information Trailer, VIP Courtyard, the Mound, which is the VIP viewing area at What Stage (main stage). We also worked at the VIP Centeroo Lounge, and at the VIP entrance at the Arch into Centeroo. Each day was so exhausting but the reward came from seeing how much we could impact someone’s experience daily.

(Colby pictured far right)

One of the best parts of interning at Bonnaroo was the people that I had the opportunity to meet and work with throughout the week. My fellow student staffers were all great, fun, and inspiring people. The drive that each and every one of them has to become successful in their career path was truly contagious and really did encourage me to never quit working towards my goals. The bond we all developed over such a short period of time is hard to put into words. After the first night of talking and getting to know everyone it was really amazing to me how many people were involved in Greek Life at their respective schools. The instant conversation that comes from finding out that you share something that important was an experience I had never had before. Over breakfast, Danielle, a girl from UCF and I had long in-depth discussions about the differences between their recruitment process and ours. Danielle was head of recruitment for her sorority and with me being on recruitment team we were able to bond over our love of the recruitment process. (Yes, I am a Delta dork!) 

The whole experience was one that I will always remember, and will be so proud to say that it was something I was given the opportunity to be a part of. It was a mentally and physically exhausting week but it definitely made me a better worker and encouraged me to keep reaching for my goals." 

The Farm at Bonnaroo

Sister Spotlight: Ellen Fox

Our post today is written by Ellen Fox, who is currently a senior and has served our chapter last fall as our own New Member Educator. This is a very valued position in Tri Delta, affectionately deemed "pledge mom" to our new pledge class every year. Ellen not only was an incredible role model and mentor for our new members, but also to all the women in our chapter. I was amazed to see how she introduced all of our new members to the values of Tri Delta and integrated them so beautifully into our existing chapter, all the while holding constant what it really means to be a part of this sisterhood. She has set the bar so high for future pledge moms and I know our whole chapter has benefitted from her outlook going forward. Ellen's post is written about her time spent abroad last semester in Europe, and what that meant to her as a Tridelt. We have missed you so much Ellen and cannot wait for you to come home!!

"Right now I’m nestled in between the mountains of western North Carolina at the summer camp I grew up coming to, year after year. It’s a home away from home.

From this past January to May, however I called a completely different place home: London, England. I had always known I wanted to study abroad and in the back of my mind, London always stuck. I’m not exactly a city kid; I’m used to nature and seeing towering trees- not skyscrapers. I was ready to get out of my comfort zone and discover new things about this world we live in, but also about myself.

As I flew out of Atlanta, headed across the Atlantic Ocean, I would’ve asked the pilot to make a u-turn had I not had such an amazing group of people to leave behind. My family and friends were all my cheerleaders and their confidence in me gave me a sense of security that I was doing the right thing. A lot of my support system consisted of my sisters in Tri Delta.

Ellen with one of her littles and grandlittles at a Tri Delta function.

Ellen and Anna Drew (later mentioned) during Tri Delta recruitment.

After being New Member Educator and on Standards board, I thought I was ready for a break from Tri Delta. Late night meetings and weeks of planning the retreat had me a little worn out. All of that got flipped upside down as I watched from afar (4,059 miles to be exact) as my sisters killed it back in Columbia. I was beaming with pride as I watched my best friend and roommate, Kaitlin, go above and beyond as our new president. I bragged to my San Diego roommate about how much we had raised for St. Jude, breaking records and goals we set for ourselves. Then I got bummed as I saw instagrams of the trip to Memphis to visit the hospital, wishing I could return because of the tremendous impact that trip had left on myself the previous year. I saw my beautiful friends dress up as hippies for Woodstock and bikers for Biker Bowl. Ironically enough, just like the campers I’m surrounded by at the moment, I began to get a little homesick. Or, as I like to call it, “Tri Delt sick.”

One of Ellen's photos from London!

But then a beautiful thing began to happen. I saw that Tri Delt wasn’t really missing from my life as much as I believed. In fact, I saw it reflected in many of my daily surroundings. I got a nice dose of our sisterhood with a visit from another one of my best friends, Anna Drew, as she crossed the pond for her spring break. We talked rush and home life gossip as I showed her the amazing city I was privileged so live in. I even ran into Karolina, another sister who was studying in Paris with a weekend trip to London, in the middle of Urban Outfitters of all places!

Anna Drew and Ellen on her trip across the country to see her! 

As I made new friends, I attempted to explain the bonds of sisterhood, our ritual (don't worry, I kept the important stuff secret) and the unexpected pride I had of our sorority. But I usually ended up just saying, "You just sort of have to get it." But I think the very best things in life are like that, at least in my life. I struggle describing my camp as well as the sorority I belong to. But as the old saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I can't wait to rejoin everyone back in Columbia in August!"

Delta Love,

Ellen

Sister Spotlight: Sara Velordi

Hi everyone! Today our post is written by senior Sara Velordi, about her current amazing internship at Southern Weddings Magazine. In Tri Delta, Sara holds the officer position of Chapter Correspondent, meaning she handles reaching out to other Greek organizations, other chapters of Tri Delta, the Carolina community, and more, on behalf of our chapter. Sara could not be more suited to represent Alpha Lambda with her always sunny personality, and not to mention her fantastic baking abilities. (Cookies always accompany her gracious thank you notes!) Sara truly is a light in our chapter, even including every single member by making treats for their birthday, which is an enormous feat considering we have roughly 350 members! What Sara does for our chapter frequently goes behind the scenes- a great example of her character as she does not receive as much thanks as she should. So from Alpha Lambda, thank you Sara! Congratulations on your fabulous internship! 

Hi y’all! I’m Sara Velordi, a senior PR major and Alpha Lambda’s current Chapter Correspondent. 

I’m so excited to share a little bit about my internship experience! I am currently working as the Editorial Intern for Southern Weddings Magazine based out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Southern Weddings began as a blog and online source for wedding inspiration and has evolved over the years to become a major print magazine for brides in the South as well as the rest of the country (and overseas!). There is also the Southern Weddings Shop, which is stocked with adorable prints and gifts. As someone who is completely wedding-obsessed, I have loved coming in to work each morning and looking through endless amounts of venues, flower arrangements, color combinations and of course, dresses all day long.

I live in Georgia, so I was originally worried about finding a place to stay in Chapel Hill during the summer. However, with the help of one of our Alpha Lambda sisters (Thanks, Callie Butterworth!), and a few sisters from UNC’s Tridelta chapter, I found a place to rent almost immediately!

Sara setting up a magazine photo shoot with her co workers!

My day-to-day tasks vary, and I’m grateful that I will get to do a little bit of just about everything while I’m here. I sit in on staff meetings, participate in brainstorming sessions, and I’ve even gotten the chance to write posts for the blog. I also help with photo shoots and research content that we can use online and in print. In addition, I package up all the magazine and shop orders and ship them out to readers, complete with a personalized thank-you note.

I work in the office with the magazine’s amazing art director and creative director, as well as the wonderful editor-in-chief, Lara Casey. I have already learned so much from the amazing ladies I am working with, and I’m looking forward to the rest of my time at Southern Weddings!

If you are interested in checking out Sara's work or Southern Weddings Magazine visit their website at iloveswmag.com!

Relay for Life 2013 Update

Hi everyone! Back in May, we posted about our participation in an annual fundraising event held at USC called Relay for Life, benefiting the American Cancer Society. 

We have received final numbers and are so excited to be able to share them with you all! We are so proud to say that Delta Delta Delta ranked third place out of every participating team! We were fortunate enough to have raised a total of $8,239.00 towards the American Cancer Society all from Tri Delta alone. 

This was our first year participating in the event with our very own team and it is absolutely amazing what these women contributed. Congratulations ladies!

Want to learn more? See the original post here!
http://sctridelta.blogspot.com/2013/05/relay-for-life-2013.html

Sister Spotlight: Kaitlin Laxer

Hi everyone! Today our post is written by senior Kaitlin Laxer, who is not only a valued sister but also our chapter president! 

Kaitlin is a French major with a Chemistry minor, and has previously served as the Academic Chair for our chapter. She is active in the french club, an organization called Operation Smile in which she served as the Community Service chair in its founding year, and is additionally a member of Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. 

Her post today is about her current summer internship, working at Laxer, Long, and Savage Dental and Orthodontic practice. Kaitlin hopes to attend dental school after graduating from the University of South Carolina to pursue her dream! 

Kaitlin consistently leads our chapter with grace and responsibility. Thank you Kaitlin for everything you do! Being chapter President is a very time consuming and hardworking role, and we are so lucky to have such a committed and especially loved president. 

I have always looked up to my mom as my mentor and admired her work as a pediatric dentist. A few summers ago, when I was deciding what I wanted to do as my future career, I started shadowing and working for my mom at her joint dental/orthodontic practice, Laxer Long & Savage (“LL&S”). I instantly fell in love with the pediatric patients, the practice, and dentistry as a whole, and I knew it was where I wanted to take my future.

I began my internship working in sterilization where I would sort through instruments, clean them, and set up clean kits for operative procedures. It was a very methodical process- something that a creature of habit like me loved! I soon moved into the clinic where I started working with patients alongside my mom. Here I learned to operate the dental computer software which enabled me to schedule new patient appointments, submit notes, read through insurance plans, do checkouts, bring patients back, write up treatment plans for any operative work needed, and discuss matters with parents. I really enjoyed working in the clinic because I was hands on with the patients, and there was always an opportunity for me to learn something new. The bustling of a pediatric dental office is always exciting!

Finally, my mom taught me how to assist during operative procedures in the clinic. She would explain various procedures to me, like extractions, fillings, root canals, and so on, as she was doing them, and I was able to assist her as needed. This was just the exposure that I needed to solidify my decision in pursuing dentistry. Additional volunteer opportunities that I was fortunate enough to partake in only further reassured me in my lifelong goal.

I couldn’t think of a better place to spend my summers than LL&S. I always knew growing up that whatever path I chose, it would involve kids and something medical, and I am incredibly lucky to have found something that incorporates both in one amazing practice. I am also grateful to have such a wonderful mentor in my mother who is open to teaching me new things every single day and is constantly encouraging me in my decision. I think it’s important that everyone finds that one someone who inspires and challenges us to pursue our dreams and goals, and I am lucky that I had to look no further than my own mother. Working with her has been an inspiration, and I love that I am able to pursue my passion and learn from the best woman I know in the business. I am very much looking forward to (hopefully!) going to dental school during the next few years and coming back to work with my mom for years to come!

Sister Spotlight: Rachelle Ciulla

My name is Rachelle Ciulla and I am a member of the Fall 2011 pledge class of the Alpha Lambda Chapter of Tri Delta. Although Tri Delta is one of the biggest aspects of my college life, I’m also very devoted to my co-ed acapella group, Cockappella. This year we had lots of exciting progress within the group. We took on some talented new members, finished the recording of our first album to be released sometime this upcoming fall, and competed in the ICCA Quarterfinals for the very first time.   

Rachelle pictured with some other members of Cockapella

Something that wasn’t so new was the annual spring concert that Cockappella puts on at the end of every year…except this time there were a few unexpected occurrences for better or for worse. The concert was booked as usual, for a lecture hall in Gambrell. The fabulous Cocktails, the all female acappella group on campus, were booked to open. We members dared to feel more prepared than usual for our final concert of the year. Upon arrival at Gambrell, I spotted a few of my sisters, already waiting in the lobby. I walk into the lecture hall and it was not at all what we expected- desks crowding the already too small room. We were in a panic. It became a rush to find a new room for our concert that could fit our growing crowd, with many of my Tri Delta sisters included. When we finally found an available room, it began to fill and we tried to calm our nerves. The Cocktails went on, featuring two of Tri Delta’s own, (Name Removed for Pi Chi) and Hope Ironmonger. They were phenomenal as usual, and it was nice to be able to watch two of my sisters doing something that they are both so talented in, and something that we share.

Rachelle performing in Cockapella's Spring Concert

Cockappella then took the stage, and when I got a chance to look at the crowd I was shocked to see the whole back section of the auditorium taken up almost entirely by my sisters! The show continued, and we had a great time. It felt more than amazing to know that I had so many of my sisters in the audience supporting me. Going through the line-up, when it was my turn to introduce myself I received thunderous applause from my Tri Delta’s. All of the members of Cockappella took notice, and once again were impressed by the turnout of my sisters for a Cockappella event. At a previous percent night, there were tons of my sisters who showed up to help Cockappella raise money to support our growing expenses. 

It is times like these that make me so proud to be a sister of Tri Delta. All week long I had sisters telling me what a great job we had done. It meant the world to me to have my sisters there at a stressful time showing their support, and for them to be a part of another portion of my college life that means so much. To me, that is what sisterhood is all about, and I am proud to have sisters who are loving and supportive. 

Thank you Rachelle for writing today's post! We are proud to support you and to call you a sister. Thanks as always for reading, Delta Love!

Sister Spotlight: Abby and Casi Grady

Today's post is written by Senior Abby Grady, on behalf of her and her sister Casi. Abby and Casi are not only sisters in Alpha Lambda but also biological sisters. Casi, who graduated from USC last May recently received some exciting news. Read on to find out more, congratulations Casi from all of Alpha Lambda! We love you!

Hey Everyone! I am so excited to share with you an exciting thing that has been happening the past few weeks. Last weekend I had the opportunity to drive with my sister and Alpha Lambda alumna, Casi, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Casi was one of the twelve percent of applicants accepted as a corps member for the Teach for America program. While there, we explored her new city, and even got to visit our sisters at the tridelt house at Louisiana State University.

Baton Rouge Sunset!

LSU Tridelt house

With an exercise science degree Casi had no initial intentions of becoming a teacher. Her love for children started as a gymnastics coach in high school and grew even deeper with her passion for St. Jude when she became a TriDelta. This August she will become an elementary school teacher where I know she will be an amazing role model as well as positive influence in her student’s lives. 

Through this whole experience so far the best part for me has been watching Casi and her TriDelta sisters truly live out their perpetual bond of friendship. Although they all live in different parts of the country, they are constantly planning their next get together even if that means flying across the country to do so. 

As biological sisters I didn’t think it was possible for us to become closer but becoming TriDelta sisters has given us so many memories and friendships I know we will cherish forever. I am so thankful to have been able to share two years here at USC with her but I cannot wait to see what the next two years in Baton Rouge have in store for her.
I could not be more proud to call Casi my sister, and I am even luckier to be able to call her my TriDelta sister.

If you are interested in learning more about the amazing Teach for America program please visit their website http://www.teachforamerica.org/.