Recruitment is Not Another Item On The To-Do List

by Matt Mattson

“I can’t wait for recruitment to be over!”

Have you ever said that? Have you ever heard a member exclaim it?

I mean, I get it. I get the sentiment. If you can get through recruitment you can get to the fun stuff of fraternity and sorority. But I’ll be honest, I think this misses the point.

If you really think about the meaning of our organizations. If you consider what they’re really about. I think you’ll agree that “recruitment” isn’t just a to-do list item you have to check off to get to the actual experience. I believe that RECRUITMENT IS THE ACTUAL EXPERIENCE.

Here’s what I mean.

I believe fraternity and sorority is a promise and a challenge. It’s not a house. Not a party. Not an event or a meeting. (Click here to dive deeper into this idea).

I believe that the moment of recruitment… The moment when we build enough trust up with a potential member… The moment they understand this is more than a “buddy club”… The moment we’ve chosen them and they’ve chosen us… The moment we shake hands and welcome them into our sisterhood/brotherhood… THAT’S FRATERNITY AND SORORITY.

That handshake connects them, through us, to our founders. That moment of recruitment is the moment they accept the challenge and the promise of our great organizations. That is fraternity. That is sorority.

The rest is just frosting on the cake.