by Eva Reese
Hundreds of freshmen girls have spent the last week rushing and getting to know the other women of Troy University’s six panhellenic sororities. This came to a head on August 12 when the freshly minted members of each sorority were fully embraced by their new sisterhood.
On Bid Day, each new member gathered in the Elm Street Gym, waiting to open an envelope which held their fate as to which sorority they would join. As the clock struck 10 a.m., the women tore open their envelopes in a flurry to learn where they’ll call home for the next four years.
Then, they ran home—literally. The women gathered up and sprinted from the gym, up the hill and to the house of their designated sorority to crash into a sister holding a sign with their names on it. There were tears, laughing and screaming.
Jerica Wells, a freshman criminal justice major from Verbena, Alabama, recalled the moment she opened her bid.
“I was so excited, and I was glad to call ADPI [Alpha Delta Pi] home,” Wells said.
Naomi Raigny, a freshman music education major from Preston, Florida, noted that the best part about the day was, getting to run home to her new home away from home.
When recounting the recruitment process, Raigny shared what was going through her mind.
“I was nervous before, of course, as anyone is, but as I got through it, I was more and more happy with where I ended up,” Raigny said.
The process of recruitment is a long one for both the recruited and the recruiters.
“We [Phi Mu Sorority] have actually been planning this [Bid Day and Recruitment Week] since last November,” said Katie Cone, the recruitment chair of Phi Mu, and a senior accounting major from Springfield, Alabama. “Things really ramp up towards the end of the spring semester so about the beginning of May, up until today, I have worked every single day with something to do with recruitment.”
Phi Mu member and designated Phi Mom Macy-Kate, a junior marketing major from Montgomery, Alabama, rejoiced in her new-found sisters.
“My job is to teach all of our new girls about Phi Mu, and just to really love on them and mentor them and help them to find their place in the sisterhood,”
After Bid Day, each new member is tasked with learning and growing with the sorority and the ‘mom’ of each sorority helps them with their journeys.
Head of Recruitment for Alpha Delta Pi, Ella Pike, a junior interdisciplinary studies major from Hartselle, Alabama, shared the beauty she found in recruitment culminating in Bid Day.
“These girls were wanted, needed, and prayed over,” Pike said. “I will forever be grateful that I had the privilege of helping these girls find their forever home in Alpha Delta Pi.
“Recruitment week and Bid Day are just the beginning.”
