Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: This podcast is produced by members of the University of Alabama Parent Advisory Council and reflects the personal views, experiences and opinions of the hosts and guests. These views are independent and do not represent, reflect or speak on behalf of the University of Alabama, its administration, faculty, staff, or affiliated organizations. The content shared is for general informational and conversational purposes only. It is not intended to provide academic, medical, legal, financial or institutional advice. While we aim to share thoughtful and helpful perspectives, we make no guarantees regarding accuracy, completeness, or timeliness. Listeners are encouraged to verify information independently and rely on official University of Alabama communications for policies, decisions, and guidance. Listening to this podcast is voluntary and any actions taken based on the content are done at your own discretion and risk.
Welcome to Parent Perspectives. Navigating the University of Alabama experience as a parent can be exciting, overwhelming, and full of questions. And you don't have to do it alone. Parent Perspectives is a podcast by parents, for parents and with parents created to share real conversations, trusted insights, and firsthand experiences from those who've been there. Whether your student is Bama bound, settling into freshman year, or finding their stride on campus, this is your go to source for all things BAMA student related. From academics in campus life to traditions and the moments that matter most, we cover what parents want to know honestly and thoughtfully. Tune in and feel confident knowing you're part of a supportive BAMA parent community.
[00:01:51] Speaker B: Welcome to the UA Parent Perspective Podcast. My name is Lynann Luscinski and I'm a member of the UA Parent Advisory Council and a very proud parent of two daughters who are part of the University of Alabama Alabama Panhellenic System.
In Part one, we had the opportunity to talk about getting ready for recruitment, including registration, eligibility, academics, policies and costs. Definitely take a listen to that if you haven't already. But today we're going to be focusing on what happens during recruitment Week itself and then what comes next. I'm joined again today by Lexi, who will again help us walk through the recruitment experience, how students are supported along the way and what families can expect once recruitment concludes. Lexi, remind us again and welcome. Remind us again what you do at the University of Alabama.
[00:02:42] Speaker C: Yeah. Hi all. My name is Lexi Snoke and I'm one of the coordinators here in our Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. As one of our coordinators, I oversee all of our marketing and communications that you all see for the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. So whether that's our presentations at Bama Bound, any kind of marketing materials that you are picking up from us when we are tabling at Bama bound and also anything that you see on our social media or website. My co workers tease me that I am the face and the voice of of cell. But super happy to be here and to continue to talk about our Panhellenic recruitment process.
[00:03:17] Speaker B: Well, we're happy to have you. So let's begin with the question many families have once recruitment gets just a little closer, what the actual week looks like from start to finish. So can you please walk us through what the week of recruitment looks like round by round?
[00:03:33] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. So as Lynan mentioned, if you haven't listened to part one, we definitely encourage you to go back and listen to that because on part one we discussed a little bit about how our Panhellenic recruitment process here at the University of Alabama is a nine day process. And so kind of walk you through not technically each of those days, but each of the rounds that are happening during the Panhellenic recruitment process. So there are technically five different unique rounds in our Panhellenic recruitment process at the University of Alabama. The first is convocation. And so this typically takes place on that first Saturday of recruitment convocation. I always compare to students as an orientation of sorts. Right. All of our potential new members are welcome to Coleman Coliseum where they are able to meet their Sigma Rokai, which is also a recruitment counselor, and we'll unpack their responsibility in the next couple of questions. But they are able to meet them as well as meet all of the other potential new members who are going through the Panhellenic recruitment process. This is where they receive their coveted Greek chic that they're so excited to get to look through and see all the different information about our chapters and our process. They're also able to meet our Panhellenic exec and hear from them and learn a little bit more about what exactly this week will look like. Our office is also president convocation and we're also able to work with other campus partners as well to give them resources that they may need throughout their recruitment week. After convocation has concluded, we then move into what is called our open house round. And so our open house round takes place on that side same day as convocation. And we call it a virtual round, but it's not really a virtual round. Right. There's no zoom involved. Instead our chapters who are who participate in the Panhellenic recruitment process. We have 17 that participate out of our 19 in our Alabama Pan Hellenic Association. Those 17 chapters have created about five, I would five to seven minute videos for our potential new members to watch. Our other two chapters who don't participate in the process do create videos as well. Just to give our potential, potential new members a full overview of our Alabama Pan Hellenic Association. But our chapter, our potential new members are only able to select from those 17 that participate when they go to make their selections. So we bring our potential new members to different classrooms all around the University of Alabama campus. They're able to watch those within their Sigma Ro Chi group, that recruitment counselor group, and learn a little bit about each of them. It's really just kind of a general sense video. Learn about their sisterhood, their philanthropy, the history of their chapter. It's a fun opportunity, right, to kind of settle into that recruitment process.
After they finish watching all of those videos, they then are able to select the 12 chapters that they are the most interested in returning back to in the process.
So at when philanthropy round begins, they could have up to 12 invitations back. It is not common to have that many more. Most common invitations back on a philanthropy round I would say can range from anywhere from 7 to 8. 12 is the most, but like I said, doesn't mean that you are going to have that many return.
So our philanthropy round is when it begins our in person rounds of recruitment. It's when you are able to wear your T shirt that you just received from our Panhellenic association and with a casual bottom. Our Panhellenic association has lots of recommendations on their websites and in the Greek chic about what they should wear with that comfort colors. T shir we see lots of cute skirts, lots of cute shorts, pants, whatever makes you feel the most confident and comfortable. That's what we would recommend wearing over the three days of philanthropy.
So every day our Panhellenic association will tell you whether which shirt to wear as you receive two and so making sure that you know which one to wear on those days throughout the philanthropy rounds of recruitment. Those rounds are 30 minutes long. As I mentioned in the last part of our last podcast during philanthropy round is when you're able to receive that financial information information understand that financial commitment that you are gaining, that you are committing to in joining one of those chapters. But you're also able to learn about each chapter's local or national philanthropy that they support and their different signature events that they host throughout the years to raise funds and awareness after those three days have concluded. And you also it's important to mention too that within our philanthropy round, those chapters that you're invited back to all those different events are spread out amongst those Three days. It's not very typical for you to have all of your rounds of philanthropy on just one day. Right. We want to make sure that you're able to take a breath, take a breather, think about the conversations that you're having. And so we spread it out over those three days intentionally. After that's concluded, you're then making selections of up to seven chapters that you would like to go back to. Right. As we mentioned, you could have 12, but you also could have a smaller number. And so we just simply ask that you drop it down to seven chapters of a minimum. So we then move into our sisterhood round, where you could have seven invitations. But again, that's not common to have that many. You could have anywhere from four to five, I would say, is more feasible and more of a common experience for potential new members. So in that sisterhood round, again, you're going to visit the different chapter houses and be able to speak with them for up to 40 minutes. This is where you get to dress up a little bit more.
[00:09:01] Speaker A: Right?
[00:09:01] Speaker C: Get a little bit more creative with your wardrobe. We would recommend maybe a sundress or a nice top that you might wear to dinner with your family or your friends. Friends Skirts, again, super popular. I saw so many skirts during last Panhellenic recruitment process. So really, again, what makes you feel the most confident and comfortable? And the conversation shifts in sisterhood a little bit, so you have 10 extra minutes to talk to these women and get to know them a little bit more and get to know them on a deeper level. And so this is when you really get to understand what makes those chapters unique. Beyond their philanthropic, you know, identity and the service that they're able to do. You're really understanding how they, you know, uplift one another, their individuality and their spirit of the chapter.
They are also able to experience the true bond of sisterhood. Throughout this round of recruitment, many of our chapters will have something called Sisterhood Letters, where sisters are able to read letters as a surprise to their friends. In that chapter, that's one of my favorite experiences from my Pan Hellenic recruitment process. And so you really get to understand, you know, like, what this chapter really means to the current members.
After that round has concluded over three days, again, we are separating that out to really make sure that you all are able to digest the conversations that you're having and make making informed decisions. We then move into preference, which is technically our last round of recruitment prior to bid day. And so it's possible to have two chapters invite you back. But it's also possible to only have one, which is totally fine. As someone who only had one going into preference, it all works out the way that it needs to. And so this round is 45 minutes long. And so, again, this is a longer conversation, right? You're getting to know these women on even a deeper level. These events are more formal and more meaningful. So we recommend for attire, you know, maybe a nicer dress, something that you could wear to an afternoon wedding or a graduation. A little bit of a step up from your sisterhood outfit.
As I mentioned, these are a more formal setting of a conversation. This is where you're able to talk with sorority members for the last time during recruitment. So you might get even deeper about why you really are interested in this chapter, what really connects you here. And so we really recommend, you know, talking about things that are important to you, the values that you hold and why you may be able to see yourself in this chapter. Chapter also could perform. Perform a preference ceremony. Excuse me. And so this is where you're able to learn maybe a little bit about the history of the chapter on an even deeper level, something that's really special to them. And so these preferences, honestly, again, one of my favorite rounds of recruitment, as you're really able to see the chapter and in who they are. And then the process concludes with everyone's favorite day bid day, which we'll talk a little bit more about later on.
[00:11:44] Speaker B: Thank you so much for the young ladies to look forward to.
And preference is one of my favorites too.
So one of the key pieces of support that your daughter will have during this process is someone that many families have heard a lot about, and Lexi mentioned it, Sigma Rho Chi's.
But you may not fully understand their role. So what exactly are Sigma Rho Chi's and how do they support students during recruitment?
[00:12:11] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. We love our Greek letters in Greek life. We love our acronyms in Greek life. But a Sigma Rho Chi is really simple. It's a recruitment counselor. And so these are undergraduate women who are currently enrolled at UA and are currently disaffiliated from their chapters. They receive these positions in February, and throughout the duration of the spring semester, they undergo training on how exactly the recruitment process works and how they can best support potential new members throughout that process.
That your daughter will be assigned a Sigma Rokai group at convocation. As I mentioned, that's that first step in the recruitment process. And they are able to have them as a resource throughout the entire process. They are set up all across sorority row. They Bring their potential new members some fun crafts to do. They're there to talk. They're really just somebody that they can go to who's a totally disaffiliated person who, who's unbi. Who has been trained to be unbiased and really be a listening ear throughout the recruitment process.
They really do truly have their. Have your daughter's best interest at heart and are available, like I said, throughout the entire week. And we have some amazing women who are going to serve as the Sigma Rho Kaiser recruitment counselors this year.
[00:13:23] Speaker B: Thank you.
So because recruitment can bring on a lot of emotions, parents often wonder what their role should be like during that week.
So how should a parent best support their daughter during recruitment?
[00:13:38] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. Supporting your daughter is so, so important. And so just some things that we recommend is definitely don't be afraid to be a part of the process with her. Right. This can be as simple as listening to your student after the long days of recruitment and asking her questions about her day. All we recommend a few different questions and so ones that I like to recommend to parents and families is talk to them about which chapters that they really liked or maybe what they didn't like. Help her as she reflects through those experiences. Right. As I said, it's a nine day process and that's a lot of conversations and there's a lot of things to reflect about. So ask those questions. Maybe ask about the conversations that she had so that she can process what she really learned. Maybe talk about that Sigma Rho Chi. How's that recruitment counselor able to be helpful and maybe even talking about what chapters do they see themselves joining. So that could really kind of put themselves there.
All of those questions can help your students process those experiences that I mentioned on that particular day. In addition to that, I've talked a lot about that Greek chic because I personally think the Greek chic's the coolest thing. Motivate your daughter to use the Greek chic. Right. We build that Greek chic out so that you can actually take notes in the back about the individual chapters because there are individual chapter pages and you are able to match up your notes with the chapter that you were able to visit. It also is kind of a copy cool memory when after hopefully you've joined the chapter of your choice, you can see all those things that really brought you there. I still have my recruitment guide for my process and that's something that it's really fun to look back at and the memories that I was able to make as you continue Those conversations just throughout the week of recruitment. It's also important to encourage your student to have an open mind. She's going to hear this a lot, right? Have an open mind, trust the process. We talk about it a lot, but it's so, so true. She could have an idea about which chapter she wants to join, maybe based off some pre click, preconceived notions that she has. But it's really important for her to remember that there are great women in every chapter and each chapter can offer an amazing experience.
Also, we want to make sure that you all know their resources that are available to her. So in the case that the student or your daughter does not receive invitations to chapters that she was expecting or she decides to withdraw from recruitment, or maybe in the case that she does not receive any invitations for a certain round of recruitment, her Sigma Rokai, as we mentioned, is a resource and is able to, to, you know, offer support and advice. But we also have a recruitment ombudsman. And so this is somebody who is typically not affiliated with the University of Alabama and has a knowledge of Alabama recruitment, but they are able to provide insight into campus resources, opportunities for involvement and transition strategies. Every year we've had an amazing ombudsman who's able to help, whether that's on the phone or in person consultation. And that number, number we share widely throughout the recruitment week and different parent and guardian emails that you receive throughout the recruitment week. And also all of these tips as well too, so that you are familiar with what is going on in the recruitment process. From a general sense, so much support
[00:16:49] Speaker B: and so much information available for not only, not only the, the girls going through recruitment, but for parents as well. And as parents, as a parent myself, the one thing that I, that I always stress is it's okay if your child doesn't want to talk, talk because they have had a lot of conversations or if they just want to, they just want to tell you about something other than recruitment that day.
[00:17:11] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:17:12] Speaker B: For sure. There's, there's lots of ways for parents to be involved.
[00:17:15] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:17:16] Speaker B: You've talked a little bit about Bid Day, so let's, let's launch in there.
[00:17:20] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:17:20] Speaker B: The biggest moments that families hear about is bid Day and for many parents, they're curious about what that experience is actually going to be like for their doctors, their daughter. Excuse me. So can you please tell us a little bit about what parents can expect for bid Day and what it would look like for their student?
[00:17:37] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. So as the Bid Day volunteer coordinator, Bid day is One of my favorite days, but. And everybody else is already super tired from recruitment, but I am just getting started and just getting ready to go for that bid day moment. Bid day is honestly such a cool day. And it's so cool for our potential new members who have finished the process. Each year, we have about over 2,400 women that complete that process. And so. So it's so exciting for them to be welcomed into Saban Field at Bryant Denny Stadium and be able to sit in the bleachers, sit in the stadium, holding onto their bids and opening that up with a countdown from our Panhellenic association. And so that process happens pretty quick. They arrive to the stadium, they are able to get in their groups, able to have their bid and open that up, and then we release them chapter by chapter.
And so you're able to.
[00:18:29] Speaker A: To.
[00:18:29] Speaker C: They're able to run straight home guided by members of their recruitment or guided by members of their chapter. Now, right? They're officially not. Not potential new members anymore. They're new members. They're in that chapter. And so they're welcomed at the gates to the exit of Bryant Denny and are able to run home. And so that happens even faster than you would think, right? We get a lot of parents from out of state that ask us, you know, oh, well, I'm gonna come, come down for bid day, and I'm gonna be there. And sometimes we recommend, most of the time, actually, we recommend, don't book that flight, don't make that drive. Because as quickly as the process happens in the stadium, it happens even faster once they get out of there. So when they run home, they are swept up by those members that they've talked through, talked to throughout the nine days. They're so excited to see them. They get pictures taken, taken, they get a bunch of swag, all that fun stuff. And then they are whisked away to a new member retreat. And so those new member retreats take place, you know, in all different types of locations. We have some chapters that will rent out different, you know, trampoline parks, pools, Airbnbs, like all. All that kind of fun stuff that's super fun for them to get to know one another. And so there's. There's really not a lot of time for your student to be able to interact with you when you arrive for bid day. It is a quick interaction. Now, that's why we really recommend, hey, maybe don't make that trip, because it is just a fleeting moment and think about, you know, how exciting it will be after she's gone through all of those things and all of the stories that you'll get to hear afterwards, words when you come down for parents weekend or, you know, you come down from a random weekend. And she's able to have so many more experiences beyond just that one day. So we just, we recommend it, but that also doesn't mean that we don't have parents that do. We have parents that do come. And each chapter has a policy for guests and visitors and that will be shared with you as a family on that day. So that's where we stand with BID Day.
[00:20:42] Speaker B: Well, and of course, bidet is not the end of the story, is it, Lexi?
[00:20:46] Speaker C: We both know it is not.
[00:20:47] Speaker B: It is really just the beginning of the membership experience. So what happens after recruitment is concluded and how does a sorority support their members?
[00:20:56] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. Bidet is not the end. It is just the beginning.
And it's just the, you know, the first moment that they get in being a new member in the organization. So after recruitment wraps up, chapters really start to shift their focus to supporting their new members and helping them feel connected. Every sorority has a new member education period where women are able to learn about their organization's values, traditions, expectations. But just as importantly, they're building friendships and finding their place within that chapter. As I mentioned in the first podcast, you know, we talked a lot about academics, and so that support really does. Academic support really does happen beyond recruitment. And so as I mentioned, academics are a huge priority for all of our all 71, one of our chapters here at UA. And so specifically within our Panhellenic association, many will offer structured study, how study hours, academic mentoring, and also different resources to help members stay on track and succeed in the classroom. There's also going to be a lot of opportunities for involvement and growth. You know, our chapter members are going to encourage our newer members to get involved within the chapter, maybe join another club or organization, participate in philanthropy and service events, events, all kinds of opportunities to get involved there.
And also our office is here to provide support as well, too. Right. We have programs within our office. I'm our Greek Ambassadors advisor. And so we see a lot of new members come and have Greek Ambassadors be one of their first leadership opportunities on campus across all four of our different councils. And that's exciting to see them be able to give back to prospective students as well, too. And we're here to make sure that they have additional support through leadership development opportunities, wellness resources, and just overall student care. So at the end of the day, like I said, recruitment bid day. It's all just the beginning. The real goal is to help each woman find a community where she feels supported, is able to get involved and grow throughout her four years here at the University of Alabama.
[00:22:50] Speaker B: And I have to say, that's what I have found for my own daughters, that they have been given lots of encouragement to be their best selves and and they've just had a very positive experience. So as we wrap up today, this is a great reminder that recruitment is just one part of a much, much bigger journey at the University of Alabama. Lexi, thank you so much for joining us today and for helping families better understand what happens during recruitment week and what your daughter can expect after an this conversation helps parents see the bigger picture. From the structure of recruitment and the support students receive during the week to the community and connection that can continue well beyond midday. Thank you for joining us for this episode of the UA Parent Perspective Podcast. We hope this gave you a clear understanding of Panhellenic recruitment and the experience that follows so you can better support your daughter through every stage of the UA journey.
[00:23:51] Speaker A: Thanks for tuning in today for the latest episode of Parent Perspectives, brought to you by the University of Alabama Parent Advisory Council. Check out all our podcasts on voices ua.edu. you can learn more about the Parent Advisory Council, Parent Perspectives and UA Parent and Family Program on the UA Parent and Family Programs website at Parents SL UA Edu.
