Our purpose

By: Emily Tingle

One of my favorite parts of being involved with Alpha Gamma Delta is that I am constantly learning new things about the sorority that make me love it even more. Lately, I have been falling more and more in love with our beautiful purpose. This process began a few weeks ago when we were asked to choose a favorite line or two and think about how they were important to us. While I find significance in the piece as a whole, I must say that my absolute favorite part of our purpose is the closing line, specifically the phrase “and love her for her Womanhood.” I personally interpret this line in two different and equally meaningful ways. First, I take the word womanhood to mean us, the women who make up the organization. I like this interpretation because it reminds me that being a part of this group comes with responsibility. What I do affects the reputation of the sorority which, in turn, is reflected back on me. Although it may not always seem like it, every woman associated with AGD contributes to the atmosphere and reputation of the group, and I want the outside world to be able to love all Alpha Gam women. My second interpretation of this line relies upon a less concrete definition of the word womanhood, a definition that includes everything it truly means to be a female. Something that I have felt for quite some time is that mainstream society tends to only accept female roles that are easy to understand. Many of us were raised in an environment where we were told that girls can be smart OR pretty, attractive OR successful, desired OR respected. It often feels like we are being pressured to pick a side, because if you want to be a CEO you can’t care about having cute shoes. This is as untrue as it is impractical. I believe that womanhood encompasses all of the things, good and bad, that come along with being a girl. When our purpose reminds me to love Alpha Gamma Delta for her Womanhood, it also reminds me to look at myself as a whole woman, not as someone who should be valued only for her physical appearance or her cognitive abilities but for everything that makes me who I am. I believe that my tendency to cry a lot and my love of shopping and my compassion and my strong work ethic all make up my womanhood, and I want to be able to love myself for all of these things, just as I want to be able to love Alpha Gamma Delta for all of her women.

As we move forward as a group I think we should continue to embrace our Womanhood and the different ways it manifests itself in each of us. We should continue to challenge and question what we have been told about what it means to be a woman in today’s society and we should continue to recognize that while being female holds many challenges it also gives us many opportunities. Most of all, we should continue being some of the most innovative and empowered women on campus, all while wearing cute shoes.

Stigmas

By: Colleen Rothner

“Oh, so you’re in a sorority that means you must be (fill in the blank)” I mean, we hear it all the time. And it would be awesome if the fill in the blanks were filled with something like, really smart, or really philanthropic. But I guess that is not the case.

Stigmas are certainly nothing new to me, after all when I tell people that I grew up in Beverly Hills, I get all kind of crazy looks. But in reality I know I am just the same as everyone else, no matter what my zip code is. Now, I know it is going to be impossible to change everyone’s stigmas about where I grew up or because I am in a sorority, but when I first talked to Rula and Hilary, they made me aware of the possibility to change the stigmas that have been associated with Greek life at ASU. As soon as I saw this was a way that I could change someone’s opinions of Greek life, I knew I wanted to be a part of Alpha Gamma Delta.

I knew that people had stigmas about us as sorority girls, but to be honest I kind of thought that it was only other college age people that felt that way. I didn’t really think many people out of college have an opinion. Unfortunately, last weekend I found out that I might have been quite naive in thinking that way. After a lovely brunch for International Reunion Day that was thrown for us by our AMAZING alumni. A group of about 15 of us walked onto the light rail to take it home. I take the light rail almost every day of the week, and have never had any problems. But when I went to sit down, I happened to be sitting next to a random person, she immediately asked why we were all dressed up and what we were doing, and I gave her the benefit of the doubt. I politely explained that we were part of a sorority and we were at a meet, she then went on to yell some profanities that if I was a sorority girls I must be (a bunch of things I would rather not repeat). After politely deciding to get up and walk away, she yelled some more about thankfully I moved because she didn’t want to sit next to me. Then some nice guy politely turned to her and said “you should treat people the way you want to be treated”. The rest of the ride was kind of uncomfortable, but because I decided to isolate myself from the situation I didn’t really think much of it. Then after the lady felt she had nothing better to do, she decided to heckle some others. It was then that somebody finally hit the emergency call button to the driver, and she was asked politely to leave the train.

Overall, I guess what that lady on the lightrail taught me is, that I can’t expect everyone to not judge me, but at the same time, although there might be a lot of stigmas about us, there are also a lot of good people out there willing to do the right thing. And maybe through education and Alpha Gamma Delta, if we can change just one doubter, our job is complete. To throw a little Kardiashian wisdom, I guess I would say, The Pit of my day was that lady and her close minded ways, but the Peak of my day was that I had my sisters by my side, and that even strangers stood up for me, so there are good people out there in the end.

Why I became an Alpha Gam

By: Natalia Herrera Martinez
Growing up, not only did I never consider joining a sorority, I didn't even know what a sorority was! My whole family is Mexican (we don't have Greek life in Mexico), and I had never met anyone who was in a sorority until I entered college. I became friends with two Greek women in my class, and worked with several Greek women at my job. There, I met an AGD alum, Amy, and she suggested I check out AGD's open house. It was clear she was very excited about AGD recolonizing and the fact that they were recruiting a brand new group of girls gave me the encouragement I needed to attend open house. Being very shy, but very friendly, I was not confident if I had made an impression, but when I went to interview I realized how proud and intelligent Alpha Gams were. During my interview, I felt like I was treated with respect and that my experiences were valued. I was also greatly interested in raising money for diabetes research, as my grandfather and my very close friend both have diabetes. Additionally, I had never had the opportunity to become involved in school; a student body of +40,000 in incredibly overwhelming! I felt that joining a sorority would allow me to have experience not only as a leader and an involved student, but also as a friend, sister, and mentor. As an education major, I feel that I am very open and accepting of all people, and my main goal in life is to help those around me and to be there to listen. Although I'm still adapting to Greek Life, I've found that it is a very fun way to become more involved, and I'm excited for all that we will be able to accomplish in our time at ASU and beyond.

Why I joined AGD

By: Jaclyn Osborne

Joining a sorority is something I never really thought about doing, and as a junior I’d pretty much dismissed the idea altogether. I am involved on campus, I have a solid group of friends, and my college experience has been more or less satisfying. The one thing I felt was missing was a real challenge, not just academically, but personally. When I thought of Greek life, nothing came to mind that could offer me the chance to grow as a woman, but having been through this whole experience I’ve quickly found that Alpha Gamma Delta at ASU has the potential to be so much more than I imagined a sorority could be. From the moment I met Rula and Hilary, I knew they were up to something good. I immediately knew I wanted to have whatever it was they were offering. Little did I know I would have the opportunity to work with women who, less than a year out of high school, are already looking to make significant impacts on our campus. Or that I would blessed with 85 sisters who are all looking to see positive change in one way or another. I see us not only coming up with amazing ideas to push our own limits and those of other organizations, but also having the drive and commitment to see them through. When I began this process I wanted to find a group where I could be inspired and empowered to change the world, and Alpha Gamma Delta is that group. We may start at Arizona State University, but I am confident that our impact will reach so much further.

Why I joined AGD

Alpha Gamma Delta Recruitment: Third Time’s a Charm!

Being in a sorority is something I’ve always known I’ve wanted to do. It’s even written in the autobiography I wrote in 6th grade. My cousin was a Delta Gamma at ASU and seeing her experiences just made me WAY too excited to have my own. So in the Fall I went through Formal Recruitment. Unfortunately for me, I went in less than open minded. I knew what my top and bottom houses were before I even entered my first party. The conversations were awkward, and each one seemed to lower my self esteem more and more. Day after day I would be disappointed with my party schedule for the day, and ended up dropping Recruitment the morning of Preference Night. I was physically ill from being so exhausted, I went home for an entire week. But even though I sunk into that depression over my semester not going as planned, I vowed to not give up, even if it meant going through Fall Recruitment again next year.
So Spring semester rolls around and so does Informal Recruitment. Once again, I went into it slightly closed-minded, but this time it was justified, as I had rightfully learned the logistics of each house, and knew which ones weren’t right for me. However, when I walked into the walkaround in the Memorial Union, and saw how many girls were squeezed into that tiny room, I knew this wasn’t going to work out for me either. I’m not one of those girls who fights for attention, I never have been. But I DID get the chance to speak to Rula Andriessen at the walkaround, and she put the idea of Alpha Gam in my head. So when I didn’t get the phone call I was waiting for at the end of the week, I knew I had to give Alpha Gam a try.
Alpha Gamma Delta’s informal recruitment gave me a ray of hope for the recruiting process, since nearly all of my experiences had been disappointing. As soon as I walked into my infoview with Wendy, I knew this was the house for me. The women are completely inspirational, enthusiastic, and welcoming. I couldn’t be more proud to identify myself as one of them. I know we’re going to do great things as a chapter! So far this experience has been far more than rewarding and I’m looking towards the future. Arizona State Greek Life doesn’t know what hit them quite yet, but we are definitely a force to be reckoned with!

By: Ryann Miller

Welcome

Welcome to the blog page designed for the women of the Alpha Gamma Delta colony at Arizona State University! We dedicate this page to help catalog the many events, and activities we will participate in over the coming years. Most importantly we have built this blog to help share our personal experiences, memories and thoughts about our amazing new experience with Alpha Gamma Delta as we grow as a colony on campus into an official chapter. If there are any questions or comments please feel free to contact us or leave a post on our page, thanks for visiting our page!