By Corrie Parks
Early Sunday afternoon on Sept. 18, the hubbub of sisters finding sisters electrified the Quad. After a long, exhausting and exhilarating week of recruitment, the potential new members, or “PNMs,” of fall 2022 Panhellenic Recruitment received their bids on F. Page Seibert Stadium and shortly afterwards raced across the grass to embrace their new mentors and sorority sisters. While a good number of these young women may have discovered and embraced Greek life just a few months or weeks prior to this day, many of them have been waiting years in anticipation for this moment, and all the emotions of the day poured forth from the crowds in cheers, laughter and happy tears.
Zeta Tau Alpha President Halle Reynolds said that she loves the unity and sense of friendship between the Pahellenic sororities on campus, something special about Samford Greek life.
“Seeing the joy on the PNMs faces as they find their homes makes everything worth it,” Reynolds said. “Knowing that they are going to be able to find a sense of community in Greek life no matter where they run home to brings each of us such joy and happiness.”
Recruitment is without a doubt a thrilling experience for all parties involved, but there is so much that happens behind-the-scenes before and during sorority recruitment weeks that is noteworthy as well. Reynolds briefly described “work week,” a week full of meetings and workshops that Zeta and all other sororities hold before the recruitment process even starts. It is a time when sisters get to learn more about their own sororities, the recruitment process, and how to best serve their PNMs.
When asked about how she managed a demanding workload as her sorority’s president during this week, Reynolds named Zeta’s Vice President of Membership, Savannah Woodland, as a key individual whose leadership made the recruitment process easier.
“Honestly, the support of my Zeta sisters is everything I needed to get me through the week,” Reynolds said.
After Panhellenic Recruitment ended, Formal Interfraternity Recruitment officially began. Even before it formally started, fraternities hosted informal recruitment activities to begin getting to know their own PNMs. When asked about them, Justin Harris, Chaplain of Alpha Tau Omega, expressed his excitement for their new pledge class.
“They are awesome, I have had some of the best conversations [with them] that I’ve had since I’ve been at Samford,” Harris said.
Harris named “Meet The Greeks” and ATO’s “Miami Vice”-themed party as a few examples of fun informal recruitment events that allowed the brothers of his fraternity to get to know the PNM’s more intentionally before the busyness of recruitment. While Formal Interfraternity Recruitment week can be chaotic and taxing, he insisted that, “[recruitment] is something I love doing, because it helps ensure the future of your chapter is good, and in good hands.”
