Leader takes business approach to greek life

As a first-generation college student, Vanita Powell had no idea about greek life when she first came to IU. She was all business. An accounting and legal studies major, fifth-year senior Powell focused on classes and volunteering in the community both to enhance her resume and to achieve a sense of personal contentment, she said.\nDuring her effort to find her place among the myriad opportunities at IU, Powell recognized a facet of campus life about which she knew nothing, and joining a sorority seemed like a good opportunity to get to know people. Powell methodically researched all black sororities, visited their events and settled on Delta Sigma Theta.\n"Delta seemed to be based on the same ideals and initiatives that I had set for myself," Powell said. "It matched my goals, and I felt most comfortable interacting with people in Delta."\nNow in her second term as the Gamma Nu chapter president, Powell heads a group of 11 women, 10 of whom are newly inducted members. All of the women with whom Powell began her Delta life graduated either in May or December 2004. Powell's mission now is to pass on the ideals of a Delta woman.\nSome might say her efforts to make new members "jump in the saddle and get riding" right away are nontraditional, but they demonstrate how the recruitment process works among members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council. Because the chapters are so small, every member is expected to do her part, Powell said. This semester some of the sorority's newest members will plan spring week, a series of chapter-sponsored events. \nPowell's dynamic personality has prompted others to follow her, said senior Jeremy Morris, NPHC president.\n"She's a goal-setter and a goal-maker," Morris said. "It was her passion to bring the chapter to the point where it is. She never lost sight of what she was doing."\nPowell's involvement with Delta has helped her fine-tune her organization and communication skills. Most importantly, however, she has learned the life-long value of working with different people in different types of situations, she said. Her list of Delta accomplishments reads like a well thought-out resume: She has delegated responsibilities, planned events and provided assistance when her sisters needed it. But her sisters especially value her ability to mediate disputes and to be fair.\nIndeed, when it came time to select the chapter's president, Powell stood out as a just leader. Since then, she has been a guide and a mentor to others in the sorority.\n"She has shown me so much through her ability to multi-task and handle problems with a sense of wisdom," said sophomore Samillia Woods, who is among the newest Delta members. "Vanita has been a role model to me. She exemplifies the essence of a Delta woman."\n-- Contact Copy Chief Jane Charney at echarney@indiana.edu.