Victoria Vanhuss is a proud senior who will be graduating in December of 2015 from Georgia College. Her time at Georgia College has been unforgettable, to say the least, and I’m sure her senior year will leave her with just as many memories. She is very involved on and off campus, particularly with her sorority Kappa Delta, and always strives to do more. She was a senator on the Student Government Association (SGA) for one year and completed the Leadership Certificate Program (LCP) on campus. She has also been on numerous committes for Kappa Delta and served as House Manager and is soon to be pledged in to serve as VP-Standards for the year of 2015. Although seniors typically take it easy their last year and get ready for graduation and the future, Victoria is in it to make her last year count and do as much as she can before she gets into the real world!
1. What is your major and what do you hope to do with it when you graduate?
“I’m majoring in Rhetoric with a minor in Political Science. Rhetoric is a lot of public speaking, speech communication, service learning etc. It’s really kind of a hodgepodge of everything. We joke that we’re majoring in show-and-tell. I really have no idea what I’ll do when I graduate. I did an internship at the Hay House in Macon, so maybe I’ll work at a museum or maybe I’ll go to Graduate School. I have no idea. I just hope I’m happy.”
2. What do you look forward to the most about next year?
“Going along with that last question, I’m excited to see what life after college might look like for me. I’m graduating in December of 2015, so I have a lot of big decisions coming up. I’m also excited to serve my chapter [Kappa Delta, Eta Mu] as VP-Standards. Hopefully I’ll be able to use my grandma-status to lead and inspire our already amazing chapter.”
3. What particular events have made your experience better at Georgia College?
“I love the people, the teachers, the traditions, and the history. We have such a beautiful campus and such a cute downtown. Being involved, living on campus and off, changing my major more times than I can count, and having those quintessential college experiences all make my time at GCSU unforgettable. As excited as I am to see where life takes me, it’ll be bittersweet to leave. Milledgeville will always be a part of who I am. I might not have a football team to cheer for, but I’ll always be a proud Bobcat.”
4. You were the first house manager for the Eta Mu Chapter of Kappa Delta. What was it like being apart of this exciting process?
“Stressful! But very rewarding. I didn’t think that Eta Mu would get a house before I graduated [in December of 2015], so it was a very sweet moment for me to put my personal touch into it and to be able to continue all the work that our older sisters had done. I had a lot of fun picking out colors and furniture for the house- that was the good part! Everything else was just a lot of work. We had to get everything moved into the house and organized before recruitment. I had get all the rules together and figure out how my position was going to mesh with the rest of our officers. It was really a labor of love and service. This chapter has given me so much, so I was glad to have the opportunity to give back to Eta Mu.”
5. What are your goals as Standards Chair for Kappa Delta?
“I really just want to encourage everyone to really strive for their best self. I’m all about that self-actualization. I hope that the chapter feels comfortable coming to talk to me. I might not have all the answers, but I’ll always bring them cupcakes when they’re upset. It’s little things like that that really build sisterhood. That’s our ultimate goal.”
6. Besides being house manager, what are you involved in in Kappa Delta?
“I’ve done a little bit of everything, with the exception of intramurals! I pledged KD in the Fall of 2011, so in sorority years, I’m basically a grandma. I’ve probably been on every committee there is at least once, but I’ve always been really passionate about fundraising for Prevent Child Abuse America (PCAA). One of the reasons I loved KD during recruitment is because of our involvement with PCAA, Girl Scouts, and our platform of confidence.”
7. What is your favorite thing about Kappa Delta?
“As a freshman, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I went through recruitment on a whim, and there were a few times where I almost just gave up and quit. I remember us taking a sisterhood trip to see the Lion King in theaters. That’s my all time favorite movie, and I felt like it was a sign from God. After that things got a little bit easier to adjust to. I’m so blessed by our sisterhood and our bond. We’re a huge chapter of over 200 girls, but I love and would defend every single one of them. I think we’re all a little bit crazy in the same way. We really found each other.”
8. How does holding a leadership role within Kappa Delta affect your social life, school life, and how do you think it will affect your future?
“My social life is very much influenced by Kappa Delta. I live in the KD House, so I can’t really escape it. But why would I want to? It’s like a family. But I do have other friends. I actually met two of my close friends in classes freshman year, one in a Mass Communications class and the other in Environmental Science. As far as school, I have to work to balance it all because I’m much more interested in everything else that college has to offer. Sometimes it’s hard to sit down and study, but I make good grades. First and foremost, I’m here to learn. I think in grand-scheme of things though, my leadership experience on campus is probably better preparation for the real world.”
9. How are you involved in the Milledgeville community?
“Fundraising for our PCAA Shamrock Week has allowed me to really network, and one year, it lead me to meet the nice people from the Milledgeville Exchange Club. It’s a really a great organization. I’ve done some event planning for them, and with that, they’ve really tried to reach out to the college. I’ve also done some service work at Cafe Central, and next semester, I’ll be working to mentor some elementary students in the area. Hopefully, with time and effort, we can bridge the gap between the college and the rest of Milledgeviile. We’re such a big part of the area, so it only makes sense that students take responsibility to better our environment and community.”