Dear DZ: Laura Ritchie

Dear Delta Zeta,
What do an avid pop-punk fan, heavy eyeliner and an “I hate all things pink and girly” attitude have in common? Those three things describe High School Laura - a girl who was the absolute opposite of a typical “sorority girl.”

I’m not going to sugarcoat anything - sorority recruitment can be hard. No - not can be. It is hard. Especially if you didn’t know the difference between the Greek alphabet and the normal alphabet, ignored Spring Tea invites, never read anything about recruitment on the Internet (this was probably a blessing) AND you’re from Alabama. If it wasn’t for my mom who avidly attended meetings, gathered recommendation letters, forced me to go shopping for dresses and strongly encouraged me to go through recruitment, I probably wouldn’t have gone through recruitment at all.

​But, wow. Thank you, mom. Thank you to anyone who encouraged me to go through recruitment, texted me advice during the week and to the numerous amazing women who have founded sororities over the past century - you’re the women we owe this all to.

Sitting in the Delta Zeta courtyard now and looking back over the past four years, I owe absolutely every part of my fantastic college experience to being a “sorority girl” and more specifically to you, Delta Zeta.

The friendships, connections and experiences I’ve gained through Delta Zeta are invaluable. I’ve strengthened friendships I’ve had since I was five years old and have developed lifelong friendships even in my last semester of college. The laughs, tears and even the occasional eyerolls I’ve shared with the women in this chapter are all related to memories I’ll never forget. Knowing I won’t be surrounded by my sisters and best friends come three weeks from now is a hard pill to swallow. As a senior, the saying “You never know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone” is about to be a real thing.

Throughout my four years in Delta Zeta I’ve held nine leadership positions in the chapter, all allowing me to make impactful decisions for almost 400 women. I’ve seen the good, bad and the ugly that comes with being in high leadership positions. I learned how to plan a retreat to Six Flags for 200 women (which includes 161 terrified new members), proper email etiquette, how to fend off boys at open house parties, run a committee, lead a meeting, work on team with extremely different personalities, approach situations with an unbiased perspective and more. Notice how almost everything I just mentioned is something I can apply to my career when working in the real world and, Delta Zeta, it all came from you.

I still hate pink, but a lot of things have changed since High School Laura. I have grown into a confident woman with solidified morals and values, goals and aspirations, and standards on the type of person I want to be and type of people I want to surround myself with.

And Delta Zeta, I owe that all to you. Thank you.

In the Flame,
Laura Ritchie