Alpha Delta Pi - University of Kansas

Fall 2019 TAU TALES kualphadeltapi.com F ew women live the motto "It is not just four years" more than Sara Gillham Bedwell '98. A native of Iowa, she found her way to KU and joined Alpha Delta Pi in the fall of 1998. While she was not as active as a collegiate as you might guess, she quickly became involved as an alumna and has never looked back. She began her involvement as an advisor at 23 for Delta Phi at UMKC after hearing that there was a position open. With no expectation of getting the job, she was surprised to get the call from Martha Steele, Collegiate Province Director, and an offer to work with Delta Phi as their Standards Advisor. Sara found it very interesting to move from a large chapter to a small chapter with about 70 women in an urban setting. Another challenge was being very close in age to some of the women she was counseling. Having never served on Exec at Tau, she was not familiar with many of the Chapter Operations and found that to be one of the biggest things she learned from the other advisors serving along with her. Through this role, she learned she really enjoyed working with members and advisors from other chapters. It really opened her eyes to the scope and power of our Sisterhood. After serving as Standards Advisor for five years, the Recruitment Advisor position opened at Tau and she transitioned back home, having spent enough time post-graduation to serve back at Tau. She spent two years at Tau and absolutely loved it, but when the Chapter Advisor position opened at Delta Phi, she was asked to return to serve another five years there. But it wouldn't be long before her expertise would be helpful to chapters beyond our backyard. Every Chapter has a local advisory board to work on day-to-day operations and then there is a District Team, which offers an additional layer of support. This team is comprised of International Officers in specific areas of expertise, as well as Collegiate Province Directors, who work on all aspects of chapter operations. International Officers are responsible for working closely with advisors and officers in their areas, building relationships and problem solving. The first International Officer role Sara took was as a Total Membership Education Director, which worked in the areas of New Member Education, ritual and leadership. For three years she offered her support and years of expertise to 12 chapters. After her time in the TME role, a Recruitment and Marketing Director position opened. "Looking back on all of my experience, my heart was really with recruitment and the way we present to internal and external audiences. When the position became available, I knew I wanted to apply," said Sara. With her years of Recruitment experience at Tau and Delta Phi, she was offered the Recruitment and Marketing Director position. "Recruitment is one of the most visible things we do and it really important to me to help ADPi chapters tell their story," Sara said. Sara is currently working on her second year in this role supporting eight chapters including Tau. In addition to her time working with collegiate members, she has also been active in the Greater Kansas City Area Alumnae Association serving on various roles and is in her fifth year of serving as Panhellenic Delegate for the Alumnae Association. She also just finished serving three years on a Board Governance Committee which was responsible for researching other groups and sororities and to make for changes to our Grand Council structure, which was voted in at Convention. Sara wants everyone to know that anyone can be involved once they leave campus. "People think you have to be president or on Exec to be involved as an alumna," she said. Sara demonstrates that you don't have to be on Exec to contribute to Alpha Delta Pi, because after all, it is not just four years. Sister Sara Gillham Bedwell '98 continues deep involvement in Alpha Delta Pi T he bright lights of Las Vegas at the 2019 Grand Convention was the perfect stage to launch Alpha Delta Pi's refreshed branding. Alpha Delta Pi – Be the First showcases our rich history as the first secret society for women while challenging members to take action and become leaders. A sleek diamond shape with sharp lines becomes the graphic element that will now take a more central design role, retiring the lion design we have used since 2001. A bright, fresh and modern color palate along with two new accent colors rounds out the new brand option suite available to help market Alpha Delta Pi to prospective new members as well as keep us fresh and modern in an ever-changing design landscape. Alpha Delta Pi announces fresh branding at 2019 Grand Convention

• Cover