By Kate Merritt (Epsilon Zeta, Auburn University)
So much of the Alpha Chi Omega experience as a collegian, an alumna and a chapter consultant revolves around one thing: recruitment! It was my love for recruitment that originally drew me to the consultant role just over a year ago. Serving as VP recruitment for Epsilon Zeta (Auburn University) was one of my most formative experiences and taught me innumerable lessons. Looking back, it set me up for success in my current role as a resident chapter consultant at the University of Mississippi in more ways than one.
The number one lesson that I learned as the VP recruitment for Epsilon Zeta was to think on my feet. Recruitment can sometimes feel like juggling; you are constantly having to multitask in a fast-paced environment. This is why it’s so important to delegate and trust your team. Learning when and how to prioritize and re-prioritize as issues arise is a skill that was beneficial both as a VP recruitment and a chapter consultant. It’s also important to know when to take a step back. At Epsilon Zeta, I was so lucky to work with a team of advisors, fellow officers and members who knew when we needed to take a second to breathe before moving forward.
All the dedication it took to pull off a successful recruitment week at Epsilon Zeta paid off on Bid Day. Helping our new members run home was an experience I will never forget, partially because I am a slow runner and was left in the dust by many of my excited new sisters. However, I’m grateful that I took my time because the memory of standing back and watching all the new members hug their Bid Day buddies for the first time was the perfect encapsulation of the many months of preparation and hard work.
In the months that followed Bid Day, after the busyness of recruitment preparation and execution died down, I was left wondering with what post-grad life might look like for me. I struggled to picture what things would be like without Alpha Chi Omega being such a prominent part of my day-to-day life. It was then that I really started to think about something that my fabulous recruitment advisor had put on my radar several months earlier after Collegiate Growth Academy: becoming a consultant. I started to research the role and realized how the skills I had sharpened as VP recruitment would translate into this new opportunity.
I applied to be a consultant in November and was hired in February. When I received my assignment as a resident at Lambda Pi (University of Mississippi), I was ecstatic. I had the opportunity not only to harness what I learned as VP recruitment, but also to utilize my unique experience running recruitment in the SEC. After arriving in Oxford in August, we hit the ground running preparing for pre-recruitment week. The chance to help another chapter show a group of more than 2,000 potential new members how special it is to be an Alpha Chi Omega was so thrilling to me.
My experience as VP recruitment at Epsilon Zeta prepared me to support the recruitment team at Lambda Pi. I made it my goal to be a team member that could help others take a step back and breathe just like my support system at Epsilon Zeta had done for me a year prior. Recruitment as a staff member at our newest chapter was different in some ways – I had a team of other staff members around me and knew more about why Alpha Chi Omega does things the way that we do because of my training. However, some things felt the same. Multitasking and delegation are paramount to success during all recruitments. My responsibilities may have looked a little different, but the end goal was the same: to recruit the next group of Alpha Chi Omegas who may one day share my passion for recruitment.
After experiencing two different SEC recruitments, one as an officer and one as a consultant, my love for Alpha Chi Omega has only increased. Being a resident at Lambda Pi is so much fun, and each day brings exciting new challenges. I’ll always be loyal to Auburn, but Oxford has certainly grown on me. Either way, Alpha Chi Omega feels like my home.