Recruitment 101
Story By: Brianna Maldonado
Over a thousand women take part in recruitment at Texas Tech University every year to find the sorority they want to join for their college experience and the rest of their lives.
Jordan Alnemer, the director of recruitment, and Emily Means, the assistant director or recruitment, explained their time with sorority life and advice they have for students going through the recruitment process.
“The biggest thing is keeping your mind open throughout the week of recruitment,” Alnemer said.
As a third-generation sorority member, Emily agreed with Jordan and said there might be a lot of different inputs from family members and friends. Means encouraged ladies that are going through recruitment with their roommate to not feel like they need to make the decision together.
“It truly is your entire life,” Emily said. “It’s not a decision to take lightly and get influenced by your friends and family. Go with the house that you love.”
Jordan advises the women to prepare themselves for the week. She said a lot of them might not have been this far away from their families before, so some girls may get homesick. Alnemer said during recruitment, the ladies will be stressed and sleep deprived, but it is more than likely going to be the best week of their life.
For the week-long experience, Jordan and Emily gave their personal tip to help girls be as prepared for the week as possible.
With it being Lubbock, Jordan prompted the women to prepare for inclement weather. One hour it could be sunny, and the next there could be a dust storm rolling in or raining.
Alnemer recommends the girls to bring a backpack with an umbrella, change of shoes, or any items to redo their hair or makeup, so they will be comfortable in the chance of inclement weather.
With the first day visiting each lodge, Emily said the conversations could start to run together. There is a booklet given to each woman going through recruitment that includes the names of each chapter. Means encourages all to write down as much as possible in the booklet when leaving the lodges: including the conversations you had, things you liked or did not, and how you felt.
If you are stuck between sororities, Emily said the girls can look back on their notes to the beginning of the week, and it could help make their decision.
Out of the twelve Panhellenic sororities, Jordan and Emily pointed out that there might be a chapter a girl may not get invited back to that she loved. With this possibility, they both said to not allow that to affect the recruitment journey.
When Emily did not get invited back to a sorority, her mom told her there is a process for a reason and to really trust in it.
“Just because you don’t get an invitation back to a chapter that you loved that day,” Jordan said, “at the end of the week, only one chapter matters.”
Jordan and Emily described the overall five-day recruitment event as scary, new and rewarding. Alnemer said it could be overwhelming because it is very new and is only experienced once in life. Means explained she felt very welcomed through it all like everyone wanted her to find the right sorority fit for her. Both said by the end of the week there is a relief because it was all worth it.
“You know exactly where you’re supposed to be,” Jordan said.
By going through the recruitment process and now being leaders in it, Emily and Jordan explained that sorority life has had so many positive impacts in their life. From leadership to philanthropy, Jordan said everybody gets something irreplaceable out of the experience.
“Even though it may be a small fraction of their life, it’s still a lifelong organization,” Alnemer said.
