As A New Member & A Lifetime Member Now Looking Back

With recruitment season being back in full swing, (especially where I attend at The
University of Arizona) I thought I would think back to my sorority recruitment experience and reflect. As I transition into my senior year, it is such a bittersweet feeling to look back on. Going into my first year at The University of Arizona, joining a sorority had never even crossed my mind. Now, three years later, I could not imagine how my college years would have turned out without Alpha Chi Omega. I may not have had the most normal or common recruitment experience, but what I did have was the feeling of home the second I showed up to bid day.

I went through my first semester at UofA, with the mindset of getting familiar with the campus and focusing on my classes before I even thought about joining any clubs or organizations on campus. Second semester came around, and I felt comfortable. I had my routine, my friend group, I was comfortable. One day my friend Heather and I were sitting in Panera doing homework, and she asked me if I ever thought about joining a sorority. I said no, not really, and somehow she convinced me to fill out an interest form for Continuous Open Bidding. Without a clue of what that meant, I did it. I was reached out to by multiple chapters on campus, and met with quite a few girls for coffee dates.  Then I got a message from Alpha Chi, inviting me to a COB event! I was so nervous, but forced myself to go with an open mind. I am so glad that I went because I met so many girls also interested in joining a sorority, but also active members too! Each girl in the chapter seemed so genuine and welcoming, not only to me, but to each of the potential new members that attended the event. Observing how the active members interacted with each other, as well as the pnms, I knew this was something that I wanted to be a part of.

After the event, I was invited to bid day, and was so excited. I was also a little nervous due to the fact that nobody in my family had ever been involved in Greek Life before. Fast forwarding three years later, my senior self wishes I could go back and tell the little freshman me that everything was going to be okay. That I had nothing to be nervous about. That I would meet my best friends and future
bridesmaids. That I would find my home away from home. I got the inspiration from my friend Heather, the one who encouraged me to join a sorority in the first place, to apply to be a Recruitment Counselor for Fall Primary Recruitment this
year. Heather was an RC last year and told me how much she loved it, so I applied. After applications and interviews, I felt so lucky to be chosen along with six other women from my chapter.

Though I felt so lucky, I also felt somewhat unworthy of being chosen to lead a group of women through something that I never had experienced myself.
Our Pre Recruitment Week just ended, and I feel so excited and prepared! Even though I never went through formal recruitment, I learned so much this past week and am so ready for this experience!  After talking to my PNMs all summer, I finally got to meet them this past Sunday. I cannot wait to guide them through this amazing process with all of the things I learned, because part of me feels like I am going through this process with them since I never got to my freshman year.

I am so excited to be with these women on this journey, as well as see where they end up feeling most at home. I can’t wait to cheer them on every step of the way and express to them how wherever they end up, is where they are meant to be.
Though the sorority experience is full of highs and lows, I would never trade it for anything. I cannot even imagine what my college years would have looked like without Alpha Chi, and I am so forever thankful for everything that it has given me.