This week I visited a new exhibition at the High Museum of Art on the watercolor illustration of Jerry Pinkney. It has be in the mood to get all painty.
Canvases are all the rage at my home chapter at Kennesaw State. Girls received fun canvases painted by their Bigs in their Big Lil Baskets. I don't know how they were able to make them look so professional, but I thought I would give it a try.
What you'll need:
Two contrasting colors of acrylic paint. I chose my sorority colors, obvi.
Painters tape (don't skimp on this one. I did and the quality of my lines were compromised)
White canvas (I bought mine in a two-pack at Michaels Craft Store this weekend and they were 50% off)
Wisdom. It is at the root of your college experience. Honestly, you didn't go to college and spend thousands of dollars in student loans to join a sorority. You go to college to learn. Why not make that a practice in your sorority life too?
This book speaks incredibly true in this chapter. It talks about failure. FAILURE. Get to know it. It is only from failure that you can truly change and move forward in life. Some of my biggest mistakes in the workplace have made me a more aware and responsible co-worker.
Talk to your alumnae, local community leaders, and management about their best recruitment practices. Though they may not all directly speak about recruiting sorority members, they practices may still apply. Think outside the box a little and consider how you can make their processes work for you.
Take a few minutes every day to surf your favorite blogs, online newspapers, etc. Read something new every day to give yourself inspiration.
I have a sister, Jessi, that can walk up to anyone and start a conversation. I watched it happen time after time a few weeks ago. We were out at this bar (we are well of age, mind you), and she would wander off for maybe an hour at a time. For some, this would be worrisome, but we had some really great radar for Jessi and knew she was always just across the room. Anytime we looked up to check on her, she had made a new friend. Guys, girls, bartenders, waiters, DJs, the list goes on. It was amazing how they just followed her around after their conversation to continue talking to her.
My sister Alyssa and I watched this go on for maybe two hours. We couldn't believe she made so many different friends. As the DJ played her favorite Bruno Mars song, she wandered back to dance with us. We took advantage of her return and said, "Jessi! How are you doing this? You have walked up to half the people in this room and they love you. Want are you saying to them?" She said, "oh that's simple. Ready? 'Hi, how you guys doing tonight?'"
Seriously? That's it?
Yes. It's that easy. The best way to start a conversation is to step up to the person and introduce yourself. Once you've made that step its all downhill.
Another aspect of this step outlined in I Heart Recruitment is remembering their name. If you're like me, when you introduce yourself to someone at school or work, you suddenly black out for just the right amount of time to completely miss what they said their name was. Take a lesson from Chris Traeger from TV show Parks and Recreation. He greets everyone he sees by saying their first and last name.
Okay, please don't take that literally. But, something to learn from good ole Chris is that he can greet anyone, because he listens to their name. Slow down, and listen.
Beyond this first interaction, it gets way easier. Just BE A PERSON! When you make a friend, do you follow that up with ignoring them for the rest of your life? No, you contact them to hang out. Include these new women when you're making plans for the weekend. Consider their interests and see if they fit in with your plans. If they don't, a text can always go a long way. They just might have an interest in something you've always wanted to try.
Let's face it, you are paying a lot in dues, times, and energy. What do you get out of being in your sorority?
If you can't answer this question without digging really deep to find, "I made a lot of friends and they are cool," you've got some work to do.
Recruiting new members for your sorority does not just benefit your chapter, it also benefits the women joining. But what exactly are those benefits? Whats the VALUE of your sorority.
Now we have used the word "value" in several ways while talking about this book, so let's be specific before we move on. For this post, "value" means worth, not traits. Value refers to leadership training, friendships, social events, and their future job hunts.
Now, I value benefits of my sorority experience in a VERY different way than my fellow sisters from the same chapter. Why? Because I was looking for something specific. Coming to college from a high school with no spirit (our football team was seriously lacking since we were a new school), I was looking for something to become incredibly spirited about. A "team" to be proud of. A team that could one day turn me into a leader. When I found my home in Delta Phi Epsilon, I saw this quality of pride in the women who recruited me, and that was one reason I joined.
In talking about your sorority, I challenge you to ask a very important question to your conversation partner: "What are YOU looking for?" Chances are this is a question they can answer quickly, and will clearly steer your conversation in a direction other sororities and organizations on your campus have not tried.
Don't forget to listen to your potential new member. If they talking sorority talk with you, they are interested in knowing more. Speak from the heart, and find a way to connect.
This by far has seemed like the most practical chapter so far. It introduces actual statistics of who you should be marketing to, and gives you a formula to do so. I won't copy to formula here, so you have to read the book yourself. What I'm most interested in are the statistics of how many women on any given campus would consider becoming Greek.
That small 15% of yellow at the top, that is the number of women you'll see walking through your door during Formal Panhellenic Recruitment. Those women come to school knowing they will be Greek. Maybe their parents were Greek, or they have an older sibling who is Greek. Maybe they even saw a movie about Greek life at some point in their high school career and thought it looked cool. If that's the case, they will be terribly disappointed since most of those movies and TV shows completely miss the mark. Regardless, this is your pool of women if you do not have a dynamic, year round recruitment program.
The 15% of blue, good luck. These women are either anti-sorority, or know there is no way they could commit to the time, money, etc. Of course, remain kind and open minded with these women as you never know what might sway their decision to join or not to join. But, in almost all situations, these women stay far away from the letters.
What's the giant pool of purple, you ask? Why that is what we call potential. That could be your future legacy. That 70% of purple is packed with women who just aren't sure, but could be convinced. Most women attending a university don't come with their colors picked out and their letter on hold from the Greek store. They come in to school for the academics or scholarships, and are curious about this mysterious system known as Greek Life.
So what does this mean to you? It means there is some work to be done. How many of these Maybe Joiners do you sit next to in class, live next to in your dorm, or attend study groups with? Take a second to look up from your cell phone and notice people. Is that shy girl in Chem class a blue, yellow, or purple piece of the pie? Is the Vice President of your club a Never, Always, or Maybe?
1. Using paint that matches the color of your glitter, paint the entire pumpkin. The bottom is tricky, but make sure to paint that as well. We don't want our pumpkins tipping over and showing a naked bottom! Let dry.
2. Cover your pumpkin in Mod Podge from every angle.
3. It's GLITTER time! Gently pour your glitter of choice over the entire pumpkin. Let dry. You may have to do this is sections, and don't forget the underbits of the pumpkin.
4. Once the glitter has set, you'll know it is if you run your finger across the surface of the pumpkin and most of the glitter stays on, you will want to seal the glitter. Using your trusty Mod Podge, gently dab a light coat on top of the glitter, being careful to not knock off too much of the loose glitter. Let COMPLETELY dry. Plug in your glue gun.
5. While the sealant is drying, take your ribbon or tulle and fan fold it several times until you have a nice hefty amount in your hands. Tie a spare piece of your ribbon/tulle around the center of the stack, pinching it together as we have done in the previous Sorority Spirit Hairbow tutorial. Once it is cinched in the center and tied off, fluff the bow to your content.
6. Using your hot glue gun, pile a generous amount of hot glue on the top of the stem of your pumpkin. Press the center of the bow into the glue and hold it there until it is cooled and dried.
See? Super simple. However, you will now find glitter all over your living room for the next 12 months. Totally worth it for this cute and sassy little pumpkin.
