Sorority Life is Redefining Convention

Name: Amy Rarig
Class of: 2010
Hometown: Smithfield, VA
Major: Geology
Sorority: Kappa Kappa Gamma

What made you decide to join a sorority?

My mother was a Kappa Kappa Gamma at William and Mary and my father was an ROTC cadet at Seattle University. When I arrived on campus as a freshman, I was presented with the opportunity to pursue both.  In the beginning, I was under the impression that I would have to choose between them.  I already knew I was not what some might consider a typical sorority girl; I had just returned from 2 weeks climbing glaciers on Mount Baker, I just made the Club Soccer team, and, most concerning of all, I felt much more comfortable  in a t-shirt and shorts than a sundress.  I wasn't sure if there was a place for a Go Army-athlete-tree-hugger in the Greek scene at William and Mary, but I was willing to see for myself. Far from feeling like I might not belong, I felt that the girls I met during formal recruitment embraced my interests and welcomed them. I realized that I didn't want to join a sorority to meet other women exactly like me; I wanted to meet people with different experiences and perspectives. At William and Mary, I didn't have to compromise my interests to feel like I belong in my sorority and the Greek community as a whole.

Do you ever feel constrained by the stereotypes that people have about sorority girls?

I don't feel constrained by stereotypes, in fact, I enjoy breaking them down. I can always tell when people are readjusting their opinions on Army cadets, Geology majors, or sorority girls based on their interaction with me. When people see me around campus wearing my letters one day and my uniform the next it gives them pause, and I think it's always a good thing for people to question their own stereotypes. Cadets are not necessarily conservatives, Geology majors can wear makeup, athletes are smart, and sorority girls care about a lot more than guys and parties.  I consider it a responsibility to portray all these in the best possible light so that others understand that participation in a group is just one facet of a person's character.

What is the most surprising thing you have found about being in a sorority?

I didn't really believe it at first, but a sorority is a solid foundation of support from which you are free to explore other interests. There are sisters who seek positions of leadership every year and whose primary social outlet is the sorority and there are others who participate on a smaller scale because they are also participating in other activities on the campus. There were times when I had time to be very active in sorority social and service events, and there was a whole semester when I didn't. But the sorority remained a constant for me, there when I needed it, waiting when I couldn't fit it in. I think some girls choose not to pledge because they don't want to be consumed by one thing, but it was a pleasant surprise that I could gauge my involvement semester by semester.