K is for Kappa Delta: Change of heart leads Pike to be a KD

“We share a special bond,” La Grange junior Caitlin Pike said about Kappa Delta and the friendships she has built from the sorority. “You can see it in our daily lives.”

Stephani Stacy

Caitlin Pike never pictured herself going Greek in college.

“I was actually anti-Greek,” Pike said. “I refused to think about the Greek system.”

But today, Pike finds herself the elected president of Kappa Delta sorority.

“Now, I tell everybody to join an organization their first year,” Pike said.

Pike changed her mind about Greek life after befriending some girls in Kappa Delta early in her college career. She became a Kappa Delta her sophomore year.

“Looking back, I’m really upset that I wasted a whole year,” Pike said. “There is so much you can gain from being in a Greek organization.”

For Pike, a junior majoring in public relations, Kappa Delta is a way to both get involved in campus life and enhance a resume. She said that becoming Greek isn’t only a way to learn about personal character – it also can help jump-start anyone’s professional career.

“As for my career, I’ve already seen a major impact,” she said.

Pike has been vice president of public relations for Kappa Delta this past year and was just elected chapter president on Sunday. She said she’ll be investing even more time into her sorority now.

“I definitely wake up every morning and have KD on the mind,” she said.

Laura Beth Austin, a Kappa Delta senior, said one of Pike’s best qualities is her ability to put herself in anyone’s shoes.

Austin said she’s proud that Pike is the new president, and she’s sure Pike will take on any role she needs to.

“If someone can’t attend an event, she says, you know, ‘I’ll take care of it,'” Austin said. “She doesn’t care about the title of president. She really just wants to better the sorority.”

Bowling Green senior Lindsey Houchin, the outgoing vice president of operations and a former Kappa Delta president, said Pike will be a great leader for the sorority.

Pike already showed her ability to set and achieve goals as the sorority’s vice president of public relations, Houchin said.

“She completely redesigned our internal and external public relations, which really turned around the way we communicate,” she said. “She’ll be a great chapter president – her leadership will really shine there.”

Pike said being part of Kappa Delta has taught her how to face real-world situations she knows she’ll encounter later in life, and it has made her a more honorable person.

“I think this past year, I have learned how to be selfless,” Pike said.

Pike said the close-knit sisterhood of the KDs makes the sorority special, but acknowledged that “sisterhood” is a word used often in the Greek community.

She said the sisterhood of Kappa Delta is unlike other sorority chapters on campus.

“Our sisterhood is different in the way that we are literally always there for each other for the smallest things … it’s rare to find one KD without another,” Pike said. “We’re just always together, and we’re always there for each other. It really makes a difference.”