Big Little, Pi Spike, and MORE!

Anna Rhett Allen (AC ‘18) + Emily Daly (AC ‘17)

One word for September: BUSY! From First Friday to Big Little Reveal to Pi Spike, this month has been packed with campus events, functions, and philanthropy events. Read this post to hear from our sisters about all we did over the last 5 weeks!

First Friday

Mary Catharine mauney, first friday chair, Ac ‘17

“Working with the other sorority chapters and Central Spirit, we were able to plan and carry out another year of an important Clemson tradition. Planning First Friday for our chapter was definitely a lot of work but so worth it to see our sisters, especially the seniors, enjoying a tradition I grew up loving! For First Friday I had to paint a banner (shout-out to lots of girlies on the hall for all the help), plan our involvement in the parade, and coordinate our participation in the Miss First Friday competition. Working with closely with our representative Abby Martin during the Miss First Friday competition was one of my favorite parts of my position. Abby exemplifies ADPi and everything that we stand for so well, and was one of the first people to really make ADPi feel like home to me! It was an honor to have her represent our philanthropy the Ronald McDonald House and ultimately raise over $2,700 for the Greenville house!”

“First Friday was so bitter sweet! It was sad knowing it would be my last time participating as a student but so exciting to see the new pledge class have so much fun! Seeing them enjoying what has been a highlight of my time in ADPi for the first time was so awesome. I love the First Friday parade and it’s definitely my favorite Clemson tradition. It’s so cool how brings alumni, students, and future students together. This last parade was definitely my favorite and the most fun because of my friends. My friends in ADPi are my best friends in the world and getting to participate in four First Friday parades with them has been really special!! I can’t wait to come back and watch the parade as an alumni and cheer on ADPi as they go by chanting!” -Elli Murray, AC ‘15

$5 Prom

After lots of trips to Goodwill, everyone was ready for $5 Prom! This function is always our first and one of our favorites of the whole year!

“$5 is always one of my favorite functions because it’s the first one back from summer with all the new alphas!” -Julie Nierstedt, AC ‘15

“$5 prom was such a fun experience! I loved shopping for the perfect dress to wear (even though is was uglllllyyy) lol! But it was so fun getting to hangout with all the girls for the first function and getting to laugh and make awesome memories together!” -Hannah Perry, AC ‘18

Parent’s and Alumnae Cocktail

Shoutout to our Alumnae Relations Co-Chairs, Blaine and Olivia, for putting on the BEST cocktail!

Blaine eads + olivia robinson, alumnae relations co-chairs, Ac ‘15

“We were really excited to take on the Parents Cocktail Event this year. We spent months planning and envisioning how we wanted the event to go. It required us to do a lot of ‘to-do’ listing and planning but it was worth it once we saw everyone enjoying the event! We wanted this event to be more intimate and special than it had been in years before, so we picked a venue and designed a set up to accomplish this goal. The event was held at the Botanical Gardens, which was a venue we have not used in several years. We picked a band that would be enjoyable for all ages and they were GREAT! Our theme for the event was floral and airy! We had such a fun time picking out décor for it! We found ourselves sending pictures to each other of ideas and ended up making a Pinterest board together. Being roommates and best friends, we have a lot of similarities but planning this big event together allowed us to see the strengths that each other has. We fused together our unique talents, visions, and ideas to bring together a great evening. It really was truly so rewarding to see the event be a success!”

“Family Weekend at Clemson University is one of my favorite weekends of the year. Everyone knows fall Saturdays with home football games are special here in Clemson, but the Saturday of Family Weekend is definitely extra special. Everyone’s family and close friends come in to town to enjoy a weekend of celebrating this orange town we all call home, the best place on Earth. All of us Clemson ADPis love to kick off Family Weekend with a Parents’ & Alumnae Cocktail. We were so lucky this year to have our Alumnae Relations Chairs, Blaine and Olivia, plan the best night. I do not even know where to begin. There was the super fun band who played cover songs that never get old. The Botanical Gardens was the perfect location to see a classic Clemson sunset. The beautiful flower wall was perfect for every photo op and selfie. Last but certainly not least, the best food trucks in the area brought delicious treats. I’m a little biased, but I think having The Pound Cake Man in attendance made it that much better. The night was so great, no different from any other function, I found myself leaving at the very end with some of my best girls. It was a night of making more memories with all the sisters I love so dearly.” -Emory DeVolder, Executive Vice President, AC ‘16

Campus Involvement

Over the last month, various organizations on campus held rounds of interviews to recruit new members. We love seeing our sisters getting involved in other organizations, so congratulations to the members below who were chosen to be a part of other groups!

Freshman Council: Avery Anderson, Sage Bessert, Mary Crosby Spiers

“Being from out of state and pretty unfamiliar with Clemson in general, I had never heard of Freshman Council! It was during recruitment actually that a girl during a round mentioned it to me and suggested that I apply… and look where I am now! It’s most definitely a big blessing and something that I am super thankful to be a part of. Being a part of Freshman Council is a great way to get plugged into things on campus, which is something that I value greatly, but I am most looking forward to the relationships that I will have the opportunity to build throughout this year. The program itself consists of a very intentional community and us Freshman are being poured into by so many older students, which is huge in my eyes!” -Sage Bessert, AC ‘18

CUSG Activities Committee: Emory DeVolder, Kendall Goedeke, Macy Henry, Logan Martin, Sallie McLeod, Lauren, Julia Pruitt, Laurel Williams, Katherine Darden

“I am so excited that this year I get to be apart of CUSG Activities Committee and work with a team to plan events on campus. The CUSG Activities Committee works to plan events like Homecoming, Tiger Rag Shag, Lighting of the Carillon Gardens, Spring Scene, and the CUSG Gala. Since Homecoming is only a couple of weeks away, we are working hard on planning the 2018 Miss Homecoming Pageant. We are all very excited to crown a new Homecoming Queen at our football game against NC State and cannot wait for the pageant. Joining Activities Committee has been a great way to get involved with Clemson and leave my legacy. I have met so many new students through joining CUSG and I hope to make lasting relationships with them all.” -Lauren, AC ‘16

Clemson University Guide Association: Delaney Dowling, Kendall Goedeke, Kathryn Hull, Mattie Lee, Libby Milano

“I’m just so thankful for the opportunity to serve Clemson. It’s an absolute honor getting to brag on this place to prospective students. I cannot wait to show the future tigers that there is something in these hills!” -Delaney Dowling, AC ‘17

CUSG Senate: Libby Milano

CUSG Elections Board: Marlena Heracklis

Big Little Reveal

For the month following Bid Day, our new Alphas were assigned to a new girl in the Delta class above them to be “Pi Pals” each week. After this process was over, our Big Little Reveal took place at Hidden Cove. Our New Member Coordinator, Sallie McLeod, and Membership Education Vice President, Becca Cockman, worked so hard to plan this event and the chapter retreat that followed. Hidden Cove was the perfect venue and it was so fun seeing our diamond families add a new little sister!

Sallie McLeod, New Member Coordinator, AC ‘16

“Being the New Member Coordinator of Alpha Delta Pi this year has been fun and exciting, and it is a great feeling to watch new members join and grow within ADPi. Teaching the Alphas about everything ADPi has been such a privilege. I love welcoming the girls and helping to hopefully make them feel at home by sharing my love and enthusiasm for ADPi. Each Alpha is so special to me and is an asset to this chapter. I am honored to have the role to shape and influence their first ADPi experiences. Seeing through their eyes also helps me to be a better sister to all in ADPi. If I could have these Alphas take away anything from me being their “Mom”, it would be that I hope they love ADPi as much as I do. One of my main roles as New Member Coordinator is planning Diamond Sister Reveal. The reveal was in the same location as our chapter retreat on Lake Hartwell. One of my favorite parts about Reveal was seeing everyone’s reaction to turning around and greeting their new Big or Little!”

Becca cockman, membership education vice president, AC ‘15

“One of the biggest blessings for me this year has been getting to know our Alphas! They are such an incredible group, and as a senior it is so encouraging to know that these girls will be leading out chapter in 2-3 years. I have absolutely loved getting to be a part of their new member experience from day 1! I woke up on bid day with 75 tote bags scattered all over my apartment knowing that each of those bags was about to go to the most special group of girls. Since then, it has been so cool to see them grow closer to each other and form a true sisterhood within their own Alpha class. Big/Little reveal was just icing on the cake to see them finally be welcomed in to a family with older girls who are so excited to get to love and pour into them!”

Eva Grace White (AC ‘18) + Sydney Brown (AC ‘17)

“Big Little reveal was such a special day! I had so much fun making our dynamic duo outfit and finding the “lightning” to my “thunder”! Turning around and seeing Eva Grace behind me was the most exciting moment! She is the perfect addition to my family, and it was even more special that my big was there to share in the excitement!” -Sydney Brown, AC ‘17

“I was so excited to turn around and see Sydney as my big! And dressing in the cute outfits was a big bonus of the day too!” -Eva Grace White, AC ‘18

Jixer Mixer

“I had so much fun at the Jixer, it was the first event that I really got to hangout with a lot of Alphas and got to know them. As always, DJ Sha was killing it! It was just a perfect time to hang out and have fun with all my sisters. Everyone looked amazing in there all Jean and we all could just take a break from school and relax.” -Sam Nash, AC ‘17

Pi Spike

Pi Spike was our fall philanthropy event held at GrandMarc Clemson. It was a 6v6 beach volleyball tournament that 55 teams played in! Our sisters could sign up a team of 6 boys or 6 girls or raise money for Ronald McDonald House. HUGE shoutout to our Philanthropy Chair, Heather Hufnagel, for working so hard on this event and making it so successful!

heather hufnagel, philanthropy chair, Ac ‘16

“I have been working with GrandMarc since February on making this event a reality and it was very rewarding seeing it come together. We had monthly meetings to make sure that we weren’t forgetting anything, and I got tons of support from Mairin and the social team!! There were a lot of factors to consider like how we should organize teams, security, food, player forms, t-shirts, and keeping costs low so that the money could go to RMHC! I got support from GrandMarc Clemson, Which Wich, and UTees which made this possible. We were able to visit the new Greenville RMH and it was great to see where all of our hard work went. Lots of the girls ended up being involved either with a team or volunteering, and I’m very thankful the event went fairly smooth! The fact that we support such a great cause really pushed me to try to make this event the best it could be to raise money for them! We don’t have the final numbers yet, but right now we know that we were able to raise over $22,000!”

That's a wrap on the month of September! Make sure to keep up with us on Instagram, VSCO, and Facebook to see more of our sisterhood this upcoming year and to know when our next blog post is up!