Woman claims sorority had her manage 'millions' at 19 years old

[ASTalumna06]

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/alab...122236189.html

A former University of Alabama sorority member posted a video on TikTok sharing what it was like for her to manage “millions of dollars” when she was only 19 years old.

As Bama Rush continues to capture the attention of TikTok and beyond — why did MaKayla get dropped!? — and as colleges tentatively reopen campuses for in-person learning, people have become fascinated with learning about the inner workings of Greek life.

Christy Sasso (@christysasso) posted a video on August 14 responding to questions about the cost of sororities. Sasso confirmed that some sororities can cost thousands of dollars per semester. The University of Alabama’s Panhellenic site lists first-year member dues as high as $4,978.00 per semester. Members who want to live in the sorority house pay as much as $9,445.00 per semester, while those who don’t live there pay as much as $4,575.00.

The cost, according to the site, covers chapter meal plans, chapter fees and international and national fees. According to Sasso, her sorority also paid for private chefs, tutors and the house itself — the rent was nearly $1 million annually alone.

“If you do some quick math, the dues for the year when I was there were like just under $6,000,” Sasso says in the video. “There’s over 400 girls in the sorority — like 420. That’s $2.5 million a year.”

Not sure that this is a surprise to some, but it is interesting to think of the level of trust bestowed upon young adults in these large chapters.

[*winter*]

Alan De Santis, a Greek alum, adviser and professor at UK wrote a book called Inside Greek U. He talks about this a bit in the book, how the executive positions are really like an internship and give some great experiences.

Ann Hyman also talks about this in her book, Diary of a Sorority House Mom. Her “boss” at the sorority was the 19 year old house manager. (This book took place at UC Berkeley, even though she doesn’t come right out and say it.)

[FSUZeta]

Remember, those officers have advisors, regional, and national officers who they answer to.

[Sciencewoman]

The involvement level, expertise, and proximity of financial advisors can vary greatly. These offices and advisor positions involve the ongoing, behind-the-scenes, less fun roles -- finances, the house, etc. that are so critical but just not very fun and sometimes tense when money/non-payment is involved.

This weekend, I sent out overdue rent notices, entered check requests for house bills, contacted Cintas about starting up weekly service after it appears our route rep went AWOL or left the company, handled an "ants in the kitchen" complaint, and started working on next year's housing contract so it's ready to go right after recruitment. I have helped the financial VP way more over the years than the revolving door of financial advisors have...so, none of the comments above surprise me.

[TXDG]

When I graduated, I sure as heck put “managed a $600,000 budget” on my resume. I was asked about it at every single internship & job interview and the first person who hired me was a former Sigma Chi chapter President who recognized the skills I had developed as a chapter VP and President.

And that was 15 years before schools like Alabama and SMU were building $5M++ homes and hiring production companies to film rush videos.

That said - there is plenty of oversight and reporting between chapter & regional advisors and House Corp.

[AnchorAlumna]

And much, much earlier, as treasurer I had lessons in payroll taxes, invoicing, collecting past due payments, paying vendors and budgeting from an astute alumna advisor for what was, in 1972-73, probably a $100,00-$150,000 budget.
And I was an English major!
You have to learn somewhere. Sorority is a great place to learn!

[jolene]

Originally Posted by *winter*

Alan De Santis, a Greek alum, adviser and professor at UK wrote a book called Inside Greek U. He talks about this a bit in the book, how the executive positions are really like an internship and give some great experiences.

Ann Hyman also talks about this in her book, Diary of a Sorority House Mom. Her “boss” at the sorority was the 19 year old house manager. (This book took place at UC Berkeley, even though she doesn’t come right out and say it.)

She was the house mom at the Tri Delta house.

[aephi alum]

Originally Posted by TXDG

And that was 15 years before schools like Alabama and SMU were building $5M++ homes and hiring production companies to film rush videos.

Holy frak.

So I'm starting to wonder if I should check out some of these sorority houses at Bama as long as I'm in Tuscaloosa... (I evacuated here from New Orleans after Hurricane Ida.)

[TXDG]

Originally Posted by aephi alum

Holy frak.

So I'm starting to wonder if I should check out some of these sorority houses at Bama as long as I'm in Tuscaloosa... (I evacuated here from New Orleans after Hurricane Ida.)

You definitely should! Those are huge and cost like $10-15M to build.
Glad you are safe in Tuscaloosa and hope you will be able to get back home soon.

[carnation]

Yeah, you should! And you might be able to see interior shots on the chapter webpages.

[Titchou]

Just how much money do you think a chapter of over 400 women in a 66 room house generates? It's a lot of money! And they are bonded thru their insurance - most with MJ Insurance. This is big business to run a chapter this size.

[*winter*]

Originally Posted by aephi alum

Holy frak.

So I'm starting to wonder if I should check out some of these sorority houses at Bama as long as I'm in Tuscaloosa... (I evacuated here from New Orleans after Hurricane Ida.)

Glad you’re safe.

You definitely should! If that’s not possible, the Alabama newspaper has some great photos of many of the houses. Maybe I will hunt down and link the one with the 400+ member chapter room!

[aephi alum]

My husband and I drove over to campus this afternoon. HOLY COW, those houses are HUGE! I've seen dorms smaller than those houses! And they're lovely. I can see why these chapters have budgets > $1M. If I'd been the treasurer in a chapter that size, I'd be putting it on my resume too!

[VioletsAreBlue]

People don't give the sorority experience enough credit. There is so much "skill" that gets developed, especially if you take on an exec opportunity. I served as secretary and president, both went on my resume and my first boss recognize the value of both roles immediately. My roommate was our treasurer - granted we didn't have a $1M+ budget, but she worked her tail off in that role and definitely had it on her resume.

But think about it:
New Member Education Role - probably great ground work for program management and implementation, or HR (particularly those who work on professional development, required trainings, etc.), or a teacher, etc.
Recruitment Chair - probably a fantastic project manager or entry into marketing/PR
Social - lots of event planner opportunities out there!
Standards - HR roles would probably be a great fit right there.

You could go on. And let's not forget the social skills that come with rush. I was always quieter - not quite socially awkward, but probably knocking on the door, and certainly in high school. After college my HS friends (I was the only one who was greek) always commented on how much I had changed and that I could strike up a conversation with anybody, even when they weren't giving anything back. I always credited sorority rush for that. They didn't quite get it, even though I explained that there were 4 years in a row of multiple rounds of conversations with groups of people that you didn't really know that well if at all (maybe you know a few, but not a ton) - you learn quickly how to make a conversation out of silence and get most people talking, make introductions, bring conversation groups together and all that fun.