What it means to be vp III

What it means to be recruitment chair

During my time as VP III, I was tasked with creating a team of women to help me accomplish my goal: leading the Theta Tau chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha through Primary Recruitment (AKA Sorority Rush) and getting the best damn pledge class (BDPC) on UNC’s Campus. Ultimately I chose 11 women in the chapter to help me achieve those goals.

Once I had my team, the planning began. With just over six months before Recruitment, and a lot of things to check off the to-do list, we started working. Scheduling and planning practices for the chapter? Check. Coming up with ideas for our social media to market towards Potential New Members (PNMs)? Check. Create engaging powerpoints to present to over 100 members of the chapter? Check. Paint six banners, outside, in the middle of July, to make sure the chapter can get good content and attract PNMs before Recruitment? Check, check, check, check, check, and check!

After six months of meetings, planning sessions, and spreadsheets, it was time for WorkWeek. WorkWeek is a week of practices leading up to Recruitment. All of the women in the chapter who are recruiting come to the house each day for conversation workshops, mock rounds, DEI workshops, content hour, and more. If you have ever seen #BamaRushTok, where a small group of girls does a dance in front of a larger group of girls cheering them on, then you’ve seen a glimpse into WorkWeek. Ultimately, the goal of WorkWeek is to make sure each woman feels comfortable and confident in her recruiting abilities, so that everyone is ready going into recruitment.

Then the real beast came: Primary Recruitment. The five-day, four-round, mutual selection process allows each of UNC’s 10 Panhellenic Sororities to meet each of the 850+ PNMs, and each PNM to meet each chapter. Each round allows the two parties to get to know each other better and narrow down their options, until each PNM gets to run home on bid day to their new sorority. During this period, I chaired the logistics for our chapter members to be able to meet and learn about each and every PNM who walked through the doors of our house each day. I also handled any issues that arose such as members being diagnosed with COVID-19 and members violating dry period rules.

These are long days. Each day, members get to the house by 9:00 am, dressed ready to go, and stay there until the round is over; some days, it could be until after midnight. In addition to the long hours, the days are filled with social interaction. At first, for the social butterfly, this may sound like a breeze, but each day, you are constantly on your feet, meeting with two-four girls each party, with up to 13 parties a day. In addition to just meeting them, you have to remember each girl’s name, what you talked about, and if you thought she would be a good addition to the chapter. After five days of it, you are exhausted.

Even though this position was truly one of the most exhausting experiences of my life, and came with numerous challenges, it was also the most rewarding experience of my life. As the rounds went on, I loved seeing who continually wanted to come back to ZTA, and when those 66 young women ran home to ZTA on Bid Day, the largest group in Theta Tau’s history, all I could do was smile and watch how at home they already felt with their new sisters.