Recommendation/reference help!
 

I really want to rush at the University of Texas this coming fall, but this whole process is stressing me out because I do not really know anyone who is an alum of a sorority. Is there anyone who could help me get in touch with a local alum in Houston, TX? It would also be of enormous help if someone could write me a recommendation or a reference (which would mean she would be my sponsor) for a sorority?

These are the UT sororities that I need help finding a sponsor and rec writer! :(
Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Epsilon Phi
Alpha Phi
Alpha Xi Delta
Chi Omega
Delta Delta Delta
Delta Gamma
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Delta
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Pi Beta Phi
Sigma Delta Tau
Zeta Tau Alpha

--Thank you so much!!:)

Oh dear! You should not solicit recs from people on GreekChat. We don't know you and we won't do one for you.

I have a hard time believing that living in Houston you know no NPC alumnae. They are everywhere - employers, parents friends, parents employers, your Sunday School teachers, your counselors and teachers and school, parents of friends. When you find someone who is a member of one group, ask if she knows any of the others. Greeks know each other.

Question for GC Texas residents: Is there not an Area Panhellenic in Houston? If so, that would be the logical place to start, correct?

To the OP: search on GC for threads about Texas recruitment. Get your resume and photographs put together ASAP. And that's all I can say, other than good luck!

The Houston Alumnae Panhellenic is very active .. here's their web site

http://www.houston-panhellenic.org/index.html

contact them for assistance in securing references. Good luck!!

I concur. You probably tripped over at least 15 of them the last time you went to Starbucks.

Now, if you lived in Houston, PA, I would believe you. :)

At least I give this one credit for listing ALL of the NPC sororities and not just the ones she is "interested in."

But . . . . . but . . . . but . . . . coming to Greekchat to get spoon fed recs and information is sooooooo much easier!

where you live in houston will dictate which alumnae panhellenic group you will contact. start with the website that AZ-alphaxi posted above-i believe that there is information concerning the different houston-area panhellenics and how to get in contact with them. they will be glad to help you. good luck!

If I contact the local panhellenic alumnae, will they give me a list of everyone in my area who was in a sorority, or would I only be able to get a list of just a couple of women? I feel bad for asking them to help me for every one of the soroities I listed!

Go to the web site and follow the directions for registering with them. Then follow their instructions for securing recommendations.

That's one of the things they do. i believe that you send in your information and they have women from each sorority at UT who will look at your resume, transcript, photos or whatever information that they ask for on the alumnae panhellenic website and they choose whether to write a rec. for you on not. I am not sure that you even meet with them in person, but texas alumnae, please correct me if i am wrong.

Oh so they do not give me a list of alums, but rather contact alums for me?

Contact the alumnae panhellenic. They will answer all your questions.

I find it funny how you feel bad about contacting them but have no issues asking the women of GreekChat for the same.

i don't know. i live in florida. as 33girl and many others have said, contact the proper alumnae panhellenic association in the houston area, listen to what they have to say(or read what they have written), and do what is expected and required of you.

Let's be clear on this, though. If the reference chairman for my local group called me and said "Do you know wldms? She goes to the high school at which you teach music, and her resume says she plays six instruments" and I said "yes, I do", I wouldn't think "awesome, I can write a rec to help her out", I'd think "hmm...she didn't try very hard to find sorority alumnae on her own."

YMMV.

Perhaps the difference is that contacting them is more official and serious; and she cannot contact them as a random and relatively anonymous username.

I'm going to step back in and say this.

I think this is a scared high school senior who genuinely does not know how to go about obtaining recommendations, which are crucial at the school she is planning to attend. And she does not have the benefit of friends or family who can guide her in the recruitment process. She may be timid, she may be reserved, she may be clueless. Who knows?

Keyboard courage is way different from real life interactions; having coached and mentored more than a few 18-30 year olds, I'm constantly amazed at their lack of confidence in handling new situations.

Personally, I've met many young women who are the first in their family to even attend college, let alone attempt recruitment. So I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt and once more repeat: contact the Houston Area Panhellenic, you've been provided the link. They will help you to the best of their ability; you've been given other excellent suggestions, so get a wiggle on! (I also wish she'd go over to the recruitment forum and read adpiucf's excellent sticky post).

Again, to the OP: good luck on your recruitment.

Thank you, that's exactly how I feel!

Thank you for your thorough explanation instead of just being rude!

People aren't being rude. We've told you what the best course is to take, so take it, rather than asking us questions that we can't answer with any degree of certainty. Not all alumnae panhellenics operate in the same way so you need to contact the one that is pertinent to YOU.

speaking of keyboard courage, wldms, you can probably make your initial contact with the alumnae panhellenic chapter via email.

from what i have heard, the sooner you contact them the better, so do not delay. that gives them time to begin working on your recs. for you. my houston area niece decided too late in the game to seek help from the appropriate alumnae panhellenic and they were done doing their mass reccommendations. she had to find individual members who would help her. you do not want to do this-it is too hard.

many of the houston area alumnae chapters hold information sessions for area high school seniors and their mothers. they may have already occured, but maybe not! their websites should list the date and the place, so check it out!

Wldms- I would suggest going to your high school counselors office, many High Schools in the Dallas area have registration for the area Panhellenic through the guidance department. At my daughter's school they are given information/registration packets, you would fill this out then it is forwarded to the Panhellenic group and then to the local sororities alumnae. They will usually have an informational session/tea as well.