"The group of girls that I was trying so hard to find my first year quite literally fell into my lap when I joined ADPi, and I couldn’t be more grateful for what this chapter has given me."
Hi, everyone! My name is Paige Harakuni, and I’m a rising third-year biochemistry major and global health minor from Orange County, California.
Coming into college, I remember feeling super anxious about how I was going to find a group of people that I really fit in with and could just be myself around. I put off joining a sorority during my freshman year only because I felt so overwhelmed with the idea of formal recruitment when I had just gotten to UCLA, and everything was still so new. I know it seems really daunting, but after joining ADPi my second year, I can honestly say that whatever awaits you during recruitment is completely worth it for the experience of a lifetime that you’ll get out of it in the end. The group of girls that I was trying so hard to find my first year quite literally fell into my lap when I joined ADPi, and I couldn’t be more grateful for what this chapter has given me.
I’m not sure how much I can write without sounding cheesy and cliche, because everything that I’ve learned and all the ways that I’ve grown while being in this chapter really make me want to go on and on about what ADPi means to me. If anything, I think that my laundry list of reasons as to why I love this chapter is testament enough as to how much I value being here.
As lucky as we are to get to go to an institution like UCLA, I know exactly how difficult it is to navigate such a large, diverse community without the comfort of having a small slice of campus to call home. Through ADPi, I’ve been incredibly lucky with the people that have become my support system, my cheerleaders, and my best friends all in one. These girls have made me feel comfortable with where I am and confident in who I am every day that I’m with them. ADPi has gifted me with the most encouraging, inspiring, and empowering women that I’ve ever met, and I count myself blessed to be a part of such an uplifting institution for women. There’s no one else I’d rather study marathon with, send the weirdest Tik Toks to at 3:00 AM for an immediate response, impulsively order Tocaya Organica with, walk ourselves to death at Disneyland with, go to for the best (and worst) advice about anything under the sun, panic-buy Harry Styles tickets with, and just go through life with than the girls I’ve met right here at ADPi. They’ve been with me through the highest peaks and the darkest lows, and in the tumultuous and trying environment we live in today, they’ve made life brighter and have been making strides towards bettering ourselves and our community.
I am so beyond thankful that I found my home in these people, and if you get to experience just a fraction of the love and good times that ADPi has to offer, then I’d say you’re one of the lucky ones. I wish you the best of luck with recruitment, and I hope that you get to find your happiness on Hilgard just like I did!