As you can tell from the title, I went through a very unique and possibly questionable experience this fall: I joined the colonizing chapter of Alpha Xi Delta at UW-Madison as a senior.
A lot of people, including all of my friends, wonder why I did this. The reason is hard to put into words but it comes from a deep-rooted feeling that I’ve had for a long time.
Coming to college as a first generation student, I had literally no idea what to expect. I had heard about sororities and the idea of joining a something like a sisterhood really appealed to me. I knew that’s what I wanted to do. After unsuccessfully going through fall recruitment my freshman year, I thought it was something that would just never happen and because of that, I always felt like there was something missing from my college experience.
Fast forward to my senior year and I caught wind of Alpha Xi Delta colonizing on my campus and the feeling that I had repressed for three years suddenly came back. Being in a sorority was something I still very much wanted to be a part of and this new opportunity presented itself to girls of all years, freshmen through seniors. I felt like I had struck gold: still getting a chance to fulfill that desire, even as a senior.
I went through the colony recruitment process and it was very informal. I met a lot of the girls and felt really connected with them, a couple with which I now feel really close. Even the girls I haven’t gotten to know quite yet, I still feel a strong sisterhood among us.
People may not understand the point of joining a sorority as a senior, but the fact that it’s a lifetime commitment means it reaches far past the undergraduate years. I can continue to be an active alumna after graduation and continue the legacy with my own daughters someday. I can continue to build a network of sisters no matter where my life takes me knowing that there are Alpha Xi Deltas all over the country, just waiting to connect with sisters they haven’t met yet.
Even though I’ve only been a part of this organization for a couple of weeks, I already feel like it’s had a life-changing positive effect and my only regret is that I didn’t get to experience it sooner.