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1.16 2012

Philanthropy Round Reflection by Alyssa
By president

 

Hey girl! What’s up?? So good to see you back!  Let me take your coat for you, we’re going to go on a walking tour of the house!  Yeah, I know right?? So much fun! You’re going to love it!

Welcome back! And welcome to philanthropy round!  This may be one of my favorite rounds (...you may start to notice a pattern with this..).  With each round, the sorority becomes more personal, and philanthropy is the perfect example of that.  You get the opportunity to walk through the house and see most of the girls’ rooms!  While that may sound a bit off out of context, in recruitment, it’s totally acceptable and awesome.  I remember each house being decked out in sorority gear and photos.  It made me so excited that I decided to participate in recruitment, I wanted to see every room and what the girls did with it! (I also have a weak spot for anything involving glitter, bright colors and pictures so that could have been why I got overly excited about this round). Also in this round, you get to have a longer more personal conversation with a girl in the house.  I remember all my conversations with girl being so fascinating, and I also shocked myself by being able to talk to one girl who I barely knew for almost 30 minutes (I was so proud of myself after that day).  I definitely had an easier time picturing myself in certain houses, and not so much in others.  The running monologue in my head from the other rounds definitely still happened during philanthropy, “This house is so big, how many people live here I wonder? Is it ever quiet here?  That’s a pretty picture.  Ooo look at the glitter, oh I love it! I wonder if my girl lives here? I should probably be asking her these questions instead of thinking them.  She probably thinks I’m awkward now.  Stop smiling like that you look like a fool, tone it down you’re probably creeping her out...oh this room is so neat! I want my room to look like that. What there are cupcakes?? Cool! Now THAT I should not have said out loud...well, hey I guess I got a cupcake out of it.  Worth it.”

The philanthropies that these girls support are all such wonderful causes.  Each of our chapters here at Penn has touched these organizations in some way, and many of the girls have amazing connections with their organizations. They are so excited to tell you about the events they have had and what they have done to help these groups.  In my personal opinion, it truly is one of the greatest parts of being part of a sorority.  It helps me, and my sisters, realize there is more than just our small little bubble on Penn’s campus and that we can make a difference, even if its for just a moment.  But, I’m sorry to say that this round is over, I’ll help you grab your coat though!  Best of luck with the rest of recruitment!  I’ll be back for Pref night!
Skit Round Reflection by Alyssa
By president

 

“Hi!!! My name’s Alyssa! Welcome back to recruitment!!! It’s SO nice that you’re here again! How’s recruitment so far?  Do you like the skits?  They’re so much fun right?” 

So here we are again with round two of recruitment: skit (my personal favorite)!  You all got to see a completely different side of the sororities today, and, in my opinion, probably one of the more honest ones.  The skits told a story about what the sororities do during the school year, whether it be philanthropy events, sisterhood dinner, date parties or their personality.  But, what I always find the most interesting (and something I made note of as both a PNM and a member) is that during this round, the girls interact with each other the most directly.  As a PNM I finally got to witness what the girls are like when they are with their sisters, rather than just talking to me. I saw that the energy of the girls was always high, and the girls were so enthusiastic.  As a PNM it made me realize that joining a sorority just might be more than I thought.  Although I would get to proudly wear the letters of whichever sorority I chose, I would also have over 100 more girls sharing that in common with me.

Think back on your time in the house--the sisters were all having a wonderful time, I’m sure. Ask yourself if you would be able to stand alongside those girls and act completely absurd for the new PNMs sitting in their living room. I know I tried as hard as I could to place myself in the midst of the organized chaos that was skit round.  Would I do a funny dance with a sister? Or sing the “recruitment lyrics” to the hit song of the year instead of the real words with them at a party? Could I see myself raising money for charity by hosting a downtown or a fun event on campus? At this point, I didn’t have a definite answer for myself, but I did know that many of those houses would make me very happy.  But, unfortunately this round is over, and I’ll have to send you on your way.  I hope you enjoyed watching the skit!  The girls certainly had a blast performing it for you!  And with that, I’ll help you grab your coat, and enjoy the rest of your night!

1.13 2012

Open House Round Reflection by Alyssa
By president

 

Alyssa is a Junior sorority sister who will be bringing you reflections on her recruitment experiences throughout the week. Enjoy!

“Hi! My name is Alyssa, and welcome to Recruitment! I’m SO glad to see you here! How’s recruitment so far? Here, let me take your coat for you…”  I remember gushing something similar (or, I hope it was something like that) to my very first PNM whom I was hoping to recruit into my sorority.  365 days ago I remember being so jittery from excitement and concern if I would be able to win over so many adorable and sweet freshman.  I remember the constant stream of thoughts through my head, “Can I make them feel so happy here that they will want to come back?  Will I have anything in common with her?  Don’t say anything stupid. I hope she likes it here.  Uh oh...do I have anything in my teeth? I hope she likes...oh, I’m up next..Hi! My name is Alyssa! What’s yours?” 

And so began my very first Open House as a Sophomore.  My first night on the floor was a complete whirlwind, and oddly enough it reminded me exactly of my time as a PNM.  I was so nervous going through rush, and surprisingly, I thought the same exact questions as a freshman that I did as a sophomore.  “

Will they like me?  Will I like them?  Is my dress ok?  I hope I don’t say something awkward...”  I still remember some of the girls I spoke with at different houses on my first two nights and the conversations we had.  We talked about everything from fact that I was in the most dreadful, awful science class with one Junior, to singing Disney songs on the subway to cowboy boots.  I went home that first night with a massive smile on my face and a really, really sore throat.  I, at this point, had no idea which house to choose, and that also made me nervous.  And so, the never-ending stream of questions came back: “They were really nice, did they like me?  Their theme was SO FUN, I didn’t know the houses would have themes.  How should I rank them? I like sororities. Uh oh, I definitely forgot to tell them I was part of this club, will that count against me?  Do you think they noticed that my heel was unbuckled?  That girl in..uh oh..what was the name of that house..Kappa Omega?  No, no it was Phi Lambda..ugh no that’s definitely wrong..umm, I should learn my Greek alphabet...how do they pronounce “Chi”? Hmmm.  Where do I go now?  Houston right?  That’s to my...left? No, wait, I’m on 39th street, so it’s to the right...right?  Where’s my Rho Gam?!  WHERE’S MY VOICE?!”  To say the very least, after Open House, I definitely learned the correct names of the sororities, and how to say them; no, no one noticed that my shoe was unbuckled; and my voice managed to survive through to the next round (barely).  Before stepping through the doorway of my first house, Open House seemed like the most daunting, scary event that I would encounter.  I was half torn between being excited about this, and running far, far away.  However, once I stepped through the door, a genuinely nice girl greeted me, and everything was awesome from there.  It turned out to be a very valuable experience, and within the first five minutes of recruitment, I learned skills that I still use to this day.  Unfortunately, though, this round is over, and I’ll have to send you off for now, but I had so much fun talking to you, and best of luck with the rest of recruitment!

 

1.9 2012

Welcome to the Panhel Blog!
By admin

Welcome to the Penn Panhellenic Association's blog. The blog is here to give you an inside look at sorority life at Penn. We will have updates from Panhellenic executive board members, general chapter members and occasionally a Panhellenic parent or advisor. The hope is to share some thoughts about chapter and Council events and what being a sorority woman entails. Add us to your feed and look for updates soon!