Volunteer Spotlight: Brooke Reynolds

• How did you get started volunteering for Delta Zeta?

When the Pi Omicron Chapter came to IUPUI in 2014, I couldn’t wait to get involved with helping them flourish on campus. The thought of having a hand in the founding legacy of the chapter excited me. I started as the Panhellenic advisor. After two years, an Educational Leadership Consultant (ELC) who resided with the chapter took the time to personally encourage me to step into my abilities as a leader with more responsibility.

The ELC told me what she saw in me then and my eventual potential. I never thought of myself as a CCD, but that’s the exact role she had in mind for me. I told her I didn’t think I could do it because I didn’t have enough “bite” in me, but she explained that a cheerleader is what the chapter really needed, not a dictator. Now THAT I could do!

• Prior to your CCD role, did you volunteer in any other roles for Delta Zeta?

I volunteered with the Indianapolis Alumnae Chapter as the Alumnae Chapter President and then the Vice President of Communications prior to my role with Pi Omicron.

• What has been the most rewarding part of your CCD role?

The most rewarding part is when I see the chapter leaders pull up their bootstraps and get to work making positive changes for the good of the chapter . . . without me. I think that’s when I know my influence has really sunk in – when I see them moving and shaking in significant ways without needing my guidance.

• What has been the most challenging part of your CCD role?

The most challenging part of the CCD role is seeing chapter women get their hearts broken in Delta Zeta. Although this is an amazing organization, it is also still a business, and tough business decisions sometimes must be made. We are also a sisterhood, and although that is a beautiful thing, sisters sometimes fight, and that can also lead to heartbreak. I care about these chapter women so much, and I hate to see them upset from not getting slated for a leadership role they wanted, not getting a status change they feel they deserve, arguing with a sister, being sent to Standards, etc. When they push through the adversity, though, they are so much stronger for it.

• Who has been a valuable mentor to you as a CCD and why?

The live-in ELC who shoulder-tapped me, Taylor Winter, Gamma Kappa – Kent State (OH), was instrumental to me in my first semester as CCD. We had so many late-night coaching sessions over greasy grub at our favorite restaurant.

I also owe so much to my former Regional Collegiate Director, Ani Rodriguez-Newbern, Alpha Sigma – Florida State (FL). She was a safe person with whom to vent, cry, dream and celebrate.

I would not have said yes to this role without the steadfast encouragement of my Delta Zeta little sister, Faye Ryan, Gamma Chi – Ball State (IN), who is also a CCD! She’s in her seventh year as Ball State’s CCD, and she too, saw leadership potential in me that I originally didn’t see in myself. When she told me we could “do this CCD thing together,” and that she’d be with me every step of the way, I knew I couldn’t say no.

• What advice do you have for members considering a volunteer role?

It’s important first to establish a compelling WHY for volunteering. Without a driving reason for serving, you won’t be motivated to keep going or to even start, for that matter.

Here’s my why for serving with the collegiate chapter: The college years are an impressionable age. These collegiate women can, many for the first time, make adultlike choices that will benefit them for years to come, or they can make choices that could be detrimental. I want to set an example as a positive Christian role model for these chapter women.