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Here it is, the final installment!
The Return of the Recruitment (Spring 2016)
During first semester, I made several new friends in my classes. Surprisingly, a number of them were all in the same sorority, Pippin. When I mentioned in passing that I wished I’d stuck with formal recruitment, I was encouraged to check out informal recruitment.
When second semester started, I went to a recruitment information session. Each chapter’s president and recruitment chair shared a little bit about their sororities, and Panhellenic officers talked about recruitment in general. We could then walk around the room and speak with representatives from each chapter. Some of the chapters weren’t openly taking new members, but Bilbo held a structured recruitment every semester, Boromir had been taking COB girls throughout the semester and would be taking spring girls, Merry handed out a schedule of their spring recruitment events, and Elrond, Sam, and Pippin had sign-up sheets and said they would be having informal COB events for the few open spots they had.
Merry’s events started almost immediately, so I went to their events so I could figure out which sorority was the best fit for me. I was emailed about Bilbo’s events but decided against pursuing them, and I already knew Boromir wasn’t a good fit so I didn’t inquire further about them. I did reach out to one of my Pippin friends, who said she’d talk to their recruitment chair regarding any of their upcoming COB events. In the meantime, I continued going to Merry’s events. They were very nice girls, but I didn’t feel like I quite clicked with them. I knew I could be happy with them, but I felt like something was missing.
Then I got an email from Pippin’s recruitment chair inviting me to dinner. As soon as I sat down, all these girls I didn’t know started talking to me like they’d known me forever, and it wasn’t overwhelming at all, it felt welcoming. It felt like home. One planned event was canceled due to snow, so I went to lunch the following week to talk about the logistics of being in a sorority. It didn’t feel formal at all, it felt like I was just talking to a friend. As much as I had liked the Merry girls, I knew Pippin was my home. I felt like I belonged. I wasn’t just similar to the sisters of Pippin, they were the sort of woman I aspired to be. So the day after the lunch, when I was spending time with some of my friends and happened to check my email to see the heading “Welcome to Pippin…” I gasped (rather loudly) and started shaking slightly. I couldn’t believe I had finally found my home. Almost immediately, I responded in the affirmative. After I accepted my bid, I had to wait out the weekend before I signed the paperwork and was officially given my bid card (which I’ve since framed).
It's been a few weeks since I officially joined and I still can’t quite believe it’s all real. When I walk to the house for lunch and dinner, it still feels unreal to look at the letters over the door and know I can call them mine. I’m constantly awed by and honored to be a part of Pippin’s rich national and local history. Incidentally, Pippin and my legacy sorority, Sam, were founded on the same college campus, which gave me a neat link to my grandmother. My new sisters are all incredibly welcoming and I know I found the perfect sisterhood. Since I joined through COB, my pledge class is very small, but that has enabled us to get closer quicker.
Even though neither of my parents were Greek, they knew how much this meant to me and were excited for me. The best part, though, was getting to call my grandmother and tell her I was a brand new Pippin. She knew how I was feeling, said she was sure I would enjoy my sorority experience as much as she had, and even told me about her friends who were Pippins.
So who were the women I aspired to be? Well, recently I’ve found myself drawn towards things decorated with the owl, the key, and the fleur-de-lis, because I’m so happy that I amma…
Kappa Kappa Gamma!
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