Why I Decided to Go Greek

BY RACHEL TRIPP, CLASS OF 2015

Ever since I was in high school, and maybe even before that, I knew that I wanted to be join a sorority. I had known a lot of older girls, mostly friends’ older sisters, who all said that Greek life had been the best decision of their undergraduate lives. I also knew that I wanted to be a part of a community where I would make life-long friends, be able to experience new things, and be pushed a little out of my comfort zone.

I have never been someone who takes a lot of risks, and I liked the idea that by joining a sorority I would be able to do new things in a setting where I felt comfortable, and with people who I knew wouldn’t judge me. I wanted to have the best possible experience that I could during college, and I felt that Greek life was the way that I could do that. 

At first I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to find a sorority that was right for me, especially because Greek life at UMass is on the smaller side. Recruitment itself was a blur of faces, first impressions, and hectic instructions. But Sigma Kappa was the chapter that stood out of the blur- from the moment that I stepped into the house and began talking with the sisters, I knew that this was the place where I belonged. 

I felt like I connected with the sisters of Sigma Kappa the way you connect with close friends. Sigma Kappa didn’t make me feel like I had to change myself or dress a certain way or have a certain kind of hobby to belong with them- it seemed like each sister was completely unique and different then the next. Sigma Kappa made me feel that I could be accepted just the way I was. They seemed like the perfect mixture of studious and fun- Sigma Kappa seemed very balanced. I knew that I was making the right decision to go Greek, and I knew that Sigma Kappa was a chapter I wanted to be a part of. I think that the way I felt about Sigma Kappa is how everyone should feel about the chapter that they end up with at the end of recruitment.