Hello again. My name is Mary Beth Rice and I am the mother of a potential new member going through recruitment this month at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Mary Claire is my oldest and only daughter so both of us are transitioning to a new place; she is leaving home and setting off on her college adventure and I am trying to redefine my role as her mother and as a mother who will now be living with only people heavily laden in testosterone?! (My very own Guy land?) Off topic but, seriously, if you have sons you must read the book Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men by Michael Kimmel. My friend suggested I dive right into it to try and save my men as a diversion from my melancholy mood brought about by Mary Claire leaving the nest?! Couldn’t hurt…and the book, so far, is enlightening yet sobering.
I describe myself as Panhellenically ”well rounded”since I am a Delta Gamma with a Pi Beta Phi mother, an Alpha Phi sister in law, a dear Tri Delta aunt, a Pi Beta Phi cousin, and a Gamma Phi Beta niece. My husband, Rich (a Sigma Chi), and I have four children ranging in ages 8 to 18 and their Godparents are comprised of two Delta Gammas, a Gamma Phi Beta, a Kappa Kappa Gamma, a Sigma Alpha Epsilon and a Sigma Phi Epsilon. Many of my close friends in Lincoln happen to be Kappa Alpha Thetas.
I have enjoyed volunteering on our local Delta Gamma Advisory Team, serving as Chapter Advisor for a number of years and have always been a member of our local Alumnae group. At UNL I have also served the Panhellenic office in a number of roles and have provided leadership training for the 40+ recruitment guides on campus who assist the potential new members each fall in having a memorable and successful experience. When I am not mentoring, transporting, or mothering the four young people in my life, I facilitate relational retreats for various groups and social leadership/etiquette seminars for youth. I recently wrote a seminar curriculum for middle school students entitled CLASS: a social requirement for youth and teensTM.
I share these things about myself with you because I want to bring home the point that the Greek system has enriched my life with so many wonderful relationships! My wish for Mary Claire is that she has an incredible recruitment and sorority experience that will provide that spark in creating her own lifetime friendships. Friends ask me if I desperately want her to be a Delta Gamma. Of course, there would be nothing more special than to have her share that bond with me, but what I want the most for her is to find that group of women with whom she can be totally authentic …where the chemistry is so ‘on’ that deep relationships are forged immediately and last forever. If that means that she is a DG, then we will be doubly blessed. More on all this later…I look forward to hearing from you…