Ellen Rothschild ’17, president of Alpha Phi, is a junior living in Pforzheimer House. This is part one of a four part “Go Greek” series.
Alpha Phi has changed my college experience for the better and I truly could not imagine my life without it and without my sisters.
This may seem like an exaggeration, but I assure you it is not. I felt lost at Harvard my freshman fall, but I found my home in Alpha Phi. Quite literally, the Alpha Phi space is my home here in Cambridge – a place I go when I need to relax, watch Netflix, spend time with my sisters, or procrastinate. Within Alpha Phi I have also found my best friends, women who will be there for me in good times and in bad. Five, ten, even twenty years from now, I know my sisters will still be a part of my life.
Time with my sisters is always time well spent, whether we are working together for a good cause or getting ready together for mixers and formals and then dancing the night away. I’ve come to love a good theme party, which is always a good excuse to get off campus and head to the Garment District. I love to break out of the Harvard bubble and there are always Alpha Phis eager to go with me. Our annual trip to Skyzone is a personal favorite of mine (I never would have thought trampolines could be so much fun), though our beach outing and our annual trip to a haunted house in Salem are close contenders.
On campus, our fall philanthropy event, Grilled Cheese with Alpha Phis, is another favorite event of mine. It’s incredibly rewarding to see our members work hard to put together an event and be successful in raising money for women’s heart health and the Alpha Phi Foundation. Aside from our events, I often find myself at other on campus events supporting my sisters. Our members are involved in a wide range of groups on campus – athletes, musicians, thespians – and it’s so fun to go a show or a game and see an Alpha Phi on the stage or on the field. Our chapter is made up of so many different women with different backgrounds and interests, but together we form a group of individuals who support each other, and have fun together.
Not a day goes by where I don’t see or talk to an Alpha Phi. We have developed a strong sense of community and sisterhood. Within the larger Alpha Phi community, there are smaller Alpha Phi families. My “Phi Pham” (my big, my littles, etc.) is a special part of this community. As a little, I loved being spoiled, but being a big is even better. I loved dropping presents off in my littles’ rooms, leaving them secret notes, and doing whatever else I thought would make their days a little brighter. The big-little relationship is something special: your big is your best friend, going out buddy, cool big sister, mom, and mentor all rolled into one.
I went through recruitment my freshman year simply because I thought joining a sorority would be fun. And I was right – Alpha Phi is a lot of fun and I’ve loved every minute of it. I’ve loved the countless nights spent laughing until our sides hurt, complaining about our heels, and taking way too many photos. But in addition to all the fun times, I am glad I went through recruitment because of the community I found in Alpha Phi. I found a community I never knew I needed, but now I couldn’t live without. We have so much to offer, and I am excited to share Alpha Phi with all of our new members.
We are so excited to meet all of the incredible women going through recruitment! I hope to see you there!
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