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Sorority Recruitment Recap

September 6, 2019 by Olivia

Well for some schools it’s sorority recruitment season and for others, sorority recruitment isn’t until the spring semester! I’m SUPER impatient so I’m happy sorority recruitment is over labor day weekend here. In my sorority at Quinnipiac University, Kappa Alpha Theta, we just welcomed 36 beautiful and smart ladies to the Theta family.

If you haven’t went through the sorority recruitment process yet, read my guide to the process, here.

Below you’ll find a run through of our days, it’s done very differently than most schools. Some state schools have their recruitment over the span of two weeks. I’d go crazy because I’m so impatient and I’d also have no voice. I really don’t know how they do it. It’s a long, tiring weekend but one that every school year I look forward to.

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Day 1, 2 and 3 of Sorority Recruitment at Quinnipiac University

Day 1 is a simple day. It’s almost like how I’d imagine speed dating. You’re asking common questions to potential new members (PNM’s). For instance, what’s your major? Where are you from? Or, why did you choose this college? This is the longest day because your sorority is talking to every PNM at your school!

Day 2 is philanthropy round of sorority recruitment at Quinnipiac. Philanthropy is a LARGE part of a sorority, and it should be one of the reasons why you even want to rush a sorority. Kappa Alpha Theta’s philanthropy is CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates). I love our philanthropy and what it does for children in the foster system, you can read more about CASA, here.

Day 3 is Quinnipiac’s pref round. This is where you select a girl you really connected with to talk to for a good half hour. Some sororities may have something special they do before the pref’s leave. It’s the sororities last chance to leave a lasting impression on the prefs.

Pref round is the shortest round because now you have really narrowed down your potential new members! YAY! During sorority recruitment at Quinnipiac, half of day 3 is pref round and the other half is Bid Day. As long as the weekend is, before you know it sorority recruitment is over!

I take you through the days with the pictures below!

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

***We didn’t take pictures before the Bid Day portion of the day. For reference on our last day we wore black dresses.***

I hope you can guess the theme, but if not, it’s basically pajama/slumber party themed!

Weekend Girls Trip

August 4, 2019 by Olivia

Weekend girls trips are a MUST for summer. Like I said in my summer activities post, weekend girls trips are the best, short getaways for the summer. They allow you to unplug and really spend quality time with your best friends.

So this weekend we headed to Jersey City for the night. My friend Jess’s sister lives in Newport with her fiance, and they kindly invited us to stay for the night and go out on the town. Let me tell you, they’re living the life! Their apartment looks over the water and the New York City skyline. It has an insane balcony that allows you to take it all in.

I worked in the city until 5:30 p.m. then I walked to the 33rd street station and took the path into Newport. I told my friends I was pretending I was walking back to my apartment in Jersey City (LOL, just dreaming).

After we all settled in, we walked to an amazing downtown like area. It reminded me of how I picture Nashville to be. I’ve never been to Nashville, but in my head, this area of Newport is how I imagine Nashville to look and feel. Does that make sense?

So we headed back to the apartment, played fun card games and went to bed.

The next day was my favorite day. We walked to an adorable side street restaurant and passed beautiful brownstone homes on the way (I love how everything is walkable)! The restaurant had a huge brunch menu and it all sounded so yummy, I was having a hard time choosing what to get. I ended up getting avacado quinoa toast. I wasn’t expecting this, but the quinoa toast was fried quinao in the shape of bread, it was SO good and different.

Then we walked back to the apartment and were on our way home! It was a super short weekend girls trip but we did so much in a short amount of time. A huge thank you to Jess’s sister taking us to all the best spots in Jersey City and housing five girls for a night!

It looks like this was the last summer weekend girls trip 🙁 until next year!

My next post will have all the details on my outfit!

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weekend girls trip — Started the night with balcony pictures, of course

Summer activities

July 27, 2019 by Olivia

Summer is the prime season to do fun summer activities with friends and family. I’ve been compiling pictures from recent short trips and day trips to write a post on things to do in the summer. Hopefully, this post gives you a number of ideas so you can get planning on summer activities. Before we know it, Fall rolls around.

One of my favorite summer activities is just simply walking around a city or downtown area. One of my roommates reached out to me to stay at her friends apartment in Manhattan. So for a night we stayed in her super cute Manhattan apartment, ordered in food, and went out on the town at night.

The following day, we spent time walking around the city, taking pictures and getting brunch. It sounds like such a casual summer day/weekend but girls trips are the BEST. So yes, we got lucky for this girls trip that someone offered us their apartment for the night, but you don’t need that for a girls trip day/weekend. If you’re near a city, take the train in and just spend the day walking through parks, dining at some yummy restaurant finds (always check Pinterest for picture perfect spots) and talking with your girlfriends.

If you’re not close to a city, a fun thing to do in the summer is to go to a downtown area. Unless you’re living in the middle of nowhere, there is most likely a downtown area somewhere by you, look it up if you don’t know! Downtown areas are an amazing summer activity and a fun thing to do in the summer because there is most likely LOTS of shopping, (woohoo) good restaurants and bars. Going downtown is a great thing to do in either the day or night. It’s by far one of my top summer activities. Even if you don’t want to spend money, just getting outside, walking around and being with friends is fun and something to do in the summer.

When my best friends visited from Connecticut I had two plans in mind for the weekend that they came. One, was go to the beach (duh) and the other was to go downtown into Red Bank. It’s really one of the best summer activities because you’re out and about, unplugged from your phone and enjoying time with your girlfriends.

Summer concerts are another one of my favorite things to do in the summer. You can find small bars, amphitheatres or arenas by you that have SUPER cheap tickets or no fee at all. Even if you don’t know the artist or who’s performing, it’s a great night out with friends. I think you’re bound to have a good time when music is involved.

I hope this post gave you some ideas on things to do in the summer! Before we know it fall is here so get all your summer activities in now!

Read my swimwear guide, here!

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NYC weekend trip with the girls

An essential for weekend trips, Longchamp travel bag

A guide on the sorority recruitment process

July 18, 2019 by Olivia

In this post I’ll walk you through the sorority recruitment process. There are a few things you need to expect and know beforehand. Hopefully, I can guide you through sorority recruitment (rushing) and calm the nerves you probably have.

First things first, if you’re on the fence about rushing a sorority GO. FOR. IT. It doesn’t hurt to go to the houses day one and get a feel for it. Quinnipiac’s panhellenic held a super fun greek carnival. The event got me EXCITED to go through recruitment, but if you don’t get excited to be apart of a sorority don’t force it! Make a decision that is right for YOU.

Quinnipiac’s sorority recruitment process is over Labor Day weekend, but I know some schools have sorority reruitment for two weeks! Every school is different and every sorority is different so I’m going to give general sorority recruitment tips. Your school will give you ideas of what to wear each day, I recommend using Pinterest to find inspiration on what to wear each day. Get ready PNM (potential new member) you got this!

OK, first you have to sign up for the sorority recruitment process. Typically, there is a link online you can find on your schools panhellenic website or social media. FYI, panhellenic is the group on campus that represents all sororities. When you sign up for the sorority recruitment process there is a super small fee. Just a little reminder, being in a sorority can be pricey! You DO have to pay to be involved in a sorority. I promise you’re not “paying for friends” this money goes towards formals, semi formals, shirts, dinners and any other fun activities. Typically, this is all covered by your sorority payments (dues).

So that’s just a little background for you pre sorority recruitment and what to keep in mind.

Alright so now imagine it’s day one of the sorority recruitment process. Your emotions are going to be EVERYWHERE throughout the sorority recruitment process. You’re going to be nervous, scared, anxious, excited and more. My number one tip is to carry yourself with confidence. I feel like you can tell when someone holds themself with confidence and talks with confidence. NOT cocky. I’ve talked to girls who sounded so over confident and cocky where it completely RUINED their chances. When you’re overly confident and cocky, you loose the genuine person that you are. So be confident in who you are naturally and don’t try and be someone you’re not, it won’t get you far.

Now you may be nervous about conversations during the sorority recrutiment process, but let them come naturally, even if it’s about your 5th grade pet fish, seriously! If you and the girl you’re talking to hit it off, that’s huge.

PRO RECRUITMENT TIP: NEVER ask about partying, social events or gathertings with other fraternities or boys. Instead, ask about the sororities philanthropy or philanthropy events they hold. I feel like that’s a given BUT you’d be surprised what some girls say! So please don’t be that girl, I’m telling you now!

The sorority recruitment process can be hard but it shouldn’t be. Some girls get really nervous during sorority recruitment and shut down. Maybe their true personality is hiding because they’re just so nervous and trying so hard to be likeable. Anxiety and stress are usually things that can’t be controlled, so sometimes “trusting the process” doesn’t work out and it can be fustrating for girls. I think it’s really key to find something you and the other girl have in common and role with it. Talk about who you are and what makes you, you. Everyone can relate in some way, it’s not cheesy, it’s true.

And finally don’t try and be in the sorority your roommate or bestie is in as you go through the sorority recruitment process. Be your own self and do your own thing. My best friend and I went into the sorority recruitment process like omg how fun would it be if we were in the same sorority!!!!! Now, I’m like yeah, no. We’re best friends but we’re so different, it’s actually nice to have that seperation.

Please don’t be anxious during the entire sorority recruitment process, it’s fun. I hope you can breathe a little more after reading this post and it gave you a clearer vision of how you should go about things.

OH HEY shop mine and my roommates closets. Prices are negotiable and most of the stuff we’ve never worn! @shop_co_closet

Check out my latest posts:

Tips on how to get an internship & 10 things I wish I knew as a freshman in college

Below are pictures from the past two years in my sorority and during the sorority recruitment process!

sorority recruitment process — No longer a PNM, now I’m on the other side during the Greek Carnival

sorority recruitment process — Recruitment day one!

Tips on how to get an internship

June 30, 2019 by Olivia

I’m no expert and maybe I’ve just had luck…but I wanted to share with you what has helped me land two internships as an incoming junior in college.

I’ve interned as WTNH News 8 in New Haven, CT & currently, I’m interning at PIX 11 in NYC. Both internships have been very different from one another, but I know both will help me down the road and lead me to a job.

Hover over the graphic to pin it!

So how to get an internship? Well first off, I’ve tried really hard to apply myself in college. What I mean is that I’ve joind clubs & organizations on campus.

Being in a sorortiy can help someone network. Maybe your bigs, best friend’s cousin has the same major as you. So your big tells her best friend about you, who reaches out to her cousin. Now you’ve connected! All because you’re apart of a sorority on campus. Most internships you get are from connecting with people. The more you’re involved in, the better your chances of meeting someone with the same career interests as you are! So, that’s tip number one on getting an internship.

I’ve talked about my involvement with the schools television station, Q30, a lot. So this organization sort of mimics a television station and has a weekly newscast. For me, being in this organization has been super beneficial to my success. Not only have I connected with people, I’ve been able to get hands on experience in news. So when I have an interview with a potential employer, I walk them through what I do in Q30. They’re usually pretty impressed by a student run television station. I’d definitely say my involvment with this organization has helped me get an internship.

It’s a lot of work being involved in multiple organizations and clubs at school but it has enhanced my experience, my personal growth and has allowed me to connect with a number of different people. To balance all of this prioritize and try to do the most of what makes you the happiest. If you need to take a step back from something, take the step back. This is something I’ve struggled with and hope to get better at this year, I need to learn to sometimes take a breather. You only go to college once but you also want to make your college experience worth something, that’s why I sometimes over push myself (so bottom line, don’t over do it).

My next tip on how to get an internship is to go for things you wouldn’t expect yourself to get. WTNH said they’ll only take juniors and seniors in college, but I took a chance in applying and they took me! I didn’t think I’d get it, but I’m so happy I tried anyways…and look, I got it! That could happen to you too, so don’t doubt your abilities.

And, always treat everyone with kindness and compassion. A person you meet may be the one to help you when you’re looking for a job.

So these are my tips on how to get an internship:

Involvement in clubs and organizations
Getting first hand experience in an organization on campus related to your major
Prioritize
Apply and go for a position, even if your feel “unqualified”
Set goals
Lastly, treat everyone with kindness and compassion, they may be the help you need down the line

YOU GOT THIS.

Good things come to those who grind, I always tell myself how hard I work will pay off. Be a goal getter but a goal setter first. Figure out what you want and go get it.

WTNH

PIX11

Yes, I interviewed Jake Gyllenhaal & Tom Sturridge…yes..still not over it.

how to get an internship — Also was able to cover the press room at the TONYS!