As a member of our 2021 pledge class, I went through recruitment virtually. My recruitment process was stationed in the second floor study room in Petersen, my freshman dorm. Unfortunately, I have a pretty bad memory, so one of my biggest worries was forgetting the conversations I had with girls while joining multiple Zoom rooms in one day. To combat this, I wrote notes after every call I went on. These notes were super simple, incomplete sentences that would probably make no sense to any other brain. But for me, these notes helped collect my thoughts and definitely helped with my nerves. Recruitment can be extremely intimidating. Personally, I signed up for recruitment on a limb rather than my friends who had always known they wanted to be a member of a sorority. (I thank my lucky stars for this last-minute decision every day!) So, needless to say, the process was intimidating to me at first. I was the first woman in my family to join Greek life and was going in pretty blind. Not to mention I am incredibly indecisive and can barely decide what I want to eat for lunch.
Thus, my notes were somewhat of a life saver. I wrote down anything that was mentioned or that I saw during the call that I loved or felt drawn to. (I even wrote down all of the little things like my Zoom call number and the songs the sororities played as I entered the call). During my first round for Zeta I wrote, “On a bad day you can count on everyone”. This was a phrase used by a current member of our Alpha Omicron chapter. It immediately stuck out to me as something comforting and inviting. I wanted to be loved and love every single one of my sisters. Knowing that at Zeta, I could have that type of love and loyalty was unbelievably reassuring.
During preference round, I had the privilege to talk to an amazing, loving sister that affirmed my worries while still having a memorable, loving conversation. While being introduced to the nine key values, one that was incredibly notable personally was “Being Rather Than Seeming”. The biggest advice my mom gave to me while going through the recruitment process was, “to be true to myself”. I wanted to be who I was rather than seem like someone who would fit into a certain chapter at Iowa. The most important note I wrote after leaving the zoom call was that I could NOT stop smiling. I remember leaving the call knowing that I wanted to be with these women. I was true to myself and could sense that the girls I was talking with were also demonstrating Zeta Tau Alpha values by being just as true to themselves too.
On bid day, when I opened up my card and saw that Zeta welcomed me home, I immediately ran to my bid day buddy who was also a Zeta and we shared a heartwarming hug. I felt incredibly blessed and overwhelmingly grateful in that moment to be in a chapter with so much love. My biggest advice to someone going through recruitment would be to note (mentally or physically like me) all of the little things that bring you joy during your conversations and visits. The little things in life make every minute you go about your day more fulfilling and beautiful.
Good luck during your recruitment process! I hope you find your home!
P.S. Be true to yourself :)
With all of my love!
XOXO ZLAM,
Meaghan Murphy <3