For anyone who has gone through recruitment or been associated with a Panhellenic sorority, the term “Panhellenic” is probably very familiar. But what is Panhellenic and what do the women on the Panhellenic executive team do? Eden Reeves is currently serving as the 2016 Panhellenic President, and she shared the impact she hopes to have on TCU while serving as Panhellenic president and the impact that Panhellenic has had on her.
Name: Eden Reeves
Year: Class of 2017 (Senior)
Hometown: Boulder, Colorado
Major: Speech-Language Pathology, Spanish Minor
Q: What has been your favorite part of serving as TCU Panhellenic president?
A: “Hands down it has been seeing my vision and the vision of my exec team come to life before my eyes. It’s a very strange thing to be elected to a position one day and to be told “Alright…now you’re in charge of the largest student organization on the TCU Campus…now get to work” (I’m paraphrasing, but you get the gist). I think when you’re handed the responsibilities of a community as large as the one on the TCU campus and a big stack of problems to sort through, it can be really intimidating at first, but it is also extremely empowering. I think that my team and I have responded well to the feedback our community gives us while still pursuing the ventures we see as most important. When we see those ventures come to life, whether that’s during recruitment, our Nicaragua trek, New Member Education programs, etc. and we can look back and say “I did that and it changed this campus for the better”…that’s the best feeling in the whole world. People around campus may just know me as “That girl on Panhellenic”, but may not have an idea of all the effort that goes into making the community great for all individuals on campus.”
Q: What are some of your main goals for the TCU Panhellenic community while serving as president?
A: “When I was first elected in January, my goals were to A. Work to develop better relations between Panhellenic and other Greek councils on campus. B. Develop solid relationships with executive officers of all chapters in order to foster leaders in the community and bridge gaps between chapters C. Maintain our status as a Panhellenic of Excellence (a national award that we have received for 3 years in a row!) and D. Educate the community through programming designed to foster personal growth. I think that as an exec board, we have made significant progress in each of these areas and I’m really proud of the work we are doing and the success we’ve had. I’m also excited for the longevity of our practices and how they will transition to the next exec board.”
Q: What does Panhellenic mean to you?
A: “Honestly, right now, Panhellenic is my everything. I honestly sometimes feel like Panhel is my baby. When I ran for Panhellenic Delegate of my own chapter in 2015, I knew that I wanted to be on Panhellenic exec, but I had no intention of running for President. I truly believe that my time as President has profoundly changed me as a person. I didn’t always know that I wanted to be on exec, but I knew that I wanted to leave a mark on this campus for the better, so I chose Panhellenic as my vehicle to accomplish that. My Presidency has taught me how to have tough conversations, to walk through challenging times with my Panhellenic sisters, to rejoice in the achievements of others and to pursue creative problems to institutionalized issues. Each of these things has grown me as a person and I think that I am now a more confident leader and human being than I was when first elected. More than that, Panhellenic has given me the opportunity to develop amazing relationships with women in every chapter, whether that’s the collegians I’ve met on council, advisors, or my own exec team. The seven other women I serve with on exec have become my second sisterhood on this campus. I’m so lucky to be on this journey with such a competent and loving group of women and I get teary-eyed thinking about everything we’ve been through together. They’ve become some of my closest companions and I’ll always be thankful that I get to walk away from this experience with them. Panhellenic has also given me a deeper appreciation for my own chapter. Their love and support during my Presidency has been unfathomable. I’ll never forget the day I was elected President and I came home to my sorority house full of my sisters screaming and tackling me with hugs, just there to celebrate right alongside me. That day is probably my favorite day of college yet.”
Q: What advice would you give to the women who just joined a Panhellenic sorority?
A: “I would tell them that sorority life, even if it feels strange at first, is so worth it. Whatever chapter you ended up pledging, you have a golden opportunity to become the person you always wanted to be with the help of your sisters and the opportunities that sororities provide in leadership, friendship, philanthropy, etc. True sisterhood strikes a perfect balance between accepting you as you are and pushing you to achieve what you never even knew you were capable of. I would also say that while pledging a Panhellenic sorority is an excellent first step to the Horned Frog experience, it shouldn’t be your last. TCU truly is the Disneyland of colleges and anything you could ever hope to be involved in is right at your fingertips.”
Q: If you could change one thing about the perception of Greek life on TCU’s campus, what would it be?
A: “If I could change one thing about the perception of Greek life on TCU’s campus, I would want people to know that you don’t have to be in a sorority, Panhellenic or otherwise, to be content as a Horned Frog. For some women, the recruitment process just doesn’t work out for them. It is also disheartening when I hear of women who are terrified to opt out of the recruitment process even if they don’t believe that sorority life is for them, simply because they believe that they have to be in one to be accepted. Because 33% of our total undergraduate population at TCU consists of Panhellenic women, we walk a very fine line between Greek unity and Greek dominance. There are so many strong, smart, wonderful women who are unaffiliated that represent what it means to be a Horned Frog and I think that if those women were the first impression of our campus to incoming freshman, as opposed to the massive operation that is sorority recruitment, we could seriously change some worldviews about Greek life on the TCU campus.”
Q: What has been your favorite TCU memory?
A: “Wow…that’s like asking me to pick a favorite child…errr if I had kids. I few things run through my head: football games, living in Milton my freshman year, being a Chapter Resident Assistant…but I think that my favorite TCU memory was last year when “The End” brought Parachute- my favorite band of all time- to campus. I went to the concert with my best friend and brought a selfie stick thinking maybe I could snag a photo. As it turns out, the lead singer grabbed my selfie stick from me during the concert and started taking pictures while singing on stage. This is just another example of what makes the Horned Frog experience unique from other campuses…we ask our student leaders and our administrators for the things that we want and they deliver tenfold.”
Q: Where do you hope to be ten years from now?
A: “I’m really passionate about the work I’m doing in my major of Speech-Language Pathology. Ten years from now I hope to be working in either a hospital or private practice setting focusing on the Aural Rehabilitation of hearing impaired populations, and potentially having pursued a PhD in the field. I also love how my major ties in with my Spanish minor, so I think that doing international work in Spanish-speaking countries where Speech Path is a relatively new concept could be in the plan. Other than that I hope to still be involved in sorority life in some way or another. I spent a descent amount of my college career disaffiliated from my chapter, so I’m excited for alum life and the opportunity to contribute to the success of my own organization and others as well during my post-graduate years!”
Q: What is one thing most people don’t know about you?
A: “I have a secret desire to hike the Appalachian Trail…alone. Most people probably don’t know this because when I do opt to tell people about it they think I’m nuts.”
Q: What is your spirit animal? Why?
A: “My spirit animal is probably Rihanna. Stick with me: I’m a little nerdy, definitely clumsy and probably too bookish for my own good. Think like…Hermione Granger or Rory Gilmore. When I think about the opposite of that I think Rihanna is the answer. She is essentially my alter ego with more chill and rhythm than I could ever hope to have.”
Q: What punctuation mark best describes you?
A: “Probably the * sign. I spend a descent amount of my time during the day typing to people and I feel like I always have addendums to my thoughts or words that I want to add, so I end up using it a lot, especially when people ask me to read over something for them on exec. I feel like when I see the * sign I hear myself saying “Wait! Just one more thing!” in my head.”