To start off the year for the Greek siblings column, we have Ashley and Kaitlyn Wehrheim, twins from Hainesville, Ill. who are new to the Greek community this academic school year. They'll tell us about the rush process and how they went about it with a twin!
TC: As a formality, could you both please tell us your pledge class years and houses that you're in?
Ashley: I'm in the 17s pledge class, I am Alpha Gamma Delta.
Kaitlyn: I'm in the 17s pledge class, and I am in Alpha Chi Omega.
TC: Where are you guys from and did you go to the same high school?
Ashely and Kaitlyn: We are both from Hainesville Ill. and we both went to Grayslake Central High School.
TC: And did both of you know you wanted to come to U of I?
Kaitlyn: We both applied to a lot of schools, some the same and some that were different, but we both fell in love with U of I and decided it would be great to still be close to each other.
TC: When you guys finally did decide on U of I, did you know that you wanted to go Greek?
Ashley: We have two older cousins who attended college before us and participated in Greek life. They always talked about how much they loved it and how it was one of the best decisions they made in college, so we both knew we had to give it a shot!
TC: How was it going through the rush process together?
Kaitlyn: I always wanted to rush, but I was a little intimidated because my mom and most of my family don't understand sororities, but I wanted to have the opportunity to meet amazing people and to find people who I can learn from and grow with.
Ashley: Rush was actually a great process for us. We both went through the emotional ups and downs that rush usually entails, so it was great to have the support of your best friend going through the exact same process. It made the experience a lot of fun when you have your best friend going through it with you at the same time. It was also really great to see which houses we each would go to the next day. It was the first time in our life that we went through a process where people did not know we were twins, so I finally got to feel like a separate individual outside of being a twin. So, we found the places we really truly belonged as individuals. It was amazing to always have someone there to support you and have fun with you no matter what!
TC: Being twins did you ever feel the pressure of wanting to be in the same house or did you both know you wanted something different?
Kaitlyn: Going through rush was an incredibly overwhelming experience for everyone but … I was so lucky to have my sister by my side through it and to have someone to talk to who was going through the same thing that I was. It really was an amazing experience for myself because as rush continued it was really great to see that we each had different preferences, and while we did go to some of the same houses, it was great to see that we fit into different houses. It was great to get that recognition that although we look alike, we aren't the same people. And because of these differences we ended up in the houses that best reflected us and that could help us grow individually.
Ashley: With being twins, there definitely were times that I really felt the pressure to be in the same house as my sister. I was scared of what it would be like to not be together. I had been with her my entire life, and it was really scary to me to think about not having that all the time... As the rush process continued, though, I definitely realized that being in different houses would be a really good thing for us. I definitely feel that it has allowed us to learn things about ourselves that we never would have learned if we were always together. Now that we are in different houses, I not only get the chance to make my own friends, but to meet some pretty amazing girls that are in her house!
