By: Daisy Pham
My journey with Delta Sigma Pi began before I even understood what it was or what it meant. One brother would always talk up her Fraternity. I’m not sure of my exact thoughts at the time. I’m sure it was something along the lines of “I don’t want to be part of a Greek organization…” That was my second semester freshman year. For thenext year, these people in this organization did so much for me, and I wasn’t even a brother yet. From guiding me professionally to adopting a dog for me, the people in this Fraternity were so quick to help me and guide me – and always selflessly too. So a year later, I made the decision to try to pledge, because I believe the best way to pay someone back is to pay it forward in the way (s)he would have done. Since then, my journey with Delta Sigma Pi has been phenomenal and has honestly provided some of the best times of my past four years. So, that’s the short story of how I went from being against joining this Fraternity into becoming a proud active brother.
And, in my time in the Fraternity, I’ve heard of reasons why people are hesitant to join (myself included). I wanted to “debunk” some of the major reasons why people don’t join.
- “I don’t have the financial freedom to do so.” Honestly, if this is the sole reason why you can’t join, don’t let it be. Money should never be the reason why you can’t/won’t join. Our dues are more than competitive compared to other Greek life. With many thanks to the hard work from the brothers, we have some flexibility in setting up payment plans.
- “I don’t have time during the week.” We have members that work full-time jobs, have 3-4 part-time jobs, have internships, and/or are involved in several student organizations. We pride ourselves in being as flexible as possible. The biggest time commitment is on Sundays, and these meetings are only twice a month once you’re initiated. During the pledging process, they are weekly. Other than the pledging semester, you will typically have the schedule for the next semester at least a month before the semester starts so you can always plan ahead with work if that’s the case. We have other obligations other than the meetings, but we are truly flexible with those and offer many opportunities.
- “I’m not interested in Greek life.” Well, I wasn’t either. However, I realized that this was a professional fraternity that placed a lot of focus on personal and professional development as it relates to the business world. Once I digested that, I understood what the Fraternity is really about.
- “It’s like taking a 3 credit hour class.” That’s absolutely not true. The pledging process involves weekly meetings as well as quizzes and a final. However! We literally give you the questions and answers word for word what you need to know and test you on it in the exact same order. We really try to make this as easy as possible. They’re not intensive at all. You’ll also have to plan four events (professional, fundraising, community service, and social) as a pledge class. These events can be as small as you want them to be or as big as you want them to be. You decide that as a pledge class and in committees.
If you were unsure about anything, I hope I helped made it more clear instead of more confusing. Think about joining Delta Sigma Pi. If you ask anyone who didn’t pledge his/her first semester freshman year what his/her #1 regret is, he/she will answer, “That I didn’t join sooner.”