A Toast to Sorority Recruitment

I'm back, Toasters! No, not from vacation...not from a work trip...not even from a simple, lazy-blogging hiatus...

But from sorority recruitment.

That's right. I've finally recovered from two, completely exhausting, completely wonderful weeks of advising sorority recruitment.

HOW and, more importantly, WHY did I get myself into this, you ask?

See, somehow when I moved to Memphis and started working for Chi O, I got it in my head that it would be a good idea for me to volunteer for a local collegiate chapter, just to make sure I was in the know about the latest and greatest in Chi O chapter operations.

Good idea in theory, right?

Well, of all the available advisor positions, for some reason, I volunteered to be the chapter's recruitment advisor. I literally remember thinking this exactly: How hard could it be? I mean, recruitment is only a couple weeks out of the year. 

Silly, silly me.


After nearly eight months of recruitment-mania, the best way I've ever heard sorority recruitment described is that it's sort of like being in labor - you're exhausted, in pain, and you swear you will never do it again....until it's over and then you forget all the bad stuff and replace it with only happiness.

And how true it is.

So, while it's still fresh on my mind, here is an accurate* record of my experience advising sorority recruitment...the good, the bad, the funny, and the exhausting.

(* okay, okay some of these things are a tad exaggerated...but I'll let you guess which ones)

Sorority Recruitment: The Numbers Don't Lie

• 1 - number of months I thought I would be busy advising recruitment when I volunteered for the job
• 8 - number of months I was actually busy advising recruitment
• 265 - number of PNMs (Potential New Members) participating in recruitment
• 265 - number of PNMs whose names, hometowns, GPAs, and high school leadership activities will now be forever emblazoned in my mind.
• 9 - number of hours of sleep I got during recruitment week...total
• 1,000,000 - number of calories I estimate I consumed in pizza, Baked Lays, Swiss Rolls and donuts throughout the week
• 4 - hour in the morning I typically got home
• 3 - number of nights I couldn't go to sleep because I had the chapter's recruitment version of "Where Them Girls At?" stuck in my head
• 60 - number of dollars I racked up in campus parking tickets (#thingsthatwillneverbepaid)
• 3 - number of times I calmed down a crying chapter member by offering her a Little Debbie oatmeal cream pie (A miracle food, apparently. Duely noted for motherhood someday.)
• 16 - number of times I swore up and down out of exhaustion: "I'm NOT doing this next year!!!!"
• 17 - number of times I added to my "List of Things to Remember for When You Do This Next Year"
• 0 - number of times I ever heard any of the members say something superficial during the whole week. For real. I am SUCH a proud momma.
• 20 - number of seconds the recruitment team screamed in unison after finding out Chi O got Miss Teen Arkansas (okay...so I was screaming too....and to clarify, they screamed after finding out about every new member....but I just love me a good ol' beauty queen. Sue me.)
• 57 - number of beautiful, funny, smart new members the chapter pledged
• 9.5 - hours of sleep I've been averaging per night since recruitment ended
• 355 - number of days until Recruitment 2012...and I can't wait.

Really. Can't wait.

Congratulations, Ladies!!!