I will never forget the time my parents sat me down and told me about their experience of joining a fraternity and sorority. I was amazed by the leadership skills they experienced, the bonds they create with their brothers and sisters, and the network they built among the fraternity community. They knew that joining a sorority would become a long-term benefit for me, and they were right. It’s a rare, yet exciting feeling to hear that my parents encouraged me to join a sorority because they knew what benefits it would provide.
Gaining Leadership Positions
As a parent, you want your child to exceed in a leadership role. One of the main reasons my parents encouraged me to join a sorority was because it would provide a variety of leadership opportunities. Both my parents were secretaries of their fraternal chapters, and they gained a level of experience that their companies found very valuable. They wanted me to develop the same benefit by holding different roles and gaining different skills. Personally, my leadership roles provided basic skills including management, communication, organization and teaching. I continue to use these skills at my every day, and they help me become successful.
Creating a Professional Network
My parents knew that joining a sorority would alone create a large professional network for me. Your fraternity or sorority student already has a large professional network once they officially become a member of their organization! Personally, joining Alpha Sigma Tau (AST) helped me land my very first freelancing job right after I graduated college! It’s a HUGE benefit when looking at a networking point of view. Joining a sorority provides numerous opportunities for your child to network with countless professionals. Who knows, maybe the company your child wants to work at may have an alumna of their organization!
Making Life-long Friendships
I knew from the moment I accepted my bid to AST I was going to make lifelong friendships with my sisters. You never know who you’ll meet and bond with within your organization. The best thing about joining a sisterhood is the support women have for each other. It’s truly a bond that can never be broken. Personally, what stood out to me was being inspired by the older sisters in the chapter. Every older sister in the chapter was heavily involved inside and outside of the sorority. Some were leaders of other on-campus clubs and others played sports. They inspired me to do the same thing. Today, I still keep in touch with my close friends and our meetups feel as if we never left each other.
Attending Workshops and Conferences for Self-Growth and Improvement
My parents told me that attending workshops, conferences and conventions would be a whole other experience. It was. Outside of weekly chapter meetings and philanthropy events, sororities strive to help their members develop into independent, knowledgeable women. I remember my chapter held a resume workshop where an alumna taught the members how to personalize their resumes. It was a very helpful workshop, and each member developed their own sense of writing. Conferences and conventions are also a HUGE opportunity for your child to network and attend professional and self-growth workshops. I remember attending the National Greek Leadership Association (NGLA) Conference, where I networked with fellow AST members, other fraternity and sorority members, and professional speakers. It’s a great way to get highly involved with leadership growth and self-development.
Developing Confidence and Growing into an Empowered Woman
Before joining AST, I was a very timid person. I was afraid of speaking in front of a large crowd and introducing myself to people. My parents knew that joining a sorority would help me grow out of my shell, and it did. After my first year of being an active sister, I gained confidence and improved my communication skills. I was a completely different person, and it was all thanks to the overall experience. To this day, I feel empowered. This IS the greatest benefit I could have ever gained from joining my sorority.