A lot of people coming into college wonder why they should join Greek life. Particularly students who are as academically and professionally motivated as Georgia Tech students wonder why they should introduce that distraction into their lives. First of all joining greek life does not mean you are going to be partying constantly and not focusing on your classes. But this post isn’t about debunking all the misconceptions many people have about Greek life. It’s about all the awesome ways Greek life has influenced everyone in it and given us truly the most memorable college experience we could have asked for and how it can also give you an equally rewarding experience. We asked three of our current brothers to share why Georgia Tech Greek Life is important to them and the rest of the community and here is what they had to say:
Why did you decide to join a fraternity?
Patrick Schulman
“When I first came to Georgia Tech, I didn’t want to rush. But then my roommate was going out to rush so I decided to join him. When I started meeting people in fraternities at rush, I realized it was something I really wanted. I saw that it would give me connections, leadership experience, as well as friends that would be with me for the rest of my life.”
Walter Kopacz
“I was pretty against it at first. I had never imagined myself as a fraternity guy, but over the summer before I came to Georgia Tech, I came up to an fraternity event that somebody had invited me to and I quickly saw how friendly everyone was and saw that everyone had a drive to be the best they could be and that’s what I wanted to surround myself with so I came out to rush in the fall and it’s made all the difference.”
Jacob Sloman
“When I first started rushing, I wasn’t sure if I was meant to join a fraternity. But after a series of interactions with different brothers, I saw that these people cared about each other and had a lot of depth to them. I knew they would care about me and provide me with a lot of unique opportunities.”
How has Greek Life helped you personally?
Patrick Schulman
“First of all, academically I wouldn’t be in the good position that I am now. Joining DU gave me access to older brothers who had taken many of the classes I was taking and were able to help me with the work I was doing. You’re always able to drop by the house and ask brothers questions about a class. I don’t know any tutors that are available late at night but I can always drop by the house and get my questions answered there. Socially, Greek life has given me the people I get to experience college with. College is supposed to be the best four years of your life and Greek life gave me the people that are helping make it the best four years of my life.”
Walter Kopacz
“When I came to college, I didn’t really know anybody. No one else from my high school was coming to Tech from my grade so I was really on my own, but Greek life gave me the best group of friends that I could ask for. It was really cool when I first joined DU that everyone wanted to get to know me. I had never met these people before coming to college but everyone was so welcoming and just wanted me to be a part of their lives and that was so cool to me.”
Jacob Sloman
“Greek life has helped me in a lot of different ways. When I came to Tech, I was looking for a research opportunity and one of my older brothers walked me through the process of finding that opportunity. Greek life has also given me some of the most fun times in my college career by turning some small thing that we came up with into a really fun event that we all got to enjoy. Also, I’ve gone through some rough times and my brothers have always been there to pick me up and help me through it.”
Why do you think greek life is important?
Patrick Schulman
“I think one of the things that makes Greek life so great is the ability to rally people around anything and achieve things that are unimaginable for the average person. Anything from raising over $20,000 for children’s cancer research to building a beach in your backyard, we can really achieve anything.”
Walter Kopacz
“Greek Life gave me a place to come home to at the end of the day to unwind. Tech is challenging and that’s no secret, but DU really gave me a group of people to fall back on. We always find ways to lift each other up and help us do well academically, professionally, and socially.”
Jacob Sloman
“Greek life is important because it brings people together. If you direct their energy toward anything from fundraising to service to supporting the local community incredible things are going to happen.”
Why do you think someone should join Greek Life?
Patrick Schulman
“I would say anyone should consider joining Greek Life for both the personal and professional connections it gives you. On the one hand you can get jobs and internships through the network of current brothers and alumni but on the other hand you’re also meeting the people that will probably be the groomsmen at your wedding and that’s something really special that I don’t think I would have gotten without Greek Life.”
Walter Kopacz
“The kind of person that should consider joining Greek life is someone who is trying to achieve great things and get the most out of their college experience. Greek Life really helps you to amplify who you are and become the best version of yourself whatever that may be. In Greek Life you will achieve incredible things that you could not achieve alone or with any other group of people. If that’s what you’re looking for you should definitely look into joining Greek Life.”
Jacob Sloman
“The Greek community gives you so many opportunities both during your college career and beyond. It will give you professional connections later on in life and so much fun during college. College gives you four years to do anything you want and Greek life will open up every avenue for you to experience it to the fullest.”
Everyone at DU sees the positive effects of Greek Life and is thankful for the opportunities it gives them. If the words of these brothers resonated with you, consider coming out to rush this fall to see first hand what it’s all about! If you would like to receive updates on our Rush schedule fill out the form found here.
