Meghan Moll
    Sophomore, PC ’18

    Right after school ended, a group of 37 students and I went on a medical outreach trip to the city of Cusco, Peru with the Volunteers Around the World club. The long, over 24-hour journey to get to the Southeast of Peru which is located in the Northwestern part of South America was well worth it for the amazing trip that we all experienced.
    Lucky for me, I was fortunate enough to be able to get a spot on this amazing trip. Not only did we set up medical clinics in the city of Peru, but we also all got individual chances to shadow Peruvian doctors, take vitals like blood pressure, temperature, hemoglobin and blood glucose levels, as well as work in the pharmacy where some of us, such as myself, got to administer shots to some of the patients who needed them.
    Doing these things, especially when you’re in a medical setting, is extremely hard to do in the United States because of the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) laws that we have in place, but in Peru we could experience all of this and more!
    Not only did we have the chance to learn from these medical experiences, but we also were given the chance to learn about the history of Peru and their culture. Some of the really fun and interesting things that a lot of us were able to take part of were:

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    Also on this trip were a few other Delta Zeta’s that I got to experience this trip with. Here are their stories!


    Ashley Eggert
    Recent Graduate of 2019, Delta Zeta Alumni


    “I really really liked being given the ability to pretty much act as a doctor on my own and I especially liked how we were able to give injections with the help of Rosa (a Spanish doctor that helped us in the pharmacy). I loved how the people in Peru were so connected to nature and gave offerings to Pachamama (‘The Mother Earth’ - the goddess of the Andes mountain range), but was also intrigued as to the contrast in how they so willingly polluted the Earth by littering and the amount of smog everywhere. I also liked that the doctors gave me the freedom to learn by actually doing things like Dr. Juan taught me how to listen to the abdomen and the lungs and just let me do it all by myself when I was shadowing. I felt like I got so much hands on experience with that and being able to give an injection, that was priceless.”


Halle Jaksa
    Recent Graduate of 2019, Delta Zeta Alumni


    “I think it’s always a great learning and growing experience to go to another country and experience a different culture, especially in the way that we do through Volunteers Around the World. These trips always allow us to not only help and make a difference but also be more than just tourists in the city that we’re in and really see what other cultures are like. I really learned a lot about medicine in Peru and in general, as practice and exposure are both always helpful and great learning experiences. I also learned a lot about the people in Cusco as well and this experience was also great for practicing my Spanish too!
    Overall, we went to Peru to help in the clinics and help the people in the city, but in return we learned a lot and got a ton out of it! It was a lot of fun being with the whole group and being able to explore and work in the clinic all as a team!!!”


Kenzie Hare
    Sophomore, PC ’18


    “My trip to Peru was a once in a lifetime experience. I gained valuable information about medicine, which only made my passion for medicine and working in the medical field grow. While on the trip I learned what it was like to not only work in a clinic setting, but in a completely different part of the world with a whole different culture as well.
    The experience in the clinic was fascinating. I learned first hand how to manually take blood pressure on different types of patients, I was able to test children for anemia and adults for diabetes, and I also had the chance to travel around different parts of Cusco. With this opportunity I learned about the culture in Peru, tried different types of food, and was able to learn how to bargain and use bargaining to shop. I saw Machu Picchu, which was in itself a once in a lifetime experience, as well as Lake Humantay, which was a beautiful piece of nature, but a difficult hike. Overall, the trip was one I will never forget.”

​In my last few years of high school, I wasn’t exactly sure if I really wanted to participate in Greek life.  I always said that it was overrated and I wasn’t the type of girl to join a sorority.  It wasn’t until my senior year that I truly took an interest in the idea of being Greek.  The majority of my friends, including all three of my roommates, were planning on rushing at their various universities. So in order to avoid FOMO and  complete jealousy, I decided to give it a try.  I didn’t have many expectations, as I wasn’t convinced that I would just love the experience. 
            As I made the final decision to at least go through recruitment I began to get all of my applications, recommendations, and outfits planned out and finished.  While worrying about the small details, I had been reached out to by a Delta Zeta named Kasey Sams. At the time she was an upcoming Junior that had just so happened to attend the same high school as me; we also had a few mutual friends.  Multiple times she texted or called me before the “no contact period” to extend her hand for advice or help in any way.  She let me know how important Delta Zeta was to her and how she was looking forward to seeing me at the university in the next year.  Little did I know, Kasey Sams was going to have a huge impact on my college life.
            When recruitment week started, I felt nothing but stress and worry.  I constantly wondered, “Who is going to love me?  Who is going to drop me?  What do I need to say to make these girls think I am perfect?”  As the week went on, I experienced a few heartbreaks by houses that I loved but didn’t get called back to; and I experienced a few wins by houses that loved me as much as I loved them.  Delta Zeta was a constant throughout the entire process.  It was always a house that I completely enjoyed and one that I was getting invited back to every day.  I was ecstatic because I knew how much it meant to Kasey Sams, and I couldn’t want more.  For the last round of rush week, Preference Night, Kasey was the Delta Zeta lady that picked me up at the door.  When I saw her, I felt nothing but joy and comfort.  I knew that we were about to have an amazing conversation.  By the end of the night, I knew that I loved Delta Zeta and that if that was the house I ended up in, I was going to be in a good place.
            Sure enough, when I opened my card up on Bid Day, Delta Zeta was the house written down.  I ran to Delta Zeta right into Kasey Sams’ arms.  From that day forward, Kasey took me in, introducing me to all of her friends, inviting me to all of their hangouts, and making me feel nothing but completely included and wanted.  Throughout my freshman year, her group became my group, and I was taken in by a few Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors.  I enjoyed being able to be friends with older girls who not only gave me insight on college, but loved me despite being younger than them.
            Still to this day, that group of older girls are my very best friends.  We do everything together from lunch at the house, to coffee dates, to going to date parties.  Life is nothing but fun with them.  We have been through thick and thin, laughter and tears, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.  I am incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity to join Greek life, and that I made the decision to stay in it because I was given the best girls in the world.  Every year is bittersweet as we lose a few to graduation and adult life, but our friendships will never fade.  That I am very confident in.  Thank you, my girls- you know who you are.  I love y’all so much.  Here’s to a lifetime of love and sisterhood!
 
Keep on burning,
Savannah Brasher - PC '17

By: Shelby Scott PC '15

Coming to The University of Alabama as an out of state freshman in 2015, I wanted so badly to find a group of people that I could connect with immediately in a community I was utterly unfamiliar with.  I have always been the kind of girl who cares deeply about her academic success, and this trait was not going to change for me once I began college either.  There is a huge stereotype placed on sorority women regarding their academic performance, and I’m here to tell you for a fact that that couldn’t be further from the truth.


I came to The University of Alabama as a pre-nursing major, with high hopes of making my way into the competitive nursing program.  I knew this feat was not going to be simple, but through continuous support of my sisters, hard work, and academic programming that Delta Zeta put in place for me during this time, my dreams became a reality.  Not only did Delta Zeta provide me with study partners, access to tutors, and quiet places in the house to review my school work, it also provided me a mentorship with a sister in the nursing program to offer me practical advice about the process of applying for acceptance into the nursing school.  I was accepted into upper division nursing classes in March of 2016, at the end of my sophomore year.  My sisters congratulated me, and supported me, as many of them knew the countless sleepless nights I had studying and quizzing myself in hopes for a couple more points on the next mornings test.


After I was accepted into my program, I thought the hardest part of my journey was passed. Boy, was I wrong.  My schedule grew busier, my classes got harder, and I felt like I had very little free time.  However, I’m seldom the girl to back down from a challenge.  I ran, and was elected to serve as the chaplain for Delta Zeta for two years.  I grew even more active in my sorority, and even closer to my sisters although my schedule had considerably less free time.  My closest group of sisters and I often want to spend time with each other, as we realize we don’t have many more nights together before our impending graduation.  Due to their unyielding support for me and my crazy schedule, many of our nights are spent in the common area of the sorority house with a movie on and our notebooks in front of us while we study together.  The most important word of that last sentence is “together”.  My friends could be doing anything else, but they continue to motivate me to be the best version of myself I can be, and offer support or a helping hand when necessary.  I couldn’t be more thankful for this group of girls, they have changed my life, and offered me steadfast love and friendship when I needed it most.




I get asked all the time how I balance by social life, and my rigorous school demands.  People ask how I can possibly have time to make good grades, while also being heavily involved in Delta Zeta.  The answer to that is easy; Delta Zeta has provided me with a wonderful support system of sisters who are like minded to me, and fervent in their academic endeavors.  Delta Zeta has also been my biggest cheerleader, and my safest home when things don’t seem to play in my favor.  I’m truly comfortable here; I am allowed to be unapologetically me.  If I said college has been easy, that would be a lie.  However, the support of my sisters has made it all worthwhile, and helped me succeed even when it seemed impossible.  I am so thankful that Delta Zeta has taught me real world skills, and offered me the support system that I truly needed during my academic years and beyond.

​After I tell someone what my dream career is, their reaction is usually “you are not the typical sorority girl I know.” Growing up my dream job when I was young was to be an astronaut for NASA. When I got a little older, I wanted to be a pediatric oncologist. When I got to college, I realized that while Apollo 13 is my favorite movie and as much as I loved science in high school, my dream job just wasn’t going to happen.
 
I am a junior at the University of Alabama (ROLL TIDE!!) studying American Studies, Criminal Justice, and Cyber Criminology. Last fall semester and this semester (YAY!!!), I interned with the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit. The unit is housed out of the Tuscaloosa Country Sheriff’s Office with officers from Tuscaloosa Police Department, Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, University of Alabama Police Department, and Northport Police Department. The men and women that I have worked alongside the past four months, and will continue to do so in the future, have changed my life. They have pushed me outside my comfort zone, challenged me, and have given me the best academic and educational experience possible. The officers have allowed me to gain a real-world perspective that many college students my age don’t have. I have created memories and had many laughs while seeing them make a difference in my new home, Tuscaloosa. Next, to my dad and mom, they have become the first people I ask for advice from and a support system that I can rely on.
 
While my internship is wonderful, and the investigators are even better, Delta Zeta has given me a home to chase my dreams. My sisters have shown me nothing but support, pushed me to be the best version of myself, encouraged me when I had doubts (or others doubted me), and allowed me to grow into the person I am today.
           
My dream job is to work in a homicide and narcotics unit. I am proud to say that when I graduate in May 2020, I will be working to make my dream a reality. One day I will be captain of my own unit and leading a team to achieve our goals and better the community.
 
My sisters in Delta Zeta have given me an environment to pursue my dreams and keep me on track towards my goals. They have shown me the value of making the community a better place. In our creed, it states “crusade for justice, seek the truth and defend it always.” I am excited to pursue a career that investigates the truth and stands up and defends justice. Thank you, Delta Zeta, for teaching me that life lesson. Thank you to the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Task Force for showing me that I can make a career out of helping the community and stand up for what is right. Thank you to my sisters for having my back and letting me who I truly am.  
 
One of my favorite qualities about Delta Zeta is no one has to fit in. My sisters prove to me every day that our sorority is not about fitting in or being the “typical sorority girl,” it is about finding a home, a support system, and family. When you find your home, there is no need to fit in or change yourself because you have already found a sisterhood that will accept and love who you are. I have found my sisterhood, family, and home at 900 Magnolia Drive.
 
To my best friends, executive family, advisors, future bridesmaids, and my mentors in law enforcement thank you for letting me live my best life possible.
 
Always remember… Be you, Be More, Be Delta Zeta!
 
Much love,
Shelby Serad
PC’16