Not long ago I was advised on more than one occasion by a number of different professionals that one of the best things I can do while still in college was to look into joining a fraternity. After spending some time researching this, I found it to make more and more sense. Students in fraternities and sororities have a higher academic retention rate and a better GPA. Outside of college, they make up 42 percent of Congress, half of the top 10 Fortune 500 CEOs, and almost every president since fraternities have existed. So I became intrigued enough to learn more about fraternities at Iowa State, and I eventually joined one.

But joining a fraternity was not easy for me. I did not know anyone who was in the greek community, at least not well enough to ask them about it. So I had to make a deliberate effort to contact recruitment chairmen at multiple chapters which I had researched and thought might be a good match for me. There are quite a few fraternities here at Iowa State, so this took a good amount of time. Making such an effort did make me feel more involved in the process, but it should not have been so challenging just to learn more about the greek community.

I learned later there is an easier way to find out about greek life here at Iowa State. In the fall, this year from Sept. 10 through 12, there is a formal fraternity recruitment session available for people in situations similar to mine who have no idea where to start. When I decided to explore the option of joining a fraternity, I was not aware this existed, and it would have saved me a lot of time and guesswork. I feel that there are many more people who would love to have this opportunity but are also unaware of the event’s existence.

As a member of a fraternity, I have gained insight into the recruitment process at Iowa State, and much of it is commendable. I am proud to be part of a university that is so supportive of its greek community, especially knowing this is very different from many other college campuses, where schools have even banned fraternities from active recruitment.

However, a lot can be done to improve this process. I have learned from talking with many other chapters all over the country that the resources given to fraternities here to use during informal summer recruitment are among the best. But that part of recruitment realistically only involves incoming freshmen. Many other people are interested, and I was one of them. I see fall fraternity recruitment as being an excellent way to give a more diverse group of people an opportunity to learn about the greek system.

Outside of formal recruitment, fraternities basically rely on who their members have met personally. It is good for members to get to know someone and befriend them before offering them a place in their chapter, but you shouldn’t have to know someone in the greek system to get this opportunity. Fall fraternity recruitment is meant to provide this, but there seems to be a lot of room for improvement in how students are made aware of it.

I can definitively say that the decision to join a fraternity has been one of the most significant I have made in my life, and one of which I am extremely proud. Because it has meant so much to me, I want to give as many people as possible the chance to make the same decision as I did. Every student at Iowa State deserves that chance if they want it, even if through it they discover they do not want to be part of the greek system.

There are some things in life that are only available to us for a short time, and going greek is one of them. For anyone at least a little curious, it’s worth exploring while the possibility still exists. Just sign up at the Greek Affairs website, greek.iastate.edu, and enjoy the experience. This event was created to help students learn about something new and different. Though not everyone who would like a chance to learn more about greek life will get it, hopefully in the future fewer students are left unaware of this potential opportunity.