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a bond between sorority sisters can only be made more special when those sisters come from the same biological family. a sorority legacy is a woman whose close relative, like a mother or a sister, is also a member of the same sorority. Like all sororities, omega Phi alpha has its fair share of legacies. over the years, women have seen their sisters go off to college and join oPa, or they’ve heard their mothers tell stories of their days back in college when they were part of the sisterhood. while each legacy has her own reason for coming to oPa recruitment, she soon finds that special bond.

amanda, sydney and emily rubenstein are siblings. sydney and amanda are twins and decided to attend Kennesaw state University and pledge oPa in Fall 2012. in their first semester, sydney met a woman in her anatomy and physiology class who happened to be in oPa. sydney knew she wanted to find a strong foundation of friends and quickly realized the sorority would be a good fit. after two years of hearing her older sisters talk about service projects and sisterhood activities, emily decided to give it a try when she got to KsU.

“oPa has had such a positive impact on my college experience, so i was really excited when emily decided to come out to recruitment. i couldn’t wait to see how her decision to join the sisterhood would mold her as a person,” sydney said. amanda added, “i believe that being in a sorority has strengthened our relationship because we have the same foundation, and by participating in our service projects and events we grow together.” The icing on the cake? emily is now amanda’s grand little.

as mother and daughter, charleene and Brooke Burgess are two sisters of oPa who graduated 37 years apart. charleene graduated from texas a&m in 1980. Her daughter Brooke will graduate from the same university in 2017. charleene is very proud of her daughter’s decision to join oPa. she said, “Brooke made her own decision to be involved on campus and to do so with a group dedicated to service work. i was very excited to hear that she was accepted as a pledge.”

Brooke decided to pledge oPa in the fall of her sophomore year because her mother had always spoken so highly of it and told her of all the great times she had. Brooke added, “one of my favorite parts of being involved in oPa is seeing how proud my mom is of me. it’s one more thing that we can bond over. i always look forward to calling my mom to tell her about the service projects i’ve done that week or about how much i love my sisters and my wonderful big.”

ellen ward and virginia willis are two siblings whose love of service has brought them together in oPa. ellen graduated from Kennesaw state University in 2012 with a degree in early childhood education. Her sister virginia will graduate with the same degree in 2017.

A Shared BondLegacies, mothers and sisters grow closer through OPA

Delta siblings Sarah (left) and Meagan Eckels at Meagan’s pledge initiation during Fall 2014.

Alpha Zeta alum Ellen (Willis) Ward (left) and her sister Virginia Willis.

Delta active Brooke Burgess (left) and her mother, Charleene (Ward) Burgess (right), attended the Texas A&M vs. Louisiana-Monroe football game on nov. 1. Charleene wore her old shirt advertising an OPA-sponsored dance marathon.

wINTER 2015 11

A Shared Bond

ALUMNAE

Legacies, mothers and sisters grow closer through OPA

by Kathy Andrusisin, (Alpha Theta), Chevron writer

“i chose to participate in recruitment, because i wanted to meet women with a heart for serving others and the community, just like me. my sister’s involvement with oPa influenced my decision to join, because she made so many awesome friends and had so many amazing opportunities helping the community and doing various service projects,” virginia said.

Part of the reason ellen joined oPa in Fall 2008 was to find a solid group of girlfriends, and that’s what she found. virginia shared a special moment she witnessed at ellen’s wedding a few years later. “at her wedding some sisters circled around her during the wedding reception and sang. i really thought that was sweet to have girls travel almost an hour away just to support her and honor her.”

Johrie and aspyn Fisher are two other sisters who found their relationship strengthened by joining oPa. The girls are two years apart, but it wasn’t until Johrie went off to college that their relationship grew stronger. “i think oPa was the cherry on top. now we’re closer than ever!” Johrie said. as a junior at northern arizona University, Johrie loves helping people, and that’s why oPa was such a perfect fit. it’s also the reason she chose social work as her major.

For aspyn it took more than hearing about her older sister’s fond memories for her to join. aspyn wasn’t sure that she wanted to join, but once she came to recruitment, she fell in love with the sorority. “she didn’t force me to join. she let me try it out on my own, and decide for myself. i really appreciated that,” aspyn said.

as the sorority gets older, more and more legacies will find their way to oPa. Because of this, certain guidelines have been put in place to ensure that bids are given out to the best and brightest potential new members in the fairest way possible. while some oPa chapters have nonselective recruitment, the majority of chapters now have selective recruitment. in the Fall 2014 semester, alpha Theta was the most selective, giving bids to 37 percent of the girls who attended recruitment. some chapters take large pledge classes, while others take small pledge classes, depending on the current size of the chapter. The average number of potential new members that attended recruitment in the fall semester was 33, while the average number of bids extended was 22. chapters are now required to set a maximum pledge class size

prior to recruitment. This, in addition to other guidelines, was set up to make sure that oPa chapters were all holding their recruitment events to the highest standards.

it’s important for a legacy to make the chapter aware of her legacy standing prior to recruitment. while oPa legacies are very likely to get a bid, potential new members still have to show their sincere desire to join the sisterhood and must follow all the same requirements as other pledges once they have been given a bid. in the Fall 2014 semester, 10 women decided to continue on their family legacies in oPa. if you were an oPa legacy, we’d love to hear from you. Please email alumnae@omegaphialpha.org to share your story.

Aspyn (left) and Johrie Fisher of Alpha Alpha Chapter.

rho Chapter legacy sisters Bailee (left) and Madison Correro.

Alpha Zeta member

Amanda rubenstein (left)

with sisters Emily (center)

and Sydney at Big/Little reveal in October.