As an incoming freshman to the College of Charleston in August of 2007, I did not know a single other person nor had I ever been to Charleston aside from orientation. I was placed in College Lodge with an unfavorable roommate. I was every parents nightmare, as I had nothing good to say about my new situation. Before school started, considering the fact I didn’t know anyone, I decided the best way to go about making new friends was to immerse myself into the campus and what better way than Greek Life. Although I had no interest in joining a fraternity, I went to a few Greek events including the Greek fair (Cougar Carnival) behind Addlestone library. It was at this point in time that I first saw a glimpse of an environment and group of people that I could see myself associating with. I met so many “stand up”, genuine people from multiple different fraternities/sororities that I was intrigued to give rush a try. From there I went from knowing no one and having nothing to do, to meeting hundreds of people; many of which were calling/texting me to come hang out. Although to many this may have seemed like a facade, this gave me a hospitable and welcoming experience. Within the first two weeks of school I went from hating college to believing it was the best thing since sliced bread. Since then my involvement and affiliation in Greek life here at the college has taken the snowball effect. I have met more and more people, learned of and participated in events I wouldn’t have otherwise, and stepped outside of myself. It has also provided many opportunities to assume leadership positions within my fraternity, our internal events, or school sponsored events. In many ways the influences of SigEp have acted as stepping stones towards higher education and self awareness. Observing the accomplishments of surrounding brothers, taking on responsibility in leadership roles, and team/group oriented events have all driven me to act and become a more qualified and knowledgeable individual. In my three years of experience, I have taken away countless lessons that can and will easily be applied to life after college. I was a three season varsity sport athlete in high school. Therefore, coming to college and having roughly three hours of class Monday through Friday left me with more free time than I had ever previously experienced. With such a flexible schedule, the need for organization and determination disappeared. As such, I needed to fill in the gap and did so by joining SigEp. My involvement in SigEp essentially acted like a year round varsity sport, as it had a large time commitment and reaped endless rewards. Simply stated, SigEp keeps me motivated and driven as it structures my free time effectively and efficiently providing me with worthy challenges and goals. If it hadn’t been for SigEp, I probably would have transferred within the first month.

– Bob Pruett ’11, Economics