my last visit as CDC Courtney

The feeling of my LAST visit was very surreal.  This job had defined me for a year and I could not believe it was coming to an end.  My last stop was UC-Riverside once again.  I had visited them for Formal Recruitment in the fall, so it was definitely nice to come back to a familiar place.  The women were so sweet and showed much excitement for having me back, which of course made me feel great :)  It set a happy tone for my last visit!

The first night I got there, I gave my last CDC presentation at chapter meeting.  I showed my favorite video, You're Always Wearing Your Letters (will post soon) and may have gotten teary eyed as I tried to impart words of wisdom to these women as my journey was coming to an end.  I think I probably needed to take some of my own advice, as I promised them that membership is for a lifetime.  Meaning my time as CDC is just a small slice of my Delta Gamma life!

My visit was centered around recruitment prep as the members needed a lot of help with recruitment logistics and conversation.  Facilitating RPWs is something I really love, and I gave it my all for this last one!  We practiced rotations, conversations, and learned effective voting practices.  The members seemed very receptive to some changes I helped their EVC implement, which always makes my job a little easier ;)  Themes for dress and decorations are always a hot topic, and it took a long brainstorming session with the recruitment team to finally decide on a first-round theme (actually inspired by my room at home!)...Shabby Chic!  They wanted to convey a southern hospitality style paired with DG colors, I sure can't wait to see pictures in the fall!

After an officer meeting, I was walking down the hall of the student center and happened to glance over and see a poster with a picture of one of my favorite DG leaders, Erica Upshaw.  Erica spoke at Purdue when I was chapter president about loosing her brother to alcohol and drugs while they were both at Ohio State.  She was speaking that day at UCR!  Of course, I insisted on going with the chapter president and a couple other officers.  We stayed after the lecture to talk to Erica and she was as inspiring as ever.  Truly a proud to be a DG moment.  Check out her website!  http://www.keepfriendshipalive.org/

With Erica Upshaw (right of me)

I spent a LOT of my visit hanging out in the campus libraries (since I had a broken computer) and at the "letters out" tent the members pitch each week to promote the chapter and events they are hosting.  Anchor Splash was approaching so there was lots of PR going on!  Check out those cream rose letters!

"Letters Out"
 

Another highlight was my dear and wonderful best friend/roomie Emma driving in to visit me for a lovely breakfast in downtown Riverside.  It was so thoughtful of her to some see me and I was SO happy to spend time with my Purdue/DG friend!

I couldn't have asked for a better last visit as I was inspired by how these ladies make DG work for them on this unique campus (primarily commuter).  They truly love DG...many of them using their summer savings to fly to Indy for Convention just because!  What a great end to my journey!