I went through Rush in the fall of 1983 as a freshman. We had 6 sororities on campus--AOII, DZ, Pi Phi, KD, SK and XO. I had an aunt who'd been a SK at the same school, but wasn't a legacy anywhere. I had registered for formal (rush) recruitment and was all set to rush. I'd asked for the week off work and had it granted, but when the week came around my boss gave some half-hearted reason why I couldn't have the time off and threatened to fire me if I took the time. Too bad I was so young and naive, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten away with it!!!
I missed formal recruitment but still got invites to COB parties by some of the sororities not at campus total (there were 3, including AOII) I wasn't very comfortable with one of the chapters, I already knew a few of the girls there and just didn't feel like I would be "home" with them. I went to an AOII pizza party and was just blown away, everyone was so friendly!
AOII had just been chartered in February 1983 so they were still so new
It turned out that one of the sisters had known of me in HS via another club we'd been in. She'd been lobbying big time for me (and ended up as my big sis) and the chapter had been upset when I didn't come through formal. I liked joining a group where I could make a difference and leave a legacy...corny but true. It felt great to know I was WANTED because they felt they knew who I was, and not just to fill a number (it still took almost another full year to finally hit campus total!) I got a bid the next day and decided to go for it, even though I had just met everyone. It took me days to remember we were we were Alpha OMICRON Pi and not Alpha OMEGA Pi and that us being a Fraternity didn't mean we had guys too, LOL!
Almost 20 years after my formal pledging, I'm still so happy and proud to be a member of AOII.
Christin