In the years leading up to college, I always knew I wanted to join a sorority. Sorority formal recruitment at my school was at the end of the 4th week of classes, but I wanted to get involved with other things first. I joined the women’s rugby team, and my teammates very quickly became some of my best friends. I went through one round of recruitment and decided that being in a sorority wasn’t what I wanted anymore. I spent the whole semester bonding with and making incredible memories with my teammates and other friends, but something was still missing. I felt that I was missing out on a values-based organization, opportunities for community service, and a lifelong sisterhood.
A few weeks into my spring semester, I decided to participate in informal recruitment for Kappa Alpha Theta. I met Theta during that first round of formal recruitment, and I remember loving how genuine and authentic they seemed. At formal recruitment, you meet every chapter on campus and will most likely receive a bid, or offer for membership, to one of them. During informal recruitment, you go only to chapters that you want, and there is no guarantee of a bid. While I had three choices of sororities going through informal, I decided to only go to Theta because I knew that’s where I could see myself.
I walked into the house the first night of recruitment and was a little intimidated. There were more girls than I thought going out for recruitment, and I thought there was no way I would get a bid. All of that nervousness melted away when I had my first conversation with a sister. I heard her talking about one of my rugby teammates she’s friends with, and awkwardly inserted myself into the conversation. That conversation ended up feeling so natural, as did ones with every sister I talked to after. I even talked to a girl that I didn’t recognize, but she remembered talking to me for just a few minutes at formal recruitment months before. I met a diverse range of girls and loved that Theta embraced everyone’s differences.
Those three days of informal recruitment were much more stressful than I thought they would be. The actual recruitment felt so natural and not stressful at all, but since I ended up loving Theta so much more than I thought I would, I was nervous that they wouldn’t like me as much as I liked them. I didn’t tell any of my friends at school I was going through recruitment, so I had no one to talk to about it. Saturday morning was the last round, and we would find out if we were to get a bid soon after we left. Again, I had a great time meeting new girls and this time getting a tour of the beautiful house. I met so many great girls and felt attached to Theta before I even knew if I would get a bid.
After nervously waiting for a phone call from the Chief Recruitment Officer, I was offered a bid. I immediately accepted it and haven’t regretted it since. I have made amazing friends, met my amazing big, and become a more driven and focused individual since joining Kappa Alpha Theta. I love being a part of two organizations, rugby, and Theta, that challenge me, support me and make me a better person. I don’t regret how or when I joined Theta, and I would encourage anyone on the fence about joining a sorority to give it a try and find their home, whether it be formally or informally.
