Hey y'all! My name is Reagan, and I am a second-year Journalism and Political Science student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville! Born and raised in the beautiful Knoxville area, I grew up hiking, biking, and rafting through the Smoky Mountains, in addition to being introduced to my love for live music from a young age. When not peer mentoring or attending honors cohort meetings, you can find me engaged in on-campus organizations like Kappa Alpha Pi, The Daily Beacon, Model UN, and serving as a founding member of the Gamma Nu chapter for my sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta.

Every year, UTK's Panhellenic Council selects one member from each sorority to take to Senegal to help build schools. This project is focused on through Panhellenic's nationwide philanthropy, Circle of Sisterhood. Circle of Sisterhood is a philanthropic foundation dedicated to bringing equal access to education and job opportunities to girls and women across the world by connecting sorority women together under this common goal. As a woman in America, it's clear how much easier it is for me to access a collegiate, or even K-12 education in comparison to many women in West Africa.

I am incredibly grateful to have been chosen as my chapter's representative, but the trip will be costly between the flight from Atlanta to Senegal, program fee, and required vaccinations/prescriptions, totaling close to an estimated $3500. Because of that, I am asking for a bit of help to make this service trip a bit easier to access for myself so I can spend time focusing on connecting with the women we will be impacting, instead of worrying as much about the financial obligation. Any amount helps, and I am so incredibly thankful I was picked for such a unique opportunity to give back to the world.

Alpha Gamma Delta recognizes a line in Our Purpose that goes, "Inspire the Woman, Impact the World." This line continues to ring true dozens of years later after its initial writing and can be seen in my own life. I'm very lucky to have been surrounded by women like my mom, mentor, and sorority sisters that have continued to uplift me and present me with relevant leadership opportunities they have felt would support my career goals. But not everyone has the same support system as I have had due to geographical and socioeconomic reasons, so one of the long-term goals I aspire to get out of this is the ability to see the impact my work has had on others. I am so excited that I have such a phenomenal chance to share the values of my sweet sisterhood!