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-   -   Game of Thrones - A barely retro recruitment story (http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=152729)

kitekat 08-11-2015 01:19 PM

Game of Thrones - A barely retro recruitment story
 
I’ve been a lurker for a long time, and now that I’ve wrapped up my collegiate years, I think that it’s finally time for me to share my recruitment story. Since recruitment is such an emotional roller coaster I thought it’d be appropriate to use my favorite HBO series, the ever-suspenseful, Game of Thrones!

There were a whooping 3 sororities at my school, so they will be named after Daenerys’ dragons: Viserion, Rhaegal, and Drogon.

Recruitment at my school was held a few weeks after the first day of classes. It’s very laid back compared to most schools. Each chapter has their own house, and the schedule of events was set up as follows:

Friday – Info Night
Saturday – House Tours
Sunday – Preference
Monday – Bid Day

We had the opportunity to get invited back to all three houses each day if we weren’t cut. I felt confident going in with a 3.7 GPA, lots of volunteer experience, and the wise advice of all you GCers ;) My only downside is that I was a couple years older than most other PNMs.

I tried my best to keep an open mind, but I went in already hoping for Rhaegal, because I LOVE their philanthropy and I have a personal connection with it.

kitekat 08-11-2015 01:25 PM

Day 1: Info Night

Info Night was held in the student union where each house had their own room set up, and we spent 45 minutes in each room. We were separated into nine groups and three groups went into a room at a time. Before the event started, we went around and did the usual introductions, tell us about yourself, yadda yadda. There was one girl in my group who looked really familiar, but I couldn’t for the life of me think where I had met her before. I was the last to introduce myself, and after I talked a bit about my experience volunteering at a zoo the past couple summers, the familiar-looking girl jumps up and exclaims, “THAT’S HOW I KNOW YOU!” Her name was Linda, and turns out we had volunteered together the summer after my freshman year! We were recruitment buddies from then on!

We went to Viserion first. All of the girls were dressed in pearls, black blazers, dark denim, and high heels. Very classy! And their decorations were Tiffany & Co. themed! So cute! I was paired up with a bleach blonde Barbie doll, who was very poised and elegant. We were seated at a table of three other PNM and member pairs, including Linda, where we played an icebreaker game. The conversation was very fun and light-hearted. Linda and I both loved Viserion!

Next was Rhaegal, the house I was already leaning toward. Every girl was wearing a black cardigan embroidered with their crest. Not quite as polished as Viserion, but still very classy. There didn’t seem to be a theme with their decorations, but they had a killer brag table! They talked a lot about Big/Little week and how much they spoil their new members. I was sold! We played another ice breaker game, which almost seemed like an interview at times. I enjoyed it regardless, but Linda didn’t seem to be enjoying the conversation as much. Once we left the room, Linda admitted that she didn’t feel comfortable with that group. She felt they were judging her because of the many tattoos that she has. She liked Viserion better. Although she probably had the right of it, Viserion had the better party and nicer girls, I was still set on Rhaegal.

Lastly, we went to Drogon. They were dressed very casually in matching tshirts. The room was decorated in pastels and they served us cupcakes. Yum! The girl I was paired up with was very shy and awkward. I had to carry the conversation, which was hard to do in between bites of cupcake, making things even more awkward. I tried to turn my attention to the other members at the table, but they were all just as quiet and awkward. I left the room feel incredibly uncomfortable, although Linda said she liked them.

We didn’t rank houses this round, but in my mind I would have ranked
1. Rhaegal
2. Viserion
3. Drogon

kitekat 08-11-2015 01:30 PM

Day 2: House Tours

I was invited back to all three houses for tours! Linda was cut by Rhaegal, but she didn’t mind one bit.

My first house tour was at Rhaegal! I was so pumped to finally see what the inside of a sorority house is like! The members came out from the side door of the house single file dressed in matching tank tops and swept us into the house through the front door. For some reason I was a lot more nervous today, and the girl I was paired up with was a little intimidating. I thought I could lighten the tension by complimenting her hair bow. It was red with white polka dots and reminded me of Minnie Mouse. So cute! But she only rolled her eyes at me and said “yeah, our theme is like, America or something.” Yeesh, someone’s cranky. I hope I didn’t somehow offend her with the Minnie Mouse comment…
As we went through the house, she asked me if I had any questions, but my mind was blank as I was just trying to take it all in. I was bumped to another girl halfway through the tour. This one was even crankier than the first! I tried to talk to her about their philanthropy that I was so fond of, but she wasn’t holding up her end of the conversation and clearly wasn’t interested in talking to me. Even though I got paired with lousy girls, I still really wanted to like this house.

The next house I went to was Viserion. As all the PNMs waited outside the house, we could hear the members inside doing a chant to get pumped up. It was very exciting! Finally they came out single file, all looking like super models in high heels again and matching tshirts. We were whisked inside and I was blown away by how neat and well decorated their house was! They really paid attention to every detail! We were given a quick tour and then settled down at tables set up in the basement to chat and enjoy some refreshments. I ended up at a table with 5 or 6 members and no other PNMs. They were all so attentive and we had a wonderful conversation about our hopes and dreams for the future. It was great not having to share the spotlight with any other PNMs. I felt like I really clicked with these girls! Maybe Viserion was meant to be my home ☺

Last house of the day was Drogon. All the PNMs were lined up outside the house and we waited, and waited, and waited. Then almost out of no where a huge gaggle of girls in mismatched semi-formal dresses came barreling around the corner yelling and chanting at the top of their lungs, scaring the pants off of half the PNMs! I didn’t mind the yelling so much as their horrendous outfits. Most of the dresses these girls were wearing looked like something I might’ve picked out for my first high school homecoming dance. I was paired with a tall, lanky girl who could use a bit of wax on her upper lip. She was very sweet, but incredibly awkward! We did share a common interest in snowboarding though. The tour itself was chaotic. We were randomly shuffled into rooms, they didn’t set up a system so that everyone to flow through the house comfortably. The hallways in the house were really narrow and it was hard to maneuver with so many girls going this way and that. After that mess was over, we were all herded into the living room to watch the members perform a skit for us. I HATE SKITS. It don’t remember specifically what the skit was, but it had something to do with the Backstreet Boys and it was terrible (I’m an N’Sync girl ;)).

At the end of the day I ranked
1. Viserion
2. Rhaegal
3. Drogon

I met up with Linda for pizza afterward and we gossiped for hours about our house tours. She ranked Viserion first, also, but said she would be happy at Drogon too.

kitekat 08-11-2015 01:34 PM

Day 3: Preference

I opened my invite list and was disappointed to see that Rhaegal had cut me. I got over it quickly though, and set my heart on Viserion! Linda was also invited back to Viserion and Drogon, but unfortunately, we were given opposite schedules. I was dreading going back to Drogon again, but I was going to put a smile on my face and tough it.

I went to Drogon first. I was paired up with the same lanky, awkward girl again (what a coincidence :rolleyes:). Their living room was very romantically decorated with tulle, string lights, and rose petals. Their preference ceremony was very intimate and heart warming. I daresay I teared up a little!

At Viserion I was paired a tall, beautiful redhead. We chatted a bit before they began the preference ceremony. I wasn’t able to find a single thing in common with this girl, making the conversation a little uncomfortable. The ceremony was nothing spectacular, and felt very impersonal.

If I had to judge on Preference alone, I might have picked Drogon, but I couldn’t get past the awkwardness of all their members! When it came time to rank, it took me quite a long time to make my decision. Overall, I adored Viserion and felt the most at home there. I couldn’t bear the thought of showing up at bid day and NOT getting a bid from them.

I ended up SIPing Viserion.

After our events, Linda and I dashed off to the mall to go shopping, praying that neither of us would get that awful call from our Rho Chi…

KYKAT 08-11-2015 01:54 PM

Thanks for sharing-I love the stories !

honeychile 08-11-2015 04:30 PM

Cannot wait to hear the outcome!!

cebrain 08-11-2015 06:10 PM

I am a huge Game of Thrones fan...can't wait to see which dragon prevails.

kitekat 08-11-2015 06:59 PM

Mere hours after Preference, Linda and I were getting a little ahead of ourselves at the mall picking out outfits that we might wear to our first chapter meetings. There was a great pair of nude heels that I’d been eyeballing for a long time, but I never thought I’d have a good opportunity to wear them. I tried them on just for funsies, and imagined myself someday walking out of Viserion's front door and wearing their letters. Sold! As Linda and I were walking out of the shoe store, I got a phone call from our Rho Chi.

I did not receive a bid and was released from recruitment.

I was crushed. How could this have happened? I had such a great time at Viserion and they invited me to Pref. Why would I be invited to Pref if they had no intention of extending a bid to me?

The next day Linda went on to receive her bid from Viserion. She was thrilled. I was happy for her, of course, but also very hurt that I didn’t have the same happy ending. I spent the rest of the semester watching her go to socials, attend new member meetings, and getting her big sis.

But Linda ended up not going through with initiation as she decided that she wanted to transfer to another school next semester.

kitekat 08-11-2015 07:06 PM

For a few weeks after recruitment, I felt lost. But I picked my self up and started looking for other ways to keep myself busy. I got a part time job at the shoe store, and joined the women’s rugby club on campus. Even though I had plenty to distract myself with, I wasn’t entirely satisfied. Greek life was always nagging at me in the back of my mind. Maybe I had made a mistake by SIPing. Should I have given Drogon a chance? Would it have been better to be a Drogon than to not be Greek at all?

Being a part of a rugby team was a fantastic experience. Sisterhood, schmisterhood! My team had become my family. I convinced myself that it was for the best that I was dropped from recruitment, otherwise I would never have found rugby. I also wouldn’t have found my future roommate, Kristin, who also happened to be a Drogon.

One evening the next fall, Kristin invited me to a formal meal at Drogon. Why not? It was a free meal, and I wasn’t about to turn down free food. Most of the awkward girls I had met at recruitment the previous year had either graduated or dropped out of the organization. They were still a quirky bunch, but I ended up having a great time! After the meal, they invited my to one of their COB events the following week.

kitekat 08-11-2015 07:32 PM

And that was that. I joined Drogon, which of course is KAPPA ALPHA THETA, and finally had my happy ending!

I immersed myself into Greek life and went to every meeting, event, and social that I could. I met so many great friends, including my best friend who was also in my pledge class, and got the most perfect Big! But most importantly, I learned after my initiation that being Greek means a whole lot more than just having a fun social life. Your membership is what you make of it. I can honestly say that my membership in Theta has made me an all around better woman and I wouldn't trade my collegiate experience for the world.

Looking back, I had gone through recruitment with a rather shallow mindset. But at the time I didn’t realize all of the great benefits that being a part of ANY Greek organization gives you. I grew to love my chapter, of course, but I also loved being a part of the larger Greek community! My advice to PNMs: Accepting your last choice IS better than not being Greek at all!

thetalady 08-11-2015 08:04 PM

Well, I obviously knew where you would end up from your name, but WOW! What a twisted, surprising journey to get there! Loved your story. Thanks for sharing it.
TLAM

DeltaBetaBaby 08-12-2015 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kitekat (Post 2325171)
Most of the awkward girls I had met at recruitment the previous year had either graduated or dropped out of the organization.

I'd bet that some were awkward during formal recruitment and awesome in other settings, too. That's one of the biggest challenges for some chapters, IMO, just conforming to the formal recruitment system.

KYKAT 08-12-2015 10:41 AM

Great story. Glad you found your Theta home too!

kitekat 08-12-2015 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby (Post 2325281)
I'd bet that some were awkward during formal recruitment and awesome in other settings, too. That's one of the biggest challenges for some chapters, IMO, just conforming to the formal recruitment system.

I think that was definitely the case for some girls!

AmoXO 08-12-2015 06:18 PM

That was a great story!!! :)


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