This past Saturday some of the women of the Beta Delta chapter of Gamma Phi Beta here at Michigan State University had the beautiful opportunity to travel to Ann Arbor to help with the first initiation process of the Beta chapter at the University of Michigan. What is it like, you ask, to help initiate a chapter coming back to a university? It gives you a whole new perspective of the initiation process and your sorority as a whole. It makes the meanings more meaningful and the tradition feel more powerful.   

The Beta chapter of Gamma Phi, founded in 1882, is especially important because it was the first colony created after the founding at Syracuse University of the fraternity, as it used to be called when it was founded in 1874. This particular chapter also played a large role in the coining of the term “sorority,” something that distinguishes Gamma Phi.   

This past fall, members from other chapters, including Beta Delta, and national council helped recruit around 200 members to the new chapter. As they were tutored on all that Gamma Phi Beta is for a semester, and an additional month, they began the Greek experience at the University of Michigan from a colonizing member’s perspective. The new women were highly anticipating being officially initiated sisters by the time initiation came around on Jan. 24, 2014.   

Attending the ceremony were the 180-plus new members to the chapter along with alumni from the chapter when it was first brought to the University of Michigan in 1882. Paige Bruno, the current chapter president of Beta Delta performed most of the ceremony. There were also excited alumni ready to help initiate their next generation legacies to the newly chartered chapter. The international president, Krista Davis, was also in attendance, which made the day feel even more meaningful. And I know I wasn’t the only one  in awe of her (she was everything I thought a sorority president would be and more – selfie stick and all). There were also Collegiate Leadership Consultants, like Brownwyn Holder, who helped the chapter throughout the new member process. 

The current ritual chairwoman of Beta Delta, Michele Lurye, said about the day, "Working with our international president was kind of nerve-racking at first, but a bit into it I realized how awesome it was to work with all these ladies for my first initiation. It was just such an honor for our whole chapter and I'm going to remember that my first time was more special than I could have even imagined."  

It was fascinating to see 200 girls that some of us had never met or even seen before shared something so significant. While we waited for the process to begin, we were paired up with five Beta girls to each Beta Delta girl. We compared and contrasted our social lives, sisterhoods, houses and experiences through Gamma Phi Beta. We could tell they were nervous to see how it all came together during the initiation process, but we were able to assure them how exciting it would be to be an official sister of the sorority. On the Beta Delta side, it was somewhat intimidating because their new pledge class alone was larger than Michigan State’s average entire house. But, even though our numbers weren’t the same, we had much in common with our sisters over in Ann Arbor.   

Overall, the experience was something we will always remember as part of our Gamma Phi experience. This past weekend, we strived to perform our mission statement and to “inspire the highest type of womanhood” with the new sisters of Beta. Even though we’re rivals within the state, we came together for something bigger than ourselves.   

For more information on the reformed chapter, visit their website! http://www.gammaphibetaumich.com/