Our Sorority Saturday this week is Caitlyn McLellan, a proud member of Delta Delta Delta (Tri Delta), Alpha Kappa chapter at the University of Maine. Her major is currently undeclared, but she is on a steady track towards incorporating health sciences into her career. Last year, she took the role of Tri Delta’s intramurals director but unfortunately is unable to can not this year due to the COVID restrictions. She hopes to find ways to still be involved virtually this year!
Tri Delta’s core values are truth, self-sacrifice, and friendship. They partner with St. Jude Children’s Hospital, frequently raising money and encouraging students and people in the community to donate. Donating to a foundation such as St. Jude’s hit close to home for Caitlyn. When she was just 9 years old, she was admitted to the hospital for appendicitis. When the doctors performed her surgery, they also discovered she had cancer. Fortunately, she has been cured and recovering well since then.
Having such an eye-opening experience in her life led her to realize how much she wanted to give to the children who are going through similar challenges. It is what also led her to recently become a certified EMT. Being able to help people is a true passion of hers, and it shows through the steps she is taking to further herself in society.
A popular fundraising event Tri Delta contributes to is called DHOP, which stands for Delta House of Pancakes. Every year, Tri Delta partners with Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) and sells pancakes to collect donations to St. Jude’s. This event is also particularly special to Caitlyn- during this event, there was a boy from TKE she had her eyes on. She is always ready to speak up to get closer to something (or in this case, someone) she is interested in, so she naturally had to shoot her shot. It luckily worked out in her favor, and they have been together for a year now!
The struggles Caitlyn has endured throughout her life have taught her how to live to the fullest and care for the people around her, matching up with the core values of Tri Delta to a T. We can all learn from Caitlyn and her willingness to help and give back to society. Her helpful spirit is the reason that she was picked as this week’s Sorority Saturday!!