Some may say the world is full of coincidences. Little messages that seem to make no sense, or moments that lead to unexplainable serendipity. When I finished my recruitment process, I reflected on what led me to choose the pretty white house near the end of row. The more I thought, the more I realized that my string has always been tied to Alpha Delta Pi.

Throughout my life, so many wonderful things have impacted how I live and see the world. So many people have pieces of my heart, and so many opportunities have shaped me into who I am today. Since my childhood, I have always been a ball of energy with a curiosity for the world, and a heart for people. Growing up, I was taught that God created my hands to serve, my heart to love, and my mind to be open. These same values are embedded in the foundation of ADPi. The girls that I have met, and grown to love, embody these truths, while living and loving like Jesus did. 

When I decided I was attending Georgia Southern University, the next question everyone asked was whether I was rushing or not. It seemed like an obvious answer, since I was already involved with a local high-school sorority that centered around community service. Kappa Alpha Zeta Sorority was the first loop my string threaded through. The people I met and the memories I made through this organization  encouraged me to pursue Greek Life in college. I was already an overachiever with no desire to stop, so becoming involved in a collegiate organization as large as the Panhellenic Association was right up my alley. 

However, I learned very quickly that PHA is not “just” an organization, and Alpha Delta Pi is not “just” a sorority. It is a sisterhood. One that I was longing for, and never knew I needed. Being an only child, I had always dreamed of having a sister to get fashion advice from, to talk about boys with, and just to look up to. As luck would have it, I gained 256 sisters in the span of one day that would last for a lifetime. How coincidental that this only child found a forever sisterhood.

My string of fate was all tied around Alpha Delta Pi once it was established I was rushing at Georgia Southern. At least once a week for the last two months of my senior year, I would have someone saying, “You’re going to be an ADPi at Southern.” I didn’t know what this meant then, but I understand it now. Before, I was just indifferent because I was trying to go through recruitment with an open mind, but I quickly learned that 112 Olympic Blvd was my home. 

Recruitment was honestly such an eye-opening experience. The amount of times I said, “That is such a coincidence!” or “What a small world!” was incredible. From mutuals of hometown friends to Hollan Coleman who I spent a week with on the Washington Youth Tour in 2022. The connections were endless and I was beginning to realize maybe it wasn’t a coincidence. 

It has always been said that you don’t become an ADPi, you’ve always been an ADPi. I am beginning to believe this as true because every value, every moral I keep is shared amongst this sisterhood. Being around like minded girls and beautiful souls keeps me motivated to be the best version of myself.

Coincidences no longer hold much value to me because I know that it is really just God working on his masterpiece. He is too intentional to let anything happen just by “luck.” There has been a plan for each and every one of us before we were even born. God is the seamstress that has weaved the string that led me to Alpha Delta Pi. This invisible string that has tied me to all the girls in that pretty white house near the end of row.

With the utmost of love, 

Grace Pham PC’23