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I Won’t Work For Nationals Until The Way Sororities Do “Standards” Changes

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Like any good sorority girl, I have always been extremely enthusiastic about my chapter. I thought that while we were most definitely a work in progress, like every organization on campus, we truly were (and still are) doing amazing things that I could definitely be proud of. My passion for our badge, our colors, and our letters was something everyone noticed about me. The fact that I was on exec solidified it even more. I was obnoxious. But all of the best people are, right?

That’s why I applied for a job with Nationals.

During my junior year, I formed a close bond with one of the women on our national leadership team. They’re a group of recent college graduates who are supposed to forget they were 19 years old at one point, and are trained for two months to teach fellow sisters across the country about being a “better” sorority gal. This particular member told me I’d be a perfect fit for her position, and the fact that someone told me I had the potential to have a job right out of college was music to my ears. So, the following year I applied for the leadership team.

I had killer recommendations, spent two months on my application, and was still on exec, so everyone was supportive, either genuinely or ingenuously. I got called back for two interviews, which pretty much meant I had the job. I knew all six women who interviewed me and they all commented on how cute my dog was, or how poised I was during my Skype interview.

I couldn’t wait to fly out, and go to our headquarters. I couldn’t wait to tell those same people on Skype why I was their dream come true for not just the leadership coach position, but to be the national president one day. I started my spring semester free of my executive chains, and was enjoying being a senior when I got called into standards.

I was honest. A brunch had gotten out of hand. I should have taken a nap before our committee meetings. They understood. I was a good member and was a bleeding heart for our sorority and the ritual book, for God’s sake. My little brunch stunt did embarrass me, though. I ruled the job with Nationals out, and sent them an email two weeks later saying, “Thanks, but no thanks” for any future job offers. I was going back to school.

Getting called into standards by people you dance in frat basements with four nights a week as a senior is pretty demeaning, but it caused me to put my life into prospective. Did I want to be a sorority girl for another year? Hell yes. Did I want to direct girls to call their sisters into exec because another sister was a tattletale as if we were in elementary school? Hell no.

Being Greek, being a sorority girl and being a sister is much bigger than one organization. We don’t work without one another. Which is why I’m going back to school to get a master’s. I knew it was the right move for me because I had finally been on both sides of the spectrum. I had been standards, and I had been the person getting called in, and it sucked, especially when your sister turns you in to cover up her own mess. But I walked demerit and fine free.

Fifteen days before graduation, I got my official rejection letter from Nationals saying I didn’t get the position. I put it in the trashcan. Nationals is great, but working for them isn’t for every sister, there are other ways to keep with the Greeks.

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LillyofNorthBroad

You can probably find her giving her friends advice that they never follow, ordering $7 whiskey shots at the bar and never putting up with anyone's bullshit.

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