empowered WOMEN
TODAY'S sorority WOMAN Recent graduate Taylor Carey provides an insider's perspective at the ever-evolving collegiate member experience and a challenge to Tri Sigma to remain relevant to today's young women. Media and pop culture traditionally paint fraternity/sorority life and the typical “sorority girl” in a very particular way. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with the petite, white, blonde, women from the south you typically see depicted, that is simply is not my story.
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I am the exact opposite of this Hollywood-appointed mold—a curvier woman of color with dark, textured hair who originally looked at fraternity/ sorority life as a way to buy Epsilon Sigma–Virginia the company you keep. Yet, Commonwealth University after stepping foot on VCU’s campus in the fall of 2019, I was awarded a contrasting perspective, and I realized there I finally realized I was in a sorority the second was space for me, too. semester of my Vice Presidency. Of course, I Being a sorority woman in the last five years was already a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma compared to 1898—or even 20 years ago, for on paper and to those around me—but it truly that matter—is drastically different. If you ask did not hit me that I was a “sorority girl” until an American in 2023 to define who today’s soabout two years in and my misconstrued defirority woman is, you'll receive a diverse array nition of that term was irrevocably challenged. of answers from every corner of the country. Yes, I was intentionally and heavily involved But, to define is to confine, as equally as it is in my chapter, serving as Vice President of to specify. The humanity of an organization Operations, Fundraising Chair, and Diversity, like Tri Sigma comes from each of our personEquity, and Inclusion Chair during my three al experiences. active years in Sigma (along with other Today’s sorority woman is a culmination of the informal positions). Yes, I was a leader and years of work and dedication by those in our a representative of my chapter at Virginia community of well-rounded individuals and is Commonwealth University fraternity/sorority heavily influenced by societal changes. With events and philanthropy activities, as well as this in mind, I am the perfect representation of other campus engagements. And yes, I got today’s sorority woman. many questions from my own family asking
Taylor Carey
what a sorority even was—further evidence it was not originally on my radar.
However, in my journey to this realization, it came down to replacing expectations with the reality of what being involved with the Epsilon Sigma Chapter of Tri Sigma truly was to me. 14
FALL 2023
I can generally categorize my time as a collegiate Sigma sorority woman in four overarching seasons—the perspective-altering pre-recruitment, my non-traditional recruitment process, active collegiate membership, and my newly found position as an alumna.
Each season has been marked with change. As a freshman during the 2019–20 academic year, I only experienced around nine months of a true undergraduate experience before COVID-19 cast its shadow on the world. I am forever grateful for that semester and a half of relative normalcy, as it gave me—a non-affiliated student who defied the classic sorority girl trope—a glimpse into what sorority membership could look like at my university. I would be remiss if I didn't highlight the individuality of VCU’s Greek Life experience. Despite being situated in Richmond, Virginia—the historically controversial former capital of the Confederacy—VCU has grown to be synonymous with diversity and inclusion. This translates into the university’s fraternity/sorority community. Though relatively small in scale, it is a tight knit community of young adults who are steering change and figuring it out. On top of this, nearly everyone in a sorority at VCU will say the same thing: I had no intentions of 'rushing' until I physically came here. This goes back to my original statement of the sorority trope being challenged by the reality of what we could see with our own eyes from the outside looking in. We observed inclusivity where exclusivity was originally expected. We saw diversity when we expected conformity. Motivated by this new reality—along with an eagerness to get involved in my community and meet new people in the confines of a new normal—I took the leap. Along with a few friends, I went through the Continuous Open Bidding process as a sophomore in the fall of 2020 in hopes of making connections when campus life as we knew it was null and void. This new COVID-concious
