Millikin University’s Greek Life recruitment is underway, with the university’s three sororities welcoming students to explore siblinghood, leadership opportunities, and campus community.
The sororities at Millikin are Alpha Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta (Tri Delta), and Pi Beta Phi. Each house holds its own principles and philanthropy and is seeking new members who are excited to join their siblinghood.
However, with three different houses to choose from, finding the right fit can feel overwhelming.
To better understand what sets each chapter apart, I sat down with all three presidents to learn about their values, culture, and what new members can expect during their time in the house.
Alpha Chi Omega
Founded at Millikin on May 9th, 1913, Alpha Chi Omega centers its chapter on siblinghood, leadership, and service, offering members a supportive environment to grow both personally and academically.
Known on campus for its strong sense of community and commitment to its philanthropy, the organization provides students with opportunities to get involved, build lasting friendships, and develop skills that extend beyond their college years.
Addyson Ficek was recently selected to run for president of Alpha Chi Omega after the past president encouraged her to run.
“I was always interested in running for an executive position,” Ficek said. “I personally at first didn’t think about running for president until our outgoing president, Leah Flint, reached out to me and [said], ‘I think you’d be an amazing president.'”
Alpha Chi Omega is described as a very comfortable house and is easy to enter. The house is full of different characters, which allows for new experiences.
Ficek described her first experience in the home as positive and mentioned how everyone always has a smile plastered on their face.
“I felt [comfortable] in the house as soon as I stepped in the door,” Ficek said. “It’s really, really fun… There wasn’t anyone without a smiling face; everyone was happy to be there.”
Alpha Chi Omega is also very prominent in the community and very passionate about its philanthropy. They focus on domestic violence awareness and hold their own events, the Carnation Carnival and the Color Run, to raise money for the cause.
“I personally love our [philanthropy] because we directly impact our local community,” Ficek said. “There is not an Alpha Chi Omega chapter where there is not also a domestic violence shelter… So the fact that we are directly impacting the community we are living in is a crazy cool thing to be a part of.”
Alpha Chi Omega is looking for new members but is also aware of what’s best for each member. Whether you feel at home at Alpha Chi Omega or if another house is best for you, then that’s where you should go.
“Go where you feel most comfortable,” Ficek said. “So if Alpha Chi is that for you, I’m so happy; if that’s not Alpha Chi, that’s perfectly okay too, because I know any chapter is happy to have [you].”
Pi Beta Phi
Pi Beta Phi was founded alongside Tri Delta in 1912 at Millikin, with the primary goal of fostering friendship and developing integrity and intelligence in young women, which is the cornerstone of the house and the way they treat one another.
Pi Beta Phi also gives back to the community and regularly completes over 100 service hours per semester. The organization offers many ways for young women to grow, volunteer, and give back to the community.
Mckenna Sharkey would join Pi Beta Phi as a sophomore and is a legacy. Her mother and aunt are Millikin Pi Beta Phi’s. She took the president’s role after a random suggestion from a friend, and then everything worked out.
“I had been thinking about it for a long time, but I didn’t know if it was right for me,” Sharkey said. “But my friend mentioned it out of the blue, ‘How would you feel if you were in that leadership position?’ I was like, ‘I would want to do what’s best for my chapter,’ so it all fell into place… It doesn’t feel like something I have to do, but something I get to do.”
Pi Beta Phi focuses a lot on the friendships they make and being there for one another, no matter the circumstances. They share a very close bond within the house and even have an open-door policy to help members bond better.
Laughter fills the house, making it feel like home and like they have actual siblings.
“Really building each other up,” Sharkey said. “Making sure we are always our siblings’ biggest supporters, helping at their highest highs or their lowest lows, being there when they need someone to talk to, when they need someone to hold them accountable, just someone to be a truly good, sincere friend… Two of my very good friends have an open-door policy called the ‘sunshine room’ in their home. There are so many people in there, and you can hear laughter through the walls… Very comforting, in a way, feeling this level of siblinghood around you all the time.”
Sharkey values the little moments in the house and recognizes them as her favorites, whether it’s a simple Polar Pop run or just being together. She shared that, even though college can be stressful, the moments she spends with her sorority siblings enhance the overall experience.
“There are so many big things with events or chapter, but it really is all about the little moments,” Sharkey said. “We commonly go on Polar Pop runs or go to Target, and you don’t think of those as significant moments in that moment, but then all of a sudden you’re dying laughing, like tears falling down your face, and you go home, and I realize how lucky I am to be there and be surrounded by that. Obviously, college is tough, but I have found that being in Greek Life has significantly increased the value I have seen in my college experience.”
Pi Beta Phi engages with the community and focuses heavily on its philanthropy, childhood literacy, through events each semester. But they also have their own small ways of helping the community that mean just as much to them.
“We have our little library in front of the house, which I didn’t realize how important it was until this year,” Sharkey said. “I was going to rehearsal one day, and all of a sudden this group of kids with two adults came up to us, and they just started asking us about all the books in there… I’ve never seen kids so eager and excited to take a random book out of our box. We went to rehearsal, and I was like, ‘Why am I emotional?’ Being able to see directly in that moment how it affects the Decatur community was really special.”
Sharkey is a strong advocate for joining Greek life, whether it’s Pi Beta Phi or another organization. She believes it can help you grow as a person and experience a fun, healthy way to build outstanding bonds.
She said that choosing a house that fits you best is important.
“It really is different for everyone getting involved. Obviously, for me, I was looking for a home away from home,” Sharkey said. “It really comes down to people wanting a community and exploring it through a different house because every house is different… When you join a sorority, you’re not just becoming closer to the sisterhood… Even though all the houses are different, they were connected by the want for community in the first place, and seeing that flourish, especially now, is beautiful.”
Delta Delta Delta
Delta Delta Delta (Tri Delta) was founded in 1912 and established with three main goals: truth, self-sacrifice, and friendship.
They use these to develop better young women and the community as they provide through their philanthropy.
Megan Dunscomb is currently the Tri Delta president and is a legacy. Her mother was also a Tri Delta at Millikin University. She also developed a connection to philanthropy through her cousin, who was at St. Jude.
She knew the role of president was meant for her, as she believed she was a good leader.
“Since I was a freshman, I knew Greek Life was for me, maybe because of how I was raised, but it was essential to me,” Dunscomb said. “Even in high school, I was in a lot of leadership positions, so I knew joining the chapter [and becoming] the president of Tri Delta was something I wanted to strive for. So it was essential to me to get to that leadership role.”
Tri Delta has three central values: truth, self-sacrifice, and friendship.
They aren’t just a saying to them; they’re a lifestyle, as they’re required for being a good sorority member in the house. Dunscomb describes the traits as having been implemented from the jump, and this is what has led these young women to grow into better people.
“We are truth, self-sacrifice, and friendship,” Dunscomb said. “That’s something that we look for in new members. Because those are the things that we all feel we have built on. Truth is definitely fundamental because if you want to help people evolve into truthful human beings and understand the value of being truthful, as well as how it can affect other people… Self-sacrifice obviously [plays a role] in leadership. Our table event and the stuff that was quite impromptu took up time during the day, and all of our members need to understand why we do what we do and why our purpose with Tri Delta is important… Obviously, people enter college wanting to find friends, and after college, as well as during their college experience, so having those friends and things with that core value of knowing friendship and how important it is to our house.”
These have all allowed for a siblinghood to bond, but more than that, Tri Delta has incorporated some of its own techniques to stay closer as a house. Megan was very pleased with how the siblinghood amongst the girls has been and how they continue to keep such a great home.
“It’s very close-knit,” Dunscomb said. “We have a lot of different channels that we communicate on, whether it’s business [or] funny things that are happening, [and] we also have a Snapchat story. So I think all of those, informal or not, help each other out… It’s also imperative that, as you enter the chapter and get integrated into the friendship aspect of it all, people on campus are constantly saying hi to you, even if they see you in the hallway… My favorite thing is definitely at the end of the day, we all come together on our couches, just impromptu, nothing formal, talk about what’s going on in our lives, creating such a strong bond between all of the members and things, no matter the background.”
Tri Delta is also very active in its respective philanthropy, which is its partnership with St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. They run multiple events to raise money for the cause, with their biggest one being Delta House of Pancakes (D-HOP).
“Our most popular one is D-HOP,” Dunscomb said. “Which is raising money directly for St. Jude’s. That is fantastic; we have raised thousands of dollars for them, and it’s really cool to see that total sent to them. That is like an all-hands-on experience and stuff for our members, which is an obligation but really doesn’t feel like one. Which is fantastic.”
Dunscomb, however, values her house and feels that the connections made among the houses set Tri Delta apart.
“The thing I think sets apart all three houses, which I can only speak of in Tri Delta, is that we are all genuinely close to one another,” Dunscomb said. “I think people who are looking for maybe friends outside of majors, that is something that you can get in the Tri Delta house.”
Important Knowledge
The sororities are different, but the houses are closer than ever and are looking for recruits, no matter which home you enter.
“Especially this year, there is a lot of Greek Life support,” Ficek said. “Everyone is friends with everyone. I always see Pi Phi or Tri Delta coming to our house.”
Recruitment season has begun, and each house is eager to welcome interested candidates. The most common advice shared was to keep an open mind and enjoy the experience.
Even if you think you already have a favorite, stay open to the possibility of something unexpected—you may discover a place that feels even more like home.
Embrace the excitement of this new chapter and take the opportunity to meet the people who could soon become your siblings.
