My Recruitment Story

Charisse A.

I don’t have the typical recruitment story. I didn’t sign up as a wide eyed freshman fresh outta high school, anxiously waiting for this process to begin. I didn’t meet so many sororities on campus during recruitment to where I lost track of faces and names. My recruitment experience is just the opposite.

               I had struggled with the thought of seeing myself in a sorority, but figured “hey, why not?” So I told my parents I wanted to go through recruitment during first semester of college. Needless to say they were not on board because they wanted academics to be my number one focus, understandably so. So I waited until spring semester. At that point, I was fully immersed in my school work and other extracurriculars that I didn’t even know how I’d be able to balance everything! But after a lot of back and forth from my parents, they finally became a little bit more understanding.

               Because I went through spring semester, I had an informal experience; meaning I would go to some events that each sorority was hosting and see where my best fit was. (It was pretty easy to decide, considering my school at the time only had 2 sororities.) I knew which house I belonged to. I knew where I wanted to establish my roots. Getting my bid was just perfect yet so surreal! And at first, I thought I wouldn’t feel the same as someone who went through recruitment before felt when they were greeted by so many sisters singing and yelling, waiting for new sisters to embrace them! I did in fact felt that way! Here’s where everything gets a little weird.

               Towards the end of second semester, news broke that my school and another one were “merging” which meant that my university and another were to now be housed under the same name and jurisdiction. This also meant that for the fraternities and sororities who existed on both campus would also consolidate and we’d have to take on a whole new group of guys/girls whom we didn’t even know! After a lot of back and forth and trying to fit all the pieces together, everything turned on alright! I was initiated with a pledge class of 4, but now have a pledge class of over 70, will be recruiting with more than 80 sisters, and are expected to recruit HUNDREDS of PNMS!

            

   So like I said, I don’t have the most traditional recruiting story, but it’s unique and something special that I’ll always carry with me. 

No Matter the Letters - We're All Greek Together

I’m sure it’s happened to you before. You’re walking across campus, proudly sporting your letters, and across the way you spot a girl in another sorority’s letters. As you make brief, almost-awkward eye contact with her as you cross paths, you can’t help but smile a little. Hey! I’m in a sorority, too! We’re both Greeks! While she may not be your sister, she’s a sister, nonetheless. And that’s something special. While you may not be in the same sorority, you know that she understands the sorority experience, and you can bet that she lives up to her sorority’s values just as you do yours. So doesn’t that make you sisters, all the same?

“PANHELLENIC SISTERS: NO MATTER THE LETTERS, WE’RE ALL GREEK TOGETHER.”

It’s a thing. You’ve seen it on Pinterest. You’ve probably liked and shared it on Facebook. There are plenty of Panhel-Pride images out there that make you proud to be you. And it really is something to be proud of. I mean, think about it: we’re members of fraternal organizations that have banded together to create a beautiful alliance of womanhood and Greek pride. That’s the National Panhellenic Conference, comprised of twenty-six sororities that strive to help women become their best and bond with sisters to make friendships that last a lifetime. It’s an organization that helps sororities to strive and flourish, enhancing the college experience and promoting friendship and sisterhood among collegians. Your school’s Panhel is made up of leadership representatives from all sororities on campus working together to promote the sorority experience for everyone. This Panhel thing certainly is something to be proud of, isn’t it?

No matter the letters, we are all Greek together. We all have aspects that bind us together, and though our traditions may be unique, we are all united by that Panhel Love.

Letters and Greek Pride
Whatever letters you wear proudly on your sweatshirt, you have letters to believe in. These letters mean more to you than meets the eye, more than anyone not duly initiated could even imagine. You’ve learned your letters’ true history and significance throughout your sorority experience. They are sacred. Whether you sport two letters or three, you have something to be proud of, and so do the other sorority women on your campus. When you wear your letters, you represent everything your sorority believes in and everything the sisterhood has meant to you. And you know what? We all have that privilege. Anyone who wears any letters at all knows the feeling of pride you get from walking across campus in your Bid Day shirt, thinking to yourself, “That’s right, I’m a proud member of Kappa Alpha Theta! (or what have you.)” Every sorority woman knows that feeling of an indescribable love for all her sisters, countless memories, and tears of joy. How can one possibly describe these wonderful feelings in mere words? You don’t have to. You have your letters. The letters say it all.

A Rich Heritage
Each sorority has its own unique history, its own founders, and its own story. Some have 11 founders, some have 4, but we can all attribute our memories back to a group of courageous women who founded an organization that would soon grow to be what it is today. Whether you’re a proud member of the Syracuse Triad or the Macon Magnolias, you’ve got heritage. You have thousands of sisters across the globe. You’ve got sisters that have come before you and will come after you. We all share a continuing history. Though our stories may be different, we all have a history that dates back through the generations, often back to when a woman attending college was a rarity. Just as you have your own family history, your sisters across the world and your Panhellenic sisters all have history to cherish.

Traditions and Rituals
Whatever they may be, we all have rituals. Though we don’t talk to them outside of the chapter room, we all have our secrets. These secrets are sacred and cherished. They are the tie that binds all sisters together. Sisters have been diligently conducting these traditions for generations. While the rituals of another sorority may be different from yours (whatever they are), they are traditions, nonetheless. It’s an honor to be a part of something so magical. I don’t know about you, but I sure feel the goosebumps whenever I participate in my chapter’s Ritual. I’m sure other women understand.

Campus Pride/Greek System Pride
Regardless of your letters, you’re still a proud student of your campus. You’re still a member of the Greek system. You’ve all competed together, you’ve all celebrated together, and you’ve all studied together. You’re a lady and a scholar. You’ve got school pride and sorority pride. Might as well show it off!

Character
Although you may still feel bitter about your rival sorority’s win of the Homecoming contests, you can’t deny that those women are still wonderful people on the inside. We were all chosen to become members of our respective organizations because our sisters saw something in us that they believed in. They saw the chapter’s values in us and knew that we would be excellent members of the chapter. Heck, they straight-up liked us as people! We’re all women of character, so toss rivalries aside and remember this.

Other sorority women know the true values of sisterhood. They know what it’s like to scream in delight as you get your beloved little on Big/Little Reveal. They know how it is to be rescued from an awkward bar encounter from your best wingwoman. They know what it’s like to have unconditional love for one another.

Our differences are what make us unique. Like a rose is made up of individual petals, a sorority is made up of individual members. Panhel is a garden, made of individual rosebushes.


And so, whether you’re repping angels and arrows, squirrels and pearls, or a golden lyre, you’re repping something more. You’re a proud woman of Panhel. Now, go out there and show some Panhel pride!

Editor's Note: This post was written by one of our new writers, Lauren. Be sure to leave her comments on her first official post! 

Why Rankings Are Irrelevant

It’s inevitable for ranks to happen in the Greek community, especially if it’s made by other people in the Greek community or from vicious websites for anonymous people to comment negatively. It’s easy to take a peek at these comments and read relentlessly what strangers are saying. These ranks suddenly became a popularity contest by outsiders and a forum for anonymous users to leave hateful words.

It’s impossible to have these rankings remove the invisible “top house/ bottom house” stamp on your sorority. However, it is possible to not have these ranks affect you.

Sororities are something to experience if you are from the outside looking in. Otherwise, the person who is making such rude comments is literally making rude comments for no reason at all. Who are they trying to impress by demeaning a sorority? Rankings have a lot to do with perception than actual facts. Many comments made on ranking websites contradict with each other. One commentator will call XYZ classy, while another calls them trashy. You shouldn’t value the opinions of strangers who have no clue what really goes on in that sorority.

Although, it may be hard to pin-point who is making these rude comments, they are irrelevant. No fraternity man can truly understand the bonds of sisterhood. No sorority woman can understand what it’s like to be a member in another house. Yes, they socialize with you and see the endless amount of photos popping up on their Facebook feed, but they cannot live vicariously through you.

These rankings do not define you or your sorority in any way. Women joined sororities for the bonds they want to make. From bid day to graduation day, sorority women are wearing their letters proudly. Since the beginning of recruitment, you may have had an open mind to going panhellenic because you were searching for a sisterhood. What happened within those parties changed you because you finally understand what it means to be a sorority woman. There’s a high chance that after day one of recruitment, you wanted to call yourself “A ____” because you wanted to do what these women were doing, you wanted to match endlessly with them, and you wanted the same bonds they already made with each other. You saw yourself calling those girls your sisters.

You don’t have to explain to anyone why your sorority is ranked high or low. In the end, you earned those letters for embodying your sorority values and you’re making the best memories with your sorority sisters. You shouldn’t choose a sisterhood based on biased ranks and you should not let those ranks affect your sisterhood. The best thing to do is avoid that negativity and concentrate on your amazing sisters. 

Editor's Note: This article was written by one of our new writers, Christina. Please show her some love in the comments for her first post! 

Sisterhood Is...

    

During recruitment, one of the most common questions we ask PNMs is "what does sisterhood mean to you?"  It's one of those questions that we use to help evaluate why someone is going through recruitment. It is also one of those questions that when a PNM asks us the same thing, we give a sugar coated answer 9 times out of 10. We don't lie per se but we also don't talk about the no perfect side of sisterhood. My PNM answer to this question is:

Sisterhood is a lifelong bond between me and all the girls in this room. We are there for each other in any situation. My sisters love me for who I am and don't want me to change. They are all my best friends and will be my future bridesmaids. 

       

None of that is wrong however it isn't completely true. Not all of my sisters are my best friends. There is certainly a list of sisters within my chapter that would get the first phone calls when I need help before I reached out to people who aren't my sister. Here is my real life answer to "what does sisterhood mean to you?" 

Sisterhood is a lifelong bond between a group of women. It is the smiles and the tears. It is the laughing and the yelling. It is being in the middle of a fight but when your sister says she needs you dropping everything to go comfort her. It is wiping someone's face and holding their hair when they are sick. My sisters won't all be my bridesmaids but they will be the first people to know (behind my family) that I'm getting married. I know all of my sisters names but I don't talk to all of my sisters. My sisters aren't all my best friends but they all could call on me for help and I'd do whatever I could to be there for them. 

Every now and then I think it's important to really think about (and share with your sisters) what does sisterhood mean to you?

I would love to know what sisterhood means to you so please let me know in the comments! 

My Sorority Story: Dealing with Rejection During Recruitment

As a first generation Panhellenic sorority hopeful who decided to go through recruitment super late in the semester I was at an extreme disadvantage. I had one sorority I was really looking into but before I could scream hip hip horray at bid day I had to get through three days of recruitment. To say I was nervous would be an understatement.

I had no idea what to expect during recruitment. My Pi Chi was helpful as she walked all of us through the days. We had Spring Formal Recruitment though so that meant that a lot of people had a whole semester to get to know sorority women, while I only had two friends who were Greek.

I had stumbled through my first day in a shamble of nervousness and I had inadvertently shut out a lot of the sororities with my conversation and nerves as I opened my schedule for the second day to see the only sorority that had invited me back was the sorority I'd made the friends in to begin with.

Although my heart belonged to that sorority I was still upset. I felt a pang of hurt in my stomach and I almost started to cry. I remember that day very well. It wasn't a bad thing--I still had my top choice, but it was hard to understand why I didn't get invited back to the other four houses on campus.

My first bid day!

In the end it's about picking up the pieces and moving on. It's okay to cry a bit, but don't go into a mass hysteria. Don't spend your entire recruitment wondering about what could have, should have, or would have been. In recruitment all you have is the present, the current schedule, the women who invited you back.

If you are rejected during recruitment I have two pieces of advice for you:

1. Continue On: Even if you decide to not sign a bid card at the end of recruitment, continue on with any sorority who invites you back until you have no more parties to go to. They invited you back for a reason so you should always hear what they have to say.

2. You Are Not Alone: Even if it seems like you are the only one who got rejected during recruitment, you aren't. Part of recruitment is the narrowing down of houses until you find your perfect house. If your list didn't get shorter and shorter with every day recruitment wouldn't work. No one has a perfect recruitment, not even the sorority women have perfect recruitments.

Sorority women get rejected as much if not more than the actual potential new members themselves. As a person who has been on both sides of recruitment I know how devastating it can be to a sorority woman when her recruitment crush doesn't come back into the room--we notice too.

Everyone gets that feeling of rejection, it's what you do after you get that feeling that matters.

Recruitment Week Necessities

Some would say spirit week and recruitment week are two of the most stressful weeks of the sorority calendar. I would have to say those people are wrong if you make sure you have everything you need in your bag to face any challenge you may come across. I have compiled the top 10 things you HAVE to have in your recruitment bag. 

• A Small Beauty Pack
• Coffee Filters: Great for blotting shiny noses
• Hairspray: Holds make up and hair as well as keeps undergarments from moving
• Chapstick: Helps eliminate dry lips and you can dab it on knicks to make them stop stinging
• Your Standard Makeup: Touch up in between parties

     

• A Nail Kit: Cuts loose threads, hang nails, tweezers to help with eyebrows and any other minor problems 

• A Wristlet: If you are running to print off lists for the recruitment chair you don't want your whole tote 

• Headphones: In case you need a few minutes of me time

• Lifesavers: Will help you get fresh breath in a pinch and can also give you a sugar pickup if  needed. 

• Starbucks Vias: Caffeine in 2 minutes or less

• A Recruitment Binder
• Your new member book: Brush up on your facts when you have a minute to spare
• An itinerary: It's awesome to be the one who knows what time parties are starting. 
• An encouraging note or set of quotes: For when you get a girl who just gets your mood down and need a pick me up. This is also useful when you get stressed with your sisters to help remind you why you joined. 
• Paper for when you need to take notes about PNMs or other tips your Recruitment Chair gives you

• A First Aid Kit: Band-Aids and Tylenol. There will always be someone who needs both. 

• A Small Snack: Low blood sugar and an empty stomach will make recruitment miserable so avoid this if possible. 

• Hand Sanitizer: You will shake so many hands this week, it's not worth getting sick. 

With these (inexpensive) useful things, your recruitment week should go off without a hitch! Good luck recruiting and remember that the lack of sleep and blistered feet are for the amazing new members you get at the end of the week!

Got any other necessities for recruitment? Share them in the comments! 

What To Wear To Recruitment

Thinking about recruitment is here! It's finally here! I'm so excited to welcome new members.  I know that schools do their recruitment process differently so I have made outfits based on what my school does. Unfortunately my school does not have houses therefore we don't have a "house tour" round.  As you can tell from the outfits they get fancier by the day.  

Black Scalloped Shorts // Denim Chambray Shirt  // Jack Rogers //  Earrings 

The Open House round is just the first step in the whole process.  It's very exciting! Don't be nervous by any means.  Go in with an open mind and listen to what every sorority has to say.  As you meet girls from each chapter they will briefly but efficiently explain who they are and what they stand for.  

Dress // Shoes // Nail Polish // Bag // How To: Hair

After a full day of meeting every sorority your list has dwindled down to a few.  In the Philanthropy Round you will learn in greater detail what the particular sorority values and supports.  This round may be meaningful for you in which you have that "ah ha!" moment and see this is where you see yourself.  

Dress // Necklace // Bag // Shoes 

You're almost there! Yes after many busy days of meeting many wonderful women you probably have in mind where you want to be.  Still, although you may have your head set on one sorority, still remember to keep your opinions of others open.  Preference round can be more intimate where you are given longer amount of times with these group of women.  

Shirt // Jeans // Shoes

You did it!!! You have a home! Bid Day is SUCH an exiting day.  After you've opened your bid you get to run home to new beautiful sisters.  This round is the most relax dressed day.  Usually your given  sorority will give you T-shirts so having a shirt that you can slip off quickly would be a great thing to wear.   

Congrats on your new sorority! I'm so excited for your newest adventure.  

Send us pictures of your outfits during your recruitment to our twitter account! @SisRedefined