The Emerald Newsletter | Kappa Delta Chi Sorority Fall 2015 | Page 3

KDChi Chapter:

Delta Alpha, Graduate Chapter

New Member Class:

Zeta, Spring 2014

About Gabriela:

She teaches high school Spanish at Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, OK. The student population is 100% Native American and the teaching staff is composed of mostly Native Americans. Gabriela is one of a handful of staff that are not Native American. She enjoys sharing and exchanging culture, heritage and language with her students every day.

She is also very involved in several women's Masonic organizations.

Somebody from one of these

organizations once asked her if she had ever considered joining a sorority and that was what planted the seed! After reaching out to several Latina sororities, she heard back from KDChi's Rachel Glick. Her response was warm and welcoming.

"Rachel answered all my questions (and I had a million) and she was so friendly!" Gabriela says.

She researched KDChi and read through the newsletters, the website, the Facebook pages and she says she knew she had to be part of such a dynamic and wonderful group of women.

She remembers her journey to become a new member...

"My Graduate New Member Educator was awesome!" Gabriela says. "She helped me out tremendously with everything and has kept up with me, even after the process."

Gabriela's husband recently retired from the US Army. Together, they enjoy traveling and exploring new and out-of-the-way places during their down time. This summer, they're traveling to Costa Rica! They also enjoy riding motorcycles, cooking, gardening, and just spending time together.

Tell your friends to apply

to be a KDChi!

Email: Rachel Glick

[email protected]

Sisters

I am so honored to take the role of National President this year! I could not be more proud to of our sisterhood and feel so very blessed to work alongside the amazing national leadership team.

I am excited for the year to come. KDChi has been a leader in the Latin@ Greek world for some time now, but all that really means is that we have to continue to work hard to stay a leader, to be role models for other women, and to do our part in breaking the mold of stereotypes for

sororities. The Latin@ Greek landscape is quickly changing. We as an organization have to continue to grow and adapt alongwith it. There is a lot of work going on at the national level to make that happen. I encourage you to get involved, ask questions, and hold your national leaders and committee volunteers accountable for what we say we are going to do.

I had the opportunity to meet many of you at this year’s National Leadership Conference in Chicago. What a great time! In addition to the amazing workshops and speakers, I got to hear directly from you about the work going on at the undergraduate and alumnae chapters. Let me tell you….you do some awesome work! One of the most memorable parts of conference was having the opportunity to go out into the city spreading kindness and compliments. It proved that a simple smile, a compliment, or a small token of appreciation go a long way. I hope that we can take the spirit of that initiative and run with it. I encourage you to continue to spread kindness in the coming year through our rush and service events, through your daily interactions with others, and through our bonding as sisters.

We have a beautiful sisterhood of intelligent, hardworking, and dedicated sisters. Thank you for all you do every day. You make KDChi look good!

In sisterhood,

Melanie Rodriguez

About Melanie:

Melanie was initiated in Fall of 1996, Epsilon Class of Theta Chapter, University of Houston. She still resides in Houston, TX with her wife Cindy (Theta Chapter, Fall 1999) and their two children Arianna and Isaias. Melanie has a BA in Public Relations, an MA in Organizational Management, and an MA in Human Development. She is also in the final stages of completing a PhD in Human and Organizational Systems at Fielding Graduate University. In her professional life Melanie has worked for the past 12 years as a leadership development consultant for Chevron.

National President

Melanie Rodriguez

Letter from the President

(C) Tiffany Hopwood Photography

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