Letter from the President

Hello Sisters,

I hope you are doing well and are excited to celebrate all that you have accomplished during this unprecedented year. While we cannot be together in person, I am excited that the meetings committee has partnered with UMASS Lowell to incorporate as many Convention aspects as possible. A BIG thank you to EVERYONE involved. The meetings committee, National Board, National Alumnae Association, Chapters, and alumnae have all made it possible. I’m proud that we have all come together during these challenging times to make this event as successful and impactful as possible. Caryn Sullivan reminds us “In the face of adversity, we have a choice. We can be bitter, or we can be better”. I am proud that we have made the choice to keep our heads up high no matter what and continue to persevere and work through the obstacles to create better outcomes together.

In addition to celebrating this year’s successes, we are also celebrating 50 years of sisterhood. The founding of our sorority is unique and is what, in my opinion, is a true distinction from other organizations. The collaboration between the fraternity and the twenty-three interested women that created Kappa Lambda Chapter of Kappa Delta Phi, National Affiliated Sorority, Inc. in 1971 has now grown into what we know as Kappa today. While the relationship between the fraternity and the sorority has had its ups and downs, at the end of the day, we continue to support one another and want each organization to be successful.

This year marks my tenth year as a Kappa sister. I can truly say I would not be where I am today without Kappa. When I first went to college, I wanted to be involved on campus and, of course, make new friends. The Greek community at SNHU was very active in the community which is how I found Kappa Chi. I immediately was drawn to their energy and excitement. I found a group of people where I can be myself. From going through the New Member Education process, to joining and immediately taking on new roles, I was able to develop personally and professionally, and discover who I truly was.

Looking back, Kappa put me in situations that were uncomfortable and allowed me to get over my fears and work things out. For example, I remember attending my first Summer Leadership Retreat (previously called Summer Workshop) where I had to go camping in the woods and room without any of my chapter sisters. Camping (mind you we had cabins, not tents) was a truly traumatic experience in itself for me at the time. To put the cherry on top, when I arrived, I found out that I would also have to room without any of my chapter sisters (oh no!). This experience truly got me out of my comfort zone. Ultimately, it led me to develop friendships I wouldn’t have made if I had had a choice on where to stay. There are SO many other events that I can recall, both as an active and on the National Board (conflict resolution as Chapter President, KappaCon meetings with Jon Kadel), where initially, I was uncomfortable or challenged, but I was able to persevere and learn more about myself and how to work with others. It’s safe to say that the interpersonal, organizational and leadership skills that I have developed on my Kappa journey have helped me achieve my goals and got me to where I am today.

I hope that you will be able to reflect on your own Kappa journey and find similar outcomes from your experience. While everyone's journey is different, we have joined together to perpetuate the ideals of kindness, devotion and pride. We have all gone through the same rituals that unite us as one sisterhood. We have all committed to never letting the spirit die. I am excited personally to see where my Kappa journey takes me next and look forward to seeing the next fifty years of Kappa evolving.

MTSND,

Amanda Cronin National President