A Spicy Recruitment Story

[pearlMmom]

Pre-Recruitment
Since my daughter could not be persuaded to write up her recruitment story I thought I give it a whirl. She is attending the University of Alabama. When my daughter first said she wanted to go through recruitment my reaction was,” But I don’t know anyone who was in a sorority! How in the world do you think you’re going get the recommendations needed to join one?!” I graduated from a women’s college and was a first generation college student. I only knew about the need for recommendations because a couple of the women where I worked had daughters that were currently at Texas A&M and I’d heard about how much work went in putting together recommendation packets. And that was for A&M when it wasn’t part of the SEC! Word on the street was that the Alabama was going to be a much more involved process.
As it turns out, obtaining recommendations was both the biggest pain in the neck and the most rewarding experience for my daughter. Neither of my co-workers had been in a sorority. One of them was a graduate of a women’s college as well and the other an alum of A&M but not a sorority woman. One woman suggested attending the local Panhellenic Association’s spring workshop on recommendations and also suggested this website. The workshop was a terrific experience for my daughter. It was set up like a college faire with women stationed by posters depicting various aspects of their sorority and answering questions. Out of twelve representatives, ten of the women were warm, enthusiastic and welcoming to all the girls that came to their tables. They did a terrific job of marketing their organizations. Two were a bit cliquish and seemed to be talking only with girls and their mothers that they all ready knew. The majority of the representatives were women in their 50’s and 60’s. A few groups had collegiate representatives. A couple had recent grads. My daughter had a great time. A registration package went in to the Panhellenic Association timely and received follow-up contacts with three of the organizations that were at the workshop.
Next she did a mass mailing to teachers at the mid-size high school campus that her magnet school is a part of. Using the teacher’s biographies on the school website, she sent a letter to any female teacher that graduated from a campus that had sororities, asking if she belonged to a sorority and if so, would she would be willing to receive a recommendation packet. Out of 130 letters sent, she received three positive responses and after follow up contacts received recommendations to three more organizations.
At church I began asking anyone that attended large public colleges and universities if they were members of a sorority. There was one woman that had been in a sorority in California and she secured a recommendation that way but most of the responses were extremely negative. I realized I was approaching the wrong demographic. Women that graduated in the 80’s tended to be anti-sorority. By asking dynamic, independent, involved women in their 60’s and older in our congregation my daughter secured three more recommendations.
My daughter then started asking her friends and classmates if their mothers had been in sororities. This netted three more recommendations. At this point she called a halt to any more efforts. She ended up with recommendations to 12 out of the 16 sororities at Bama and felt good about it.
A bit about my daughter: great grades, leadership positions both in school, on her dance team and with church youth group. She’s an excellent public speaker. We’re from Texas and yes, she did attend camp for 7 years.