Shalom Drummond
“Tri Kappa is a group of sisters and friends that you didn’t know you needed, and they’re going to be there when you need them,” says Shalom Gerhard Drummond. “It’s a really great feeling that you’re helping others and doing it with your best friends.”
Shalom was born with a cleft palate in Bloomington. Her biological parents left her at the hospital, unable to deal with a child facing multiple surgeries. She was fostered by a loving couple in Scipio, who eventually adopted her and two other children. They added three biological kids to the mix for a total of six.
“Scipio was named after Scipio Africanus, a Roman general, because it’s built on seven hills (just like Rome),” Shalom laughs.
Shalom saved her money all through high school and traveled across Europe the next winter. She moved to Bloomington at 23 with the intent of working and starting college, but fate got in the way.
Instead, Shalom got married and eventually had her son, Guy. She worked for the transportation department in Bloomington. However, the itch to learn and earn a degree got too hard to ignore, so she started studying at Indiana University.
It took her five years to complete a liberal studies degree with minor in geography, history and labor studies while raising a teenager and working full-time for IU.
Along the way, Shalom found a biological half-sister through 23 and Me.
“Nikki lives in upstate New York,” Shalom says. “We are so much alike: We have the same hobbies, the same horrible sense of humor.”
Shalom now works at the IU Treasury, managing wire transfers, funding payroll, doing taxes and taking care of insurance.
Tri Kappa has been a good fit for Shalom because she’s always been service-minded.
“I also volunteer at the Brown County Humane Society,” Shalom says. “Because Tri Kappa is a service sorority, I love being involved. I was over-the-moon excited to be invited to join.”
Being a member of the Flower Committee is Shalom’s favorite activity of the Bloomington chapter.
“People are so happy when you’re putting a big pot of flowers in their car,” Shalom says. “They smile. I really also like knowing that the money we make in flower sales helps other people in the community.”
Shalom had to take a few years off from Tri Kappa while she was finishing her college degree. She’s really glad to be back in the active membership.
“I love getting to meet so many different women and being able to support them in Tri Kappa,” Shalom says.
More About Shalom:
She has two uvulas
She once ran a marathon
In honor of her 45 th birthday, she rode her bike over 50 miles
She has 11 pieces of metal in her “bionic” ankle
She has two siblings born in South Korea and one born in India