Greek Life at UE

Greek Life at UE

By Cindy White

Cindy White with her big Anne-Marie Shulz

Bows, designer clothes, meeting boys, and socializing. That’s all Greek life is about, right?

         Wrong.

         I speak from my experience as a Greek woman here at the University of Evansville when I say that Greek life is so much more than that. In reality, Greek life goes far beyond the stereotype portrayed in the media. Growing up, I thought sororities were just for wealthy party girls- not me at all. Towards the end of my senior year, a few of my teachers asked me if I planned on going through recruitment at UE. I respectfully told them, “no, Greek life is not for me.” I even chose a private college over a state school partly because I knew there was no pressure to go Greek.

         Flash forward to the week after move-in. I was finished with my first three days of college and still adjusting to life on campus. I was the only person in my graduating class to come to UE, so I felt a bit lonely. I’m an outgoing person and have no trouble meeting people, but I still felt like I had to constantly keep up with high school friends to avoid feeling lonely at school. I didn’t have a deep connection with any friends quite yet, and I wasn’t sure how to find my niche.

         As I sat in my room hanging up pictures from high school, I realized I needed to be a part of something bigger here at UE. I called my mom in tears, missing home and my life in Louisville, and she mentioned sorority recruitment. She reminded me that my aunt was in a sorority in college and absolutely loved it. I told her I would try it out, but I was only going to do it to meet other people. I had no intentions on joining a Greek organization.

         On the first night of recruitment, I went in with no expectations. At each suite, I was my normal, bubbly self and had great conversations with the sorority women. I ended up loving getting to know girls in each sorority and I eventually chose the organization I am now in. On preference night, I felt such a deep connection with the women I now call my sisters. Their values and standards resonated with my own, and I really liked their emphasis on service and sisterhood.

         I chose to do recruitment for the opportunities to meet new people, but now I see that it provides so much more. Recruitment not only helped me find my place at UE, but it also opened my eyes to what Greek life is actually about. Greek life at UE motivates me to serve my community and improve my personal and professional images. I love the social aspect of Greek life, but my organization provides much more than that. I truly believe that being a part of Greek life will help me graduate as a well-rounded young woman.

         Sisterhood, community service, professional connections- these are just a few benefits of Greek life at UE. I didn’t think of myself as the sorority type, but now I’m proud to call myself a sorority woman. I’m so thankful for the opportunities my sorority provides for me and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the next two years at UE. I am a sorority woman, and I am proud of that!

Recruitment Team Introductions: Round 3

Only 26 more days left to register for recruitment 2015!!

With freshman move-in day only 10 days away we figured we would introduce you to more of our recruitment team. We hope you are getting excited for the beginning of the school year, because I know we are! 

Say hello to three more of our recruitment counselors! 

Kendra C.
Hometown: Bright, IN
Major: Nursing

"Greek Life has given me confidence, helped me get involved on 
campus and in the community, and I love that it has given me
 friendships that will last a lifetime."

Jessie T. 

Hometown: Lapel, IN

Major: Marketing

"I love that being apart of Greek Life has allowed me to come out of my shell and meet other people. Working hard together to support each other's philanthropies and creating a better campus community is my favorite part about being in Greek Life here at UE."

 

Elaina R.

Hometown: Carbondale, IL

Major: Exercise Science

" I love the diversity, and the ability to grow within your chapter, with women to help guide you to make the right choices.  I also love the fast friendships that greek life gave me that will stay with me for the rest of my life!"

Kristen N.

Hometown: Pittsboro, IN

Major: Nursing

"Greek Life has given me a support system away from home and sisters that are lifelong friends. Giving back to the community is important to me and by being a part of Greek Life; I am able to give back to many organizations by attending events and volunteering my time. Not only have I found sisters for a lifetime, but also I have grown as a person by joining such a wonderful and inspiring organization." 

Don't forget you can sign up today online, simply visit our website for more information. Check back next week for round 4 introductions! 

Recruitment Team Introductions: Round 2

Recruitment Team Introductions: Round 2

With July winding down we are only a month away from freshman move-in day and 46 days from the close of sorority recruitment registration.

Let's take the time to meet three more members of this years recruitment team!

Brittany S.

Hometown: Indianapolis, IN

Major: Health Services Administration and Public Health

"What I love about Greek Life is that it has provided me with an endless support system, greater opportunities, and both the best friends and memories of my college years."

Brittany also serves as the Panhellenic Council Vice President of Inter-Greek Affairs.

Dana B.

Hometown" Brentwood, TN

Major: Elementary Education

"Greek Life has been one of the best decisions I have made since coming to college. It has given me so many opportunities to meet new people and get involved. Most importantly, I have met some of my best friends by joining a sorority."

Haley F.

Hometown: Crawfordsville, IN

Major: Exercise Science/Pre-PT 

"My favorite part of Greek Life is the philanthropic events. Giving back to the community and helping others is something that is important to me, and being able to be a part of something that has these kinds of opportunities is awesome!"

Remember sorority recruitment registration is open now! Visit our website to sign up!

Your 2015 Recruitment Team

We are halfway through the summer and are gearing up to head back to UE! With just a little under two short months away from sorority recruitment, we thought we would start introducing you to the wonderful women that make up our recruitment team this year! 

Each year the Panhellenic Council selects upperclassman women to be YOUR guide through the recruitment process.  These women temporarily "disaffiliate" from their own organization to give you support and guidance during recruitment.  These are your Recruitment Counselors (RC).

Our recruitment team is lead by our Vice President of Recruitment, Mackenzie Bruce. Let's get to know Mackenzie and a few other RCs! 

Makenzie B. 

Vice President of Recruitment

Hometown: Paducah, KY

Major: Literature

Minor: Creative Writing

"When I first came to UE, I never thought I would join Greek Life. Now I love every minute that allows me to meet new people, become a leader on campus, and grow as a woman. I wouldn't be who I am today without Greek Life." 

Devin M. 

President of Panhellenic Council

Hometown: South Bend, IN

Major: Anthropology and Criminal Justice 

 "Greek Life provides such wonderful role models and friends that I look up to. Every day I have another example of the woman that I want to be!" 

                                                    

Alex G. 

Hometown: Denver, CO

Major: Creative Writing and Literature

"Greek Life has really encouraged e to branch out and get to know people better. It's also helped me come into my own and figure out who I am in college." 

Ashley D. 

Hometown: Columbus, OH

Major: Psychology

Minor: Neuroscience

"I love all of the opportunities that Greek Life has provided me with over the past three years. I also love the sense of belonging and community I feel within the Greek system here at UE." 

Don't forget you can sign up today online, simply visit our website for more information. And check back throughout the summer for more RC introductions! 

Family is Everything!

Family is Everything

by Cindy White

Cindy and her Greek Family at Chi Omega's Dishes for Wishes

Moving away to college brings a mix of emotions. The independence is exciting, but leaving home is scary. Although I’m only two hours away from my hometown, it was hard leaving. I love the city of Louisville, I didn’t want to lose connections within my community, and I’m close to my family. Plus, moving away meant I would no longer have my goofy dad to crack jokes when I have a bad day or my mom around to jam out to TSwift with me. What was I going to do without my family at school?

Fortunately, I found a family in Chi Omega. Right after Bid Day, I began going on “Owl Pal” dates with potential Bigs. I got coffee, ate lunch, and went to fitness classes with many sisters. A sophomore at the time, Anne-Marie, reached out to me. We talked at Jazzman’s for an hour and after the coffee date, I knew I wanted her to be my big. I would have been happy to have any of the older girls as my mentor, but I just had a feeling about Anne-Marie.

At Big/Little Reveal last year, I found out I got Anne-Marie as my big sister! I was so pumped to get to know her better and meet the rest of my Greek family. I was immediately assimilated and welcomed into the family, which was appropriately dubbed “the Empire.” We are a linear family, with each of us only being separated by a year in age. We keep in touch with the two girls who have graduated through a group text, sending random messages every once in a while and updating each other on our lives. Over the past year, I’ve gotten to know the four other girls in my family so well.

This year, I was lucky enough to get my own little sister! My little, McKala, and I instantly hit it off when we met before recruitment. She says from the moment she met me, she knew we were going to be close. Now she’s one of my best friends and our Greek family adores her!

The relationships in my big family are so important to me. Alex, who graduated the year before I came to UE, is now one of my closest friends. I still keep in touch with Hayley, who graduated last year and is living back home in Texas. Rebecca is a busy senior this year, but we still keep up with each other. My big and I see each other at least once a week on campus. My little and I are already so close and I can’t wait to see our relationship grow over the next few years.

My Greek family constantly provides me with inspiration, support, and humor. While I miss my family in Louisville, my Greek family makes Evansville feel like home. The six quirky and unique personalities in my family come together to form “the Empire.” I don’t know what I’d do without these women.

Twice the Fun!

Twice the Fun

By: Kristen Buhrmann

Kristen and her Greek family

A tradition among sororities is the Big/ Little program and the life-long relationships forged from that particular bond. A Big (big sister) is someone to look out for you, guide you, love you, spoil you, and be there for you no matter what. Being a Little (little sister) is something that almost every woman joining a sorority looks forward to. Years later, Littles still get together with their big sisters to catch up. Every sister within a sorority is close, but this is an extra-special bond with someone to whom you can always go to for advice.

This semester, I was honored to get not one, but two Littles! In Phi Mu, we lovingly call these twins, because they have the same big sister. Because my Big also had two Littles, making me a twin, I was so excited that I would get the same opportunity as my Big.

Leading up to the reveal, Bigs had four days to leave out gifts for their Littles. The women in our chapter have a tendency to go a little overboard in the spoiling department to show how excited we are for our Littles to be joining our Greek families. Between t-shirts, lions, and random things they like, by the end of the week, our Littles are eager to finally find out who has been spoiling them!

Watching my Littles find out I was their big was one of the most exciting moments I’ve experienced in Phi Mu – even more exciting than finding out who my Big was (which is pretty hard to accomplish).

Since Big/Little reveal a little over a month ago, I’ve gotten the pleasure of seeing my Littles get initiated, taking them out to dinner at IHOP and Buffalo Wild Wings, and hanging out and talking to them. My Littles and I are very busy people, but we find time to eat dinner together and catch up.

Although Bigs love spoiling their Littles, it’s the little moments that remind you how important that bond is. I have a tendency to always get lost or make stupid mistakes whenever I’m driving my Littles, and although it can be embarrassing, they make for wonderful memories to look back upon and laugh. I also have a minor obsession with bows and during Big/Little week, I gave my Littles about 14 bows each. I’m still surprised they weren’t able to piece those clues together since I am always wearing a bow! Whenever one of us spots the other wearing a bow, it’s always fun to giggle about how we have the same one.

I’ve loved every second I’ve spent with my wonderful Littles, Maggie and Payton, and I’m even more excited for all the future memories we’ll make, too. One of the reasons I was so eager to get Littles was that I wanted to be a mentor for someone else. Over the past year, I’ve learned so much about Phi Mu, our sisterhood, and what it means to be part of such a wonderful organization that encourages the bettering of oneself. I’m very enthusiastic to share all that I’ve learned with my Littles.

A Big is there to celebrate the high points with her Little, but also to help her through the low points. Although neither of my Littles has come to a low point yet, I know they are grateful to have me there for support. I can’t even describe how much I look forward to continuing and strengthening this bond with my two amazing Littles!

Dancing my way out of my comfort zone

Dancing my way out of my comfort zone

by Cindy White

Last year, I wasn’t so sure about this whole sorority thing. I had close friends back home that weren’t super supportive of Greek life, my parents didn’t show a whole lot of enthusiasm for my sorority, and I hesitated to embrace this new group. After all, sorority girls are just rich, stuck-up, party girls, right?

WRONG. These stereotypes are completely false. At UE, Greek women are on Dean’s List, take on huge leadership roles on and off campus, and carve time out of their busy schedules to serve others. Just like everyone else, we are here to gain a valuable education and build meaningful relationships. Who knew sorority women were just normal college students? UE Greek life gives me the opportunity to be one of these strong, driven, inspirational women.

Unfortunately, I let those preconceived ideas alter my view of Greek life last year. I didn’t get involved in philanthropies and social events as much as I wanted to. I was afraid to step outside of my comfort zone. So I stuck with my close group of friends in my dorm and didn’t broaden my horizons.

This year is so different. I mentioned in my bio that my main goal for my sophomore year is to get out of my comfort zone. I’m going after that goal headfirst and experiencing college in a totally new way. I’m joining exciting clubs, getting involved in philanthropy events, and meeting some pretty awesome new people. Without Chi Omega and UE Greek life, I wouldn’t be able to do that. Everywhere I turn, there are opportunities to get involved with Greek-sponsored activities.

Recently I’ve made huge strides in accomplishing my goal. A couple weeks ago was Rock for Riley, which is Phi Mu’s philanthropy benefiting Riley Children’s Hospital. It’s a dance and lip-syncing competition, where Greek groups and student organizations perform and the top three groups have to improvise a dance.

To give a little background, dancing is not my strong suit. I’ve been in musicals since I was little, but I always faked my way through the dance breaks. When sign-ups came around for Rock for Riley, I thought here’s my chance. What a better way to step outside my comfort zone than to dance and lip sync in front of a hundred of my peers?

So I did it. I actually performed in front of peers, professors, and total strangers. I had a blast! We were so nervous before the competition started, but one of my friends, who is a Lambda Chi Alpha, made a good point. He told us it’s silly to be nervous because yeah, we’re putting on a show, but we have to remember why we’re getting up there to dance- for the philanthropy. That really put things into perspective and helped calm our nerves.


We had a blast, two out of our three Chi Omega teams got second and third place, and Phi Mu raised a lot for Riley Children’s Hospital. While I still can’t believe I danced in front of so many friends and total strangers, I’m so happy I did it. Philanthropy events at UE get people together to help raise awareness and money for a great cause, all the while having a blast! Who knows what philanthropy I’ll participate in next?