When joining Greek life, many of us think of all of the traditions that are embedded in a chapter’s history at their campus. I know that was true for me. It is one of the most exciting parts of going Greek. Learning all of the great things your chapter has done in the past and things that have been passed down for years sounds amazing. It just wasn’t my experience.
I accepted a bid from a new chapter on campus. When I joined, the chapter was still less than a year old. Believe it or not, this is one of qualities that made me so eager to choose this specific house. When I went to their parties during rush week, I could tell how hungry the girls were for leadership and women with a sense of drive. They wanted people who were willing to step up and come up with new ideas and ways of helping the chapter improve. They wanted women who would help shape the chapter. This was so appealing to me. As someone who had always had leadership positions in high school organizations, I was ready to be active and involved again in college. So I preferred the new chapter and happily accepted my bid.
Everything the women told me about needing strong leaders and ambitious, hard-working girls proved true. Later that fall, I was elected into the position of philanthropy chairman. Much of my new member class was elected into positions. While this was very exciting, it was also a learning curve. All of us were new to Greek life and had a lot to learn about not only our positions and our own chapter, but about how Greek life at our school worked.
At times this could be stressful, but overall I think that the chapter did really well. Something that I loved was that when I accepted my position, everyone just kind of told me to run with it. I was told to be creative, to come up with new ideas, and that I definitely did not have to do things that the chapter had done in the past. This is what makes part of being a new chapter really great; If someone had a new or better idea, the chapter was always willing to listen or try it. Also, since our chapter is a little smaller, your voice will always be heard. I not sure if this is how it is at bigger, more established chapters, but I love it. Of course, there was some uncertainty and there still is at times. Yes, we have our struggles, being a little less well known on campus. All of it is worth it, though.
It is so amazing knowing that I am part of building something. There won’t be very many times in life that I’ll be able to say that I helped start something from the very bottom. 20 years from now, I’ll be able to bring my kids back to my sorority and tell them I helped start that philanthropy event and that I was in the very first Formal Recruitment Pledge Class. My chapter just celebrated its second birthday and it’s crazy seeing all that we have accomplished in that time period. We have raised thousands for our philanthropy, hosted our first formal, participated in formal recruitment twice, and secured a house. We have so much to be proud of and I know that we will continue to grow leaps and bounds. So if you are thinking about joining a house and there is a new chapter at your school, I urge you to check it out. You could be a part of something incredible.
