Emily

Following In Her Footsteps

 Emily Opperman

The only reason I decided to look at a sorority was because my mom was in one. She was a Kappa Kappa Gamma and encouraged me to go through formal recruitment. I never thought I would want to be in a sorority because of everything I’ve heard of and seen in big state sororities – all the parties, hazing, and frat guys wasn’t something I was looking for or even interested in being a part of. I didn't believe that a sorority would be a good influence on my decisions.

I decided to go through Rush Week to please my mom and see what it was like. I have no reasons for why I chose AOII other than they chose me. Yet, through my first year of being an Alpha O, I have hundreds of reasons why I should stay. I’ve always heard that you should just “trust the system” and I’ve realized that even though I couldn’t tell you why I wanted to be in a sorority, I am so grateful for being in one now.

Alpha Omicron Pi is so different from what I thought a sorority would be; yes, there is a bunch of fun socials, you make life long friends, and sometimes matching is a requirement. But you also learn how to be gracious towards your sisters in need, responsible for yourself and your chapter, accountability, class, gracefulness and poise, and generosity. All in all learning more about what a sorority truly means made me want to stay and makes me try to become a better version of myself everyday.

To follow in her footsteps means to leave a legacy like my mom. She is the definition of kindness, forgiveness, and grace. Those are also qualities that I've learned in AOII. Our ritual has taught me to love my sisters and most importantly do everything with grace and kindness. We all follow in the footsteps of our founders: Stella, Helen, Jesse, and Elizabeth. They dedicated their time to making a sorority of dignity, strength, empowerment, and love. Their dedication to AOII and our sisterhood has made us become more loving and strengthened our values. They've helped us learn in times of great struggle and encourage us to push on through the rough days. They've taught us how to become better friends and better sisters. They've taught us to use grace and forgiveness in all we do. I've learned many skills to help leave a legacy like my mom. And I hope one day, our future sisterhood will see why we chose to stay in Alpha Omicron Pi and can continue in our footsteps.