Before I started college and joined a sorority, I was generally insecure about how I looked. I was overweight and had many scars, two of which were from open heart surgery. I know now scars are a part of who you are and they make you unique, but having open heart surgery scars at the age of 18 is not very common. Whenever someone would see the scars and ask about them, the conversation often became awkward or uncomfortable.

When I entered college, I didn’t consider joining a sorority. Neither of my parents were involved in Greek life nor was my older sister. I actually filled out the form to go through recruitment a week before it was due. I didn’t know what I was doing during recruitment, I just tried to dress as cool as possible. I chose to join Kappa Delta because all of the members I spoke with were genuine women and supportive of one another. Kappa Delta made my first year of college amazing!

My KD sisters have given me so much academic support, which resulted in a huge boost to my confidence. I go to a school with mostly engineering students, and my major is computer science. While most of my sisters don’t take courses with me, there are a few courses that overlap. My sisters helped me with my non-computer science courses, and I helped them with computer science courses.

My sisters also really helped me come out of my shell. My insecurity about how I looked held me back from making friends and enjoying my life. I was never the social butterfly of the group but going to different sorority events like sisterhood activities and philanthropy events gave me many opportunities to practice social interactions with people. Now, I can go to networking events and talk to recruiters from different companies with no problem. I realized that to attract people, recruiters or friends, you don’t need to look perfect or dress cool but rather have confidence and present yourself well.

Part of being confident in yourself is learning to love how you look even if it’s not perfect and to be unafraid to approach other people. Being in Kappa Delta gave me a chance to develop those skills that come with developing your confidence. I no longer doubt myself, thanks to Kappa Delta.

Lara Elkady

opens in a new windowEpsilon Alpha-Missouri University of Science and Technology

Discover more about the Kappa Delta experience here.