Recruitment is right around the corner! Some people may feel excited for the next chapter of their lives, while others might be feeling nervous or a bit overwhelmed. There is absolutely no reason to be nervous (I felt the same way before recruitment). The women in each house are ecstatic for you to be coming and are just looking to get to know you! Be yourself and focus on meeting new people, especially those who are in your recruitment group. Prepare to get lots of love and smiles. You will meet some amazing women and establish friendships that will last a lifetime. The first stop on the recruitment week journey is convocation, which you went through tonight. Next up is the first official round of recruitment: open house.
OPEN HOUSE:
This round takes place the first two days of the week. You will visit
all 14 sorority houses over the course of the first two days. Panhellenic
requires that you go to every house, so don’t skip any houses! You will be with
your recruitment group for the entirety of the two days. You’ll walk from
house-to-house together, and then lineup alphabetically when you arrive at each
house waiting for the party to start. When the recruitment guide (also called a
Rho Gam) knocks on the door three times, you will be completely silent. Then,
the house will explode with cheering and banging as the doors swing open. The
president of the sorority, the recruitment captain, and another member of the
recruitment team will step onto the porch and welcome you to their house. The
house will erupt with chanting! As you walk through the door, you will be
greeted and picked up by the girl you will be talking to that day. Every house
does it differently, but at the ZTA House--get ready for lots of hugs.
Once you complete the second day of open house, you’ll go to the UTC (University Teaching Center) and rank the 10 houses you felt the most connected to and enjoyed the most!
PHILANTHROPY:
Philanthropy is another two-day round. These are the days that you will be learning about each sorority’s philanthropy. ZTA’s philanthropy is breast cancer education and awareness. Our philanthropy is extremely important to us because men and women all over the world, including many of our sisters have been impacted by breast cancer in some way, and we strive to help in any way that we can to fight for a cure. Each house will have a small craft or activity that is centered around their philanthropy. Many houses also prepare a short presentation or some sort of entertainment to illustrate their efforts in raising awareness for their philanthropy. At the beginning of this round, you will go to the meeting place that your recruitment guide designates and get there early that morning to receive your schedule (you can attend a maximum of 10 parties). Your schedule won’t be the same as everyone in your recruitment group, so you’ll be going to each house on your own. If you have time, try mapping out your route from house-to-house ahead of time--especially if you have to catch the bus. There will also be recruitment counselors at every house to help you if you have questions.
This is also the first round that the houses are allowed to offer refreshments other than water. You will typically receive a refreshing, fruity drink (buckets of fancy lemonades and Shirley temples). Make sure to keep drinking the water stationed outside each house. These two days are hectic, but don’t worry because you’re halfway through and the best is yet to come!
Tips: Try your hardest not to miss the bus that goes from DG to Kappa/Alpha Phi. Trust me, it’s a long run in the summer heat. These two days are important because you can really get a feel of the houses’ personalities.
Once you complete the second day of philanthropy, you’ll go to the UTC and list the 6 houses you liked the best.
SISTERHOOD:
Tips: At this point, it is integral to look around and try to get to know some of the women who are going to the same houses as you because you are getting closer to potentially becoming sisters for life! It is also equally important to be open in your conversations and let your beautiful personality shine through! Also, this is the day where you cut the most houses (4) so pay attention and note the houses that speak to your heart.
Once you reach the end of sisterhood day, you’ll go to the UTC and rank the top 2 houses you feel the most connected to and could picture yourself in.
PREFERENCE NIGHT:
Preference Night or “Pref” is the very last night of recruitment and can sometimes be a bit stressful because you may have some difficult decisions to make. This is the night everyone is waiting for. You will go to a maximum of two houses this day. Each house will be decorated elegantly, and everyone will be dressed in more formal attire than the previous days. The houses will present some form of program with testimonials on how their sisterhood transformed their lives. This was my absolute favorite day of recruitment. Today is when lots of women--both PNM’s and actives--will cry, so I would recommend waterproof mascara! I turned on some serious waterworks when I was going through recruitment, that’s for sure. For me, preference night was my favorite night of all recruitment. Both houses that you go to are houses that you have clicked with the best. I remember walking into Zeta and feeling a wave of comfort and belonging. I looked at the women that were sitting at the tables and saw my potential sisters. Also, I saw all the actives hugging and swaying to the music that was playing. I could see the love that they all had for each other which really spoke to me. All of a sudden, the tears started rolling as I felt an overwhelming sense of belonging. I looked to my roommate, Taylor Thorpe, at the table next to me, and I could see that she was feeling the same thing I was. Before we knew it, we were not only roommates, but we were sisters. The best advice I ever received for preference night was to look around at the other PNMs and talk to them while you’re waiting to go inside. Do you get along well with them? Are these the kind of women you would want to be your potential sisters the very next day? Waiting outside of Zeta for me was when I knew that this was my home. The women I talked to outside ended up being my sisters, and I am still so grateful for all of them (shoutout to Kalina, Macey and Taylor).
Tip: It is very important to completely open up during your conversations because it is the last night. Tell the girl(s) you are talking to what you are feeling!
Once you finish pref night, you will immediately go to the UTC and list the sorority where you could see yourself finding your sisters for life as number one.
BID DAY:
The happiest and most joyous of days! You arrive at Hogg Auditorium and sit where you find your name tag. The card containing the sorority that gave you a bid is placed on your chair, and you have to sit on it until the presentation is over --the suspense is insane! Once the panhellenic president says to open your envelope, you open it and meet your new sisters in front of the building and all run together to the house! There are loads of hugs and smiles all the way there. You are then greeted by all the actives as they really have been waiting for you all summer and are so excited for you to start your journey!
Tips: Do not bring a lot with you for this day because you won't want to carry all your stuff. A small purse or a simple crossbody with keys and phone is all you'll need!
Try to accept, pre-recruitment, that your hair won’t stay in place and you’ll sweat all of your makeup off probably before the first house. For anyone worried about that, the first day of recruitment I forgot my makeup touch-ups at home and before the first house, I had managed to sweat off most of my makeup, but I still made it through and had a great time! We are looking for PERSONALITY, not perfect hair or perfect makeup/attire. Be yourself and don’t focus on making yourself look flawless because it’s about what is on the inside that really matters!
- “Where are you from?”
- “What is your major?”
- “What are your hobbies?”
- “What did you do this summer?”
Really try and have fun with it! If you have something fun or crazy to talk about, throw it out there. You never know what you might have in common with someone, and it could be a really memorable story.
Prepare yourself for long days/nights, lots of running, and small talk. Recruitment is a long week, but the sisterhood and support that comes as a result will last forever. We’ve been waiting for you all summer! GO ZETA!
XOXO,
Faith Osterberg PC ‘17
Recruitment Team 2018
