I live in NJ, so moving to college in PA knowing nobody was terrifying for me. I remember moving into my dorm, saying bye to my family, and wondering what was next. I went to the club and activities welcoming fair, although mine was online due to COVID. I found out that Kutztown University is made up of 6 sororities, and 8 fraternities, and the University wasn’t a huge Greek life school like Alabama or Penn State. Still, something drew me into wanting to learn more about this organization. The only thing I thought I knew about Greek life was what was portrayed on TV where sororities were portrayed as mean girls, and frat boys were shown as dumb, rude boys. I have also been aware from social media and documentaries of cases where Greek life was the exact opposite of what they stood for. I found that some sororities and fraternities could have negative impacts such as hazing, racism, sexism, and so much more.
This terrified me because I knew I wouldn’t want to be a part of that. Yet, when speaking to some of the girls at the online fair really turned my head. I signed up for recruitment right away and even started counting down the days till I can talk to those incredible ladies again. That was the moment I knew I wanted to be in Greek life. I realized not all of Greek life is negative, and that is why I want to share my experience of finding my home away from home at Kutztown University.
The funny part was how much hate I remembered getting during those few weeks. I remember my roommate being against Greek life and saying “You’re just paying for friends”, but I didn’t even care. I knew that I had to give it a shot at least and make my own decisions and opinions about Greek life.
Finally, the day came. I remember playing my music and curling my hair that morning. I remember how excited yet how nervous I was. I know that I changed my outfit about 700 times and that I practiced saying “Hi” over and over again. The zoom calls began, and recruitment started. This was nothing like I expected. Nothing like the movies. Every single girl I came across, welcomed me with a smile. Making conversation was easy and it just flowed. When the calls ended about 5 hours later, I then had to rank all of the sororities from favorite to least favorite. This part was hard because I genuinely loved them all.
The next day came and I only talked to my top 3 favorites. I learned more about each and every single one’s philanthropy. The crazy part was, that no one was faking anything, all of the emotions they felt, and all of the tears that drew from their eyes when speaking about helping people in need were genuine. 100% genuine. After the calls ended, I somewhat knew deep down which sorority I felt most at home with. When ranking came I decided that I knew where I wanted my forever home to be. I thought, even if I didn’t get into this sorority, I knew I still wanted to be friends with these girls and that I would still want to help raise money for their philanthropies.
Bid day came. This was a day I would never forget. It was around 1 in the afternoon and I got a phone call. I remember I was in the car with friends on our way to the mall. I answered my phone and shushed everyone in the car. “Hi!! I am here to congratulate you first of all! You have received a bid from the sorority, do you accept?”. I screamed. “YES YES YES 100% YES no doubt!!!!”. I remember actually crying tears of joy and screaming so loud my friends yelled at me. That was the best day of my life. I knew Kutztown was for me at that moment.
Joining a sisterhood, and going through recruitment was the best memory I have from college. I have gained 52 sisters. I found my bridesmaids, best friends, and roommates. Greek life has let me experience so many events as well such as Greek Week, fundraising, town clean-ups, talent shows, and so, so much more. I now sit here 3 years later, going into my junior year of college, and I am definitely not the same girl I was before joining a sorority. I am more confident, have more self-esteem, have gotten better grades, and have become the best version of myself. I love Greek life so much that I even convinced my roommate to join, and now she’s not only my roommate but my official sister.
Kutztown University Greek life holds events such as Welcome Back Bash, National Hazing Prevention Week programming, Homecoming events, Alcohol awareness & Sexual assault prevention workshops, Leadership presentations, Greek Week, Community cleanups, and multiple fundraisers. Greek life, in my opinion, is so much more than just a group of people. Greek life is a family and makes a difference.
Throughout my time in Greek life, I have held the position of academic coordinator, where I help sisters stay on track with school, and create study plans for those who need them. I have also been the secretary and new member educator. Not only have I flourished in my sorority, but have made friends in every single other sorority, as well as fraternities. Greek life at Kutztown University has honestly changed my life, and I am forever thankful and happy I followed my gut. I hope that every person who is considering Greek life at college just goes for it because you never know what will happen. My experience is one I will never forget.