"Rushing" into Life

My son was initiated into his fraternity Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) at the fraternity headquarters in Lexington Kentucky over the weekend. Transitioning from the military to college has been a challenging but exciting time for him. During his first semester he has maintained an excellent GPA, joined his fraternity and settled into a new life in a new state. I'm incredibly proud of him.

Fraternity and sorority life at American colleges and universities is often referred to as "Greek Life" from the Greek letters that make up the names of the organizations. During my son's "rush" period before he was initiated the fraternity required him to maintain a vigorous study schedule and minimum B+ grade point average, complete weekly hours of community service, attend university activities, study his fraternity's history and participate in a leadership role within his pledge class. Greek Life is not what every college student chooses to participate in but for many students it's a great experience both academically and socially.

My son is the 3rd generation in my family to participate in fraternity and sorority life while in college. My father was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon, my mother is a Sigma Sigma Sigma, my son's dad is a Delta Tau Delta and I am a member of Pi Beta Phi. After college life we've stayed active in alumnae groups for community, social and work related benefits. Like myself, my son went to college far from Chicago, knowing no one on campus and his fraternity will be a great source of friendship and support for him. I have a feeling he is going to enjoy his college years to the fullest, it's a once in a lifetime experience.