Getting rushed.
 

Its funny, of all of the experiences that I've had in Alpha Phi Omega, getting rushed in a classic way wasn't one of them.

I walked on campus as a freshman knowing that Carnegie-Mellon had a chapter of Alpha Phi Omega and that I wanted to join it. I had first heard about Alpha Phi Omega from a summer camp advisor at Boy Scout Council camp, and gotten all of the general questions about the Fraternity answered at the 1985 Boy Scout Jamboree and most of the specific ones from the student life handbook that I had gotten after I decided to attend CMU.

So general question to all, how did you get rushed by Alpha Phi Omega. (I'd be really wierded out if all of you had situations similiar to mine.)

I was honestly "rushed" by the work that Mu Alpha was doing in the community and on campus. Not just the service, but the fact that I knew a lot of people who just so happened to also be in APO. When I looked at the diversity of this group and realized that they all had one thing in common, I knew that I had to be part of it.

The actual recruitment activities were very overwhelming to me. I functioned better with one-on-one conversations and people telling me "Just try it" than the collective recruitment strategies.

Sadly I never had the rush experience as I had been prepared to enter APO before I began college. My Scoutmaster had been a member when he was a student and on our camping trips would often wear old chapter shirts. He always talked fondly about the fraternity so when I found out that the college I was planning on attending (Muhlenberg) had an active chapter I joined as soon as possible.

It also helped that several members of my Cross country and Track teams at school were members. That made the decision to sign up that much easier.

Rush
 

Two years before I actually pledged, a (then pledge) of the chapter came up to me and asked me if I would fill out a survey. The survey consisted of questions on what the student body thought was most needed on the campus. I asked him what this was for, and what APO was about.

Two years later, I was at a student organization fair, and noticed that I knew a lot of people standing behind the APO table. I remembered APO and signed up. I went through about 2 weeks of rush, with different activities, like volleyball games, sectional diner fellowships, info nights, etc where I got to know the brothers and more about what APO really was. I was really excited to pledge, and I haven't turned back!