Greek life helps students network

Members of Pitt’s fraternities and sororities boast on their Web site that 48 percent of… Members of Pitt’s fraternities and sororities boast on their Web site that 48 percent of all U.S. presidents went greek in college, as did 42 percent of U.S. senators and 30 percent of all Fortune 500 executives.

But will joining a fraternity or sorority in college really help you land a job, let alone your dream job?

Members of the Panhellenic Council, which governs Pitt’s sororities, insist that going greek allows students to pump up their resumes and gain leadership experience.

Panhellenic adviser Kara Petro is writing her thesis on greek life and noted, ‘Extra-curricular activities, greek [life] being one of them, enhance the students’ sense of belonging to the University, their leadership skills and their development as a whole person.’

The responsibilities of greek life naturally hone fraternity brothers and sorority sisters for life after college, said Petro. For example, each chapter of a fraternity or a sorority has its own executive board, which includes a president, vice president and so on.

Chapter leaders must file paperwork with the University that details their conduct. Every year, sororities and fraternities can file paperwork for the Cathedral Awards.

Doing so requires the members to make a ‘comprehensive analysis’ of things like recruitment, risk management and education, said Petro.

There’s also the matter of actually planning recruitment and educational programs. Recruitment, Petro said, presents the most difficulty.

‘This is how they gain new members, so it is very important that they plan well and set a good example,’ said Petro.

The members must delegate tasks, know who is attending and coordinate ‘all the little logistics’ of general event-planning, all while doing their regular schoolwork.

Senior Lauren Cavalier said that she knows the process well. Cavalier serves as the alumni relations chair for Alpha Delta Pi sorority and interns at the Pittsburgh branch of the American Heart Association.

As an intern, Cavalier’s responsibilities include ‘assisting in the planning and execution’ of the Heart Ball and the Go Red for Women reception – events that the heart association hosts each year. Cavalier knew the Gala director, Mary Catherine Houser, because she is the recruitment advisor for Alpha Delta Pi.

Being in a sorority ‘opens doorways,’ said Cavalier.

She honed her interviewing skills when she went through the recruitment process and continued developing them after she became a sister. Alpha Delta Pi, like several other sororities, holds both resume-building and interview workshops for its members. And the sorority is ‘constantly contacted by alumni.’

‘Being greek is just a big networking tool,’ said Cavalier.

Phi Delta Theta fraternity alumnus Jordan Pallitto agrees. During his time as a Phi Delta Theta brother at Allegheny College, he met former brother and current CEO of the Hill Group, Chris Brussalis.

A few years later he contacted Brussalis and obtained an internship with the Hill Group, a management-consulting firm in Carnegie, Pa. Pallitto then went to graduate school at CMU, where Brussalis is an adjunct professor of management and policy. Last year the Hill Group hired Pallitto as a full-time consultant.

‘Greek life is an amazing thing,’ said Pallitto.’ ‘I don’t think there are any other organizations on the planet with such engaged alumni.’