Sorority Life is a Foundation for your Future

Name: Caroline Groom
Class of: 2010
Hometown: Arlington, VA
Major: Finance
Sorority: Pi Beta Phi

Why did you join a sorority?

My family is a very Greek family which has provided me the opportunity throughout my whole life to witness first hand the benefits of being Greek. Through my parents, grandparents, brothers, sister, aunts, uncles, and cousins, I saw the lifelong friendships, volunteer hours, and networking opportunities that being members of Greek organizations provided them. I understood that by joining a sorority, I would not only gain a social network at the College but an experience that would mold my college years. In addition, as a freshman at William and Mary, I did not know many other students and was anxious for the opportunity to meet other girls going through recruitment as well as, eventually, older sisters in Pi Beta Phi who would become my mentors and best friends.

How did membership in a sorority provide you with opportunities to work towards your future career/academic goals?

Being a member of Pi Phi has given me both academic support, leadership training, and networking opportunities, that I would not have had without joining a sorority. The most influential leadership building experience that I have had in college was serving as the President of Pi Phi my sophomore year. As President, I essentially managed 90 women and oversaw a $60,000 budget, two statistics that have impressed potential employers in every single interview that I have had this year. Furthermore, serving as President was truly an exercise in both conflict and personality management, in which I was often given 5 minutes under pressure to solve a problem. I believe that serving on the executive counsel of Pi Phi has prepared me for other management roles for the rest of my life -- as a boss, as a mother, as a volunteer, or wherever else my life may take me.

Though not every member of the Greek community will be the President of his or her organization, each organization offers many different types of both formal and informal leadership opportunities whether one holds a position on the executive counsel, is the voice of support or dissent in chapter meetings, or is the proverbial class clown making the experience for every member of the chapter more enjoyable. Every organization offers academic support, member development opportunities, and philanthropic service -- all of which make the Greek community better prepared for life in the "real world."