A Dog Recruitment "Tail"

[polkadotstars]

Hello everyone! I have been reading everyone’s recruitment story and I decided to write my own! I am a recent graduate of a university and so I’m going to post my recruitment experience.

I transferred schools my sophomore year and I had zero knowledge of greek life. The only exposure I had to it was at my first college where greek life was predominately filled with girls who were very catty and snobby. Needless to say, I did not have a good opinion of it. However, when I transferred schools, I wanted a way to meet people, so my mom suggested going through recruitment. I was terrified of the idea because I stutter and even though I wasn’t sure what recruitment exactly entailed, I was pretty sure it involved a lot of talking. My mom convinced me to just sign up for it and go to the first night of recruitment and if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have to go back. I went back and forth with the idea of going through with it, but I finally decided that I might as well try it! So off I went!

We have five sororities at my school. I love dogs so I will be naming each one of them after different dog breeds!

Labrador
German Shepherd
Corgi
Bulldog
Beagle


First Night: Orientation
This was more of an Orientation to what greek life was. We were separated into our groups and got to meet our recruitment counselors. We had to go around the circle and introduce ourselves and talk about why we wanted to rush. Like many people who stutter, saying my name while being ‘put on the spot’ is very hard! I stuttered a bit but everyone was patient and understanding. It helped me gain a little confidence with recruitment. However, I will still kind of hesitant if any sorority would like me..

First Day: Meet and Greet
Here we go! The start of recruitment (ahhh!! What am I getting into?!). Off we went with our recruitment groups to meet all of the sororities!

First off was German Shepherd.
I walked into a room full of loud clapping and cheering, and all I could think of was, omg what did I get myself into! But I was excited to meet everyone at the same time! I was immediately paired with one girl who started asking me a whole bunch of questions. And while she seemed nice, the sorority as a whole didn’t seem that organized. I noticed once the clapping and cheering stopped, the room didn’t have much energy. The decorations were dull, and the sisters genuinely looked bored. There were a clump of sisters on the side of the room with their arms crossed just staring at everyone else looking like they did not want to be there. Maybe they were newer sisters and didn’t know how to act in recruitment, but it put me off and I did not think this sorority was for me.

Next was Beagle
One of my best friends from high school was best friends with a girl in this sorority. My best friend had told her that I was rushing, so when she saw me there in recruitment she was really excited to see me! This made my nerves at ease and I felt like I already had a friend in recruitment. She was introducing me to her sisters and I felt comfortable there already. They were a very well put together sorority, they seemed classy and were very pretty girls overall. I felt like this was my new home already!

The third house was Labrador
I could immediately tell that this was the ‘glam’ sorority. They were very well put together, beautiful, and were very outgoing. The conversation flowed naturally here and it seemed like a very warm atmosphere. I liked this sorority and they said they hoped to see me back tomorrow. I got an overall good vibe from this sorority!

Corgi was next
I had done a bit of research before going into recruitment by looking up their Panhellenic Council’s website and found this sorority’s website through that. They seemed like down to earth girls, and that’s exactly what they were like in recruitment! I immediately connected with one girl who was really sweet. Even though the conversation sort of paused here and there, I could tell that she was interested in talking to me. I got a very authentic vibe from this group. I really liked them a lot and was sad to go!

Last was Bulldog
This sorority was much smaller than the other sororities on campus, however they were very friendly and genuine. The room didn’t have as much pizzazz as the other sororities, but overall I got a good vibe from them. I could tell they weren’t as competitive as some of the other sororities, but nonetheless, I liked them because they seemed like they had a good sisterhood and a good foundation.

After we met all five sororities, I had to rank them… so I put:
1. Beagle
2. Corgi
3. Labrador
4. Bulldog
5. bottom – German Shepherd


On to day number two!

[pbear19]

Squee!!! Go BEAGLE!!

[KDCat]

Yay, a recruitment story!

German Shepherds are my favoriite and my girl is German Shepherd, so I'm going to pull for them, even if they are the underdog.

[polkadotstars]

I woke up and went over to the student center to begin day numero dos! The recruitment counselors handed us our schedules and I was a bit nervous opening it… it said, Beagle, Corgi, Labrador, and Bulldog. Woohoo!! I got invited back to all that I wanted! With that said, I was ready to begin the day!

Day number two was broken up into two parties, the first being the Philanthropy Round. I started out at Beagle. Once again I walked into the room full of cheers and clapping- I was starting to like all of the commotion! I saw my best friend’s friend from the other side of the room and she smiled and waved at me. I got to talk to a few of the sisters and they were all very nice. We watched a video regarding their philanthropy and I was very impressed by how passionate they seemed about their extra volunteer work that they do in the community. I really liked them a lot and hoped to return that night for the next round!

Okay, on to Corgi! I was excited to return to this sorority because I felt such a connection the day before. I walked into the room and was immediately blown away by their philanthropy. I loved it! We watched a video presentation and it made me cry of course, I’m kind of a crier! I felt like these girls were so genuine and I loved their philanthropy. I was really hoping they liked me too!

Next up – Labrador! I liked them a lot the night before, so I was happy that they invited me back. I walked in, and their room was beautifully decorated. The girls once again, were very well put together, everything was very organized and they were their bubbly selves just like in the first round. I got picked up by one girl when I walked in and while we were talking I stuttered on a word for a few seconds. The girl did not know what to do! Instead of saying anything, she gave me this horrible look like I had a third eye, and just walked away. While I was standing there alone, I was looking around the room, hoping another sister would come up to me to talk to me. Instead, no one came, so a few minutes later I just sat down at a table nearby. A few sisters came up and sat down with another rushee at the table, and while they were making some effort to talk to me, they were primarily focused on her, asking her what types of designer labels she had. I’m pretty sure they played a philanthropy video, but I barely remember anything else from the rest of that round, because I was trying to keep myself from crying out of embarrassment. Needless to say I did not want to return to this sorority, ever ever again.

I brushed it off, and was ready for the last round with Bulldog. They were a very sweet sorority as I remember, and while a bit jarred from the last sorority, I was happy to go there. I started talking to a girl there, and just told her straight up that I stutter and I was nervous about going through recruitment because of it. She smiled and said that it doesn’t matter, everyone is different, and the differences make the girls in their sorority complete. I couldn’t stop smiling the rest of the round. I was really interested in their philanthropy, and they talked a lot about how it was important to them. I felt very comfortable here and was hoping to return the next round!


Okay, ranking time! I had to make a decision, so I ranked them:
1. Beagle
2. Corgi
3. Bulldog
4. Bottom - Labrador (obviously )


Woohoo! Stay tuned

[TriDeltaSallie]

Enjoying your story.

And boo Labrador.

[KDCat]

OMG! You poor thing! That sister probably just didn't know how to handle the brief awkwardness and panicked and made an idiot out of herself. You were fine, but she was definitely a socially awkward penguin. Sorry that happened.

Back in the age of dinosaurs, when I rushed, the sororities at my school did their song/chant on the front lawns of their houses. They then left the lawn to pick up the rushees on the sidewalk. At the very first house, a sister smiled and made good eye contact with me and then walked right past me to pick-up another rushee. Sister after sister walked past me to pick up other rushees and I was just left standing there. Their rush chair spotted me as everyone else went in and picked me up. I felt like an idiot and I didn't want anything to do with them after that.

And since German Shepherds are out, I'm going to say "Go Corgi!"

[polkadotstars]

Next up was the "Sisterhood Round"! This round was longer than the first two, and where we really learned about the sisterhood of the sororities and got to talk more to the sisters to get more insight on where we belonged

I got my schedule from my Recruitment Counselor back, and I was so happy because I had a full schedule! Woohoo! And happy that I did not have to return back to Labrador

With that said, on to the first round of houses! First up, Corgi! I was really happy to go back here because I felt very comfortable with these girls. I really got an impression of them that they were very 'real', and they weren't trying to be something that they weren't, which impressed me. I talked a lot to one of the girls I had met earlier in the rounds and she was excited to see me back there. She showed me around the room, and explained what some of the awards were on the tables, and let me browse through some of their scrapbooks. They had a cute slideshow with various pictures from the recap of the previous year. They all seemed to have this fun energetic spirit while being true to themselves. I loved them!!

Next up: Bulldog! I was looking forward to going back here because I felt the girls were very accepting of who I am. They had a slideshow as well, where I could tell they were very active on campus and had a close bond. They all remembered who I was and said they were so happy that I came back. While I liked the girls, I realized I liked Corgi more.

Last but not least, Beagle. Something about these girls just really made them look so put together in all of their rounds. They were all so easy to talk to and I could tell how close they were. They had many awards on the tables and had pictures of their sisterhood scattered all over the room. However, I was a bit put off when one of the sister's tried to introduce me to another sister, and she didn't really seem enthused to meet me. She half-heartedly said hello and hardly made eye contact with me. Maybe she was tired/distracted/run down? Eh, nonetheless, I still liked them and wanted to return to them for preference in the morning!

Soon enough, it was ranking time, I put:

1. Corgi
2. Beagle
3. Bulldog

[honeychile]

No Bichon Frise Love?





That's okay, hope you got the bid of your choice!

And as for the stuttering, one of our Sister of the Year winners stuttered, and does to this day. She sings like an angel!

[Jess1994]

What houses did you go to for preference?

[polkadotstars]

I'm loving all of the dog photos!! They are so cute! Thanks for posting them!


Okay it here goes, the final round, preference! Ahh!! But first, I had to see which chapters invited me back.. I looked at the schedule that my Recruitment Counselor handed me, and.. I had a full schedule again! I was invited back to Beagle and Corgi!!! Wow, I was on cloud nine!

I knew nothing about Preference, only just that our recruitment counselors told us that it was the most serious round of recruitment and that each chapter would hold a ceremony for it. I was really excited!

The first house of the day was Beagle. They had their preference in a sister's house which had a nice personal touch. We were a small greek life so we didn't have any greek houses, per se. Recruitment was pretty much held at the student center, outside of Preference which is wherever the chapters wanted to hold it in. So, with that said, the sister's house for Beagle was quaint and nice! It was like walking into their sisterhood, literally. I saw a beautiful ceremony and they offered me cake which I politely declined, I was too nervous to eat, and I was afraid of getting cake in my teeth or something awkward like that! I was talking to the girls and they were happy I came back. My best friend's friend was saying how great it will be when I'm a sister and we started planning going to lunches together. (Later on I found out this was a huge recruitment infraction, you can't promise bids!). I left REALLY wanting to be a part of Beagle!!! It would be hard to top this chapter after this round!


Next, our recruitment counselors dropped me off at Corgi! I was very excited to go back here again. They had a nice ceremony, but I felt like Beagle's was more wholesome and touching. Although, of course I cried during it! The girl who preffed me was who I talked to for a long time during the 1st night. I really liked her a lot and she said how much she could see me as a Corgi. I talked to some of the other sisters and they all remembered me. (Side note: At least my stuttering makes me memorable ). They were all happy I came back and were genuinely happy to see me! I felt so lucky to have gone to two awesome chapters in the day and I had some serious decisions to make!

And after all of this, I made my decision, I really wanted to be a Beagle!! I felt like they were more outgoing, they had a beautiful ceremony, and they obviously wanted me more- I mean they had promised me we would hang out and go to lunch when I joined! (I did not know at this time that it was dirty rushing.. but at the time I thought it meant they wanted me more than Corgi). So with that said, I was about to rank my choices.

Our Recruitment Counselors said we should put down two choices if we were able to. However, I wanted to suicide on my choice. I really wanted to be a Beagle because I felt more at home with them. I simply could not imagine myself anywhere else.. however.. as soon as the Recruitment Counselor's said we didn't have much time left to make our selections.. I took a huge breath and also put down Corgi as my second choice... just in case.

[adpiucf]

Great story. But this thread needs more cocker spaniel.

[aephi alum]

Labrador! Bad dog! You NEVER leave a PNM alone at a party!

Here's hoping you looked like this on bid day:

[Old_Row]

I hope you get Beagle but I bet you get Corgi!

[polkadotstars]

I was so excited/nervous/happy/scared for bid day!! Our recruitment counselors handed us a little envelope... containing who our sorority was!! I nervously opened it to see that I was formally invited to join the sisterhood of..



CORGI



okay, what??!! Corgi!?! But I thought... Beagle wanted me! I had gotten my hopes up so high for Beagle that I was devastated that they didn't choose me! I felt heartbroken and betrayed. How could they do that?! They promised that I would get in!! I called my mom and explained everything and cried to her. She said I should go to their bid day and just test it out. I didn't *have* to stay with them if I didn't want to, but I should still go to their bid day and meet the girls, that it might be better if I give it some time.. so.. I stifled my sniffles and signed the bid day card, and as I watched half of my recruitment group go to Beagle I ran to my new Corgi group..

That night I ended up having a pretty good time at the bid day party. And as the next few days went by, I ended up loving my new sorority. I realized that Beagle had dirty rushed me and that just because Corgi or the other sororities didn't make plans after I became a sister, didn't mean they didn't want me as their sister! Most importantly, I realized that sororities know who is meant for them, even if you don't realize it first! And after a few days went by, I was PROUD to say that I was a CORGI!! Also known as..

ZETA TAU ALPHA!!!

I ended up having an AMAZING time in ZTA! I took many officer positions, and eventually earned the Outstanding Senior Award for all of my state chapters! I am super proud to say I am a ZTA Alumnae and wouldn't trade it for the world!

[KDCat]

Awesome story! Congrats to you and ZTA!

Corgis are a perfect code name for ZTA. They're the Queen's dogs!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AS-dCdYZbo