If I was feeling exhausted after the past two weekends of sorority recruitment, I couldn’t even imagine how Hannah Hayward – Panhellenic Vice President of Recruitment & Membership – must have been holding up. To my surprise, Hannah came bounding into Von der Heyden on MLK Day to meet with me, sporting a bright smile and a very groovy Kappa hat. This is the first time that Hannah has been able to wear her letters since August, and for any Greek woman reading this, they will understand how much this limits our wardrobe.
Hannah had the daunting “logistical and HR” task of being the face and chief coordinator of Panhellenic Recruitment this year. No matter what transpired, this was going to be a “rush” to remember; it was the first year in Duke history that the process was hosted off campus. In past years, the rounds would take place in a variety of different locations, ranging from Von Canon to the Marketplace, but due to all the construction happening, all members of the 9 Panhellenic sororities and 475 PNMs (Potential New Members) descended upon the Durham Convention Center downtown instead.
“No one likes change,” admitted Hannah. As it happened, I believe that every sorority feels like they benefited from the change. Instead of being crammed into unaccommodating spaces on campus, such as a common room, each sorority had the option of tables and chairs if they wanted. Perhaps we should thank L-Mo for this, as he ensured Duke footed the bill for the location. It also made it much easier for the PNMs who were not constantly jumping on buses to arrive at the next location on time, with or without a frostbitten nose.
For Hannah, the most stressful part of the past two weekends was in between rounds. “All 500 PNMs were shuffling around, and I felt such a lack of control even though everything was fine, so I just excused myself,” she said. Her hideout was a room reserved for Panhel Exec, equipped with complicated spreadsheets and food for fuel.
There were other moments when I couldn’t help but laugh during my conversation with Hannah. Firstly, when she told me that when her mother was a Pi Beta Phi at Auburn, the process of assigning women to their new sorority was done by hand. There was no high tech system of “mutual matching” back in the day. Secondly, when Hannah described what happened when she found herself monitoring her own sorority during the 4th round. One of her closest friends and the chapter President read out a “love letter” to her pledge class, and knowing only too well how heartfelt these letters can be, this came as no surprise from Hannah; “I was standing in my grey sweatshirt with my folder trying to look serious but just sobbing. If any PNMs saw me, I would have been totally busted.”
All in all, Hannah can say with confidence that Recruitment went well this year, which is just as well because “Panhel is not planning on moving Recruitment back to campus anytime soon.” With 364 bids extended on Bid Day, every sorority reached the quota of 39 women, if not more, which is “impressive and shows the strength of all the chapters.”
However, this time of year often sadly results in a handful of disappointed freshmen. Hannah recalled one conversation that she had with a PNM yesterday, who expressed worry that someone would “immediately write her off” according to her sorority name. Hannah was quick to point out to her that “if that does happen, then that’s probably not someone you want to spend time with anyway” (very true) and “we, as Greeks at Duke, are constantly fighting this stereotype issue, because we are better than that.” The truth of the matter at the end of the day, Hannah continued, is that “each one of our chapters is incredible and nationally praised… if you are looking for sisterhood and women who will be there for you, you will find that in every sorority at Duke.”
When not busy organizing sorority recruitment, Hannah doesn’t settle for the drama-free life. She is currently co-Producer of All of the Above, which is an all-female monologue performance celebrating its 10th anniversary this March. If you happen to be enrolled in the CompSci Education Seminar class on Robotics, you’ll be fortunate enough to find her as your TA. And if you’re not, but still want to hang out with her some more? Pop round to Trinity Commons and I’m sure that in between finishing off completing her Psychology & English double major, Hannah will be happy to tell you about her DukeEngage experience in India two summers ago working with special needs children at a medical research institution that inspired her to go down the pre-med route.
Now I really do feel exhausted just thinking about all the great things Hannah “I have a tendency to over-commit myself” Hayward spends her time doing. Time to go use up whatever energy I have left getting to know the great bunch of girls who have just joined my own sorority. Until next year, Recruitment, and congratulations Hannah!