Let's hear it for the Charter Members!

[lilzetakitten]

Hi! I'm a charter member of the Kappa Phi chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha. We weren't formed from any other organization, but from what I understand (I was a freshman when I joined) in the past few years the school had grown quite a bit, and the three sororities on campus just could not handle the amount of girls who were now interested! So ASA colonized a year before we did. So far both of our chapters have been doing really well!

It's been a pretty unique experience. I've personally interacted with national officers that some members will never even see, and I've been able to watch my chapter grow from nothing to the group it is today. I've also had to deal with some pretty awful comments though (a former friend of mine actually told me that my bid was no big deal, everyone who went through got one, and now I was a member of the reject sorority! There's a reason why we are no longer friends).

However, I think it's proved to also be a strong lesson in learning to deal with a lot of different types of people. In a colony, you don't get to choose the sisters you get. Your pledge class is all there is, and you had better get to learning to get along with people very different than you!

All in all, I know I made the right choice. It's been amazing to watch my chapter grow, especially now that I'm a senior and I've seen it go from literally nothing to a strong chapter that I know will survive even after all of my pledge class has left!