Maddie Starns | Rho Gamma

Hello! My name is Madison Starns, and I am going to be a SUPER senior (unfortunately) this fall at Wichita State. I am a Spanish and Elementary Education Major, so that is my excuse for not graduating yet! This will still only be my fourth year at WSU, though, and my first time as a Rho Gamma, which I am very excited about!

I transferred to WSU after a semester of attending Barton County Community College, and realized soon that I was not having a great college experience that I heard everyone telling me that they were having. My mom was actually the person that encouraged me to go Greek. I could not picture myself in a sorority, and hated the idea, but, I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. I decided that being disconnected from the university and feeling lost/alone on campus needed to end. So, I went through formal recruitment and realized that I was very naïve about Greek life here at WSU. Each chapter was giving me so much information about what all they did! I had no idea it was so much more than just hanging out together or having rules. I was very nervous throughout the whole process and had a hard time staying motivated to return, but when it was over, I realized that it was the best decision that I could have possibly made. The women in the chapter that I chose truly cared about me and making me feel at home.

Now that I am Greek here, I can be proud of myself for helping the community in many different ways, participating in campus activities like hippodrome and songfest, holding an excellent GPA, and creating relationships that are sure to last through my lifetime. I am a more confident, independent, creative, responsible, and involved woman since joining my chapter. People that knew me before going Greek might also argue that I am also more pleasing to be around these days!

Going through formal recruitment, my Rho Gamma made sure that I always knew where I was supposed to be, and kept me on track visiting the chapters. During my recruitment, I was also going through cheerleading tryouts, so I was always late. Hanna Shell (my Rho Gamma) ensured that everything would work out, and kept me calm, cool, and collected :). She made sure that I would have a good experience, and represented Greek life very well for WSU. I cannot wait to help my PNMs enjoy their recruitment experience and find their own chapter to call their home away from home! I look forward to meeting you all and am ready to have a good time!!

Maddie Starns

SIGN UP TODAY!

Here are the top three reasons to sign up for recruitment today:

1. When you sign up you will get assigned a Rho Gamma (Recruitment Counselor). These women represent sorority life and can answer any questions you may have!

2. You will get updates about important events and tips!

3. You will get to meet other women who have signed up for recruitment before classes even start!

2013 Sorority Formal Recruitment will be here before you know it. We encourage you to find out all the information you can about sorority life and the recruitment process so you feel comfortable when September rolls around. 

SIGN UP TODAY!

71 Days!

I hope everyone is having a great summer!!! Only 71 days until Formal Recruitment! Have you registered yet? 

The recruitment team has been working hard over the summer. Our sorority women have already started preparing to meet you. Recruitment spirit is in the air! 

Summer is a fun time to relax but there are things you can do to prepare for recruitment. 

1) Do research on the different chapters on campus. The sorority women love when you already know about their chapter! Plus you can get to more about their values.

2) Sign up for Formal Recruitment if have not already! www.wichita.edu/panhellenicrecruitment

3) If you have signed up, get to know your Rho Gamma and ask her questions about the process. It is comforting when you know what to expect.

I have meet many lovely potential new members this summer and cannot wait to meet more. Feel free to contact me at any point as well! brkitchings@gmail.com

So I leave you with my favorite quote about sisterhood. Being apart of a sisterhood is so unique, it is time to find yours....

"Sisterhood is the essence of all the wisdom of the ages, distilled into a single word. You cannot see sisterhood, neither can you hear it nor taste it. But you can feel it a hundred times a day. It is a pat on the back, a smile of encouragement. It's someone to share with, to celebrate your achievements." ~ Anonymous 

XOXO

Bri 
Recruitment Coordinator

Susan Lickteig | Rho Gamma

Hello Potential New Members!

My name is Susan Lickteig and I am a recruitment counselor for the red team during this year’s Formal Recruitment process. I am a sophomore here at Wichita State and I am majoring in Secondary Education Mathematics. I have spent my entire life in Wichita. I attended Wichita High School East and when it came down to choosing a university, I could not think of leaving Wichita.

I was raised a Shocker and knew that I would be a Shocker for life. Both of my parents went to Wichita State so Shocker pride was very high in my family. Not only did they both go to WSU, but they were both involved in the Greek community as well. Because I was a legacy, I was introduced to sororities at a young age. My mother took me to various events that her sorority held over the years. Had my mother not introduced me to Greek life, I never would have thought about going Greek. I am very grateful for my mother because joining a sorority has been one of the best decisions of my life so far.

After finding my letters, campus life became so much better for me. I live off campus so getting involved on campus was very difficult. Once I joined a sorority, I met so many girls that had the same interests and wanted to get involved just like I did. I became much more active by holding a position within the chapter, joining clubs, volunteering, and meeting others throughout the Greek community. Each sorority is very diverse.

Within each chapter, there are many different personalities and majors. Having such diversity is great because you will have a sister in a majority of your classes. I almost always have sisters that also act as study buddies. In each sorority, scholarship is very important. Some people believe that if they join a sorority they will not have time for their homework but this is far from the truth. The chapters do everything they can to help you succeed. Most chapters provide resources like computers, copiers, printers, old study guides, and some office supplies to help us improve. You should not have to worry about not having time for anything. You can choose how much time you want to put into your chapter. But once you see how great Greek life is, I am confident that you will want to get involved in your chapter’s leadership roles, philanthropy, sisterhood events, formals, and mixers.

When I went through the recruitment process last year as a freshman I had my heart set on one sorority, my mother’s. However, on the first night I realized that I was interested in all of the chapters. I was opened up to all of the values and philanthropies and it made my decision so much more difficult. Luckily, I had a great recruitment counselor to help me along the way. She was very encouraging and told me to pick the chapter that I connected with the most. I hope to be just as supportive as she was and I cannot wait to help you find your letters and your sisters that you will have for life!



Have a great summer!
Susan Lickteig

Melissa Heinitz | Rho Gamma

Hey everyone, my name is Melissa Heinitz and I am a Senior at Wichita State.  I am originally from Emporia, Kansas and I graduated from Emporia High School in May 2010.  My major is Exercise Science and Pre-Physical Therapy, and I currently work as a Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor for WSU Campus Recreation! 

I went through Formal Recruitment myself three years ago as a Freshman, and it certainly changed my entire college life.  I have had my best experiences and memories in college because of getting involved and being Greek!  The friendships, opportunities, and experiences are truly special and have made a huge impact on who I am and what I will do with my future.  If you had asked me when I was a Senior in high school if I were to go Greek, I would have looked at you like you were crazy and would have said “no way!”.  Then I came to Wichita and moved into the dorms and found that I was totally lost and homesick.  I needed a new place to call home, and without realizing it I found that very place when I went through Formal Recruitment. 
All of my roommates were going Greek, and they had taken me to an informational meeting to convince me to join them.  It worked and I signed up – at the last second.  If I could go back now, that would be what I would change: sign up as soon as you can so you have plenty of time to get to know your Rho Gamma.  Ask any and all the questions that pop into your head and get prepared for the Recruitment process – really reflect on your values and how you want to show yourself to your potential future sisters.  Being confident and knowing what to expect will make Recruitment much easier and less stressful, though no matter what it almost always becomes a favorite memory looking back!

This is my second year of being a Rho Gamma, and I could not be more excited!  I cannot wait to guide another fantastic group of girls through Recruitment, to really get to know those girls, and to have a little fun along the way.  Trust your Recruitment Counselor and the Recruitment Team – we are there to help!  Also know that you will find exactly what you are looking for in one of our amazing chapters, just make sure to keep a positive, open mind and to listen to what your heart tells you. 

With Rho G Love,
Melissa Heinitz

Christy Levasseur | Rho Gamma

Hey there! My name is Christy Levasseur and I'm so excited to be serving our Greek community as a Rho Gamma this fall for formal sorority recruitment. I'm a junior here at Wichita State studying nursing. I am super excited as this is my first year to be a rho gamma. I just can't wait to meet all the beautiful PNM's and help all of you to find your home here at Wichita State.

I attended Augusta high school in Augusta, KS. This was the biggest small town I have ever known. I decided to attend Wichita State because it was far enough away from there but not too far if I wanted to go home. The bad part was that my first year I was going to be driving back and forth from Augusta to school each day. I knew that not living in the dorms would cause me to have issues making new friends in college. Since a lot of students do this at Wichita state it is pretty important to get involved in order to make those connections. This is where I was lost because there are so many clubs to join that it seemed overwhelming.

I had always thought about going Greek because its something that many campuses have in common so I figured it would be a great idea to be involved in something that is nationally recognized. Although I knew that I wanted to go through formal recruitment, my parents were very skeptical. They thought that I would be a part of the stereotypical Greek community that is often showed in movies and tv shows. I reassured them this would not happen.

Finally, about a month before recruitment I signed up. I was super nervous I would never fit in and that I would not be wanted. As I went thru each night of formal recruitment, I began to realize all that being Greek on our campus could offer. I learned that its more than just making friends, and that it's about being a leader, an active member of helping our communities, and a striver for academic excellence. Being Greek doesn't make us better than others but it allows others to expect more of ourselves. I wanted to be a part of everything this encompassed.

The last night of recruitment I was stuck between the last two chapters. I just couldn't make the choice because I loved both of them and the wonderful women in those chapters. My rho gamma was there for me to help me thru the entire decision process, but on this night I needed her guiding more than anything. She gave me the best advice I ever could have asked for. She told me that I needed to choose the house not where I just fit in, but where I saw the women I would most like to be like. That's when I made the decision that I would never look back and change.

Being Greek has changed me completely. I would not be who I am or where I am at in life without this experience. It's unbelievable that you could meet a group of women who build you up, stand beside you, and believe in you. Being Greek opens up opportunities that you could never have seen before. It's not the easiest choice you will ever make, but I promise you it's the best choice you will ever make. I can't wait to see all the future women leaders of the Greek community that we will have in the new PNMs this year. My rho gamma helped me focus my decision and was there for whatever I needed. I'm super excited to help the Greek community grow and prosper as a rho gamma, but more importantly I'm excited to help some wonderful women find their letters here at Wichita State.

Best of Luck,

Christy Levasseur

Amber Whittaker | Rho Gamma

Hello! 
My name is Amber Whittaker and I am a recruitment counselor for the 2013 Sorority Formal Recruitment. I am a senior here at Wichita State University and I am majoring in Aerospace Engineering. I was born here in Wichita, Kansas. I went to Wichita Heights High School where I received my high school diploma. I am so glad that I decided to attend WSU and even more grateful that I decided to go through Formal Recruitment and join a sorority. Along with being a Greek woman on campus I am also involved in the Society of Women Engineers. I am very excited about this year’s recruitment and as a Rho Gamma I am looking forward to getting to know everyone and helping women find the chapter that is right for them.

When I was in high school I was not very involved, I was one hundred percent focused on my studies which was good, but there was a lot I missed out on in high school as a result of this. After I graduated this really hit me, I had no special memories from high school and no close friends. From that moment on, I was determined to not allow this to happen in college. 

One day over the summer, I received a Facebook message telling me that I should consider going through sorority formal recruitment. Honestly, I don’t why, but this facebook message was all that it took for me. This was my solution, I knew that being in a sorority was the perfect way to get involved and make friends. When I first told my parents I was thinking about going through sorority recruitment their jaws dropped. They were so shocked that I would even be interested in being in a sorority and to be honest they were a little worried. But ever since I joined, my parents have known that it was one of the best decisions of my life and they have been so supportive ever since.

The actual week of formal recruitment was one of the best weeks of my life and one of my fondest memories. I loved talking to and getting to know the women in the other chapters and getting to know the other women in my recruitment group (when you sign up for recruitment you will be assigned a rho gamma and have 6-10 women in your recruitment group). I enjoyed learning all of the different values, philanthropies and activities that the chapters partook in. 

When it came to actually selecting the chapter for me this was a very difficult decision. I was torn between two different chapters and this is when I needed my Rho Gamma most. She was very supportive and talked to me and told me to choose the chapter that felt right to me. After taking her advice into consideration the choice was not too difficult and when I left that night I remember the excitement that I felt because I knew I chose the right the chapter for me. When I opened my bid card the next day I was so excited and couldn’t wait to start my life as a member of this chapter.

During my time as a sorority woman I have had many great experiences. I have held several leadership roles in my chapter and have really grown as a leader. I have experienced the benefits of social networking, I am currently employed at Cessna Aircraft and I was able to get my foot in the door thanks to an alumni of my chapter. I have been able to participate in many fun activities like hippodrome and Greek mixers. I have made so many friends and have developed so many amazing memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Another special aspect of being in a sorority is that being in your sorority is not something that lasts for four years, but rather something that you get to be a part of for your whole life. Like I said earlier, joining a sorority was one of the best decisions that I have ever made and I can’t wait for each women going through recruitment to obtain the same wonderful experiences that I have during my time as a sorority woman.

Have fun all!
Amber Whittaker

Ashlyn Funston | Rho Gamma

Hey there! My name is Ashlyn Funston and I'm a sophomore here at WSU. I'm excited to say this is my first year being a Rho Gamma! I'm so glad to have the opportunity to be a part of the recruitment process and to help PNMs find their letters.

I went through recruitment just a year ago, in the fall of 2012. Going Greek was the best decision I've ever made and it has benefited me in numerous ways. Being a legacy (a woman who has a mother, grandmother, aunt, or sister initiated into a chapter), I was eager, nervous, and excited to go through recruitment. My older sister, who was in a chapter, had encouraged me to go Greek. Hearing her perspective of what it meant to be Greek made me realize that it wasn't what most people believed it was. Even I made the mistake of believing all of the stereotypical myths about Greek life. It's about getting involved in an organization, reaching out to the community and making a difference, philanthropies and volunteering, building relationships within the Greek community, representing Greek life positively and proudly wearing your letters, and best of all, bonding with your sisters and making a difference in your own chapter!

Being involved in Greek life has helped me become more outgoing, independent, self-confident, and it has definitely helped me manage my time wisely. It's a change of pace coming to college and learning how to use your time management skills. Many people also think that if you get involved, your grades will suffer. I thought this too, before I became a part of Greek life, but I've learned that it has actually helped me improve in many areas. I'm an Elementary Education major and I've found that there are women in my chapter that share the same major! I've found it to be so helpful to have older members to look up to and give me advice through my journey to become a teacher.

Having an older sister who had three years of experience being a part of Greek life is really what helped me make my decision to go Greek. I felt as if I had nothing to lose by giving it a try, and it was well worth it! I couldn't imagine my life without being Greek. It's such an awesome and humbling experience and it has definitely opened my eyes to help me through my college journey. I've made many wonderful relationships and have found some of my best friends already in just my first year as a sorority woman.

I was full of emotions during the first night of recruitment; excited, nervous, happy, and scared of what the women in each chapter might think of me. Once I had the chance to visit each chapter, my nerves were put to ease because I knew that I just needed to be myself. My Rho Gamma encouraged me to be confident and to choose the chapter that I felt most comfortable with. I had an awesome Rho Gamma who helped me find my letters, so that's what I'm here to do for my PNM's!

Best of luck,
Ashlyn Funston