January 24, 2013
ast semester, the Greeks of Troy University were challenged to come forward and show what their organizations bring to society.
The first sorority to come forward was Alpha Delta Pi.
Originally called the Adelphean Society, Alpha Delta Pi was founded on May 15, 1851 at Wesleyan Female College in Macon, Ga. by Eugenia Tucker Fitzgerald and her five closest friends. ADPi is the oldest and the first women’s secret society in the world for college women, which is why you might see sisters sport the phrase, “First, Finest, Forever.”
Alpha Delta Pi is also referred to as on of the two “Macon Magnolias,” which is a term used to celebrate the bonds also shared with another sorority, Phi Mu.
The Epsilon Kappa chapter at Troy University holds themselves to even higher standards by not only by keeping active with their international philanthropy, the Ronald McDonald House, but by trying to live out their motto, “We live for each other,” every day.
Epsilon Kappa adopted another philanthropy that is exclusive to the chapter because of a sister that passed away due to heart disease called Go Red for Women.
Cynthia Irizarry was an active sister of Alpha Delta Pi at Troy when she suddenly died from heart disease in 2006.
Go Red for Women is an organization which raises awareness of heart disease in hopes that a cure will be found so that no one has to suffer the way the ADPi chapter has at Troy University.
The Ronald McDonald House, being the main philanthropy and the Epsilon Kappa chapter feels that it has a special bond with their philanthropy because they get to go on site and visit one of it’s locations in Mobile, Ala.
Courtney Smith, a junior marketing major from Birmingham and the current president of ADPi, was excited to share with me that the sorority collects pop-tabs for the Ronald McDonald House.
This is significant because a one-gallon milk jug full of pop tabs is enough for a family to stay for one night.
The Ronald McDonald House program provides a place for families to stay overnight and close by their hospitalized child at little or no cost.
The houses are built on the idea that nothing else should matter when a family is focused on healing their child whether it’s their next meal or where the family will sleep at night.
“We’re the only sorority that goes on site at Troy University to our philanthropy,” Smith said.
Smith has also served in the executive board of Alpha Delta Pi as the director of social enrichment and as formal recruitment chair.
Smith admits she was skeptical at first about going Greek, but once she received her bid from ADPi and met her lion pal, Kendall Haney, they sat down and Haney explained why ADPi meant so much to her and that she felt the same way Smith was feeling when she went through recruitment.
“After talking with her, I waited 6 weeks for initiation, then I never questioned whether or not I wanted to be initiated or not,” said Smith. “ADPi is where I wanted to be. Those feelings have strengthened throughout these three years for me. The bonds that I started my freshman year have grown since then and my love for my sorority is more than it has ever been. My favorite thing is always having someone there for me. People may call it cliques within the sorority, but I love that I can call any girl and we can hang out and do something together, it doesn’t matter if we’re involved in the same activities or not, but it’s because we share that close bond because we’re sisters.”
One aspect that Smith stressed that she does not agree with is early initiation.
Nationally, once a girl accepts her bid to Alpha Delta Pi, the chapters have to initiate their new members within six weeks.
Smith believes that grades are the most important part of college and she personally wishes that the new members should have to make grades either at midterms or at the beginning of the next semester to get initiated like other Greek organizations on campus do.
“I loved that I was able to run for an office the end of my first semester as a freshmen. It showed that ADPi was open to their freshmen starting to become leaders in the sorority,” said Smith.
Epsilon Kappa currently has 98 members and the 5th highest GPA of women organizations on campus.
Their GPA has increased greatly over the years and they plan to work on steadily increasing their overall score.
“As a new president, I would like for ADPi to have a better relationship with the Troy community and the faculty and staff of Troy University,” said Smith. “I believe that Greeks are sometimes misunderstood and stereotyped. I think our stereotypes come through T.V., which makes everything so dramatized and unrealistic. At ADPi, we have very minimal drama and it generally gets dissolved before anything comes out of it.”
“The first woman to go into space was a Greek member,” Smith said. “This shows that Greek life is not just a social club, but it opens the door for so many opportunities in your life. It also teaches you life skills that you cannot learn in a classroom like how to get along with others, how to hold offices that are not in any other organizations and it teaches you how to be a part of something that is bigger than yourself. Greek life, especially Alpha Delta Pi is not just for four years, but for life.”
According to Smith, ADPi takes great pride on the diversity that they have on campus.
“You could walk into our house and find at least one girl that you have something in common with. We have girls from the band, like Julianne Mattox, we have education majors like Meagan Ford and Kristin Boyer, we have girls that travel the world for mission trips like Jenna Singletary, Blake Crew a member of the SGA as well as Amber Voss.”
The sisters of Alpha Delta Pi would like to encourage that if anyone would like to make a pop-tab donation to the Ronald McDonald House, they may bring their donation to the Alpha Delta Pi house on Sorority Hill.
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