Suzie Kyle doesn't like surprises.
Kyle has been the house director at IU's Delta Gamma chapter house for 25 years, and the members wanted to celebrate the milestone occasion with a surprise party on Friday evening.
When Kyle returned to the house after dinner with her granddaughter, she knew something was up. She went into the kitchen to drop off some snacks she'd bought for the members for finals week, but none of the kitchen staff was there.
After some convincing from DG President Erica Ewen, Vice President of Finance Leigh Powers and a few more of Kyle's friends, Kyle finally came into the dining room. Although everyone inside couldn't yell "surprise!" like originally planned, Kyle was still welcomed with a big round of applause and several flashing cameras.
"I told them not to do anything," she said. "I figured they would eventually, I just didn't think it would be tonight - but I'm glad they did."
Outside the dining room, attendees had the opportunity to take pictures at a photo booth. Inside the dining room, silver balloons filled the room and 25th anniversary decorations hung from the ceiling.
One table had a spread of all Kyle's favorite foods, including corn dogs, cheese balls, White Castle cheeseburger sliders, and 33 McDonald's Filet-o-Fish sandwiches.
"I have to go to McDonald's and get Filet-o-Fish," Kyle said.
Kyle began her career as a house director at the Alpha Chi Omega house at Butler University, a job her sister-in-law found for her. Kyle described it as running away from home in Carmel, where she grew up.
She later applied for the house director position at Alpha Tau Omega at IU; she wanted to work at a fraternity, because she wouldn't have to live in the house. She was ultimately offered a position at DG - and has been there ever since.
Her favorite part of being a "house mom" is seeing the women grow and change from their freshman to their senior years.
The most challenging, she said, is dealing with 115 college-aged women with different styles and habits living together in one house - "and all the mischief they can figure out," she said with a laugh.
She recalled an Anchor Splash philanthropy event with a plastic yellow duck relay race. After the event, Kyle said she discovered that some members placed ducks in some of the house's toilets. "That was an interesting challenge," Kyle said of trying to get the ducks out with a plunger.
Kyle said the biggest change she's seen over her 25 years in the house is the more open, less filtered conversations she hears the women have with each other.
"Nothing is a secret," she said. "Most of the time that's the way it is."
Becca Silbar, a junior in DG, said Kyle knows all the gossip and drama. The members know they can go to Kyle's room, whether they want to watch a football game or just talk. "It's like the hangout," Silbar said. "She's like one of the girls."
Silbar said Kyle makes a point to get to know the seniors and stay in touch with them after graduation. "She's really good about that," Silbar said. "It's really like having a mom."
Family, friends, fellow house directors and DG alumnae also came to the house for the celebration. Renae Peden, a 2015 graduate, said having Kyle as a "house mom" was and still is one of her favorite parts of DG.
"She's just her own person," Peden said of Kyle. "She tells it like it is and tells you like it is. She's sassy but really loving."
Peden said she and her pledge class became especially close with Kyle as seniors. They'd hang out in her room and watch movies and sports. As a going away gift, the Class of 2015 got Kyle a pair of red Sperry's she'd had her eye on for a while.
"She's a super part of what makes DG, DG here," Peden said. "We're really excited, because 25 years is a long time and it should be celebrated."
Cover photo: DG President Erica Ewen, left, and 2015 graduate Renae Peden, right, pose with Kyle (and a Filet-o-Fish sandwich) at the photobooth.
