Hi, I’m Kaitlyn—Her Campus’ resident Sig Delt writer! I am so excited to meet all of the PNMs at formal recruitment on the Pace NYC campus this week! To help you guys learn a little more about what the Delta Theta chapter of Sigma Delta Tau is all about, I took some time to answer a few questions for Her Campus.
How would you describe the typical SDT sorority woman?
The Pace Sig Delts are diverse, hard-working, and more than anything: empowered. Empowerment is a huge focus on this chapter! One of the things that drew me to SDT was not only how unique everyone was, but how every sister’s uniqueness was celebrated by the rest of the chapter. Everybody seems to have a different “thing,” whether it’s being a content creator for YouTube (or Her Campus!), making a name for themselves in the work force at places like the Elvis Duran Show and Dr. Oz, or being politically active—a lot of our women attended the March for Our Lives New York City last year. Just like how NYC is central to culture, politics, and the corporate workforce, our chapter is pretty well-rounded, and we take a lot of pride in that.
What is your best memory in your sorority?
Last semester, I got to go to Hoboken with a few of my sisters for the first annual SDT Empowerment Rally. Our national advisor organized an entire day of team-building exercises, leadership talks, and collaborative discussion between the other chapters in our region. It was so amazing to get to know some of the other Sigma Delta Tau women across NJ and NY, and our national president even spoke to us! From a national level, Sigma Delta Tau places a high value in empowering other women—it felt amazing to attend an event where our chapter could direct our attention specifically towards that for a day. Oh—also, we have an awesome alumna who works for MTV that got a few of us into a taping of TRL when 5SOS hosted. I spoke to Ashton Irwin, NBD.
What are your favorite SDT activities?
Our General Board (G-Board) of officers does an amazing job of making sure there’s always something fun for us to do! We love to get together for sisterhood activities on-campus and off-campus. For example: back in September, our amazing Heritage Chair organized a potluck dinner for National Hispanic Heritage Month. Our sisterhood chair also did a great job with last year’s retreat, where we got to craft together and go roller-skating! In general, I love the evenings where we just take over Lecture Hall North and watch a movie together. I have a great video on my phone of us dancing in LHN and singing along to High School Musical.
How is your chapter different from others on campus?
I don’t think “different” is the necessarily the word I would use to describe our relationship to other chapters on campus. Every organization brings something “different” to the table, the Greek community here at Pace is awesome in that way! Our chapter stands firm in our national motto, “Empowered Women Empower Women,” so I would say that what SDT brings to the table at Pace University is our heavy focus on female empowerment and celebrating diversity. That’s the personal takeaway I want the Pace community to get from us, as I’m sure the other Greek organizations on campus have their own beliefs that they want the Pace community to recognize.
What is your philanthropy? What are some events that you do to raise money and awareness for your philanthropy?
We have two national philanthropies! The first is Prevent Child Abuse America. Since 1972, PCAA has been committed to their vision of giving every child in America a safe and happy childhood. They provide family resources to all 50 states, including home-visiting programs, new mother and family education classes, and anti-bullying education programs to schools across America. We have two main philanthropic events for PCAA during the year. In the fall semester, we hold our annual Family Day. Every November, we invite our family members and friends to join us at Pace. The event includes food, fun, and a ticket raffle. This year, we raised over $6,000 for PCAA in just one day! In the spring, we hold “ΣΔΤ Your Way Through NYC.” For this event, we invite restaurants and vendors from all over the city to donate food for the event, where Pace Students can buy just a plate or an all-you-care-to-eat wristband! Our other national philanthropy is Jewish Women International, which is an organization I really admire. JWI works to empower women of all walks of life across the globe through physical safety and economic security. They place a large focus on helping women build healthy relationships, advocating for at-risk women and children, and combating gender-based violence through interfaith alliances. Throughout the year, our chapter hosts bake sales and resource drives for JWI. In the past, we’ve also been proud to partner with other Greek organizations to present JWI Safe Smart Dating—a crash course on how to build healthy relationships and combat domestic violence.
What would be your advice for a PNM going through recruitment?
Be yourself! We want to see you in your element. Wear what makes you confident and don’t be afraid to talk about what inspires you or what you love to do! I also definitely recommend looking at the national website for each organization before going out for recruitment. The national websites have a lot of information you might find useful, like the history, philanthropies, and values of each organization. If you already know a few things about each sorority before going into recruitment, you’ll feel less overwhelmed each night!
What is the biggest misconception you’d like to address about being a sorority woman?
When I was in high school, I sort of had this idea about what a sorority woman “looked like,” and I didn’t’t think I’d ever look like it. It wasn’t’t until I really got to know the Greek community on the Pace Campus that I realized there’s not one look for a sorority woman. Sorority women come in all different colors, sizes, abilities, and personalities from all different walks of life. Before I considered going out for recruitment, I remember thinking, “I’m too ____ to be in a sorority,” or “I’m not ____ enough for it.” The truth is, there’s no check list that organizations look at to determine whether you fit “the right image” of a sorority woman or not. If you have the heart to be part of a sorority, you’re just the right image for it!
How did you know SDT was right for you?
I think what inspired me most about Sigma Delta Tau was seeing how committed the Delta Theta chapter was to the values our national organization holds. From a national perspective, we do place this very large focus on being a diverse and accepting sisterhood. We were founded by seven Jewish women who felt discriminated against when they went out for formal recruitment, and they took that energy and put it towards founding a sorority that any woman could be a part of. I really admired that history before I went out to recruitment, and I could see it in the chapter during recruitment. All of the women I spoke to were so different inside and out, but everyone was so nice and had such kind things to say about the other sisters. To instantly see that the Delta Theta sisterhood was authentic and that it followed this amazing vision of diversity and empowerment their founders had—that, for me, was how I knew I had to be a Pace Sig Delt.
If you’d like to learn more about Pace’s chapter of Sigma Delta Tau:
- Instagram: @pacesigdelts
- Twitter: @PaceSigDelts
- Facebook: Sigma Delta Tau at Pace NYC