I have been a Girl Scout for 13 years and am a proud lifetime member. I started off as any other Girl Scout: camping, selling cookies, going to badge days and attending camp every summer. As most do, my troop began to lose interest in middle school and by tenth grade, we met only every few months and worked more independently on projects than as a group. Girl Scouts was the greatest part of my life growing up and I was determined not to give it up. I decided to take initiative and work independently with my local council, Nation’s Capital.

Over the next three years, I became a girl advocate for Girl Scouts in the D.C., Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia area and on Capitol Hill. By the end of high school, I had been to Utah, London, Switzerland, England and China, all on behalf of Girl Scouts. I earned my Bronze, Silver and Gold awards as well as the Silver Trefoil for outstanding community service. I met endless senators and representatives, outstanding female CEO’s and social leaders. During my senior year of high school, I served as a girl delegate for the 2014 Girl Scouts National Convention.

On the second day of National Convention, we walked into a giant expo center full of vendors and sponsors. The other delegates I was with noticed a table having a drawing for a Vera Bradley bag. That table just happened to be the Kappa Delta booth. I never knew there was a sorority involved with Girl Scouts and had truly never thought about going Greek. I stayed and talked to the representative for a while and fell in love with the idea of being in a sorority that was so devoted to a cause that meant so much to me.

After the conference, I began receiving college acceptance letters, and to my parent’s surprise, I was completely reconsidering my top choices because I “needed” a school with a Kappa Delta chapter on campus.  Ultimately, I decided to go to Clemson University in South Carolina.  As I went through formal recruitment, I told myself to keep my mind open and go with whatever felt right, KD or not. The second I stepped foot into Tillman Hall and met the Kappa Deltas, I was in love. The women I talked to were intelligent, driven, personable and passionate. I knew that KD held the same values Girl Scouts had instilled in me, and I knew it would give me the perfect place to develop into a strong woman.

My Kappa Delta experience has mirrored my Girl Scout career. I continue to serve as an advocate for girls; rather than talking to senators, I talk to the community and to my sisters. I continue to mentor girls through weekly troop meetings set up through the sorority, and I have been offered a position as an assistant troop leader. I have been able to plan events for Girl Scouts and have made them even more special by combining my chapter’s traditions with current Girl Scout programs and badges.

Currently, I am completing a summer internship as a program assistant for Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital.  I walk into the office building every single day proud to be a part of the two best organizations for young women in the modern day. While graduating high school normally marks the end of a Girl Scout’s career, joining Kappa Delta has given me the opportunity to continue a lifetime of building confidence in young women.

Without Kappa Delta, my connection to Girl Scouts would have ended in college. I would not have had a clear direction and would not have been encouraged to continue following my passion. Now ten months after my Bid Day and a year-and-a-half after hearing about Kappa Delta, I look back on how much the organization and my chapter have given me in such a short time.

Not only have I been able to continue serving Girl Scouts, I have gained 200 sisters who are part of my giant honorary Girl Scout troop. I will be forever grateful for everything Kappa Delta and Girl Scouts has done for me and for all of the amazing women I have met who push me to improve myself every day.

Caitie O’Donnell
Epsilon Tau- Clemson