00;00;00;00 - 00;00;14;02
Amy Hecht
Hi and welcome back to another episode of connect with VP Hecht Your guide to all things student life at Florida State University.

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Amy Hecht
I am Doctor Amy Hecht the vice president for Student Affairs, and I am joined by Freddie Juarez, director of Fraternity and Sorority Life at Florida State and Lucy Grace, our VP of Panhellenic Recruitment. So welcome. Let's get started. So what is Panhellenic?

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Luice Grace
So Panhellenic is an organization that consists of 17 women's, sororities here on Florida State's campus. It focuses on community engagement, philanthropy and, scholarship. We are just a sisterhood that consists of so many more things that I can put into words. But we're just a big, loving community.

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Amy Hecht
Why did you join and what has it done for you?

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Luice Grace
So I came from a smaller home town. Most of my close friends from home I've been friends with basically my entire life. So when I was coming to Florida State, I was looking to get a little bit more. I just wanted to grow, and I wanted to expand my horizons and not stick just with the same people. Obviously they're amazing friends, but I wanted to just meet some more people, so I registered for recruitment.

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Luice Grace
Honestly, pretty early on. I was just set to do it. I didn't really know anything about sorority life. My mother wasn't in a sorority, but I was just. You know what? I'm going to try it. And I had a great recruitment experience. And I have loved being in panel and my individual chapter for the past three years.

00;01;43;00 - 00;01;59;24
Luice Grace
I didn't really know what to expect going in, what this community would do for me. But I've become a woman that I probably wouldn't have recognized my freshman year. I've grown so much more than I even expected to, and I've been able to do so many different leadership experience.

00;01;59;24 - 00;02;22;03
Amy Hecht
That's amazing. That is a good plug to go Greek. Join a Panhellenic sorority. Now, some of our viewers may be following along on Instagram, looking at different chapters, different universities and watching sorority recruitment or have seen it in movies and it looks a little scary. Is it all about what you're wearing and who you know? And what if I'm not a legacy?

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Luice Grace
Absolutely not. Like I just said, I was not a legacy. I happily found my home, and I've never felt like that was an issue at all. Our community does not care about what you are wearing. We are a values based recruitment process, so all you have to do is show up and be yourself and you'll find the place that's meant for you.

00;02;41;19 - 00;03;02;05
Amy Hecht
Good. Because I do think recruitment is a little more than a week, but four years, three years, depending on what you're going through. Recruitment. It's a long time to not be yourself. So that's really good advice for sure. And what should the women that might think that they're only going to be happy in this chapter?

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Amy Hecht
You know, maybe an older sister is already in the soroity, or friends. What advice do you give women that are going to go through and have their heart set on one particular place?

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Luice Grace
I always tell the women who have a very clear goal in mind to keep it as open mind as possible, and the same advice I just said. If you're yourself, you don't want to join a chapter where you don't feel comfortable being yourself. Obviously, all 17 of our chapters you would be able to be comfortable in, but there are better fits than others for everybody.

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Luice Grace
And so even if there's one that you go in knowing off the bat that you love, you might find another place that you really, really like during recruitment. And just keep an open mind and you don't have to go the place that you thought you would. You can do whatever you want during the recruitment process.

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Freddy Juarez
As we tell people, you know, I think we tell them all the time. There's about 4300 women in our community. Most chapters have around 250, 270 women. The chances of you finding folks that are in your fit is pretty high. So even if you come in with this preconceived notion of a certain kind of group to join, it's really about your individual journey.

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Freddy Juarez
Even with family members, we see family members join and they join a different chapter than their sister is because that's they're a different person than their sister. We even have twins in different chapters that come in. Right? So it's really about your journey, what you want, finding your people. We talk about it a lot that with sorority recruitment and just in general with any joining process, we're just trying to help people find people to have lunch with.

00;04;32;06 - 00;04;42;27
Freddy Juarez
On campus, making campus feel just a little bit more connected and giving you that gateway that Lucie was talking about earlier to get involved with in a different opportunities and finding your people, even on campus. Yeah.

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Amy Hecht
And you have older sisters that can guide you, get you involved once you're in the sorority as well as alumni networking career. So I'm looking at my application. I'm at home. I'm worried about this application. What do I need to focus on? What matters when I fill this form out and sign up for sorority recruitment?

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Luice Grace
Just be yourself in your application. Whatever is important to you is what's important on that application. The chapters are just looking to get to know you, and they can't do that very well if you don't portray yourself well. Yeah. So I would just recommend doing whatever comes to mind. Like when I did my application. I have no memory of what I said, but I know that I was true to myself and it worked out at the end for me.

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Amy Hecht
And you put a picture on your application?

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Luice Grace
I believe so, yeah, yeah.

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Amy Hecht
So you'll add a picture. High school maybe. Headshot. What about your GPA? Does that matter?

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Luice Grace
Our chapters all have, minimum requirement GPA, so that does factor in, but it won't, like, affect your journey.

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Amy Hecht
Yeah. And so many of our incoming class has incredible GPA, so they're most likely all at that level. And but that is important to the sororities, right. The academic journey and keeping up the good grades. Yes. Okay. What do the panel community do to help students academically, like whether it's in their major or figuring out what they want to major in or careers like, what are the programs that exist?

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Luice Grace
I think chapter wise it varies. Most chapters do study hours where sisters can just go to the chapter facilities and study together. Certain chapters have major mentors, so you get paired with an older sister that's either the same or similar major that can help you with advising a lot of chapters have group chats that specifically meet for class registration.

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Luice Grace
And have you had this professor all of the things that you're looking for when you're trying to focus on academics, and it can even go more detailed, where as a younger member might be looking to get into research and an older sister is currently conducting research, and so they can help them either find their own project or join that project.

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Amy Hecht
So I've registered, I'm doing my back to school shopping, I'm worried about what to wear, and it's really hot in Tallahassee now. I'm originally from South Florida and it is hotter here. So what is the tried and true? You've been here now three years. We know August is hot every year.

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Freddy Juarez
Freddie sure is for thunderstorms.

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Amy Hecht
What should they be preparing packing thinking through so they're comfortable? Because like you said, it's not about kind of what they're wearing, but if they're uncomfortable or really hot or not hydrated, it's not going to be the best experience. So walk me through your your tips.

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Luice Grace
So the word comfortable that you used is the only thing that I would ever say about what to wear. You have to know that it's going to be hot. It might rain, but just wearing whatever you're comfortable and confident in. Confidence is another great thing. It's easier to be yourself if you feel like yourself. So wear something that reflects who you are as a person.

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Luice Grace
When I went through recruitment, some of the stuff I wore was something I was gifted. Some of it was things I had had hand down, like I just wore whatever I felt comfortable in and confident in, and that's all I can say to everybody.

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Amy Hecht
And you're walking a lot.

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Luice Grace
Yes, shoes are important. That is the one thing I stress.

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Amy Hecht
Comfortable shoes. Yeah, it's not comfortable for heels.

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Luice Grace
And if you are daring to wear shoes that you wouldn't deem comfortable, please try and break them in. At least make them as comfortable as possible. If you're set on a specific pair of shoes, because it has happened time and time again where people will quick change into more comfortable flats. Yes, and you will.

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Amy Hecht
Always see the women with the heels and the flip flops. But one thing, especially for those that live south of Tallahassee, the hills. I don't know if you've walked the.

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Luice Grace
Hills.

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Amy Hecht
And it it is a workout. It is a work. Yeah. So tell me, what are the tricks? Are you just in shape now because you've done this for three years? Like what was the advice. Should they be on treadmills?

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Luice Grace
No, you don't need to prepare your body to go through recruitment. It's not to that extreme. But you do need to be aware with what you're wearing that you're going to be sweating and you're going to be walking a lot, especially around one. But for me, I have gotten used to the hills.

00;09;15;02 - 00;09;30;01
Amy Hecht
Walk me through. So we probably have thousands of women that are going to register for recruitment. Do they get placed in small groups? Are they led by an upperclassman? What is it like? What is day one? Day two? Walk me through the days and how you've organized this experience.

00;09;30;01 - 00;09;49;13
Luice Grace
So each woman will be put in a recruitment counselor group. They will receive those sometime in the summer. Their program, which is what we call our recruitment counselors, will guide them through getting ready for recruitment. They'll guide them through the actual recruitment process. They're there with them every step of the way so they won't meet them on day one.

00;09;49;13 - 00;10;13;19
Luice Grace
They'll meet them on day -17. Okay. So they'll be gearing up answering any questions they may have. They'll be in smaller groups, maybe like 16, 17 women per group. So they'll also get to meet other potential new members, make some of those immediate friendships without even having to join the community. But the rounds themselves. Round one every woman will visit every single chapter.

00;10;13;21 - 00;10;30;28
Luice Grace
17. So those are some longer days for sure. And then round two, that's when you start being on your own. Your recruitment counselor isn't guiding you around any more, so you'll be visiting the parties by yourself. Okay. The that round is focused on investment.

00;10;30;28 - 00;10;38;05
Amy Hecht
So how does that work? Do they just decide where they want to return? Does the chapter decide or is it mutual?

00;10;38;06 - 00;10;55;15
Luice Grace
It's a mutual decision. So the potential new members will go in and rank the chapters based on the ones that they would like to return to, and then the chapters will do their processes as well. And then on the first day of each round, they'll receive their schedule for the next current round.

00;10;55;16 - 00;11;16;16
Freddy Juarez
And that's a big concern for everyone. Everyone thinks that there's some secret formula that they have to break, or some algorithm they have to figure out. It truly is about where did you have a good experience? We don't even frame it from. You're going to be ranking all 17 chapters. Even on that first round, you actually select your 12 number ones, and then there's five alternates.

00;11;16;23 - 00;11;25;27
Freddy Juarez
And that's the kind of language we use because ultimately it's what I said earlier. Right. There's 250, 270 women you might in around meet 2 or 3 of those women.

00;11;26;04 - 00;11;27;23
Amy Hecht
And how long is the first party.

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Freddy Juarez
So it's about 20 minutes is the first round. It's 20 minutes. Realistically speaking, by the time someone says hey to you and then you're sitting down on the couch that they're going to talk to you for, you're really spending about 15, 17 minutes talking to someone, like the chances of you being like, I know everything about this chapter.

00;11;45;00 - 00;12;03;29
Freddy Juarez
It's very small. And so what we preach is really keeping an open mind. The process, will guide you to meet more people and be able to talk to more people because as Lucy Grace is talking about the next round's investment, you get to spend 30 minutes the round after that. So you've been service. You spend 40 minutes and then preference, which is your sisterhood around.

00;12;03;29 - 00;12;07;02
Freddy Juarez
You're spending 50 minutes. So every every round you increase by ten minutes.

00;12;07;02 - 00;12;08;06
Amy Hecht
And you get to know them more.

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Freddy Juarez
Exactly.

00;12;09;14 - 00;12;19;20
Amy Hecht
Now 17 chapters, 15 minutes. How do you keep track of everyone? And what if I don't know the Greek alphabet? What is your advice to remember?

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Luice Grace
We have a guide for potential new members that includes like notes sections, and it has every single chapter, all of their information. We do actually have the Greek alphabet at the back of the packet. Good. So as a as a potential new member who had no idea about Greek life, I definitely utilize that.

00;12;39;08 - 00;12;42;22
Amy Hecht
Most of us don't know the Greek alphabet. When we graduate high school. I would say so.

00;12;42;24 - 00;13;10;08
Luice Grace
We also try and help by using the chapters full names. Nicknames are great and we love our nicknames, but it's a lot easier to keep track of our chapters when you're calling them the full Greek name. There are a lot that are very similar, like one letter difference, and so the nicknames can get really confusing. I fell victim to that a few times, so making sure that you're writing it down okay, after each round, I after each party I would write down a little to jog my memory.

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Luice Grace
We talked about weeks or it's.

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Amy Hecht
Interesting because that is great advice when our students get ready to network. If you're networking, sorority recruitment or any event is you meet people and you can write. If you know you get a business card, write down because you want to be able to follow up. And this is about building a relationship and a real friendship. And all of our listeners and watchers have built friendships.

00;13;34;08 - 00;13;56;22
Amy Hecht
And so that's really how they probably should look at this, and not as some sort of competition or secret ballot. What about money? There's a lot of rumors or perceptions that it's very expen sive and there's do's. What what are the real costs? Roughly. I know each chapter is different, but what could the young people expect? They're coming in.

00;13;56;25 - 00;14;00;11
Amy Hecht
Their parents might not have gone Greek. What should they know in advance?

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Luice Grace
So are, like you mentioned, they do vary by chapter. The dues that you're paying. It is true you do pay to be in these organizations, and that what we talk about during investment round is what you're investing comes back to you. So there's usually meal plans. Currently all of our chapters offer meal plans. So that's a big part of it.

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Luice Grace
Yeah. There's the chapter facilities themselves. Those go into a lot of things. So while they are varied, I can't give you like an exact number.

00;14;34;07 - 00;14;36;02
Amy Hecht
But that will all be made available.

00;14;36;03 - 00;14;46;25
Luice Grace
During investment round each chapter that the visit during that round specifically will give them a presentation on their finances. And it's also in that PNM guide I was mentioning earlier.

00;14;46;27 - 00;15;06;09
Amy Hecht
And I think it's important the student did sign up for an FSU meal plan and joins a sorority. They can get out of the Florida State meal plan so that they can fully participate in their shorty meal plan, or alter it in any way they need, because that is really important for new members to eat at these beautiful houses.

00;15;06;09 - 00;15;28;18
Amy Hecht
Beautiful and the food's amazing, but make friends and really utilize these spaces and go to the events because you are paying for them. And that's why they have these beautiful houses, meal plans, events. What if I don't find a house? Or what if I get sick during recruitment? Are there are there things that happen and have I blown my chances?

00;15;28;18 - 00;15;32;06
Amy Hecht
Because this is my first year and something goes wrong.

00;15;32;08 - 00;15;51;15
Freddy Juarez
So we have a lot of different people we work with when it comes to conflicts or things, because we get that a lot. We have some students there, like I have student orientation. New Student orientation maybe during that week, and I have this this orientation that's major specific that I have to do it. So most important thing is that there will be emails sent out throughout the summer telling your recruiting counselor, hey, I have this conflict.

00;15;51;18 - 00;16;15;01
Freddy Juarez
We important to know we only have university approved conflicts, right? So you pre-planned a concert that you want to go in Atlanta that we can't accommodate that there's no zoom option for recruitment, right? It is a fully in-person experience if you get sick or something happens during that, during that period. We work with you and we work individually with it, and we don't see that it impacts your chances.

00;16;15;01 - 00;16;32;14
Freddy Juarez
Our chapter women understand, to use their application for certain things or they're they're scoring in their rounds and kind of things like that of how they did. And what I mean by scoring is just like how how they're also kind of talking to you about like, do do we think this person is a good fit? Do we not?

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Freddy Juarez
And that's kind of the what it is to demystify some of those words. You may get, through other sources that exist out there about the information. And so definitely thinking about those things would be important. Your recruitment counselor is your number one person to talk about, right? So every person has a recruiting counselor that you are assigned that person from the moment you registered for recruitment, about 2 or 3 weeks after we open registration, that recruitment counselor going to start talking to their PNMS, and they're going to start reaching out over the summer.

00;17;01;00 - 00;17;09;09
Freddy Juarez
And so if you have a random number that reaches out, says, hi, I'm I'm Lucy Grace, and I'm your recruitment counselor. Like, please respond back. And that is your that's your greatest advocate.

00;17;09;09 - 00;17;26;04
Amy Hecht
Okay. And do they help weigh in to the recruitment process. So if I tell them something or have conversation with them about a chapter, do they influence my selection process in any way or help get me in or not?

00;17;26;07 - 00;17;49;01
Luice Grace
Your recruitment counselor has gone through an entire semester's worth of training so as to not influence your decision. Okay? They are there to guide you and help you, but it was 100% your journey. So if you are looking for advice, they will try and navigate that conversation without choosing something for you. That will never happen, but they are there to be your confidant.

00;17;49;01 - 00;17;54;13
Luice Grace
If you are torn or worried about something, they're there to listen and to guide.

00;17;54;15 - 00;18;03;10
Freddy Juarez
And they're not reporting back to their chapters. They don't have communication with their chapters. Our recruiting counselors, we sleep in an off site hotel like we're all together all the time.

00;18;03;10 - 00;18;05;23
Amy Hecht
You don't know what organization they belong to at all.

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Freddy Juarez


00;18;06;11 - 00;18;07;11
Amy Hecht
Okay. It's a big reveal.

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Freddy Juarez
It is big reveal at the very end. It's a wonderful tradition. And it really because what we prioritize with our recruiting counselors, it's not about our journey. It's about that individual student that's trying to join our organizations. And we want them to feel at home. And that even if they choose not that sorority, maybe they go through the process where it is not for them that they at least don't know some upperclassmen and some other folks on this campus, and we get them connected with other clubs and other organizations and other things to do, because we have a whole welcome FSU program that we run as an institution, and they can go and experience and

00;18;38;05 - 00;18;52;22
Freddy Juarez
engage in those things, too. And some of our women will go through recruitment and then at night they're like, I still want something to do, and we have a concert for them at the Union Green, and they can go enjoy that. Right. And so we connect them with all those resources as well. Our recruitment counselors are great at doing that.

00;18;52;24 - 00;18;55;21
Freddy Juarez
And they're Rho Gam for life basically, at this point.

00;18;55;21 - 00;18;56;02
Amy Hecht
They stay in touch

00;18;56;02 - 00;18;57;08
Freddy Juarez
They stay in touch.

00;18;57;08 - 00;19;17;04
Amy Hecht
And what if do we have students that have gone through already? Maybe they went through their first year, didn't finish for any number of reasons, and are going through a second time or a third time, I don't know what are their chances? Is this? Are there other tips or different tips for those that have already experienced pieces of our recruitment process?

00;19;17;04 - 00;19;35;07
Luice Grace
There's not a different okay, like their chances of joining a specific chapter are not decreased because they've been through recruitment before. If anything, sometimes it's an advantage because they know what to expect. They're more prepared just because they've already experienced recruitment. They're always welcome to come back.

00;19;35;10 - 00;20;07;17
Freddy Juarez
And it's also not experience just for our first time in college students, if you're a sophomore, maybe you didn't even register as you're when you were a first time in college student and you want to register later. Yeah, it doesn't have any impact on you. We have juniors, we have seniors that join, sophomores that join, you know, as long as you're an undergraduate student and you are degree seeking here at Florida State and you have an opportunity to join our groups and it the students on the back end that are in a sorority, they actually don't, have like different categories, like you're not losing out.

00;20;07;22 - 00;20;25;26
Freddy Juarez
There's like this this myth, there's a rumor that it's like, oh my God, they're only taking freshmen. And because I'm a sophomore, I'm going to lose out on that experience on a spot. And then actually we find out is not the case at all. There's an entirely they're kind of held in two different, kind of spots. And, and that's another thing on spots.

00;20;25;29 - 00;20;43;06
Freddy Juarez
Some people are like, how many spots are you taking? We I wouldn't be able to tell you right now it because we don't limit it on a certain amount of spots that each organization has. It varies by the amount of women that register for recruitment. Okay. And do we have spots for everyone? Probably.

00;20;43;09 - 00;21;12;10
Amy Hecht
If they go through the process fully participate and don't limit their options. Right? I always hear that. Don't limit your options. And so talk to me about limiting your options. And I know during the recruitment process as it comes to an end, you'll hear more of that if students maximize their options, fully participate. They have a almost 100% chance, 99% chance of finding a sorority that will be their home.

00;21;12;12 - 00;21;17;17
Amy Hecht
So tell me about how that works. What does that mean when I say maximize your choices?

00;21;17;19 - 00;21;48;04
Luice Grace
So, like Freddie said, when we are going through the selection process, they are selecting the chapters that they would like to return to. Sometimes people will ask if they could like put another chapter somewhere else, change the way that they're doing the selection process. So when we say maximize your options, it means that when you're doing the selection process, there will be like for round two, there's 12 ones for for preference round, which is when this is usually a big topic.

00;21;48;06 - 00;21;54;11
Luice Grace
There's two number one slots. And so maximizing your options would just be putting both chapters.

00;21;54;11 - 00;21;55;04
Amy Hecht
Putting as many you.

00;21;55;04 - 00;22;03;08
Luice Grace
Can as many as you can. If you visited two chapters during preference round which is not always if you do that and put both that would be maximized.

00;22;03;08 - 00;22;04;13
Amy Hecht
Maximizing your options. Okay.

00;22;04;19 - 00;22;06;11
Freddy Juarez
Yeah. We just want our students to have an open mind.

00;22;06;14 - 00;22;07;05
Amy Hecht
Yeah.

00;22;07;08 - 00;22;21;06
Freddy Juarez
And just try it, and go through it. Sometimes you may not have connected with a chapter during a specific round, and then the next round our recruitment counselors say is just try it out. What you're already here, right? What do you have to lose? Just go try it out and then go.

00;22;21;06 - 00;22;21;15
Amy Hecht
Meet new people

00;22;21;15 - 00;22;22;08
Freddy Juarez
People. Exactly.

00;22;22;08 - 00;22;23;05
Amy Hecht


00;22;23;08 - 00;22;36;01
Freddy Juarez
And then they meet someone. You. And that could be a future big. And they didn't even know that in the first place if they didn't even try it out. And so we get that feedback a lot, that our recruitment counselors to do a great job of saying, just go try it out and you're already there.

00;22;36;02 - 00;22;57;23
Amy Hecht
What about hazing? So I am not Greek, I actually am Greek. But if I was not Greek and my family wasn't, and I've seen the movies and I've seen some headlines. Do sororities haze and what do you do about that? And what are the prevention efforts that, Freddie, you have been leading nationally to fight against.

00;22;58;01 - 00;23;23;24
Luice Grace
So there is a no hazing tolerance policy within the fraternity sorority life community at Florida State. So there is I've never been hazed. That's not an experience I've had. And we have precautions and procedures in place if that were to occur. report.fsu.edu is a great resource. You can report things anonymously, you can put your name on it.

00;23;23;24 - 00;23;29;09
Luice Grace
You can give as many details as you would like. The more the better. And then we will look into.

00;23;29;11 - 00;23;47;19
Freddy Juarez
We’ve spent a lot of time talking about it with our new member educators, making sure that they're creating experiences for our potential new members and new members that are in line with organizational values. I think at this point, we've gotten to a good place where everyone understands that we're trying to create a process that people feel safe in.

00;23;47;19 - 00;24;12;01
Freddy Juarez
Yeah. But that they're allowed to succeed. And we have a strong philosophy that hazing should have no part in that process. You're going to be taught how to engage with individuals positively and how to enhance your student experience. So proactively. We're doing those things with our new member educators are chapter presidents are members. But at the same time, we're also helping our new members also identify when are things what's ordinary versus out of order?

00;24;12;07 - 00;24;19;01
Amy Hecht
What is pushing me out of my comfort zone that's going to cause positive growth versus what is dangerous.

00;24;19;03 - 00;24;47;05
Freddy Juarez
And then whenever that happens and we get a report, we look at every single thing that gets reported, even if it's anonymous. What we do tell people all the time is that if you are going to report something anonymous, please give as much detail as you possibly can. Whatever. But however, I will tell you that our organizations, have created an environment where our members feel generally safe and they feel supported and comfortable, which is why we have most of our members that go through the process of recruitment join a chapter.

00;24;47;05 - 00;24;50;18
Freddy Juarez
They do end up getting initiated and they end up having such a great experience.

00;24;50;18 - 00;25;09;07
Amy Hecht
So once a student joins a fraternity, sorority, in this case, they are part of a new member class. Walk me through that. So I'm a new member. Used to be called a pledge. We don't use that term anymore. Walk me through being a new member. And I heard you reference big. You get a big or a big sisters.

00;25;09;07 - 00;25;16;12
Amy Hecht
What that is short for and you become somebody's little sister. Talk me through new member and that big little relationship.

00;25;16;14 - 00;25;37;11
Luice Grace
So the new member process is probably unless you seek like leadership, probably when you're going to be the most involved heavily in your chapter because you're learning about the history of your chapter, you're getting to know all of the people. Many chapters do retreats where you're bonding with your individual new member class. It's a lot of fun. I loved my new member, period.

00;25;37;11 - 00;25;53;26
Luice Grace
It's really as much as you put into it. You could just show up for your new member education meetings. You can come for lunch. It really is what you put into it. Some people say it's like a adding a three credit hour course. I don't know if I'd go that far. It depends on.

00;25;53;26 - 00;25;54;21
Amy Hecht
Fun. It's a.fun course?

00;25;55;01 - 00;25;58;28
Luice Grace
It's a fun course. It's not something that you're going to be like, oh, my God, I'm getting tested on this.

00;25;58;28 - 00;25;59;10
Amy Hecht
Yes.

00;25;59;13 - 00;26;19;21
Luice Grace
And the big little process is such a highlight for me. You get a mentor and a mentee eventually. I love being a big. Being a little was awesome, but I've always been one of the younger people in the crowd, so it was really fun for me to be a mentee. My little and I met instantly. That doesn't happen for everybody.

00;26;19;21 - 00;26;38;21
Luice Grace
I recruited her day one, round one of recruitment and I was like, that's that is my little sister. My big. And I didn't meet until five weeks into my new member process, and we're just as close. So the big little process really looks different for everybody. But it doesn't have to be your best friend. Like Big Little doesn't have to be that.

00;26;38;21 - 00;26;59;04
Luice Grace
It can be, which is amazing, but it's really just someone to look up to. Just ask questions too, because at the time when I was a new member, I was like, can I eat stuff from the fridge? Or can I only eat stuff that's in the snack cabinet? And a big is a great person to go to to ask those questions that you might be a little bit embarrassed to just ask a random member, which you never should be.

00;26;59;05 - 00;27;15;29
Amy Hecht
Okay, so you're getting a built in mentor, a built in big sister to kind of guide you, ask questions, make you feel more a part of the sorority. Excellent. And how long does that new member period lasts. That three credit course that you said that's really fun. But a three credit course. How long does it usually take?

00;27;15;29 - 00;27;22;29
Luice Grace
I'd say like 2 to 3 months. I think if you're joining in the fall, usually you'll be a full member by Halloween.

00;27;23;01 - 00;27;23;13
Amy Hecht
Okay.

00;27;23;13 - 00;27;32;17
Luice Grace
Like you'll be initiated by Halloween. So I can't do the math right now, but that amount of time is typically the new member process.

00;27;32;19 - 00;27;50;10
Freddy Juarez
So typically about six seven weeks to give you like 6 or 7 weeks of your time. But it is such a good time for you to just hone in and focus. It's it's purely fun almost the whole time and, and, and you're big also connects you to the rest of the campus, too, because they're also typically a sophomore, junior or senior.

00;27;50;11 - 00;28;05;02
Freddy Juarez
And they've been around for a little bit. And so they can also connect you to the rest of the campus in different ways, too. Prior to you getting a big, it is typical for organizations to also pair you up during a new member process with other folks as you get to know people, because some people are like, well, how am I supposed to know the whole chapter?

00;28;05;05 - 00;28;18;09
Freddy Juarez
The sororities will have a process for you to kind of meet different people. It's kind of like an extension of recruitment you're already in. You're not trying to prove anything to anyone, but you're kind of just paired with people. So you can have someone to have lunch with, coffee with and ask some more questions.

00;28;18;11 - 00;28;23;13
Amy Hecht
It’s overwhelming to join a group of 200 plus women. Correct. And get to know everybody. Yeah.

00;28;23;21 - 00;28;26;15
Freddy Juarez
So it makes it a little bit easier for you to digest that.

00;28;26;18 - 00;28;30;00
Amy Hecht
Now, do you have to live in these sorority houses if you join?

00;28;30;00 - 00;28;31;05
Luice Grace
No, you do not.

00;28;31;05 - 00;28;31;17
Amy Hecht
Okay.

00;28;31;18 - 00;28;34;21
Luice Grace
It's an option for most chapters but is not required.

00;28;34;21 - 00;28;36;11
Amy Hecht
Not required. Very good.

00;28;36;14 - 00;28;56;22
Freddy Juarez
And I will say that most of our folks. Right. So the people living in our sorority houses are not freshmen. So there's not really a lot of opportunities for our newer members to just immediately move in. I know on some campuses across the country that might be something they move in the spring. That's not the case here. It is it is traditionally seen as like a privilege and something that people really seek to do.

00;28;56;25 - 00;29;04;11
Freddy Juarez
Okay. So typically the people live on campus, in our sorority houses are juniors, seniors, upperclassmen that have been there for a little bit.

00;29;04;11 - 00;29;08;07
Amy Hecht
So it's something you've got to earn you just in. You're not going to be forced to do it. Correct.

00;29;08;10 - 00;29;15;09
Freddy Juarez
Wants to correct everybody wants to. They all want to live. It's a beautiful experience. And that's a whole other kind of experience that people to look forward to.

00;29;15;12 - 00;29;42;27
Amy Hecht
Well, they're all beautiful homes, great location, safe and walking distance. So why would you not want to live in some of these gorgeous mansions so well? You are obviously both big fans and proponents for going Greek at Florida State. Looking back on your three years and now becoming a senior, being on Panhellenic, exactly what is your favorite fraternity sorority life experience you've had at FSU?

00;29;43;00 - 00;30;04;00
Luice Grace
Oh wow, that honestly, I should be more prepared to answer questions like that. It's so hard because so many things come to mind. Being a part of Panhellenic has been a highlight for me. I've done basically everything you can do as a Panhellenic woman to get involved d from new member all the way to now.

00;30;04;03 - 00;30;24;10
Luice Grace
But I feel like the best moments are the ones in between for me. Like the ones you would never really talk about. Like my little and I just watching Harry Potter or something and making popcorn and hanging out and just having those moments where you kind of dissociate a little bit and you're like, wait, like, I can't believe all of this is happening.

00;30;24;10 - 00;30;29;22
Luice Grace
And like, this is super normal for me, which it wouldn't have been for me growing up.

00;30;29;24 - 00;30;52;06
Amy Hecht
Well, it is time for our segment of Ask Amy, and we're going to wrap up this show. My first question I received is, Dear Amy, how do I know which chapter is the right fit for me? And I actually think that is a great question for you to answer one more time. So how do they know it's the right fit?

00;30;52;06 - 00;30;57;23
Luice Grace
I mean, that's dependent on how confident you are. That is a personality thing. Some people are.

00;30;57;23 - 00;30;58;19
Luice Grace
Like, yes.

00;30;58;19 - 00;31;05;27
Luice Grace
This is my home. Others are more so they're really cool. I really get along with them. It doesn't have to be that like.

00;31;06;01 - 00;31;07;25
Amy Hecht
Doesn’t have to always be love at first sight?

00;31;07;25 - 00;31;29;07
Luice Grace
That. No, it does not have to be. Some people will cite their new member retreat as the moment they knew that that was their home. It doesn't have to happen during recruitment. It's awesome if it does, but it just depends on each person. But whatever you feel, you'll know when you feel it. It might not be a big burst of excitement, but you'll feel it.

00;31;29;14 - 00;31;59;18
Amy Hecht
That's good advice and not compare yourself with other people who might have a different response than you do. So what does the financial and time commitment look like with joining a sorority? We've already talked about this new member, period. That is probably the most intense 6 or 7 weeks. Financially, it sounds like it ranges, but you are getting almost three meals at least five days a week, plus different parlor fees for the house and maintaining the house and some socials, I imagine.

00;31;59;21 - 00;32;01;11
Amy Hecht
And that is covered in the guide.

00;32;02;19 - 00;32;27;19
Freddy Juarez
Yeah, just's check the guide that's going to be an individual breakdown of every chapter. You can expect a range anywhere from 2000 to 3200 per semester. But again that's inclusive a meal plan. And you get meals. Typically it's lunches, Monday through Friday and then dinner Sunday through Thursday. Some organizations do brunches and like it is it is a kind of more of a cruise ship experience.

00;32;27;19 - 00;32;49;24
Freddy Juarez
You kind of pay that and then you don't really necessarily have to pay for the functions. It's all included. The retreats are included. Those things are included in kind of your fee. So everyone will have a breakdown and each chapter will have a specific thing. And then during investment round, each chapter will also do a presentation that walks all the students through every piece of finance that exists and what they're getting for it, because that's all so important to them.

00;32;49;26 - 00;33;10;18
Amy Hecht
So my my last Ask Amy question is what do sororities look for in potential new members? And what should I talk about or not talk about? I think it's a good question. Some people aren't accustomed to making small talk and meeting someone. What are the topics they should stay away from? Are there things they should think about in advance?

00;33;10;18 - 00;33;17;12
Amy Hecht
If they're very nervous about trying to engage upper class women through this experience.

00;33;17;12 - 00;33;35;00
Luice Grace
I think it's important to remember it's a values based recruitment. So the conversations should be about you as an individual and like what you value and who you are like deeply as a woman. So I would stay away from topics that don't represent that, like who you are.

00;33;35;01 - 00;33;35;11
Amy Hecht
Yeah.

00;33;35;14 - 00;33;57;01
Luice Grace
Each round does have a topic of sorts. You don't have to stick to those topics during your conversation. You don't need to be like, we didn't talk about academics during scholarship round. That's okay. Talk about whatever you feel comfortable. Take the it's just a conversation and that eases a lot of nerves because sometimes you're going in and you're like, oh, it's an interview.

00;33;57;01 - 00;34;14;20
Luice Grace
Yeah, that's definitely a preconceived notion I had going through. And then I sat down and we talked about my favorite book for 15 minutes, and the person recruited me had also read the book. It's very it just depends on what you're comfortable talking about. You never have to take the conversation somewhere you don't want it to go.

00;34;14;23 - 00;34;40;26
Amy Hecht
It sounds like our overachievers should really, at a minimum, just think about what their values are. What are they looking for? Why would they want to join a sorority and have that at the forefront going into recruitment? That is it. For today's episode of Connect with VP fact. I hope you've learned something about FSU sorority recruitment, and I hope you feel more prepared to join us on campus this fall and have a wonderful recruitment.