Hello, and welcome back to the Chi Omega blog! My name is Lucy Nickel and I am about to start my junior year. My freshman year started off with me going through the Panhellenic recruitment process, a week colloquially known as “rush”. I was terrified. I knew approximately five people at the University of Texas, and had no connections within any houses. I felt pretty wide-eyed and lost, scrambling to do my makeup perfectly and style my jewelry juuuust right so that I would give the perfect impression all 13 times I had to give one each day. I was very intimidated by the process, and I’m guessing if you are a freshman PNM you are currently feeling similar. Except… Your senior year was cut short.Your senior summer might have looked very different. Hanging out with friends was different and less common.Your freshman year is starting online, and you will be “exploring” each house from your new dorm.I don’t know how exactly you’re feeling about any of this, but I understand it’s a hard situation, and I applaud you for braving the unknown.Before the process actually starts, I want to let you in on a few secrets to ease your mind and your nerves so this can be a week you look back on with joy and not with regret or anything of the sort.

We do not really know what we are doing either. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve rushed before and understand the process. Our rush team, and every other team, is more than equipped to handle the changing times and ready for you. We cannot wait! With that being said, we are just as nervous as you about talking over zoom. Many of us are confused at how it's going to be online, and we are all desperately hoping, praying, wishing that it goes as smooth or maybe even smoother than ever before. We feel uncertain, and would love for you to voice your uncertainty so we can walk through the week with you.
Whatever you feel is completely valid. Like I said, my whole rush week I was terrified and pretty lost. Not because anyone made me feel that way, simply because it’s a big process that is exhausting. When we ask you how you’re doing, we are looking for an honest answer- great, good, exhausted, zombie-like, excited, befuddled- because how you feel is important and likely we are feeling some degree of whatever you are feeling. The greatest solvent in building a relationship is often honesty, because you are NOT alone and everything you feel is valid.
Take hold of the conversation. We try to facilitate conversation by asking questions, but we want you to lead it in whatever direction you would like it to go. Tell us that you’re nervous about college because it's far from home or you’re starting a long-distance relationship. Tell us you’re excited about college because you're far from home or you're newly single and ready to be on your own. We want to know. Tell us about your favorite book or your latest Netflix binge. Tell us about the cool internship you had where you met Kylie Jenner or your time at the summer camp where you met your new 7-year-old best friend. We want to know what makes YOU unique and what makes your eyes light up. Tell us, we can not wait to hear.
Determine value independently. Inevitably, as you go through the recruitment process, you will hear people around you talking about house rankings. While I obviously have a bit of a bias towards Chi O, every house has something awesome to offer, and you have something to offer every house. A successful rush does not mean that you had a full schedule everyday; Instead, a successful rush is when you make friends in all different houses and end up in your favorite home. Be interested in every conversation you have and love each girl you talk to well. Trust the process, and remember it's hard on both sides. Last year, I was having a difficult week as an active and I got paired with Meg Rogers, who was joyful and kind and seriously turned my week around. When you, as a PNM, love people well, houses will fight for you. Find the best in every house, and they’ll in turn find the best in you.
Make friends. The goal of Greek life is to find your people. The recruitment process does its best to match you with your greatest match in each house (usually) and so most of the girls you talk to you’ll probably like. Bid day comes and goes, but continue to be friends with everyone who you liked talking to in each house. It’s worth it. I chose Chi O because of people like Allie Yoder, Katie Guy, Brady Anderson, Blare Krieger, and Jordan Krueger (I’m forgetting names but I know there are more), because they’re my heroes and made me feel like I would be so accepted in Chi O.

That’s my rush spiel. You might be asking, “Why go Chi O?” Go Chi O because we’re silly!!We’re smart!! (Number 1 in grades woohoo) We’re sporty!!We’re adventurous!!We’re trendy!!We’re quirky!!We are passionate!!Like I said, I went Chi O because of people like Allie Yoder, Katie Guy, Brady Anderson, Blare Krieger, and Jordan Krueger. I continue to love Chi O more and more each day because of people like Marybeth Ratcliff, Kyndall Richardson, Katie Hand, Erin Prokell, Macy Smith, Elizabeth Hand, Leigh Dougal, Jane Dyer, Anje Potgeiter, Ellen Jordan, Mary Ellis Bratcher, Katherine Murr, Grace Royston, Meg Rogers, and many many more. Find your home on bid day, just like I did, be this happy:baby hootie Lucy :) (blurry but look! how! happy!! & two of my reasons for Chi O) (first friend and now Chi O house roomie!)We’ve been waiting for you allll summer and can’t wait to see you!While you’re waiting, watch this video and tell me that the Chi o house is not the coolest house on the 40 acres. https://youtu.be/LUz_C5r7vjQ

Recent Posts

Archive