Joining a fraternity helped me find my place in Athens

Despite only around 25% of UGA’s student body being a part of Greek life, the influence it has on our campus is undeniable. It’s hard to walk to class without seeing a dozen guys and girls wearing t-shirts with Greek letters on them.

While there are a million stereotypes about fraternity guys and sorority girls, some of our best and brightest at UGA are a part of Greek life. The winner of UGA’s SGA elections, Commit, is composed of a Sig Ep, a Fiji and an AXO for instance.

People in Greek life are often more involved on campus and achieve better grades on average in comparison to GDIs. While everyone can find a place where they belong on UGA’s campus, this is what makes Greek life so special to me.

First off, going Greek gives you the opportunity to be a leader

From the moment I started pledging Theta Chi, I was given the chance to run to run for a position. I served as our pledge class treasurer and gained tons of meaningful experience on working with Excel. It might not have been the most important position, but I learned a lot.

Last fall, I became Theta Chi’s Scholarship Chair and my involvement has only increased. As Scholarship Chair, it’s my job to help Theta Chi achieve the best GPA possible. I’ve started a mentor program that pairs incoming pledges with older brothers. I’ve helped organize our study materials as well. As menial at these things seem, they mean a lot to me and I know it will help my fraternity’s GPA in the long run.

It makes Athens feel like home

I didn’t pledge until my sophomore year. At the time, I honestly didn’t like UGA that much. I didn’t grow up a Georgia fan and UGA just seemed like the easy, cheap choice for someone from the Atlanta suburbs.

After I pledged Theta Chi, it really seemed like I became a part of the Bulldog family. No, Greek life isn’t God’s gift to Athens or the only thing that matters, but anyone that’s a part of it here in Athens will tell you the bonds are real and the friendships are forever.

There’s nobody I’m closer and more open with than my pledge brothers. Some people might say joining Greek Life is paying for friends, but it’s so much more than that. The friendships I’ve made are invaluable. You can’t put a price tag on meeting hundreds of new guys and girls every semester. The truth about college is it’s not about the grades you make, but rather the hands you shake.

Greek life helps you live a balanced life

When it comes to school, everyone always seems to balancing sleep, social life and studies. I won’t lie – after joining a fraternity, I probably get a lot less sleep. Despite this, my social life and studies increased exponentially. It seems like every week I have a party or a social to go to. Travis Porter played at our spring party and over 1,000 people showed up.

Earlier this month, we held Dawgs on the Lawn and helped over 30 puppies get adopted. I’ve had a great time and made a lot of new friends, but one of my favorite things about Theta Chi is how I’ve been able to buckle down and focus on school when I really need to.

Whenever I need help with my German or Accounting homework, I have multiple fraternity brothers I can reach out to. When I want to study in the MLC, someone already has a room saved. Everyone knows it’s better to study “smart,” not hard. Having fraternity brothers I can study with is a big part of this. It’s so important to try and achieve a balance between social life and studies and I feel like Greek life has helped me get the most of out of my college experience so far.

While it’s not for everyone, everyone who is a part of it loves it. No matter what fraternity or sorority you’re in, we all appreciate the opportunities Pan-Hellenic life has afforded us.

And if you’re an incoming freshman or sophomore reading this, we’ll see you at rush in the fall.