Lexii Studley was looking for a place that embodied the tight-knit values she grew up with.
“My dad is still active duty and … the military community is really close,” the senior kinesiology major said. “I wanted something … that could also follow me around for the rest of my life, people that I could relate to.”
That’s why Studley chose Gamma Phi Beta, the newest sorority chapter at the University of Maryland, which had its bid day on Sunday and welcomed more than 150 new members, said Ashley Torres, a Gamma Phi Beta International Collegiate Leadership Consultant.
“We were really looking for women that exemplified our values of love, labor, learning and loyalty,” Torres said, adding the sorority had freshmen through seniors receive bids.
The Beta Beta chapter of Gamma Phi Beta was initially established at this university in October 1940 and closed in May 2000, according to the sorority’s website.
Torres said she believes the sorority left the university because it was not “receiving the support that we needed from our international headquarters or campus” and that “we strategically closed the chapter with the intention of coming back at a point where we knew we could be strong and give our members the unique experience that they deserved.”
One draw to joining Gamma Phi Beta is the potential to leave a lasting impact, said Stephanie Hughes, a sophomore chemical engineering major and new member.
“I was looking for something that was new and different,” Hughes said. “With Gamma Phi Beta, the fact that it was brand new, joining it [meant] you could really mold it into whatever you wanted it to be and set the tone and really build the backbone of the sorority.”
Besides the process of “getting our name out there,” Hughes said she doesn’t think her experience will differ greatly from that of girls in already established sororities.
Junior community health major Liana Stiegler also said she found the opportunity to be a member of the charter class appealing.
“It’s kind of neat that all of us are joining it together as one huge class,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to getting to know my sisters.”
The biggest difference between this sorority and others, Stiegler said, is that all of the sisters are getting to know each other at once, rather than the new pledge class getting to know everyone who already was in the sorority.
“We kind of have to carry ourselves a little differently because there aren’t girls who have done this before,” Studley said. “We really have to show Maryland the type of women that we’re trying to be and … show who them the sisters of Gamma Phi are.”
The recruitment process for Gamma Phi Beta was in five stages, according to the Panhellenic Association’s website. The first two rounds consisted of drop-in events and personal appointments. For the next round, the potential new members learned about the sorority’s philanthropy, Girls on the Run, which aims to empower young girls in elementary and middle schools. Then came preference round, which included members of James Madison University’s chapter sharing their charter member experiences, and finally there was Bid Day, Stiegler said.
Bid Day was “a really high-energy day” with several things happening at once, Hughes said. After taking a picture on the McKeldin Mall, the girls intermingled with other new members and spent the afternoon getting to know one another through talking and playing games.
“I thought it was really cool that Gamma Phi was really establishing itself … essentially I’m putting my mark on UMD,” Studley said. “This 2016 class will be able to shape Gamma Phi for what it will probably be known for, for years to come.”
