“I attended Catholic school for most of my life and was used to a smaller environment; I wanted to have a ‘home’ to go to in a new environment,” is the reason why Robyn joined a sorority. Being in smaller schools through the years, she was used to smaller class sizes and smaller extra-curricular activities before college. “I was already a 3rd year student by the time I went through informal [sorority] recruitment and knew my chances of being placed were lower if I had gone through formal recruitment again,” when reflecting on the path to forgo formal recruitment.
Robyn Daiss graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2015 and went through informal recruitment in the Fall of 2012, but that was not the beginning of her sorority journey. “After my senior year of high school, I wanted to stay home for college because I wasn’t really ready to leave yet, so I attended University of Houston.” The summer before her first semester was when she learned more about sorority life and what it meant to be involved in a Panhellenic sorority. “I went in blind; not really nervous about what was going to happen because I really didn’t know what to expect.” But once the Open House round was over “I was starting to get nervous about if I would find my place and if I would make it until bid day.” During Fall 2010, University of Houston had six sororities, and three recruitment rounds before Bid Day: Open House, Philanthropy, and Preference. Unfortunately, Robyn was invited to only one house for Philanthropy round and dropped that night. “I was definitely upset and brokenhearted, but I focused on possibly going through recruitment the next year and just focusing on making the best of my first year as I could.”
Although she didn’t go through formal recruitment again, Robyn did join the Music Fraternity for Women, Sigma Alpha Iota (SAI), in Fall 2011 and subsequently transferred to UT Austin that Spring of 2012. “I was ready to leave home at that point and looking for a more educationally challenging environment. Plus, I wanted to go to UT Austin as a kid, so why not make that dream come true?” Joining a sorority was not at the forefront of her mind at the time, especially since UT had an SAI chapter to be involved with the first semester in Austin. “After that first semester, I realized that I needed to become more active on campus.” Although it is possible to receive a bid as a 3rd year student at UT Austin, “I didn’t see myself being successful in formal recruitment as I knew I could not secure everything I needed prior to that process, and I knew I would not be happy spending so much energy to be dropped again.”
That summer, Robyn did research online and found a sorority that was participating in informal recruitment that Fall semester. Even though informal recruitment was less structured with meeting the members at casual events, she “was nervous from the beginning. I would try to make sure my outfit was great and my hair perfect before coming up to the table during the university club fair. I would overthink the conversations at events, making sure I said the right things, making sure I showed up on time – but I feel like I wasted a lot of time on worrying because the conversations were easy and I was comfortable being myself.”
But when it comes to the question “how did you know you chose the right sorority?” Robyn replied:
“I feel like I knew from the beginning that Sigma Delta Tau was for me. I wanted a place where I could be myself, not have pressure to be a something I’m not, and have a place to call home. I remember having conversations with my future big while waiting for an event to start and a member who was the president during my time on the exec board during recruitment. They were so down to Earth and it was so easy to have a conversation – that’s how I knew that I wanted to be a part of this sorority.”
After attending informal recruitment events that week, she received a call. Nervous it was another “you’ve been dropped” call, she took a breath and answered. She was to go to the SDT space to join in on the Bid Day celebration and become a new member of the Tau chapter – she received a bid! However, it wasn’t the exact experience one would usually go into after Bid Day:
“My new member experience was different than probably other typical sorority women. SDT was going through revitalization with the national organization so I had the opportunity to have the national president and national board involved at pledging and initiation and having a very strict schedule with our new member period. Current members and new members were in meetings together, so we didn’t have a traditional experience. It wasn’t until the next semester where we got our chance to give that traditional experience to our next new member class.”
Although the new member experience wasn’t the average experience, it gave the Fall 2012 new member class more opportunities to bond with the current members of the organization, learn about traditions, and work together to make the chapter closer and stronger.
Fall 2013 was the first time in years that Sigma Delta Tau met quota to participate in formal recruitment at UT. Even though the chapter did not have a house, the women were able to host formal recruitment rounds successfully that semester and Fall 2014, as well as hosting informal recruitment those semesters. Formal recruitment “was a lot of work and it was hard to see women not interested come through, but that didn’t make me second guess my choice because I loved my sisters and don’t regret any of my experiences.” Robyn states that her undergraduate experience was “so much fun!” but describes one of her favorite memories as “something others would probably find boring”:
“During Round Up, which is a big weekend for philanthropy and fraternity events during the Spring semester of my 5th year, I remember sitting on the floor with my big and two other sisters in my apartment’s room on that Saturday night and just hanging out. We just had a chill moment, not able to believe our college life was over. It was almost like a calm farewell to undergraduate life and reflecting on memories and the future of the chapter.”
After graduating in 2015, she didn’t immediately get involved, but did attend an event hosted by the newly formed Sigma Delta Tau Houston Alumnae Association. It wasn’t until 2017 when she first attended a Houston Alumnae Panhellenic Association (HAPA) meeting and became more passionate with learning more about Panhellenic. Since joining HAPA, Robyn has served as the SDT Delegate and Reference Chairman and then became the HAPA Publicity Chair for the 2023-2024 year, which she continues to hold this year. “Becoming a national volunteer was the next step for me,” she states about becoming a Sigma Delta Tau national volunteer in 2021, “as I hope to one day be really involved with my chapter in the future, ensuring those women have fun and more opportunities than I had when the chapter was small. Being in a sorority truly shaped my life – and I’m not exaggerating.”
Since being in a sorority was important in Robyn’s life, she hopes that other women will go through recruitment, whether formal or informal, to really see what these organization do.
“Go into recruitment with an open mind – don’t listen to rumors or have biases. Every sorority has something unique to share; this can be leadership opportunities, post-grad opportunities, and more. Your home can be different than your roommate’s or your best friend’s. It doesn’t matter what other people think, but it’s how you feel when you’re with your sisters. Even if you’re nervous, accept the bid, get to know the women through the new member process, you really get to know the members and the sorority through the process.”
She hopes that every woman going through the sorority recruitment process can see beyond the decorations and designs and get to know the women of each chapter. Sometimes, what you are looking for isn’t what you’re currently seeking out; she believes everything happens for a reason. And when it comes to participating in recruitment, Robyn stresses that your mindset can make or break your experience:
“Be kind to during recruitment! Recruitment is a lot of work for PNMs (potential new members) and sorority women - each round is a chance to meet the women and match where you belong and sometimes you may go back to chapters you’re not super excited for. Those women may have seen something wonderful in you and see your potential as a sorority woman. You never know what possibilities and opportunities you will have if you don’t give it a chance.”
Written by Robyn Daiss, Publicity Chair (2023-2025) on December 9th, 2024 for use by the Houston Alumnae Panhellenic Association and their website.
