Make the Most of Taking a New Member Class in Your Org!

Taking a brand new new member class into your sorority is an extremely exciting time. Not only are you helping your chapter grow but there's the opportunity to take little(s) and get to know them on the same level that you know actual sisters. It seems extremely overwhelming. Getting that new member schedule and realizing that you need to make it to most of those events can scare you and rattle your schedule and organization a bit but make the most of them and below I'm going to tell you how!

• Study Hours: Yes, it's an extra thing on your schedule that makes it that much more hectic, however use it to your advantage! It's a great time to force yourself to get work done in absolute silence and you have no distractions. [I am currently writing this post during library hours so I'm being productive :P] Don't look at it as a burden but as a tool to help not only the new members but yourself!
• New Member Events: New member events every night may seem like a super amount of time commitment on top of what you already have on your plate i.e. homework, other clubs, favorite shows..etc. However, those events are going to be where you make a ton of your memories. They also serve as a great refresher course for yourself to brush up on your information and re-remind you of certain things about your chapter that you may have forgotten. For instance, refreshing you on information about standards policies, or on who the founders were of your organization!
• Rituals: Rituals are something amazing and sacred to your particular sorority and sharing that with new members should be an honor and exciting since they're not done very often. Make sure to take it all in, and enjoy them because one day once college is over you won't necessarily be doing them anymore. 

Of course, every new member process is different depending on sorority and chapter, however make the most of the events that your particular chapter has planned! They won't just be beneficial for your new members but yourself too! 

How do you choose the right sorority for you?

            It is half way through summer, which means for most sorority girls it is almost recruitment time! That means fun florals, bright colors, Greek lettered shirts, and lots and lots of sister time!
            Fall of 2011 I had no clue what the hell I was getting myself into when I walking into the Student Union Building planning to go through recruitment. I talked to so many girls and forgot most of their faces. I remember the second night I walked into a room and a girl walked right up to me and asked me "Brooke, how was your day today? I am so glad you came back out!" I was astonished! Why would this awesome, fun girl remember me? There were hundreds of us, and I even forgot their names but lucky they had name tags. Finding your sorority should be the girls that you leave an impression on and that they leave one on you. Don't get me wrong the day I chose what sorority I wanted to put first on my preference card was scary... It was like deciding if you liked a guy and he liked you back. Will Phi Sigma Sigma want me to be a sister of there amazing sorority? Not going to lie and say I wouldn't have been completely devastated if they decided to pick another girl over me but the next day at bid day I was beyond pleased to be holding a Phi Sig bid!
             When going through look for a group of girls you can connect with, sometimes all that glitters is not gold. Although there may be some cool sororities with fun colors, you have to find the best sorority for YOU. They are also trying to find the best potential sisters for them! My suggestions is try to find a connection with their philanthropy, an event, mission, creed, values, some of their sisterhood events, one of the sisters... there is so many different things potential new members can do to find their home away from home.
               One final piece of advice I would give a potential new member who is going through recruitment, is to research. Research about all of the sororities you are going through especially through their national website. Also, if your friend from another school said a Zeta Zeta Zeta sorority was horrible at hazing and they are always mean doesn't necessarily mean the one at your school will be the exact same way. Just like how every class in high school club is different, doesn't mean they all act the same way and all run their meetings the same. Talk to upper class men or different faculty on campus... they usually have a pretty good perspective but do not use Greek Rank. I personally think that it is very negative outlook on the Greek community and that it is also not very accurate... I mean at all.
              But go through recruitment & walk your own path... and if you don't like it you can create a new one, with it hopefully leading to the sorority of your choice!