Belonging

Eight weeks into her first college semester, Abby Roux, Sigma-LSU, was diagnosed with astrocytoma stage two cancer— she had an eight by six brain tumor. Three days after her diagnosis, Abby had surgery to remove her tumor, and her doctors were taken aback at how quickly and well she recovered.

But Abby knew she still had a long way to go. She didn’t know how she would get through it, but then her new DZ sisters stepped in. “Delta Zeta helped me in ways I can’t even describe. Just reminding myself that I would one day be able to go back to them helped me get through the worst moments of my life. I’m so thankful I was put into this [DZ] community, because if I didn’t have them to go back to, I honestly don’t know if I would go back to LSU.”

However, Sigma Chapter wanted Abby to know she was one of them, forever. So, because she was still recovering from surgery when it came time to initiate the new members, the chapter went to her. The executive board and some active members went to Abby’s home to initiate her. It was in that moment that she knew she couldn’t have picked a better sisterhood. Abby said, “I was going through one of the worst parts of my cancer experience, so getting the text that members were coming to initiate me helped me keep fighting.”