By Taylor Bolkey, CSU sophomore, construction management

In 2015, I graduated high school, and barely knew anything about sororities besides what I had seen in movies. My first semester at CSU, I decided to go through sorority recruitment. This was single-handedly one of the best decisions I have ever made! I finally knew people when I was walking to classes everyday which made our huge campus seem so much smaller, it got me involved in volunteer work within CSU and Fort Collins, and it taught me to balance my school work with everything else in my busy schedule.

Joining a sorority is beneficial to CSU because they are a way for the incoming freshman girls to become involved on campus. As the freshman move into their dorms, members of Fraternity and Sorority Life are there to assist with their move in. We work to help them find their way to their halls, and then help them move their stuff into their rooms. Many of the students and parents ask us questions about Greek Life and just CSU in general. This is a great way to connect and introduce incoming freshman to the positives of Greek Life at CSU.

Another great way that CSU’s sororities help our community is by partnering with SLICE, the Office of Student Leadership, Involvement and Community Engagement, this year for Canstruction. Canstruction is a special event specific to CSU. Student groups compete to get the most cans to donate to the Food Bank for Larimer County. This was the first year that Fraternity and Sorority Life have partnered with SLICE for this event, and the Collegian reported that the number of student groups doubled from eight last year to 16 this year.

CSU student Carly Clark told the Collegian last fall that “sororities and fraternities are both extremely beneficial to the community and society as a whole.” I believe this statement to be very true, due to the fact that sororities work with CSU to do volunteer work for the City of Fort Collins. Every fall semester, CSU’s Greek Life participates in an event called Fall Clean Up. This past year we all went and worked to help homeowners in Fort Collins who are no longer able to rake up the leaves in their yards and do other household chores they were needing help to do. This is an amazing way for our members to reach out to our community and grow from these experiences as well.

Sororities encourage their members to be the best version of themselves. Just being in a sorority, or holding a leadership position in one, can help members to develop skills that cannot be learned in a classroom — skills such as leadership, time management, and communication just to name a few. These are developed within the sorority and blossom as members are pushed and supported by the other members within their organization.

I personally hold a leadership position within my sorority this semester, and it has made me feel more connected with my organization, as well as build my self confidence. My sisters push me to do my best in my position, and it has really shown me what I am capable of. Due to the increased work load, I have learned to juggle everything in my busy schedule and complete everything to its highest quality. Without this opportunity, I would not have the confidence in my leadership capabilities, enhanced time management skills, or superior knowledge of communication.

The best way to describe joining one of these amazing organizations was best put by Collegian blogger Usman Bandukda: “When you are choosing yourself to be a Greek, you are choosing to be in a life where you have support from the people who will push you to do great things and hold you accountable when you fall. Having that support system creates a brotherhood or a sisterhood, and joining Greek Life for that purpose is how these students end up pushing themselves to be leaders on campus and after graduation.”

I could not agree more with this statement, and I hope that this has opened your eyes to the amazing possibilities available to you by joining a sorority at CSU. I know that Greek Life may not be for everyone, or maybe you just do not know it yet, but I encourage you to at least give sorority recruitment a shot; I promise you will not regret it!

Letters can be sent to letters@collegian.com