Jordan DeGraaf ’16 is president of Kappa Kappa Gamma. This is part four of a four-part “Go Greek” series.
I remember filling out those nebulous and absurd surveys in high school that aimed to help you find “which college is right for you?” They asked if I preferred liberal arts or technical, a small or large student body, a campus within the city or one secluded and rural. Those surveys I felt I could answer, or at least guess at.
But I inevitably stumbled when they asked me about Greek life. How was I supposed to know whether or not I would like to be in a sorority when my only concept of sisterhood came from the opening scenes of Legally Blonde? Eventually, I decided that I was neither pink, giddy, nor girly enough to ever join “one of those clubs.” By the time recruitment came around, I was adamant that I would never join; my stubborn misconception of Greek life convinced me that I’d never fit in a sorority, and recruitment would be a waste of time.
They say peer pressure is a dangerous thing. “If all your friends jumped off a cliff,” the saying goes, “would you jump too?” Turns out, if that cliff is registering for recruitment your freshman year of college just because your friends are all doing it, then yes, yes, I would. I can honestly say (because one cliché per paragraph just isn’t enough) that filling out that fateful recruitment registration form was the best decision I made in college.
Going through recruitment, I was still incredibly skeptical, but where I expected to meet giddy princesses, I instead met incredibly real, kind, and intelligent women who all clearly loved their organizations. By the third night, I realized that I wanted a piece of what they had already found – a loyal group of friends on campus, bound together through shared interests, sisterhood events, and philanthropy. Though I initially doubted that recruitment was a mutual selection process rather than a one-way decision, throughout the sessions I began to realize that though all four chapters were fantastic, I felt most at home in Kappa, and I chose them just as much as they chose me. By bid day, my feigned indifference vanished and I knew that I had found my people.
Fast forward three years and you can find me procrastinating on all my other responsibilities by doing work for Kappa council. I live with two other Kappas (and an Alpha Phi for some Panhellenic love), and I’ve been everywhere from Chick-fil-A and Harvard-Yale to Rome and San Francisco with Kappas. With them, I have done everything from cheering to psetting and from interviewing for jobs to crashing on their futon – it is truly an international and multifaceted connection that you take with you for life.
Our chapter is diverse in backgrounds, hometowns, concentrations, family sizes, interests, political views, skin color, fluent languages, personality, and opinions on One Direction. To be honest, I’m not sure if I can really summarize, in a word, what our commonalities are, and what sets us apart from the other chapters. I’d like to say it is our philanthropy, but all of the chapters give back to the community in their own ways. I’d say it’s our sisterhood events that bring us together for apple picking or de-stressing nights where we can eat feelings in the space during midterms, but I know that all of Panhel values food. I’d say it’s our network of people on campus, so you’re rarely ever in a class or club alone, or the extended post-grad network of alumni who you’ll find in almost every city you’ll travel to or job you’ll apply for, but the same can be said for all of Greek life. All I know for sure is that Kappa is the one for me.
Rather than try to quantify the differences between each chapter, I encourage you to take the leap of faith, or jump off a cliff, or however you would prefer to word the uncertainty that is signing up for recruitment, and see for yourself. Meet people in DG, Alpha Phi, Theta, and Kappa. Dare to have real conversations and share your stories and ask for theirs; the more you open up beyond your dorm, hometown, and concentration, the more you will learn about the people in each chapter. Imagine yourself a year, two, or ten from now; can you picture yourself eating guac in your sweats in the space at three in the afternoon, or celebrating landing an internship after a rough round of OCS interviews, or crying about a breakup or the loss of a family member, or struggling through a 4 am pset together? These people will become your home away from home, your stronghold when you are struggling, and your cheerleaders when you succeed, both on campus and around the world.
Try recruitment, and I promise you will not regret it.
Interested in Going Greek?
Register for Recruitment here!
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