[TinyDancer98]

As others have said, it's really important to make the Alphas feel well-connected and a part of the chapter right from the start. We assign violet sisters on bid day, so there is someone there right away to take her out to lunch on bid day, accompany her to her first chapter meeting, call her and generally make her feel welcome before she gets her diamond sister. Each week we do a "spotlight" in chapter for an alpha who wants to introduce herself, talk about what they're doing as an alpha class, or really anything she wants. Chapter officers also visit during alpha ed sessions to get to know the alphas and talk about their roles in the chapter. Diamond sisters eat with their alphas at least twice a week, write letters to their parents, leave them notes, and bring them to chapter functions so they don't feel intimidated to go to events alone. They are also assigned to the same pride group as their diamond sister. Our chapter is pretty good at matching diamond sisters so we rarely have issues with that.

I also think it's important for the alphas to bond as a class and get to know each other- their big diamonds and older sisters will graduate, and ultimately, they will end up leaving an entirely different sorority than they joined- except for their class. Our alphas usually perform a song parody at formal, which gives them a project to work on outside of alpha ed so they can work together just as a class and get to bond. The spring class also takes part in Panhellenic's lip synch contest (it is open to all sisters and sometimes a few fall initiates participate, but it's usually just the spring alphas) and that is a great bonding experience. They also usually do an alpha mall trip (so they can get a dress for formal or fun pin attire outfits!), sleepovers, and other class events, which allow them to bond as a pledge class. I didn't realize it at the time, but bonding with my class and transitioning into the sorority as a group are some of my fondest sorority memories and definitely a big reason that I loved it so much from the start.