3 Real Life Skills I Learned From Theta
By: Rachael Hillier
Graduating from university and transitioning into life as a young professional is both an exciting and terrifying time. It’s full of ups and downs, small victories followed by big failures, and a search for an identity as more than just a student. Sometimes it’s really easy to feel like your whole life has led you up to this very moment, but you still feel completely ill-equipped for what the real world has to throw at you. I graduated from Western in the spring of 2018, and I can tell you firsthand that adulting is not a straightforward thing.
I’m fortunate, though, that my time as a member of Kappa Alpha Theta lent me a number of the skills that I’ve needed to keep my head above water in my first real job. To be quite honest with you, I’m not sure that I could have learned these skills anywhere other than Theta. I’d like to share three of the best things I learned from being in a sorority that have proven to be absolutely invaluable to me in the workplace.
#1: Understanding what it’s like to have people depend on you.
During my time in Theta, I took on a number of leadership roles because I felt so passionately about the organization. I served as New Member Director in 2016, and as Chief Recruiting Officer in 2017. Up until that point in my life, if I screwed something up or didn’t put enough effort in, the consequences of my actions solely affected me. I never really had to consider anyone else, which definitely isn’t the case for the rest of your life. As you grow older, your mistakes start to affect more people – your boss, your job, your family, and ultimately yourself. Being a chapter member and a leader in Theta taught me that I needed to take my roles seriously because things weren’t just about me anymore. If I screwed up, I would be letting 80 other people down, too. As a young professional, this has made me a more responsible and hardworking individual, and I have my sorority to thank for it.
#2: Balancing a million different things at once and learning to prioritize them.
It’s no secret that sorority women tend to have a lot of things on the go. Balancing school, a packed social calendar, chapter responsibilities, and then trying to find time for personal health and relationships on top of it all can be overwhelming. Before joining a sorority, I think my current workload would have gotten the best of me. Now, however, the massive workload sitting on my desk every morning doesn’t intimidate me. I feel completely capable of handling and prioritizing my projects because I’ve been doing it for four years already. (Hint: if you don’t already have one, a planner is your best friend!)
#3: Carrying a meaningful conversation with someone.
I absolutely cannot overemphasize how important this skill is in the working world. Too often, brilliant people find themselves held back from achieving their full potential because they just don’t know how to talk to people. While this comes naturally for some, it’s a learned skill for others. I definitely fall into the latter category, but my experience as a sorority woman forced me to become more comfortable with my social skills.
Going through recruitment (from both sides) teaches you so many valuable things about talking to strangers. Spending so much time with all of your sisters teaches you how to operate comfortably in a large group setting. You will face both of these potentially awkward situations in the working world on a regular basis and you will thrive in them because of the skills your sorority experience has taught you.
Sororities don’t exactly have the most serious reputation but the truth is, you can learn a lot just by being a member of one. Not only will you graduate with a group of lifelong friends who will support you through your best and worst moments, but you will learn a set of skills that simply can’t be taught in a classroom. Don’t just take my word on it, though – check it out for yourself!