Why not hop on the bandwagon? Mine's alot different!

[ΣΣΣMagan]

Cont'd

---------------------------------

So, I went home that Wednesday and told my mom all about it. Come to find out, not only was my maternal grandmother in the high school sorority, she was also an Alpha Gamma Delta at University of Georgia. WOW! She passed away five years before I was born, and I had never ever thought to ask. Too bad there wasn't an Alpha Gamma Delta at my school. My mom really didn't want me to drive up there just for a meeting on Sunday and told me she would prefer if I joined the sorority that met on Monday. I told her that I would join whichever sorority I felt I belonged to.

I immediately got on the computer (surprise surprise) and went to both sororities national websites and read just about everything on both. (I was under the preconceived notion that we had a to take a test over the founders and philanthropy and such BEFORE we got our bid) Haha. I was very naive to greek life.

I barely slept that night, very excited about theme night the next night.

Theme Night
FINALLY, it was here! I was super excited about theme night. I loved all the girls right off the bat from both sororities. All the pnm's met in one room at the University and each of the sororities had their own room. We were separated again into two groups and each group visited a sorority then after a while, we switched.

***Side bar***
I see all these things about Rho Chis and rush leaders or whatnot... that's really all foreign to me. We were just split into two groups and two members from the University's panhellenic escorted us from one room to another. (The universities panhellenic was composed of two girls from each sorority who were of course disaffiliated during the time of recruitment.)

Anywho...

I walked into my first room. They had different corners set up. First, the pnms were split up into groups and each pnm group decorated a clay pot with paint. That was a lot of fun! The girls then just kinda chatted with us and time was up.

Then I was escorted into another room with the other sorority and it was a super cute candy land theme. They had us paint onto children's aprons. Each pnm was then whisked away by a current member. I am not good with names... which is why none are included. =/ Little did I know that the members were using rotation groups on me... sneaky sneaky. So, I learned about everything! (Not that I didn't already read and memorize it all via their national websites! =) ) Time was up and we all returned back to the original room.

We were informed about the party the next night and how it would go. We were explained how the pref cards worked and then the greek advisor took questions.

I drove back home very excited about everything! I felt so close to both groups and I knew that it would be super hard to choose one over the other!

---------------------------------
To be continued tomorrow! =)

[tld221]

***Side bar***
I see all these things about Rho Chis and rush leaders or whatnot... that's really all foreign to me. We were just split into two groups and two members from the University's panhellenic escorted us from one room to another. (The universities panhellenic was composed of two girls from each sorority who were of course disaffiliated during the time of recruitment.)


that must be awkward: a Rho Chi from XYZ escorting PNMs to ABC's rush parties and vice versa. its different when you've got a bunch of orgs to see, but when it's just one other, its like you're leading your consumer to the competition.

[/hijack] carry on! i want more!

[ΣΣΣMagan]

---------------------------------

Finally, Friday aka Pref Night was here! By this point, I am excited beyond belief. I felt very close to both sets of girls and was very nervous and undecided.

Again, we were split into our two groups and escorted by panhellenic into separate rooms. The first room (the same as the day before) was dressed all in black. I walked in and we all sat down to watch a slide show. This is a good idea, I suppose, for people who know these girls or are familiar with greek life, but I was just bored. This went on for over 2/3 of the alloted time. But, I had good conversation with these girls afterwards.

Then I went into the other sororities room and was met at the door by Ashley. (I remember this name) She got me punch and food and made sure that all my questions were answered. They then introduced their alumnae and everyone got into a circle. Each of the current members held candles and took turns saying what that sorority meant to them. They then did a wishing well theme to 'make a wish' while one of the members sang and played guitar.

The pnms then filled back into the original room to fill out pref cards. I was the last person in there. Most if not all of the other girls had already made up their mind which one was their first choice. I just sat there and contemplated my options. A good fifteen minutes went by and I could tell that the greek advisor was getting a little anxious.

So, I finally ranked my choices on the pref card. (Since there were only two sororities on campus, you could either put both in the order you'd want, or just put one)

As I was leaving, I was stopped by the greek advisor. She asked me if I knew everyone in both sororities. I told her no, that I knew one girl from each sorority going into recruitment and a few of my fellow pnms. She seemed floored.

She was under the impression that I knew everyone because of how much I talked with girls from each sorority. She was convinced that I knew them all and really didn't believe me.

---------------------------------

[UGAalum94]

You know, I think there used to be an Alpha Gamma Delta chapter at your school.

[ΣΣΣMagan]

There was. At my school, the greek system was abundant "way back when" and evenutally died out. We are just working on getting it up to speed again. But yes, there once was an Alpha Gamma chapter at my school which closed in the mid 90's. =( Sadness.

[LOVEinZTA]

You know I've heard a lot of random reasons girls have chosen one chapter over another, but I don't think I've heard someone choosing because of the day of the week chapter meetings were held on! haha. I can't wait to hear more!

[ΣΣΣMagan]

To make a long story short, I chose Sigma and Sigma chose me. Even though their meetings are on Sunday, that's where I belonged.

[exlurker]

Originally Posted by ΣΣΣMagan

. . . My mom really didn't want me to drive up there just for a meeting on Sunday and told me she would prefer if I joined the sorority that met on Monday. I told her that I would join whichever sorority I felt I belonged to. . . .

To any and all parents who read this ^ : See? It isn't just your child; when they're young adults a lot of them act that way.

Just kidding, Magan -- thank you for your story. It's interesting to learn about recruitment in a small Panhellenic system.

[ΣΣΣMagan]

Originally Posted by exlurker

To any and all parents who read this ^ : See? It isn't just your child; when they're young adults a lot of them act that way.

Haha. Funny! =) Well, I just wanted to get across to pnms out there that they should not pick the sorority that their mom wants them to pick. Actually, my mom is quite happy with my decision. I also recruited someone else from my hometown who lives here part-time, so we alternate weeks. One Sunday, I will drive to the chapter meeting and she will the next Sunday. It's fun to get to know someone because all you do is talk for three hours every week.

[AGDLynn]

Oh, I know where you go to school. I wish that we would re-charter there!

[ΣΣΣMagan]

Originally Posted by AGDLynn

Oh, I know where you go to school. I wish that we would re-charter there!

Yes, that would be cool. But I probably wont see it happen. I will graduate Dec 08. The greek community there is striving to keep numbers up as it is. I'm not so sure there's enough interest in adding another GLO.

[twinkle555]

wow FOUR chairs??? you busy girl!! congrats on Sigma! i enjoyed ur story!!

[ΣΣΣMagan]

Originally Posted by twinkle555

wow FOUR chairs??? you busy girl!! congrats on Sigma! i enjoyed ur story!!

Yes. Well,three and a half chairs since one is a co-chair. But I enjoy every minute of it. I think I do have the most chairs in the chapter. Anyways, thanks for reading! =)