By Amanda Cross, Student at the University of Central Arkansas

The day you join a sorority is huge! You are bombarded with tons of great new girls to hang out with, get to know and call your friends/sisters.

Just being in a sorority and watching how it works is a great experience.

Ultimately, though, I think there is something to be said about moving past just being a member and becoming a leader in your sorority. A leader doesn’t have to be the president or a person on the officer team. There are leaders all throughout the chapter, and they make the chapter run as a cohesive unit.

Leaders in sororities are necessary. They help the chapter out in so many ways. First, they help the chapter stay focused on its goals. Whether the goal is to fundraise, win a stroll competition or recruit a ton of new members, all sororities have goals. Leaders remind the chapter of those goals as well as help to achieve them. This is important because without those girls, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture.

They mediate between sisters so that everything is effective. In any club with a lot of members, it’s easy to run around in circles talking about the same things 500 times. Leaders are able to think about the situation from a different light, explain the problem in a easier way and get to a solution. They play both sides of the fence and create the best thing for the chapter.

There are many personal benefits to being a leader in a chapter. One is the personal satisfaction that comes with being a leader. You know that you are helping your chapter grow and develop. You are taking pride in your letters and your sisters by leading them in something you know how to do. From dance chairs to public relations chairs to the parliamentarian, you are bringing something big to your chapter. There is a lot of pride to publishing a newsletter or getting an award at a pageant. The leaders put their time and energy into something, and they watch it blossom.

Besides the satisfaction of watching your chapter grow, being a leader in a chapter is also a great booster for your just-out-of-college resumes. Being a successful leader will give you many of the skills that businesses are looking for of their new hires. It will also give you connections to people near and far because of your sorority affiliation. They might not hire you because of your sorority affiliation, but it will give you something to talk about and an opportunity to network.

Leadership in a sorority is important to keeping the chapter up and running. You joined Greek Life for a reason, and because of leaders in the chapter, you are able to stay functional and grow to your full potential. Becoming a leader is important because you can be a part of the very thing that keeps the chapter you love up and running every day. It’s important for you because it create opportunities you never knew you had and a sense of pride and love that you created something bigger than yourself.

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