Kori Maitlens Drive to Make a Difference

For today’s college students balancing school, work and a social life is a difficult task. For many, that is enough to lead to numerous break downs during their college career but Kori Maitlen wanted more.

Kori is a confident, motivated senior at Washington State University. From an early age she had a passion for physical therapy and helping others. In the spring of 2012 Kori eagerly awaited as her parents loaded their car to make the five hour trip to Washington State University, her new home. With sweaty palms and nervous laughter, Kori left the safety of her parents for the first time and started her journey at college. Excitingly stringing lights and hanging posters in her new dorm, Kori patiently awaited sorority rush. Since childhood Kori was infatuated with the idea of Greek life. She loved the community that WSU offered and was waiting for the day she too would be part of the Greek community. When the time came to choose a sorority she knew that Delta Gamma was the place for her.

“I knew joining a sorority would change me but I had no idea that it would shape the person I am today”.

While being a member of Delta Gamma Kori knew she wanted to have a position where she could make a difference. After staring at the Delta Gamma position sheet for weeks, Kori nervously signed her name in the president box, unknowing of the emotional roller coaster that would follow.

After voting, and celebrating the victory of being named president of Delta Gamma, she received a devastating call from Delta Gammas nationals telling her that a previous visit from their Collegiate Development Consultant did not go well and that they were on report.

“I was crushed…I was so excited to start my term and literally first day was told that Delta Gamma is on report. Report is not the end of the world but Delta Gamma was put under a microscope by our nationals, watching every good or bad things we did. It was a scary time, being placed on report can have negative effects for the house such as social events taken away or termination of the house as a whole”.

With tears streaming down her face, she knew what she had to do. Kori was dedicated to making a difference in Delta Gamma and that is what she set out to do.

“I took the position knowing it was going to be difficult, at that moment I knew I had to be strong for my sorority and push them into positive light with nationals again”.

She quickly assembled an all house meeting letting everyone know the severity of the situation and the implications in the future it can have if not resolved. Kori made sure to educate the members on their responsibility with being a Delta Gamma and the values they must uphold to avoid problems that previously concerned the CDC. As a second CDC checkup visit was approaching quick, she knew it had to go perfect.

“Nothing could go wrong, nothing”.

The weekend of the new CDC visit was filled with chaos and joy. With sleepless nights, Kori was pushed to her breaking point trying to show the woman from nationals the strong values Delta Gamma upholds and the wonderful family everyone has become. When the meeting came to an end and Delta Gamma received their review back from the CDC, tears were once again shed. Kori opened the letter and let out a blood curdling scream.

“We got off report! I have never been put through such an emotional rollercoaster in my life. The stress of being the individual to make or break Delta Gamma was a situation I was not prepared for but was victorious in accomplishing”.

Through Kori’s exceptional leadership skills, Delta Gamma was no longer in trouble with their nationals. Her careful planning and attention to detail paved the way for a flawless CDC visit that left their nationals ecstatic.

“I knew that my chapter could do this, they just need a push and a reminder of why we all joined and that’s to be a family”.

The journey for Kori was long and hard. With her continuous positive attitude and hard work, her struggle paid off in more ways than she ever could have imagined.

“Being put in this type of high stress situation was something new to me. I knew that I had to be a strong leader for my house and guide them out of trouble. This situation did not only help my house get out of trouble but awoke a sense of drive in me, I never knew I had”.