BY EMILY INNES – STAFF WRITER
The Cento is thrilled to welcome Kappa Delta to campus, giving Centre a total of five national sororities. Founded at Virginia’s State Female Normal School, now known as Longwood University, in 1897, Kappa Delta currently has 165 active collegiate chapters, including Centre, with more than 250,000 members worldwide.
Two chapter leadership consultants, Robin Brown and Madeline Hardy, have been at Centre this semester preparing for Kappa Delta’s colonization. When I met with them, they informed me that this will actually be a re-establishment of the sorority’s Iota chapter. Kappa Delta had a chapter at Kentucky Women’s College, but it dissolved when the college merged with Centre.
Brown and Hardy are extremely excited to help create another opportunity for Centre students to join the Greek community. Brown helped recolonize Kappa Delta’s chapter at Arizona State University last year, but is eager to see the development of Kappa Delta on Centre’s small campus. Hardy assisted with the colonization process at the University of Richmond as a collegian and appreciated being a part of the creation and continuation of a legacy, and looks forward to aiding in that process here at Centre.
She notes that affiliated women at Centre are not only proud to be a part of their specific organization, but proud to be a part of the college’s Greek life as a whole.
“I’ve been blown away by this Greek community,” she said.
Both women love the idea of a close-knit group joining together and appreciate the opportunity to watch those relationships form.
Brown recalls that she first decided to go through recruitment at her university because she did not know very many people on campus and wanted to expand her horizons. She noticed Kappa Delta right away, and wanted to associate with them and their reputation on campus.
“Who they were was very much who I wanted to become,” she said.
Brown went on to hold the position of Vice President of Finance as well as President during her time as a collegiate member. She was inspired to be a chapter consultant because of her interactions with the consultant who had visited her chapter, and
“I wanted to be that person for people across the country,” said Brown, who shared that she knew that working for the national office was the next step, and that she had found her niche.
Hardy’s sorority experience challenged her to be a better person.
“The reason you join is different than the reason you stay,” she said.
Her university’s Kappa Delta is the Alpha chapter and she was attracted to the history involved, but the women she met sealed the deal. She explains how the Kappa Deltas were women who held themselves to a high standard, and she found this perspective admirable and something she wanted to uncover in herself.
Hardy served as Vice President of Membership and Director of Recruitment during her collegiate years, and knew she loved the organization enough to work for it nationally. Attending Kappa Delta’s National Collegiate Training Academy confirmed this desire.
“[Joining Kappa Delta was] the best decision I’ve ever made in my collegiate experience,” said Hardy, “[and] I saw the scope of the national organization and wanted to be part of that,”
Outside of Kappa Delta, both Hardy and Brown are well-rounded individuals. Hardy, having grown up in a military family and lived all over the country, loves to travel. Being a chapter consultant feeds her passion for traveling because it takes her across the United States. Brown is a self-proclaimed ‘workout junkie’, but loves unwinding with a book before bed. She also enjoys fishing with her father when she is at home.
The Cento would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to all of the new Kappa Deltas on finding their home here at Centre! The Greek community is excited to have you!