The most stressful and exciting week in a sorority girl’s semester has finally come to a close! A couple of weeks ago, many young women from Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus found out which sorority they were meant to be in and ran home! For anyone who doesn’t know anything about Greek Life, I’ll give you a little overview…
Every semester, the Panhellenic sororities on campus hold recruitment for potential new members! “Which sororities are on the Daytona Beach campus?” you may be asking. Our location has three sororities to choose from: Alpha Xi Delta, Theta Phi Alpha, and Sigma Sigma Sigma. Although all three are very different, they are all great because of their values and philanthropies. The process is simple, the potential new members (or PNMs as we like to call them), go to the events that are held by each sorority, and eventually go through a mutual selection process to find out which one is their home!
Now since I am a sophomore who is already in a sorority, some might be wondering how all of this involves me. I was one of the fifteen young ladies on campus that was given the important job of being a Recruitment Guide, also known as a Rho Gamma. As a Rho Gamma, it is our job to help our PNMs with anything they need during recruitment. This ranges from supporting them when they decide which sorority they want to be in, helping them choose what they want to wear for each event, or even giving them a mint if they think their breath is smelling bad!
My Recruitment Group!
Being a Rho Gamma was great, but there was one catch to the position. In order for us to support our PNMs without being biased toward our own sorority, we had to disaffiliate weeks before school began. This disaffiliation included never wearing letters in public, taking down all of our pictures
that showed which sorority we belonged to, and never talking to our sisters! For me, this was the hardest thing imaginable, because I currently live with several sisters in our sorority house and it was difficult not being able to talk to the people who you are the closest to.
All the Rho Gammas running home after the Rho Gamma Reveal!
As I look back on my weeks as a Rho Gamma, I can truly say it was one of the most special things I have ever experienced. I was able to see the other side of recruitment, something I went through when I joined my sorority last spring. I bonded with Panhellenic women from other organizations on campus and learned more about their sororities. And the most special thing of all, I helped new members find their home, the organization that will help them grow into the women they are meant to be. Deciding to give up my letters to help them find theirs was probably the best decision I have ever made.
Finally back with my sorority!
Go Greek!
