Let Your Light So Shine

Every good little Alpha O knows that a couple weekends ago was Alpha Omicron Pi International Convention in Chicago, IL! Almost 1000 sisters from every chapter gathered in the Windy City to experience the heart of AOII. Our Chapter President, Tricia Almeida, Vice President, Nicole Ederer, Risk Manager, Taylor Keenan, previous Chapter President Kate Rodehau, and Chapter Advisor, Sarah Hennig, spent the weekend exploring the city, attending banquets, listening to speakers, and appreciating our ritual on a large scale. With convention only occurring once every two years, it serves as a great opportunity for those who do get a chance to attend- an opportunity to see our sisterhood in a new light and to appreciate what a wonderful organization we are a part of. Yet this time, “opportunity” falls short of a proper description.  “Chance to explore” does not come close to what Convention 2013 meant for Pi Delta.

When we nominated Kate Rodehau for the Stella Perry Award we were driven, hopeful, and anxious. Driven because we were determined to show everyone our incredible sister; hopeful because we knew how deserving she was; anxious that we wouldn’t do her justice. Kate led our chapter during times when everyone was convinced we would fall apart.  Her courage and genuine kindness are inspirational. She is beautifully humble and remarkably poised, and she guided us as we regained our footing. An excerpt from her nomination essay is as follows:

“Kate takes every challenge and turns it into an opportunity to better herself and allow everyone around her to grow and carry on.   Her priorities can be summed up as ‘others come first’ regardless of what this demands of her.    Her character and integrity are obvious not only as a leader, but as a friend and sister as well.”

Although as a chapter we know all of this about our sister, it was still an unbelievable wave of relief, shock, and pride when it was announced at Convention that Kate received the Stella Perry Award!

“When the announcer began the speech Nicole, Taylor, Sarah, and I all had a feeling she was speaking about Kate,” Tricia describes. “Kate still couldn’t believe it when they announced her name. We all just started crying. The whole room was on their feet for her. We were so happy for her because we knew she deserved it and we were glad 975 other AOII’s were there to hear about what she had done for our chapter.”

If anyone was most stunned, it was Kate herself. She continues to be nothing but grateful.

“Truly not expecting to hear my name announced, due to the tremendous honor and prestige of the Perry Award, I was overcome by gratitude for the women who saw my efforts worthy of the esteemed honor, the women who made such efforts possible through their hard work and perseverance, and the women who never stopped believing in Pi Delta or its potential to exceed the expectation.

I truly believe to be successful you must work selflessly, surround yourself with good people, and say ‘thank you’ to those who make it all possible. This achievement would not have been feasible without those four incredible women who paved the way selflessly years ago, without the incredible support of Pi Delta’s AAC, SMAC, Network 2, HQ staff, and UMD’s Department of Fraternity and Sorority Life. And without the tremendous Pi Delta sisterhood that has allowed my chapter to not only endure but to thrive through the loss of our beloved sister, Kayla, whose light continues to shine on us all and to whom I dedicate this award. Thank you to my family, my sisters, and my friends for the love and support, which has allowed my light to shine."

So there you have it. The true purpose of AOII convention is moments like this, where we can see and appreciate one another, honor our sisters both living and deceased, and catch a small glimpse of one another’s differences that areternally bound together. Alpha Omicron Pi Convention 2015 is set to take place in Los Angeles- we will be seeing you there!