Leadership Highlight: Victoria Marrow the President of Delta Sigma Theta at University of Kentucky

In an effort to highlight the young leaders who are leading undergraduate chapters across the nation, we at Watch The Yard reached out to the sorors of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.’s Mu Epsilon Chapter at University of Kentucky and did an interview with Victoria Marrow the president of the chapter.

The position of president of an undergraduate chapter of a Black sorority is a highly respected role and there is a special pride that one takes. 22-year-old Marrow has used the position to gain new leadership experience, improve the lives of other students on campus and help the community around her.

We interviewed the Public Health Pre PA major and talked about her position, goals, future and what it means to hold a leadership on campus in the digital age.

Read the full interview below.

What does it mean to be a chapter president to you?

The chapter president of the most excellent Mu Epsilon chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated is something I never thought I would be. I have always been shy and timid, but stepping into this leadership role was something I aspired to do. Since being in this role, I have learned so much. It is not just about making sure business gets done in all aspects of the chapter, but it is also about making sure I set a good example and represent the chapter well. Every once in a while, I I like to ask the chapter what can I do to be a better president or how can I handle situations better. I work off of feedback and sometimes criticism, and I think that a big part of being a leader is knowing how to take feedback and apply it. It is truly an honor to be able to continue the legacy of all the hard work that my sisters have done before me. I thank the 13 dynamic women who paved the way for us, because without them, we would not be ME.

Photo: A’Lisa Musalia @alisa.musalia

What made you decide to attend the University of Kentucky for undergrad?

If I am being honest, I decided to attend the University of Kentucky because my dad is a football coach here and he gets a discount. I am originally from Columbus, Ohio, which is about 3 hours away. It is weird that I live in another state now even if it is only a few hours away. Prior to attending school here, I would visit every other weekend to see my dad and come to football games. Lexington was a city that I definitely wasn’t used to. It is like a small college town. A lot of my line sisters from Louisville say I need to go experience their home. Lexington is a cute place, though. It has grown on me for sure.

What specific initiatives is your chapter heading up this year and how do you think they will improve the campus/surrounding community?

I am really excited for this year and what our chapter has planned. Everyone who is in the chapter now has skills that are so different from one another. This year the chapter is going to keep focusing on presenting award winning programs that educate the campus and the community. I am excited to see how our promotions for programs will look this year. Our public relations chairs are both so talented and they kill it when it comes to coming up with creative ways to inform the campus that we have an event coming up. I think the chapter will continue to improve campus by putting on events that are relevant and informative. After every event we ask participants to provide feedback on the event. We then all read the comments and then talk about how we can better improve a certain event for next year.

Pete Comparoni UK photography // @petecomparoniphoto

What made you want to pledge Delta Sigma Theta?

I wanted to become a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. because every Delta woman I know is a woman that I aspire to be. I had been around my “Delta Aunties” my entire life, but the decision to join the sorority was never pushed on me. My mom and my aunties let me find my own way. I remember being on campus my freshman year and specifically seeing a group of young women who were just killing it in every aspect, whether is was seeing my prophytes as president of different organizations on campus, seeing them in another executive board positions, interning for the athletic department, etc. I really admired how they all carried themselves and how it seemed like each member had a position in some sort of organization on campus. I had attended the programming events and I loved how much thought they had put into the programing and how genuine they were with one another and with participants.

A certain event that really made me know I wanted to be a Delta was when my mom got diagnosed with cancer last year. Besides my own biological sisters, I had never seen the true definition of sisterhood until I saw how my moms line sisters aided to not only her, but my entire family. I was certain that this was the organization that I wanted to be apart of so badly if I was lucky enough. Now being able to share this bond with my mother is something I will forever be grateful for, I still cry about it sometimes because I really can’t describe how much closer I feel to her because of it.

What is it about your specific chapter that makes it so unique?

What makes the Mu Epsilon chapter so unique is that we are the Most Excellent. Before I was a member, I remember following the page and seeing all of the awards that the chapter would bring home each year. We pride ourselves on our award winning programs for the community. Being the most excellent would not be attainable if our prophytes did not teach us the way. I still look up to many of my prophytes and I have enjoyed seeing them conquer being adults in the real world. My sisters are doctors, lawyers, teachers, physician assistants, we have sisters who work for NBA teams and event coordinators for major artists.

We now live in a digital world, what do you think undergraduate chapters across all orgs need to do to represent themselves online in 2019?

Social media really helps us address some of the stereotypes that Greeks face. I like how through social media we are able to highlight that we do more than just strolling and stepping (even though people do love to see it). Our chapters primary way for promoting our events is through social media. We also highlight service that we do and any awards that we have won. We can also use it to support other organizations by reposting flyers for NPHC or other minority organizations on campus. One creative thing that we did this summer was doing “a day in the life of ME”. Each member who had a summer job or internship showed our followers what it was like to be us for the day. It showed that we know how to have fun, but that we are also about our business!

What does leadership mean to you?

Leadership to me means being able to lead, but also follow when needed. One saying I told myself I wanted to live by since being put in this leadership position is from our great former president of the United States. Barack Obama said: “ask yourself-how can I make other people around me do great things?” I like this quote because I look at it as: if you are a leader, then you should inspire others to be the best version of themselves in any role that they are put in. I think a good leader should encourage. I try to do that in my position. Sometimes I have to appoint certain sisters to certain roles in the chapter, and sometimes they don’t understand why I put them in that leadership role, but I know that they have the ability to challenge themselves and do it and I want them to know I am rooting for them and believe in them. I said earlier that a good leader should know when to lead, but also when to follow and I think this is very true. I have sisters who are way more creative then I will ever be, I know when I need to step back, for the good of the chapter and I don’t mind at all.

Why do you think Watch The Yard is important to Black greekdom?

I love Watch The Yard because even though we are all in different organizations, at the end of the day we are all apart of NPHC and we are all brothers and sisters. I think Watch the Yard does a great job of connecting all of us even though we aren’t all the same or all in the same place. I think the page does an excellent job of highlighting each organization, showing sisterhood and brotherhood, and the success each organization has had in uplifting the black community because all of these things are what we are all about at the end of the day. A lot of people have a lot of stereotypes, sometimes negative ones, about Divine 9 organizations, but this site strives to enlighten and highlights what is so great about our organizations. I love how we can all relate to the posts, laugh at them, cry about them, etc. It is just nice to have yet another community that I’m apart of.

What does sisterhood mean to you?

Sisterhood means having 16 other women that each hold a piece of my heart. It’s knowing that I have other women who will be there for me for anything I may need with no questions asked. The beautiful thing about this sisterhood is that it does not just stop with my line. I have my older sisters, younger sisters, and Delta Dear sisters. I know I can always count on them if I need a cry, laugh, help with a class, tips on how to do a better twist out, etc. Sisterhood is real and it can be hard too. Sisterhood is not always easy. It takes a lot of work to better sisterhood and I often have to remind myself that my sisters will be my sisters for life, and we won’t figure out how to have a perfect relationship within a year. I feel so fortunate and lucky that I get to experience this and that it is for a lifetime.

What do you plan on doing after graduation?

After I graduate, I plan on applying to physician assistant school either in Houston or here in Lexington, KY. My dream would be either practice pediatric oncology or to work in non-profit clinics that provide healthcare for minority communities. I have worked really hard my entire undergraduate career to build up my resume, get good grades, and better myself as a young professional. I am excited to see where this journey of chasing my dream career will take me.

We at Watch The Yard would like to commend Victoria Marrow for her work as the president of Mu Epsilon Chapter which has a long legacy that spans back to 1975.

Share this on Facebook and help us highlight Victoria Marrow.