I picture myself as a first-year at Butler University, walking onto campus and having zero clue where Jordan Hall was, not understanding PrintSmart, and being clueless when people were shouting “ARE YOU A BULLDOG?” at me. One thing I was confident in though, was that I wanted to be a leader, whatever that looked like. Leadership was something that defined me in my high school both in class and in my extracurricular activities, and what I was most excited for in college was continuing to grow as a leader in a community that fostered that kind of growth. I found exactly that at Butler, specifically in one of my classes; I met a girl who was so confident, intelligent, and such an admirable leader, and portrayed the exact kind of woman that I wanted to be. Low and behold, that woman in my class was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. 

 

       At that time, I didn’t know if I wanted to be a part of Greek Life, or even what that meant, and going through recruitment for me was just a massive shot in the dark. At the end of every day of recruitment, I found myself reflecting on the conversations I had, and found that all my conversations I had at Theta were with girls that modeled the same qualities and strengths that the girl from my class did. I knew I wanted to be a member of that sisterhood, one that would allow me to be surrounded by involved campus leaders both in the classroom and in organizations. 

 

        What I failed to take into account the day that I decided that I simply had to be a member of Kappa Alpha Theta was that through this organization, I too have the opportunity to grow to be similar to these amazing women around me. In fact, Theta had a word for this: Leading Women. Through the support of my sisters and their love and encouragement, I found myself taking risks and attempting things I never thought I would, but it was these very things that shaped me into the person I had envisioned myself to be in my head when I walked onto campus as a first-year student. I am now in leadership positions that I never dreamed I would be qualified for, nor did I ever think I would have the courage to run for. Theta has allowed me these opportunities, because through Theta I found what it meant to me personally to be a Leading Woman. For this I am grateful every day, and I am forever indebted to this house and the amazing women I have met in it.

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- Xoxo, Malin

TLAM