Diamonds in the Desert

I returned from Alpha Delta Pi’s 160^th Anniversary Convention with a tan and a renewed appreciation for sorority life.  Those four days spent with nearly 700 of my sisters at the Arizona Biltmore were some of the best days of my ADPi life.  I’ll start from the beginning:

We (Sister Chapter Advisor Amanda and I) left my house at 4am on Wednesday to catch a 7am flight to Phoenix (thanks for the ride, Dad – you’re the best!).  A hop and a skip later we arrived at the Biltmore and checked into our (quite luxurious, thank you) rooms.  Rumor had it that the one and only Britney Spears had been staying at the Biltmore the night before we arrived.  Nine-year-old-me was very excited about this.



the Arizona Biltmore

 Near the convention registration table, the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation had on display the newly constructed Philanthropy Quilt.  The quilt includes the top philanthropy event t-shirts, and Delta Rho’s Airbands t-shirt was chosen to be included in the quilt!  When I stopped to pose with the t-shirt a woman from the Foundation came running over and said “Is that your t-shirt?!  This shirt caused a dance party at the Foundation”.  Welp, that’s Delta Rho for you!

pointing to Delta Rho's t-shirt on the philanthropy quilt

One of the highlights of Grand Convention occurred during the Opening Banquet on the very first night of convention.  International President Claire Brown Gwaltney announced that the sorority archivist had uncovered new information about our most mysterious founder, Elizabeth Williams Mitchell.  Portraits of the other five founders hang at Memorial Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, but we had no portrait of Elizabeth nor did we have any information about her living relatives.  In a last ditch effort to uncover information about one of our founding sisters, the sorority archivist called the local library in the town where Elizabeth had lived in the hopes of finding any documentation that the town had on record.  You will never guess who answered the phone at the library – Elizabeth’s great-granddaughter.  But the greatest surprise of all was when Mrs. Gwaltney invited Elizabeth’s great-granddaughter and great-great-granddaughter up to the stage.  They’re here?  Elizabeth’s relatives unveiled a reproduction of their ancestor’s portrait (the original has been lost in a house fire).  These women didn’t even know that their late ancestor was one of six women who founded the first secret society for college-aged women in the world!  We would be initiating Elizabeth’s great-great-granddaughter on Saturday morning.

I finally fell into bed just after midnight (after 3am East Coast time) – after 24 hours of traveling, hanging in the Arizona sunshine and meeting sisters from all over North America.  My alarm would go off five hours later.

On Thursday morning I had the wonderful honor of carrying Delta Rho’s flag during the processional which marks the opening of Grand Convention.  Everyone was looking lovely dressed in white from head to toe.



carrying Delta Rho's flag



Amanda and Me

After the opening processional was the memorial service to honor all of the Alpha Delta Pis who have passed away since the last convention.  As my Collegiate Province Director had warned, it was a little creepy.  “You know that one day, after you… pass away…, you will be honored at an ADPi memorial service too,” she told us.  Um… cool?  I blinked back tears during the entire service.  Even though I didn’t personally know any of these women who had passed away, it was still so sad!  And I couldn’t help but think about one day when Mom and I (Mom’s an ADPi too, ain’t we cute?!) will be listed in the memorial service program and it totally freaked me out.

That afternoon we opened the business meeting to begin discussing the bylaws which we would be voting on the following day.  The meeting was run just like our meetings at Gettysburg College, except that the International President was presiding over the meeting instead of me.

Late that night, after dinner and all of our meetings were over, the Delta Rhos decided to go for a late night swim.  Our poolside powwow was interrupted by two guys who were also staying at the hotel and who were very interested to know that a huge sorority convention was in town.  “So… what do over 600 sorority girls do at convention?” one of them asked.  One of our lovely International Officers who will remain anonymous replied “Oh, you know, sleepovers… naked pillow fights…”  Haha yeah right!

Friday morning our business meeting picked back up where it had left off the previous afternoon.  After much debate of the bylaws, we finally voted and then elected new members of Grand Council.  The end of the meeting was my favorite part.  We may all come from different regions and college chapters, but watching over 600 women perform the same exact ritual took my breath away.

We had a few hours to hit the pool before the “Bring Your Bling” themed dinner party.  Everyone was dolled up in their cocktail dresses and diamonds and eating… sliders.



On Saturday morning we initiated three new sisters, including Elizabeth Williams Mitchell’s great-great-granddaughter.  Initiation was followed by the Panhellenic Luncheon, which was attended by representatives from the other 25 Panhellenic Sororities.  I carried Sigma Delta Tau’s flag during the luncheon’s opening processional.  A little strange, yes, but the luncheon served as a nice reminder that, despite how much sororities may compete against one another during recruitment, we are all sisters in Panhellenic life.

Saturday night the new members of Grand Council were installed during the Diamond Awards Banquet.  I’d grown pretty close with some of the other chapter presidents during the convention, and Saturday night we got to celebrate each other’s chapter’s accomplishments.  Also, I got to snap photos with (newly) former International President Claire Brown Gwaltney and brand-spankin’-new International President Tammie Pinkston.



Claire and Me

Tammie and Me

I didn’t get to bed until nearly 2am and had to catch the 4:45am shuttle to the airport.  I had my first experience with a body scanner; yes, I am now a member of the I’ve-been-violated-by-the-TSA Club!

I can’t wait for ADPi Grand Convention 2013 in… Dallas!  I’m so there! 

photo courtesty of Pinterest