Joining a sorority has given me a lot of things. I’ve gained some of the best friends a girl could ask for, a sense of belonging, a house I’ll live in next fall and a set of morals and standards by which to live. Alpha Sigma Alpha has become something that I identify with. It’s a part of who I am now. For example, as I’m writing this, I have my Greek letters on my sweatshirt.

Besides all of this and possibly the most important, being in a sorority has given me a sense of philanthropy. During recruitment, each house discussed their philanthropies, which are essentially the charities that they partner with nationally. When I went to Alpha Sigma Alpha and they mentioned one of theirs was the Special Olympics, the sneaking suspicion that this specific sorority was the right one for me was confirmed. One of my closest friends in high school had a brother who regularly competed in the Special Olympics, and the smile it brought to his face was something I felt strongly about supporting.

I had attended other events, such as Delta Zeta’s Pancake Dinner, Delta Gamma’s Anchorsplash, Alpha Kappa Lambda’s Mac & Charity and Sigma Nu’s Pet the Huskies. Going to these events made me so excited for our event, Do It to the Crowd, an annual competition in which each willing house of Greek Row creates and performs a dance to compete for bragging rights (and a trophy but mostly bragging rights).

A date was set months in advance — April 4. The second I got that date, I put it on every calendar I could find. Each week as our event got closer, our philanthropy chair worked harder. I have so much admiration for all that she did. From creating a theme, to reserving a space, to gathering raffle baskets, to collecting every houses’ music, to coordinating 91 girls’ outfits, Taylor Scott killed it. I have so much respect for her and everyone else who has planned this event over the course of 26 years.

Tuesday night was the night. It all finally went down. The Duke Ellington Ballroom was absolutely packed, and the crowd’s good energy filled my heart. Watching most of Greek Row dance for our cause was better than I ever could have imagined. A few of my favorites were Delta Chi’s amazing “Grease”-themed dance, Delta Zeta’s “8 Mile”-inspired routine and Alpha Phi’s perfectly creepy “Suicide Squad” interpretation.

Everyone else did amazing as well. I’m pretty sure I was screaming happy things at my roommate next to me every five seconds. Months of waiting couldn’t even prepare me for how great I felt sitting in that room, seeing all of the support we had.

Overall, Do It to the Crowd was awesome but even more so as an insider. Knowing that it was my house, my sisters, my friends responsible for it gave me so much pride. I’m already looking forward to next year. I’d like to thank our judges for coming back to NIU for the event, the houses of Greek Row for participating and most of all, Taylor Scott for dedicating months of her life to making it happen. Thank you all for filling me with happiness and for supporting a cause that is so close to my heart, the Special Olympics.