The Gamma Tau chapter of Kappa Delta at Ripon College is one of the smallest chapters of our sorority, and we are the youngest sorority on our campus. To put our size into perspective, this last primary recruitment, we set quota at nine new members. Since my initiation into Gamma Tau, I’ve learned that my though chapter is small, this popular Shakespeare quote rings true: “Though she be but little, she is fierce.” In my opinion, the size of our chapter allows us to be the sincerest of sisterhoods.

This sense of sisterhood didn’t happen overnight, though. It took time and effort to develop honest appreciation for one another. I often heard that establishing sisterhood is everyone’s responsibility, but I didn’t realize how true this was until I was installed as the vice president-membership. I knew our Spirit Week would be meaningless unless sisterhood was a core theme woven into each workshop.

As I prepared for Spirit Week and recruitment, I knew the best way for our chapter to recruit new members is to show them how much our members love one another. It would have been easier to go through the motions of Spirit Week and only cover the bare minimum on how to recruit, but then I would not be fulfilling my position to the best of my ability.

Instead of facilitating every recruitment workshop during Spirit Week by myself, I encouraged other chapter members to lead sessions on topics pertinent to their position. Nearly a third of our small chapter hosted a workshop throughout the week. Whether it was our VP-CS giving us philanthropy facts or our VP-PR providing pointers on successfully recruiting through social media, every member of our sisterhood was engaged and understood how her presence was important. I wanted to make sure every sister felt valued during recruitment, which in turn helped us all strengthen our connection to Kappa Delta’s values of building confidence and inspiring action.

With many members having never participated in recruitment as a chapter member before, it was important to me that we prepare by holding conversation workshops. For these to be successful, we needed to feel comfortable enough with one another to make mistakes. To help promote a positive environment, I implemented “sisterhood breaks” between the conversation workshops. Sometimes the breaks would be heartfelt, and we’d write each other notes of encouragement. Other times, they were goofy, and we took random fun, quizzes online together in our chapter room. I noticed our sisters becoming more vulnerable with each other. This was when our love for one another soared.

I’m proud to say that this past Spirit Week inspired our chapter to grow even closer. We laughed together. We shared stories of struggle. When a sister excelled or accomplished something, we all celebrated that victory like it was our own. If something didn’t go as planned, we supported one another. Even now, as we work to stay connected virtually during a global pandemic, that work has paid off, and we continue to grow stronger still.

By serving Kappa Delta as VP-M, I’ve learned that a chapter doesn’t have to be large to be successful: we just need sisterhood. The most rewarding part of Spirit Week and recruitment for me was witnessing women in my chapter actually become sisters and seeing our love for one another grow as we welcomed new members. I cannot wait to be reunited with the sisters of our little Gamma Tau chapter soon.

Dakota Marlega

opens in a new windowGamma Tau-Ripon

Discover more about the Kappa Delta experience opens in a new windowhere.