Anderson Wins Prestigious Tri Delta National Award

Addison Anderson '23 wasn’t able to tell any of her friends at Knox that she was chosen to receive the Sarah Ida Shaw Award, Tri Delta’s most prestigious collegiate award. She had to keep it secret until they could hold a national achievement ceremony in Dallas at the beginning of May. 

Named after the founder of Tri Delta, the Sarah Ida Shaw Award is given annually to a Tri Delta member who best embodies the values of the sorority: truth, self-sacrifice, and friendship. Anderson was chosen out of 13,000 national sorority members and was officially named at the yearly Collegiate Leadership Conference.

Anderson served as president of the Knox Tri Delta chapter at the time of nomination. Every chapter was asked to nominate one member for the award. The application process was vigorous, requiring four letters of recommendation and an essay explaining how the applicant showcased Tri Delta values. 

Months after applying, Anderson says she was notified that she was a finalist and had to prepare for a live interview in front of Tri Delta executives. “The interview went so fast, I honestly thought I bombed it. I was very nervous,” Anderson said. 

Weeks later at a chapter meeting, Anderson says the group’s advisor suspiciously walked out of the room and returned on a FaceTime call with the president of Tri Delta, who notified her of her award. Even now, she can’t believe she was the one chosen for the honor.

“I was already so honored to be chosen within our small Knox chapter of just 18 people,” Anderson said. “I feel like I haven’t processed the fact that I was chosen out of thousands of members nationwide. It’s hard to put it into words.”

Before coming to Knox, Anderson says she wasn’t planning on joining a sorority. After living on campus for some time and meeting different members, she found that she shared many values with those involved and quickly decided to join. Looking back, the networking connections and leadership skills she learned have been an invaluable part of her Knox journey. 

Anderson also serves as an Intercultural Life Peer Educator, leading dialogues with students and highlighting marginalized voices. As a junior, Anderson was also named the Pearl Harris Award winner, given to the junior woman who has made the greatest contribution as a campus citizen to the life of Knox College.

Anderson is the first Knox College student to make it to the final round of this award process since the Tri Delta chapter was founded in 1889. She hopes this award drives future Knox students to believe in themselves and see that they have just as much potential to achieve awards in the same caliber as larger colleges and universities. 

“I’m so proud to be able to accomplish something people deem exemplary,” Anderson said. “I hope that my work will impact others in the chapter to do great things.”

Click on the episode listing below to hear the full KnoxCast podcast featuring Anderson, sharing stories about her time at Knox and the importance of sorority life on campus: