Growing up as a girl in a world still burdened by competition and environments that breed toxicity and comparison, I knew that coming to college I wanted to be free of those things. I wanted to feel welcomed into a loving and driven group of women who would push me to be a better me while we grew together as individuals by always celebrating and supporting each other along the way. I wanted to feel loved and appreciated while also giving out all the love I can in return.
Being a part of Alpha Delta Pi for the last year, I have experienced the raw love and genuine support that these women have to offer. I believe that one of the strongest love languages of this chapter is words of affirmation. I have experienced this through strenuous hours of studying calculus with Bailee Smith as she took time out of her day to make sure that I understood the material fully until I was able to take the test with confidence and her affirmation to keep me going when I was stressed. I have heard first hand accounts of my own sister's love and admiration for each other, life changing stories, and tearful accounts of the most fond memories of best friends by the reading of stories from our sisters at each chapter meeting, such as Lydia Newton’s closing remarks about our alpha class at the last chapter meeting of the semester. I hear sisters shout-out their excitement for sisters that recently got new jobs, got into graduate school, or have just been working hard in school and need to be congratulated. So many sisters have been commended for doing well in our classes and receiving high marks on our exams by our academic specialists Katie Anne Brown and Katie Bianchini. Not one achievement is ever overlooked or missed. We are constantly reminded of one another's love for each other. This has made this chapter incredibly tightly knit and created the strongest support system that I could ever want to be surrounded by.
By constantly being a part of a group of women who all genuinely love and care for me. I know that it is noticed when I leave a room, and when I am not feeling like myself. I have grown exponentially into the best version of myself because of the environment created by the women of ADPi that has allowed me to fearlessly chase after my dreams and believe that I can conquer anything that I put my mind to.