Students at the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics have almost 30 unique student groups that they can choose to join. In each installment of this series, an executive member of one of these student groups will share their first-hand experience choosing, participating in and eventually leading their group.
Carly Cooper, Class of 2022 marketing and management major, is the president of Delta Sigma Pi (DSP) at the Lerner College. Cooper shared why she joined DSP, what makes this group unique and more!
Lerner: When and why did you choose to join this student group?
Cooper: I joined DSP in fall of 2018. I was a freshman and had heard about this business fraternity through my BUAD110 class and knew that I had to go through the recruitment process and I am so happy I did. They made me feel so welcome the moment I stepped into the first event and presented a world of opportunities that were available to brothers.
Lerner: What is the mission/goal of your student group?
Cooper: As the Omicron Omega chapter of DSP, we bring together business students to assist in their personal and professional development, as well as leave a lasting, positive impact on the community.
Lerner: When and where does your student group meet and approximately how many members do you have?
Cooper: Currently we meet over zoom for chapter every Monday night at 7 p.m. because of the pandemic. Other than chapters, we hold multiple events (virtually) every week. These include professional, community service, fundraising and fun social events like trivia night! We have 115 active brothers at this time.
Lerner: What is your best memory from this student group?
Cooper: I think my best DSP memory was after my first pinning ceremony when my entire pledge class was welcomed with overwhelming cheers, hugs and congratulations by our future brothers. Following the ceremony, they played music and we got the chance to talk and meet all of the brothers as new members. We didn’t even know these people yet and they were so excited to have us there. That was when I knew that DSP would become a family to me.
Lerner: What is unique about your student group?
Cooper: I think what defines DSP is our members. I think all of us can agree when I say that this brotherhood has given me a sense of family, a support system and a world of opportunities. I love being surrounded and challenged by intelligent, creative and like-minded professionals. The greatest asset of DSP is our brothers; everyone is always there to lend a helping hand and we all want to see each other succeed.
Lerner: What has been your proudest moment leading your student group?
Cooper: I just became the president so I have not had too many defining moments yet in this position. Before being president I was the social media chair. My proudest moment was when I recreated our entire website from scratch, giving it an entirely new look and feel! By doing this and updating our social media platforms, I helped bring record numbers of potential new members to our fall recruitment (about 120) and accepted our biggest pledge class yet of 37 new members.
Lerner: What are your goals for the future of your student group?
Cooper: Our main, long-term goal is to continue growing as a brotherhood both professionally and as a unit. Professionally, we are always striving to grow as future business leaders through workshops and speakers from all areas of the business world. Personally, we all support each other through every high and low point and continuing that relationship with future brothers is extremely important to us. We always want our graduating brothers coming back to meet our newer members to connect on a personal and professional level.
Lerner: How has your student group helped you grow?
Cooper: DSP has helped me grow in so many ways. With all of the workshops we have on resume skills, building your LinkedIn and interview tips, along with all of the networking opportunities we have been given I have learned how to grow myself professionally. DSP has given me the opportunity to learn these skills from business professionals that you typically do not learn in the classroom. DSP has also given me an abundance of leadership opportunities. I was elected as the social media chair the semester after I was initiated and held that position for four semesters. I learned so much about social media marketing and web design and now have a mini portfolio of my work that I can show at future interviews. Now I am the president and I am growing as a leader and learning along the way!
Lerner: Is there any additional information regarding your student group that you believe has not been covered? Please feel free to share.
Cooper: We have recruitment in both the fall and spring semesters! If you are interested in joining the best in business please visit our website and social media pages to learn more!