Thank You to Kappa Alpha Theta

I was not a legacy when I arrived at the University of Tulsa. I was the first female in my family to attend college, being born from third- or fourth-generation immigrants. I did not know or understand the Greek system; I went through rush because I was lonely.

Having had my sights on Penn State University, my father transferred me from Philadelphia to Oklahoma City two weeks before I was to start college at the University of Tulsa. A week later, I was in Tulsa all alone.

I looked at the activities going on around campus and I saw this thing called “rush” (now referred to as “recruitment”). I called my parents and told them I was going to go through rush, but I was not going to pledge, as it was just a way for me to meet about 1,000 women in one week on campus.

And I did meet other young women, lots and lots of other young women; yet, I met the women of Kappa Alpha Theta, too. In 1978, letters of recommendation were required, unknown to me, to pledge Theta.

After pledging Theta, I learned that Kappa Alpha Theta saw something so special in me, something I did not see in myself, that they contacted my high school in Philadelphia and went through the proper procedure to have a formal letter of recommendation written by a Kappa Alpha Theta alumna on my behalf.

Gamma Tau/Tulsa was my first link to Kappa Alpha Theta. As I later transferred to The University of Oklahoma, I naturally affiliated with Alpha Omicron Chapter. Needless to say, I eventually became a charter member of Theta’s Life Loyal program.

Thank you, Kappa Alpha Theta, to all the Theta women who walked before me, and to all the Theta women who walk alongside me now.

May Theta's kite keep sailing, and may its pansies always remain thoughtful.