When I first came to Penn State, I
was looking to take in all the opportunities Penn State had to offer. However, everyone always told me you
only have time for two of three things; school, sleep, or a social life. I wanted to challenge this. I signed up to be in EASI house, one of the
engineering living options on campus.
I also decided to join a sorority.
I joined Kappa Kappa Gamma the fall of my freshman year.
I have good news for everyone; it
is possible to have all three! As
a member of Engineering Ambassadors, and the President of a sorority, my
biggest piece of advice I learned is time management and self-control. I knew I wanted to join Greek
life. And, although many thought it
wasn’t possible, I wanted to keep up with engineering at the same time. The reason people say it is so
difficult is because it is all about the balance. With a sorority or fraternity, there are many meetings you
have to attend, as well as keeping up with your friends in your chapter. However, engineering is a very time
intensive major. If you don’t maintain
your work, your grades can suffer and classes can become frustrating. It takes
self-control to realize what the right decision to make is. It did take a few sleepless nights for
me to find the balance, and I still slip up every once in a while. But, It was definitely worth it for
everything I’ve gotten out of college thus far!
I found being in a sorority
beneficial because it gave me an opportunity to meet people outside of the
engineering discipline. It is very
important to have friends in engineering to study with and work with, but it is also important to have a diverse group of friends at Penn State. It gives you a larger network and more
opportunity. It was a very easy
way to meet a close group of friends right away. At such a large school, it is easy to feel lost freshman year. A sorority placed
me with a group of girls that are so similar to me and have become my closest
friends at school. I also thought joining a sorority was beneficial for the philanthropy
and community service opportunities.
Each sorority or fraternity has their own philanthropy that they help
support. Kappa Kappa Gamma
participates in Reading is Fundamental.
We collect books, and then go down town to read to local preschools and
daycares. Kappa also gave me a
connection to Dance Marathon, as every sorority and fraternity
participates. All in all, I found
that joining a sorority gave me opportunities to get involved in Penn State
outside of engineering. I have a
chance to lead the engineering community through Engineering Ambassadors, but
also contribute to Greek life, philanthropies, the State college community, and
my peers outside of engineering because I joined Kappa Kappa Gamma.
