Before coming Bryant, I had no intention of joining a sorority. I thought the idea of joining a sorority didn’t match my personality and I believed it to be a ‘clique’ which was something I strongly wanted to avoid when entering college. I always held those stereotypes of what a sorority was like and couldn’t bear to be referred to as a “sorority girl.” Little did I know this would all change once I came to Bryant.
My backstory before Bryant: I came from a very small town in Maine, where I graduated with 92 students from five different towns. No one I was close with (or even knew in high school) seemed to be the ‘sorority’ type of girl which altered my opinions of what a sorority is like. So coming to Bryant, I did not pay attention to what Greek Life was during orientation since I wasn’t interested. Honestly, I was just overall very naïve about Greek Life.
My freshman year at Bryant, I was not at all aware that Greek life was big on campus, nor did I had any awareness of “Sorority Recruitment”; my friends and I constantly made fun of Greek Life since none of us were interested at the time. In general, I was very uninvolved on campus during the fall semester because I wanted to focus all the attention on myself and my academics, so joining a sorority was definitely not on my agenda.
The first semester passed and second semester came quickly. During the first weekend back, I noticed a lot of girls lined up in the Fisher Student Center dressed up very nicely and looking very polished. I didn’t understand what was happening until one of my friends told me it was “Formal Recruitment”- I had no idea what that meant.
By the time second semester rolled around, my cognition of Greek Life started to arise. I was in a group project with two girls who went through Formal Recruitment. During our group meetings, they were telling our group how excited they were to be in a sorority. As the semester passed, I started meeting more and more girls in my year who had joined a sorority. I constantly would hear about how many people they’ve met and connected with by joining a sorority, and how much fun they were having in regards to their philanthropy events and social events. They explained to me how great it was to be surrounded by women who shared the same values and morals, and that supported each other all the time. I loved how all of the chapters (including the fraternity chapters) supported each other through their individual philanthropy events. My interest in joining a sorority grew.
Sophomore year finally came and I decided I was going to sign up for Formal Recruitment. I was living with two girls who were in the same sorority and I talked to them about what being in a sorority was like. Not only did I talk to them, but I also talked to many other girls from other chapters about what it was like. I explained to them, too, that I started out with a small group of friends and was seeking ways to expand it. I thought by joining a sorority, it would be a great opportunity for me to do this.
I honestly had no idea that I would be making so many friendships and connections through my sorority and within Greek Life. I’ve constantly been supported by the sisters in my chapter whenever I needed comfort in my life, by living with sisters from my sorority the past three years and just by sending simple text messages to others in the chapter. Being in a sorority has also inspired me to take on more leadership positions within Greek Life and outside of Greek Life- I’ve become a Panhellenic Council Judicial Board representative, a Greek Advocating Mature Management of Alcohol representative, the Her Campus E-Board Sorority Liaison, and an Orientation Leader. From joining a sorority, I will take my experience with me after graduation to be able to build my confidence and professional network.