Live, Learn, Lead
Brave, Bold & Belonging By Director of Public Relations Jason Paul Gomez
INCLUSIVITY IN TRI DELTA CHAPTERS TODAY REQUIRES A continual refocus to provide a true sense of belonging to an increasingly diverse membership. For Beta Theta Chapter at Clemson, Tri Delta’s tagline, “Bring You” means acceptance and kindness on a larger level. “We can have every type of member, no matter what you struggle with or what you bring to the table, we accept you as you are. We love you for who you are and you’re just as valuable,” says collegiate chapter president Porter Johnson, Clemson. For the past two years, Beta Theta Chapter and other Panhellenic chapters at Clemson have partnered with and welcomed new members into their sisterhood from the ClemsonLIFE program.
Tri Delta's Beta Theta Chapter at Clemson coupled kindness with inclusion in their recruitment, opening new doors to membership. Photo, top: Kendall Montgomery is overjoyed on Bid Day! Photo, right: Beta Theta sisters Gloria Grace Murray (left) and Liza Lowder (center) with Kendall. Photo, opposite page: Beta Theta members welcome their newest sisters from the ClemsonLIFE program on their Bid Day.
“We can have every type of member, no matter what you struggle with or what you bring to the table, we accept you as you are. We love you for who you are and you’re just as valuable,”
The mission of ClemsonLIFE is to offer a collegiate COLLEGIATE CHAPTER PRESIDENT experience that prepares young women (and men) PORTER JOHNSON, CLEMSON. with intellectual disabilities for adulthood through a combination of academic coursework and career exploration. For these special students, higher education is a vehicle for self-empowerment, access to social outlets and, ultimately, independence. This post-secondary, two-year program (with a four-year option) focuses on students' abilities to enjoy competitive employment and independent living. Students live on-campus, taking functional academic classes like budgeting, meal planning and grocery shopping, in addition to a standard university course. Kayla Davis, a full-time Junior Instructor for ClemsonLIFE, helped see this collaboration come to fruition during her time as an undergraduate member of Sigma Kappa at Clemson. Conversations were happening among Panhellenic chapters, their international orga-
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The Trident Winter/Spring 2020
