Do you remember when you discovered Kappa Delta? When did you know our sisterhood would change your life?

For Emily Conklin, Eta Iota-Pace, the choice to join Kappa Delta during recruitment was clear. “I believe you are who you surround yourself with, and the Kappa Deltas at Pace were women with whom I wanted to be associated. They are women grounded in strong values and hold themselves to a high standard,” she reflects.

Kappa Delta invested in Emily’s education to help her succeed.

An ambitious and driven woman, Emily quickly developed an interest in running for a council position, though she had some hesitations about applying at first. A well-respected senior member of the chapter gave Emily the nudge she needed by taking her aside and encouraging her to run. “She was not someone I knew very well. However, she recognized leadership qualities in me I didn’t know I had,” Emily excitedly recalls. This was a defining moment for Emily, and pushed her to submit her council application. Soon after, she was elected vice president-membership.

Serving as VP-membership was a way for Emily to express her passion for KD. It gave her valuable experience that later contributed to her success as an experiential marketing intern and influenced her pursuit of a job post-graduation. However, Emily’s journey wasn’t without roadblocks.

In 2018, Emily lost a significant university scholarship due to lack of funding. She couldn’t help but wonder, “Will I be able to finish my education?” Emily was faced with a harsh reality: she would have to use money she saved for her living expenses to pay tuition. Not long after, Emily was relieved to learn she would receive a scholarship from the Kappa Delta Foundation.

When Emily was worried about how she would pay her tuition, the Kappa Delta Foundation was there to support her not only once but twice. In 2018, she was awarded the Corre Anding Stegall Collegiate Leadership Award, which comes with a $3,000 scholarship, and the prior year she received the Muriel Johnstone Scholarship in the amount of $1,300. Kappa Delta provided not only the financial means for Emily to complete her studies, but a home away from home and a place to develop confidence as a leader.

With your help, the Kappa Delta Foundation continues to transform the lives of sisters like Emily. For the 2019-2020 academic year, gifts to the Kappa Delta Foundation funded more than $259,000 in educational scholarships for 116 sisters. Let’s not stop there! The cost of a college education is increasing at four times the rate of inflation and, on average, the foundation receives seven times more applications than we have available scholarships.

We invite you to transform lives through your support of the Kappa Delta Foundation. In doing so, you support promising women like Emily achieve more than they ever dreamed possible. Please help us continue this important work by making a gift at donate.kappadelta.org.

To learn more about the Kappa Delta Foundation, click here.