During my college search, Greek life was something that never even entered in my brain to do. My mom has always grown up disapproving of sororities based on their stereotypes in movies of being stick thin, tan, having blond hair, dressing preppy and beautiful. Because of this, it was something I always imagined myself straying away from even though St. Lawrence has Greek life. Once I started my freshman year, I realized that it was something that I may actually being interested in participating. At St. Lawrence, they don’t allow students to rush for Greek life until their sophomore year. Personally, this was a blessing in disguise. I was able to observe, ask questions and really learn about the sorority life in order to help solidify my decision to rush.
Going into sophomore year, I was ready to become apart of Greek life. There were many factors that swayed me into wanting to rush. First was becoming involved in a group bigger than just myself. My whole life, I grew up playing soccer, alpine ski racing and lacrosse ever since I was 5 years old until college. After deciding not to pursue my ski racing career into college, I knew that I wanted to be able to do more than just athletics. That being said, I missed having a busy schedule each day, having a large group or team there to always back me up and support me. This has been something that I found in my sorority. Either with my pledge class or the other girls in the house, I know that each and everyone of them will have my back. I also love finally being apart of something more than just a club or job on campus, it’s something that differentiates and gives me purpose here on campus. Going along with this, meeting and making new friends was another reason why I wanted to rush. I met my best friends freshman year and they will forever be my best friends, but I also wanted to be able to meet the larger population of the St. Lawrence community. Rushing has been the best way for me to do that. Throughout the whole process of picking the right home for me, I was able to meet a variety of people that I would never have possibly met without doing it. Also the girls in my house, who I know will be come some of my closest friends. Also, coming together with other fraternities and sororities have allowed me to meet a greater part of our small community. My final reason for rushing was to make an impact on campus. Through our philanthropy we get involved in the community whether its cooking food for locals or raking lawns in the community. Additionally, we work together with other sororities and fraternities to make differences on campus.
In the end, rushing has been one of the best decisions during my time at St. Lawrence! It’s not an easy decision, but if it feels like the right decision for you, then I highly encourage you to try it out. And although I am only into my first semester in Greek life, I can’t wait to find out what is in store for my next 2 years on campus!