Dear friends,
Summer is still in full swing with heat waves across the country, but fall is in the air as colleges and universities are starting back-to-school activities, and we will soon have college football every Saturday! Hooray! This also means that fall sorority recruitment has begun across many of our campuses. It is the time of year that many of our chapters welcome new members and bring them into their sorority families, whether that is through the primary recruitment process or continuous open bidding (COB).
This time of year may bring back fond memories for those of us who joined a sorority during primary recruitment or who participated as sorority members and had conversations with many potential new members. However each of us remembers our recruitment experience, we all realize that recruitment is the lifeblood of our organizations and that we all have the opportunity to encourage relatives, young women in our hometown and community, and others we know about the benefits of sorority life.
As I wrote about last month in the chair's message, championing the sorority experience is a priority in our strategic framework. NPC's responsibility is to promote the life-changing impact that sorority life can have on our young women today. Research I have previously mentioned shows that our members have strong positive emotions, robust relationships, life meaning, and accomplishment due to their sorority membership. The role of sorority is to foster a community where our members thrive and feel empowered to lead and champion their causes by equipping them with skills and confidence. Now is the time for us to identify and encourage young women to sign up for recruitment and join a sorority so they can become tomorrow's trailblazing women.
Everyone has their story about how their sorority membership has provided sisterhood, a home away from home, leadership opportunities, confidence, and the ability to provide care and support to others. I invite you to think about your life and how your sorority membership has changed you for the better, equipped you with exceptional skills, and provided remarkable lifelong sisters and other Panhellenic friends. I, for one, have been forever impacted by my sorority membership. I value my sorority sisters, and I treasure my many Panhellenic relationships. I hope you share similar sentiments.
This fall, let us remember how sorority has shaped our lives and strive to engage as many women as possible in the recruitment process so they may enjoy the benefits of sorority membership and our Panhellenic communities can grow and prosper now and for generations to come.
Interfraternally,
Cheri M. De Jong
2021-23 NPC Chair