A bid to build community

By Kyle Hobstetter on February 11, 2021

One of the biggest benefits of Greek Life is finding a community. That’s what made senior Maddie Virgilio want to pledge to a sorority.

During her sophomore year, the elementary education major from Westchester, Pennsylvania, felt like she was missing her connection to Towson University, one she found with TU’s chapter of the Alpha Chi sorority.

“I wasn’t expecting anything magical or to even be super involved, but it’s been an incredible experience,” Virgilio says. “You’re pushed into the Towson University community. And through that I now have all these memories. Had I not joined Greek Life, I most likely would not have been participating in all these campus events that will benefit me in the long run.”

Now Virgilio wants to help others find that sense of community. That’s why she joined the Towson University Panhellenic Association executive board as the vice president of recruitment.

Joining Virgilio in planning the recruitment process has been senior Christina Repetti, director of recruitment counseling. The Long Island, New York, native had a different reason for wanting to join a sorority: Her older brother was in a fraternity, and she saw how much Greek Life students helped in the community.

Her experience with Delta Phi Epsilon has anchored her at TU.  

“Being able to participate in things like The Big Event, Greek Sing, Dance the Madness and our philanthropies has been amazing,” Repetti says. “I love to be involved in everything, and every event I can be possibly involved in. I am there for it 100%. I just love it.”

As part of the Panhellenic Association’s recruitment team, Virgilio and Repetti want to show potential members what joining Greek Life can be like.

When the pandemic dispersed the campus community throughout the country last year, they took the recruitment process online.

At the start of the fall term, Virgilio and Repetti reached out to other universities and Panhellenic executive boards for advice. That’s how the duo decided recruitment, social and fundraising events would take place through Zoom.

Since Feb. 3, Virgilio and Repetti’s efforts convinced more than 200 women to sign up to go through the bid process, which culminates on Feb. 14.

While it would be easy to take the credit, they are quick to point out it was a team effort. This includes the new executive board that took office in January and numerous recruitment counselors from the 10 Panhellenic sororities at TU.

“It’s a big production, and it’s amazing to work with everybody because they understand that recruitment is our biggest event of the year,” Virgilio says.

“The executive boards were always so willing to help not matter what,” Repetti adds. “It really shows how determined we were and how much we really care and support each other.”

The two also credit the help from the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life, including Panhellenic Association adviser Taylor Sevik and the office’s graduate assistant Morgan Welch.

Sevik ‘15, a Theta Chi alumni and former Greek life member himself, was proud to watch how the recruitment process came together.

“Maddie and Christina have done a truly phenomenal job in their role,” Sevik says. “They have taken this as an opportunity to be creative and innovative instead of having a negative outlook. They handled all of the challenges with ease. Although there were many late nights and extra Zoom calls, the women have really pulled it off.

“As a staff, we are continually proud of our students as they navigate these challenging times, and, through it all, it shows the importance of fraternities and sororities on our campus.”

Towson University features 48 recognized fraternities and sororities that have a population of more than 2,800 students. To learn more about Towson University Greek Life, follow their Facebook and Instagram pages.