A new sorority joined Greek life at Loyola this semester and those who joined and received bids are now the founding members of the Theta Upsilon Chapter of Kappa Delta!
Meet Alexis Lazarus, one of the recruiters who helped establish a new chapter here at Loyola.
So first off, could you please tell me what is Kappa Delta?
So Kappa Delta is a sorority– a women’s organization– dedicated to empowering women and using confidence as a platform to create a strong culture of women and educate women on how powerful they can be and work together as a unit to make that happen and really empower each other, and women everywhere and young girls everywhere to grow up to be confident and strong women.
How did you get involved in Kappa Delta?
I went through recruitment my freshman year of college at The George Washington University and I met someone in Kappa Delta during the recruitment process who changed my view on what a sorority could be and what I thought of sororities personally.
What did you think?
I just didn’t know if it was for me initially. I had no idea what a sorority was. I grew up in New Jersey, they weren’t a part of my life. So I kind of was apprehensive about the process initially. But I dove in and she really kind of showed me that the type of woman I could grow into being just in my short conversations with her and it kind of inspired me to take a chance on something that I didn’t know 100% and obviously it worked out really well.
What is your role in Kappa Delta?
So, I am a Leadership Development Consultant (LDC) which means I travel from university to university across the country and work with Kappa Delta chapters with everything from recruitment to leadership development to officer transitions and a lot of different things in between serving as a support system for what chapters need. This particular year on this job I have worked with another consultant to establish the chapter here at Loyola Chicago.
What is the mission of Kappa Delta and why does it inspire you personally?
I think the mission of Kappa Delta, kind of going back to that empowering women and girls to be strong leaders, is really inspiring people to greatness. I think it’s really the mission and the idea of everything we do. And I think it has inspired me– Kappa Delta and the women I have met have inspired me personally– to become a great version of myself and strive to continually improve myself. But I think seeing it in other people and watching women and my friends inspire others, has really driven me to want to do that and help educate people and help work towards working with the people around me to make each other better.
Going off of that, do you think that it’s almost better to start with those around you as far as trying to build confidence and whatnot, or do you think it’s better to be more far-reaching?
I think it’s kind of two-fold in that sense. So, the first people you’re going to meet in a chapter are those people who are going to be your sisters. You’re going to start building relationships with them, and in creating more powerful relationships with the community and the people you’re working with, you’re going to also create those bonds with each other.
Tell me about the process involved in bring Kappa Delta to campus.
So Loyola, in short, basically chose Kappa Delta. What’s really cool about this opportunity is that Kappa Delta’s values and the values of Loyola as an institution, as a University, really aline and everything that I’ve encountered with the students and with the administration and people working with us has been really positive and exciting. I think that working to understand women on this campus and working to understand kind of who was interested in joining Kappa Delta for what reasons and why has helped us kind of fit into that Loyola culture and we we really want to come in and make this a better community. You know, we went into the conversation saying like ‘Kappa Delta can work with this Greek community to make it stronger’ and that’s really what our goal is here to and Loyola was receptive to that so we’re really lucky.
What do you hope to see from the Theta Upsilon chapter?
I am so excited for Theta Upsilon. I have already met so many incredible women who have just left a mark on me already and on just this entire campus. I am so excited to just watch this chapter grow and become even stronger leaders. There are so many leaders already in this group but [I’m excited to watch] them take Kappa Delta and give it to campus and say ‘this is how Kappa Delta’s going to work with your organization or work with you as a student’ and make a home for ourselves here and figure out what that means to be a Kappa Delta at Loyola. I’m really excited to help do that and figure out what that means for these women.
Why do you think sororities have a bad reputation sometimes? What’s your response to the negative stereotypes that are applied to sorority girls?
I think that it’s hard. Media perceptions of everything can be really difficult, and I think that things can get a bad rep. But I think that if we can help each other talk about our experiences in a way that is more tangible and understood more broadly, I think that being able to translate our experience into a more positive reflection in the world is going to become easier and better. I think, I can personally say how it also has given me so many things that are not even related to the idea of a sorority. I can talk about personal development, personal growth, professional growth, confidence in any form of the word. I think it’s about taking a personal experience that you’ve had and translating that into every different area of your life and proving that the sorority experience is worth it because of that. I think that it’s worth it not only because of that but because of the friendships and because of the people and because of the awesome women that I’ve had the chance to meet who have helped me accomplish all of those things. At the core we really are a women’s organization looking to empower each other so I think that getting back to the roots of that is really pivotal to changing that opinion and stereotype.
Why do you think that Greek life enhances the college experience?
I think Greek life enhances the college experience in a lot of different ways, but I think it can give people a sense of a home. I mean, I joined because I was looking for friendship and a place to belong. I think it’s a system where you will get out of it what you put in. So, by having people work and be dedicated to the experience, the rewards are that much greater. When I talk about the experience, I love to talk about what I’ve gained from it and I think like helping people put their effort into the experience. I’ve gained so much and I want other people to be able to do that as well.
Do you have anything else to add?
I’ve loved being a part of Kappa Delta. I think it really has been transformative to me and it sounds kind of corny I guess when you say it like that, but it has given me a lot more than I could have ever expected. I just want to impart that on people that it’s worth the experience because it can give you so much and there’s so much potential. Especially with a new chapter, like how much potential we have to grow and become thoughtful leaders and groundbreaking women on this campus. Everyone in this chapter is already doing that by being a founding member, and really getting to continue to enhance is– I’m just so excited!