While Virginia has not always been home for Darcy Grogan, Longwood is where she stopped to catch her breath and found her new home. Grogan was born in Dallas, Texas and she moved to Chesterfield, Virginia in her middle school years, staying throughout her high school years. While her parents moved on to California, Grogan chose to stick to small town Virginia for college.
“Virginia is my favorite place that I’ve lived,” said Grogan.
She spent a semester at Radford University before she realized she was unhappy there. Coming to Longwood, Grogan “knew (Longwood) was just perfect for (me).”
Whether she’s in the Zeta Tau Alpha chapter room or at the tables upstairs in the Hull building, “it feels like home.”
Grogan is a Liberal Studies major with a minor in English, which she chose after a recent switch from Special Education.
“I thought that being a (Special Education) teacher was the only way I could be involved with kids with special needs,” Grogan said.
Grogan voiced concerns about the lack of patience that teachers have for students with slight learning disabilities, such as Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and she doesn’t want to be seen as a substitute for general education teachers.
She wants “to do what she loves … and become a guidance counselor.”
Grogan is also a newly initiated sister of Zeta Tau Alpha, which she admires for the customs, being that Longwood is the Alpha chapter of the sorority. The history of the sorority intrigues her, especially Jumper Day, in which the sisters wear their sorority’s colors on a dyed white dress. Stemming from the beginning of Greek life at Longwood, Jumper Day is a valued tradition for sororities.
When not with her Greek sisters, Grogan finds herself with her other “sister,” Jamariah. Grogan is a member of the Big Siblings club, where she mentors a local student once a week and is “a positive influence on (her) life and encourages (her little sibling) to be the best that she can be.”
About her “little,” Grogan related, “she’ll talk about anything and just listening to her explain things, even how she lost her tooth, is interesting.”
Grogan’s love for Longwood stems from the traditions that are exclusive to the school.
She noted, “The Chi walks are awesome … my friends who go to other schools don’t have things like that to look forward to. If I mention a Chi burning, they don’t know what I’m talking about … They’re missing out.”