Convention 2009 - Kappa Delta

CoVER Story
Collegians and alumnae do some serious shopping in the KD
Boutique.
Kappa Delta Archivist Shirley Gee, left, shows the Alpha Trunk and
its contents to alumna Tisha Moreyo.
For KDs Only
Hanging of the Shields/Parade of
Flags — Since 1921, every convention
begins with the traditional Hanging
of the Shields of new chapters as they
join the shields of every other chapter
ever chartered by Kappa Delta. Over
the years, the actual hanging of wooden
plaques, each bearing the shield of its
home university, became cumbersome
and in 1989, lightweight flags bearing an
image of the shield and the school’s colors
were introduced in a parade during the
opening business session. The collegiate
representative of each active chapter
carried her flag high and placed it around
the perimeter of the convention hall in
installation order.
New chapters at the 2009 convention
were Eta Kappa, Northeastern University,
Boston, Mass.; Eta Lambda, Franklin &
Marshall University, Lancaster, Pa.; Eta
Mu, Georgia College and State University,
Milledgeville, Ga.; and Eta Nu, Sacred
Heart University, Fairfield, Conn. Of
special note was the presentation of
the flags from Gamma Beta, University
of North Texas; Gamma Tau, Ripon
University; and Epsilon Zeta, University
of North Carolina/Pembroke, which were
recolonized during the biennium and
returned to active status.
Miss USA tells KDs to
‘Follow Your Dreams’
A personal struggle to overcome low self-esteem and a passion to help young
women reach their full potential led actress Susie Castillo, Miss USA 2003, to
write the book “Confidence is Queen: The Four Keys to Unleashing Ultimate
Beauty Through Positive Thinking.”
It’s hard to believe that anyone with Susie’s enthusiasm
and vitality ever lacked self-confidence, but as a
child growing up in Massachusetts she was at a disadvantage
because she had to learn English as her second
language. Today she uses her Puerto Rican heritage to
her advantage, even speaking Spanish to impress the
bilingual judges in the Miss USA pageant.
She urged KDs to use their differences to succeed
instead of seeing them as negatives. “I did all I could to
emphasize my background and culture,” she said. “Have
an ‘attitude of gratitude’ that puts you in a happy place.”
Only the third Latina to win the Miss USA title, Susie
said that she chose to compete to get exposure and further a career in acting.
“I did my research on pageants,” she said. “And I studied how to win. I made my
decision to ‘own’ the pageant and put my best foot forward.” The effort paid off,
and today she can be seen on television as Mercedes in “Tyler Perry’s House of
Payne” as well as in feature films “Underdog” and “The Heartbreaker.”
“Don’t be afraid to follow your dream,” she said. “Think about what you want
in life and trust that you will get there.”
THE ANGELOS OF KAPPA DELTA fall 2009 29