TTYL, BLOGOSPHERE! It’s recruitment time!

Happy Monday, readers!

The Monday Musts are going on hold this week.

Why? BECAUSE IT’S RECRUITMENT TIME!

Instead of having a list of my fabulous happenings from this week, I am going to share with you posts about my sorority and about recruitment.

If you’re interested in recruitment, check out some of these posts about going through recruitment, about Alpha Delta Pi, and different aspects of Greek life:

WHY GO THROUGH RECRUITMENT?

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MY MONDAY MUSTS: RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE & DIAMOND DASH

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SET YOUR COLLEGIATE STANDARD

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AWESOME RECRUITMENT PICTURES {GUEST POST}

To find out more about going through recruitment, check out more on the blog.

I promise to be back next week with more posts and share with you all about the exciting new members of my chapter of Alpha Delta Pi.

Have an amazing week, readers! Keep sparkling!

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Awesome Recruitment Picture Ideas {Guest Post}

This guest post is courtesy of A Greek ConceptAmy Furrow is the owner of A Greek Concept an online retailer of licensed Greek merchandise. She’s got drive, heart, and passion – something Greek life is all about. From Sorority picture frames, tote bags, and jewelry, as well as Fraternity coolers, glassware, and travel accessories; A Greek Concept is filled to the brim with options for every Sorority sister or Fraternity brother. In today’s guest post the company talks about taking awesome photos for recruitment!

Taking an original photo is quite the challenge! Add 20+ people to the mix and it is a mind-blowing feat! Every year pledge classes take an outstanding amount of pictures together – and every year at sorority recruitment the same question is asked: “what should our pose be?” Although every sorority has standard poses, every once in a while you need something AWESOME to make your pledge class stand out… something that represents you! Here are a couple of awesome recruitment picture ideas to get you thinking of creative ways to pose!

 

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Big Heart

I mean… it speaks for itself on how fabulous this pose is! I love [get it?] the way each girl gets her own space and window to shine in, but together you comprise a bigger purpose!

 

Chapter Letters

Why not take the heart image from above but make your letters together instead? A creative way to also let the world know exactly who you are, this pose unites each pledge to the common cause! Strut those letters proud.

 

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Headshots

Instead of making it the largest picture of all time by including head-to-toe of each person, why not pose your pic of just faces? It lets those smiles shine bright, and be the major standout factor of the picture.

 

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Elementary Style

Although done separately and meshed together to make it one photo, this idea gives each pledge opportunity to express her personality! Being silly or serious grants the picture of your pledge class a fun, elementary school vibe unlike any other.

 

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Running

I. adore. this. picture. How much fun is this? ALL of the fun. It gives your picture movement and life, while still accurately representing your class! An added piece? I bet you’ve never seen a pledge class do a running pic [other than the photo I just showed you]. This means you’ll be unique and stand out in a crowd of pledge pictures!

 

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Laughing

The individuality of a laughing pic gives each girl her own style, while having a unified goal as well! It’s the best of both worlds when it comes to standing out and fitting in. Plus, it is a fairly accurate picture of what life is like with your crazy, fellow pledges.

 

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On Top of the World

That’s right – rooftop! How spectacular to have your pledge class photo framed on a rooftop, OR shot from the ground as you stand on the roof or balcony of your house. I simply love how on top of the world this makes a pledge class look!

 

 

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Shot from Above

A bonus of this shot is that everybody looks good from an above angle! Lots of skinny minnies for this picture.

 

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Balloon Love

What a superb shot of your colors in balloons! This way you get more than just pretty faces – a whole display of who you are! Added color always helps makes a photo better, and will only add pizazz to your pledge class pics.

 

It can be quite the toss-up of what to choose for poses. I suggest always asking for input from pledges, while having a few good poses in your back pocket for use if things go downhill fast!

 

Remember, you can also get ready for recruitment by purchasing some beautiful recruitment jewelry! Head on over to The Collegiate Standard and use coupon code SAMI10 to get 10% off your purchase. 

 

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“Big May Know Best, but Little Always Gets What She Wants”

This is a sponsored post, however, all opinions are my own.

One of the hardest parts about being home for summer from college is how much I miss my sorority sisters, especially my big diamond sister, Katherine, and my little diamond sister, Amber!

My big and little diamond sisters mean the world to me. They are my best friends, my biggest support system, and two of the girls who I know will be standing next to me, as bridesmaids, on my wedding day.

They are the two girls I always want to go out with on the weekends….

toadsThey are the two always supporting me – just like in this picture, right after I was announced as our chapter’s new social chair…

director of social enricvhmentThey are the two that I am with at every philanthropy event, like at our King of Diamond’s event…

king of diamondsThey are my rocks and my biggest support system, as you can see here at Relay for Life….

relay for life with bgcI can always be silly with them….

formal sillinessBecause at the end of the day, they are the greatest thing to happen to me since I came to Quinnipiac University…

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For any of you sorority women who understand the bond between a big and little sister, you may be experience #LittleProblems.

Don’t worry, because there is just a store – and Twitter account – to help you!

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Little Problems is all about promoting the incredible bond between a big and little sister / a big diamond and little diamond sister, being a proud Greek woman, and supporting your sisters, and supporting your letters.

The shop features decals, bows, and koozies, while the Twitter account, started in May 2012, offers a variety of tweets than any sorority woman can relate to.

When purchasing from the store, orders are processed within 24 hours of placement and then are shipped out on either Monday, Wednesday, or Friday. Shipping, for all products, is $3.0o. All sales are final and the site will also design custom koozies! For more information, you can check out the FAQ page here.

Do you know what it’s like to be a proud sorority women with such a close bond? If so, then you have to check out Little Problems to show off your pride!

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My Monday Musts: ADPis in Wonderland

Happy Monday, readers!

So this past Friday, my Alpha Delta Pi sisters and I celebrated our formal. As our Director of Social Enrichment, I was the one who planned formal – from coming up with the theme, doing decorations and guest lists, and every other possible detail you can think of. I love party planning, so no matter how stressful the event got, I still had an amazing time with my amazing sisters.

If you can remember back to our Great Gatsby themed semi formal, I shared ten of my favorite photos of the night with ten of my favorite Gatsby quotes in a special edition of My Monday Musts. Well, after how much success that post had, I decided to do one similar to that in honor of ADPis in Wonderland!

1. ”You’re entirely bonkers. But I’ll tell you a secret, all the best people are.”

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Most of you have seen my best friend, Ben, posted on here many times before. Ben is pretty much brother, so it was so great to have him along with a bunch of our other friends come and visit me and take pictures with me before formal!

2. “In my world, the books would be nothing without pictures.” 

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It was my little diamond’s first formal! It was so much fun taking on formal with Amber. Kisses to her for all the work she did to help me make it so amazing!

3. “We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”

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My favorite thing about my big diamond, Katherine, and little diamond, Amber, is that we can always be crazy and be our absolute selves around each other. So we can all be a little crazy together. And shoutout to our sister, Jess, for photobombing and making the picture even more entertaining!

4. “Curioser and curiouser.” 

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Who needs a boy when your best friend is your soulmate? Julia is my person, for all of you Grey’s Anatomy fans who are catching onto my lingo. We never got to go to prom together since we are in different grades, so it was so much fun to put on our senior prom dresses and go together!

5. “Where should I go?” “Well, it depends on where you want to end up.”

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Thank you Tony for keeping me laughing when anything got stressful and for all that you helped me with!

6. “No, I don’t mean impassible. Nothing’s impossible.”

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Not going to lie, Amber and I were taking so many awesome pictures. I’m so happy we got such awesome ones, like this hugging one, for our first formal together!

7. “How long is forever?” “Sometimes, just one second.”

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Besides our (honestly) candid laughing photo from before, we also needed a good smiling picture of us. Thank you for everything, J. I love you!

8. “I knew who I was this morning, but I’ve changed a few times since then.” 

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One of my sisters, Emily, brought one of our best friends, Megan, to formal with her! It was so awesome to have one of my non-Greek affiliated friends experience the night of a Greek organization, especially when it was an event I put on!

9. “That’s impossible.” “Only if you believe it is.” 

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So last year at formal, Katherine, and her big diamond, Katie, and I decided it would be funny to throw up some peace signs. It’s been a joke for the three of us for as long as I can remember. Now that Amber is my little diamond, we couldn’t help but take one as the four of us. Katie is a grad student at QU, so it’s so awesome that she can come back for events to take pictures with us!

10. “It’s the most curious thing I ever saw in my life!” 

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I love candid photos, so I just had to share this one of me and Sam. Just like Tony, Sam was able to help me so much when the event got stressful and even was there to wipe a few tears.

Next week, I will be back to my normal list of Monday Musts. Hope you enjoyed this special edition. If you are interested in more pictures of myself and my beautiful sisters, search #ADPisinWonderland on Twitter and Instagram.

Enjoy your week, readers! Keep sparkling!

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My Monday Musts, old sport

Happy Monday, readers!

If you could not tell from the title, this week’s Monday Musts are special – they’re “Great Gatsby” themed in honor of my Alpha Delta Pi “Great Gatsby” semi-formal on Friday! I wanted to share with all of you, readers, some of my favorite pictures from the memorable night. I decided to do so by sharing with you three of my favorite “Great Gatsby” quotes!

1. “Can’t repeat the past?…Why of course you can!”

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This is my favorite photo of the night with my two favorite people – my big diamond, Katherine, and my little diamond, Amber!

2. “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

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My little diamond, Amber, came over to my room before the pre-party for some cute pictures! We decided we wanted to take a “Great Gatsby” photo. This is what Amber, Rob, Connor, and I came up with!

3. “I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.”

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I decided to take my best friend, Connor, with me to semi!

Now, I know that My Monday Musts normally just contain three points of information. However, there are just too many quotes and too many pictures, that I’m going to break the rules, just like Jay Gatsby, and share more quotes and pictures with you all!

4. “I hope she’ll be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”

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One of the greatest parts of semi is taking pictures with my sisters and their dates! Here, my little diamond and I are with our friends Alex, Kathleen, and Kathleen’s date, Ray.

5. “In my younger and more vulnerable years, my father gave me some advice. “Always try to see the best in people,” he would say. As a consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgement.”

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Since I have been initiated into Alpha Delta Pi last semester, these are the girls that I have been closest to since day one! Katherine, Crystal (far right), and Crystal’s big diamond, Nikki have always been, and will always be, three of the girls that I am closest to.

6. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter–tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.”

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I don’t think any other photo from this night makes me laugh as hard as this one does! Rob, Amber, Crystal, and I thought it would be funny to pick Connor up for a photo!

7. “There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired.”

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I am so grateful to have Katherine as my big diamond sister!!

8. “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”

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And I am so thankful to have Amber as my little diamond sister!!

9. “It occurred to me that there was no difference between men, in intelligence or race, so profound as the difference between the sick and the well.”

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I’ll be honest with you readers – I took a lot of selfies at semi! My big diamond sister brought her roommate, Emily, to semi!

10. “Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope.”

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Overall, semi was a ton of fun and filled with many laughs and memories! Here I am laughing with my sister Lauren!

Remember, readers, a little party never killed nobody!

Enjoy the rest of your week!!

Note: I have used quotes from both the classic novel and the movie.

WHY GO THROUGH RECRUITMENT?

Happy recruitment season, ladies!

Here at Quinnipiac, recruitment season is underway! As the Theta Theta chapter of Alpha Delta Pi prepares for this exciting new time (I mean, bid day is like Christmas according to all the older members), I am refalling in love with my sorority each and everyday. I became a sister of Alpha Delta Pi about six months ago. Every single day, I am reminded that rushing and joining ADPi was the best decision of my life.

Are you thinking about going through recruitment at your school? If you have even the slightest interest in joining a sorority, I say to go for it! There are a bunch of reasons as to why you should going through recruitment, but here are my top ten!

1. You always always have someone to lean on, no matter the struggle.

Though the number varies from school to school, chapter to chapter, the fact stays the same: you will have a ton of sisters who you can always lean on. Whenever I am stressed, overwhelmed, sad, or just need a froyo date – I always have a sister I can go to . They’re willing to listen, to help, and do whatever they can to put a smile on your face. They are your support system, your rock. The bond that you share is so strong, that you will want to try and be there for every single sister.

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Meet my sisters Crystal, Morgan, and Erin (the one we are picking up)! This was taken at our spring photo shoot of my freshman year.

2. You receive a big diamond sister/little diamond sister – the greatest bond you will ever have with someone. 

I have featured my big diamond sister, Katherine, on here multiple times. Since I have yet to receive my little diamond, I decided I would also feature her big diamond, Katie. The relationship between a big diamond sister and a little diamond sister is the greatest bond there is, in my opinion. I tell Katherine absolutely everything – she is always the first to know my secrets, she is the person I go to whenever I need any form of advice, and she is the person I know I can always go to. Whether it’s bonding during our typical Dunkin dates or constantly snapchatting, I am so grateful each and everyday for this incredible bond I have with someone thanks to being in a sorority.

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Meet two of my favorite sisters – my big diamond sister, Katherine, and her big diamond sister, Katie. This is one of my all time favorite photos, taken at my first Black Diamond Ball – spring semester of my freshman year.

3. Whenever you just need a hug, someone is there. 

A day doesn’t go by that I am not hugging at least one sister – whether it be a hug just to say hi, a hug as a way of saying thank you, or just a hug to show how much I love them. As I said earlier, these girls are your rocks. In the photo below, I stepped out of my comfort zone and my incredible sister, Tammy, was hugging me to just show proud she was of me. You can see the emotion, the love, and the incredible bond between the two all through the photograph. There is nothing greater than a hug from your sister.

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Meet Tammy! This was taken just earlier this week during spirit week (hence the interesting clothing choice and fake nerd glasses on my head – we were trying to channel Macklemore for a “Thrift Shop” look).

4. There are so many exciting events you get to do because of being in a sorority – like Formal or Spirit Week!

Sorority life fills your planner with a bunch of social events – and with them comes so much fun! Who doesn’t love getting dressed up?! whether it be in your nicest formal dress or craziest costume possible! Trust me, it’s even more fun with your sisters. Being in a sisterhood event makes one feel so comfortable, so you’re willing to get crazy and go all out for Spirit Week. For formal, it means looking your best because you have tons of helping hands to help with your hair and makeup. These events will become staples in your life and some of your favorite memories – memories that would not be possible if you aren’t in a sorority!

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Meet my sisters Nicole, Alyssa, and Ali! We decided to get sleazy and had to look like Ke$ha for our Spirit Night last night! We pulled out all the stops – glittered face makeup, teased hair, and fishnets!

5. Sorority life is more than just about a social scene, it’s about being philanthropic.

One of the biggest aspects of being apart of a sorority is giving back to the community. Alpha Delta Pi’s philanthropy is Ronald McDonald House Charities. Besides just raising money, my sisters and I actually go to a local Ronald McDonald House. As a whole, your sorority will find otherwise to give back, besides just your philanthropy. Relay for Life is another event that means a lot to the Theta Theta chapter. Sorority life gives you so many opportunities to be selfish and give back to the community. You can help make a difference in this world. Best part of all, you have your sisters with you while you do it all!

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Here are a bunch of my sisters and I at our school’s Relay for Life event last semester!

6. It means getting to throw what you know!

Each sorority has a different hand symbol that they make with their hands. When you do your sign, you’re throwing what you know! It’s so cool to have something like this, something that only you get to do that represents so many people and so many values. Just something so simple represents more than any stranger would realize. It’s more than just a hand sign – it’s a lifestyle.

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Here my sisters Abby, Justine, and I are throwing up diamonds while our school was in the Frozen Four last semester.

7. It means endless dates with people that you will always love.

I don’t think it is possible for me to count the amount of sister dates I have gone on to Dunkin, for ice cream/froyo, and so much more. Dates with your sisters are just something small, but end up meaning so much. It’s during these dates when your bonds really form as you talk about your day, your secrets, and everything in between. They’re great opportunities to get to meet sisters, get to know others better, and to catch up with the ones you are super close to. In life, it’s more than just the big things – it’s the little things to. In sorority world, date nights with your sisters become one of those little things that mean so much.

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Say hello to Katherine, Alyssa and Crystal again – and meet my violet sister, Steph! We love going to one of the local ice cream places to catch up over ice cream. Spring semester, when this photo was taken, was filled with many ice cream dates. Yum!

8. Your class will always be a consistency in your life.

When you join a sorority, the other girls joining at the same time with you will be your class. Those girls will be with you for every ride along the way – such as initiation and new member period. When you’re nervous for something new, odds are these girls will be too. It is so nice to have a bunch of girls who are also apart of your sorority who are in similar shoes as you. These girls are your instant best friends and you spend so much time with them. They’re a constant. They’re always your class. Accepting your bid and everything you do from there after will be with those fabulous girls in your class.

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Here are some of the girls from my class – just being our fun selves! I can’t wait til we get the new class of girls who are just as fun!

9. Being in a sorority can benefit you after college.

Sororities are also great for connections. From your sisters, you are bound to meet others with your majors. Years down the road, when it comes to find a job or even getting an internship, a sister may be able to help you. Without being a sorority, you do not have this opportunity.  For example, of my sisters,  Nikki, and I are both very involved with our school’s student media organizations. Last March, we got to go into New York City together, representing our school, at the College Media Association’s spring conference. Together, we got to meet a bunch of people who will help us further our careers, like Willie Geist from NBC’s “The Today Show.” “Sparkle and Shine” has reaped benefits from me being in a sorority, such as being on Your Sorority Sister ‘Sorority Bloggers’ List.

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Unfortunately, the photo is blurry. However, meet Nikki! Here we are with Willie Geist from NBC’s “Today Show.”

10. You get to become involved with something bigger than yourself. 

First you become a part of it, then it becomes a part of you. Being a member of a sorority means more than anything I can ever sit here and try and explain to you. It means happiness, confidence, sisterhood, friendship, and so many more adjectives. It mean’s always having someone by your side. It means being the best you possible. Remember, your sisterhood is forever.

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Cute New Sorority Stickers from the Girls at Greek Cover Photo

My sorority girl self previously posted about Greek Cover Photo, a site that allows for free downloads of already made Facebook cover photos representing different sororities.

Well, the girls from Greek Cover Photo have now added a new feature to their site – the ability to purchase sorority stickers!

The stickers are absolutely so cute and offer a variety of different themes, ranging from

sorority (this one representing my sorority, Alpha Delta Pi) :

greek cover photo stickets

to monograms (what sorority girl doesn’t love her monograms?!):

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to plain decorative stickers:

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The stickers are perfect to give as gifts to your little/big, or to keep for yourself to put on your laptop or notebook. I know I am so in love with the flag with the diamonds on it to represent ADPi that I will probably end up getting that one to put on my laptop right next to my other Alpha Delta Pi stickers! With recruitment coming up, the stickers also work as unique name tags.

On all of the stickers, you can customize them with your name or monogram for free! How awesome is that?! (This is such a big perk if you do decide to use them as name tags for recruitment.)

If your entire sorority is interested, or even a big group of sisters, the girls from Greek Cover Photo offer free shipping and 20% off on bulk orders of 50 or more! Use the coupon code BULKLOVE at checkout today.

Visit the Greek Cover Photo’s sticker shop today to purchase your sticker!

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Show your Greek Pride with GreekCoverPhotos.Com

If there is one thing I love a whole lot in this world, it is my sorority, Alpha Delta Pi. I love to show off my sorority pride whenever I can – whether it be through wearing my Greek letter t-shirts, using my Lilly Pulitzer Alpha Delta Pi phone case, or just telling the world that I am a sister of Alpha Delta Pi.

That’s why when Nahal of Greek Cover Photos e-mailed me asking to discuss their new site on “Sparkle and Shine,” I just couldn’t resit myself! (Plus, Nahal turned out to be a sister of ADPi, as well! How cool is that?!)

So listen up, fellow Panhellenic sisters, because I have some information on a new way to rep your sorority!

Greek Cover Photos was recently created by Nahal Poormasjedian, Zainab Aliyu, and Brynn Zoellner on July 7. The goal of the site is to have sorority girls rep their letters on Facebook with the best cover photos possible, according to the site’s about page.

Right now, the site has 12 sororities represented with cover photos, but you can view 11 when you click on the sorority tab. When you go onto the site, click on the sororities tab to select your sorority. If your sorority is not listed, you can click on the blue “sorority not listed?” box to request that your sorority be added to the list. That way, every sorority girl can get the chance to show off your sorority pride in a cover photo!

When I saw all of the Alpha Delta Pi cover photos, I had such a hard time deciding on which one I wanted to use. They were all just so cute! After scrolling through all of the designs, I finally decided on the one with Luke Bryan’s “Sorority Girl” lyrics about ADPi on it:

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Once I decided on which cover photo I wanted, it was so easy to set it as my cover photo. All I had to do was click on it, which then brought me to a page that shows how it will look in a mock Facebook set up. Then, I hit “download cover photo” and it was saved onto my computer. Then, I went onto Facebook and changed my cover photo as I normally would. Nothing about it was complicated!

The cover photo fits absolutely perfect on Facebook. No part of the design is cut out, it is not stretched out, and does not look distorted. You can tell the girls of Greek Cover Photos took their time to make sure that their designs would look just right once they were on Facebook.

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I recommend to every sorority girl to check out the Greek Cover Photos site to download a cover photo to represent their sorority! It’s also a great burst of pride during recruitment season!

Enjoy representing your sorority, ladies!

Did you end up looking at the site? Did you download a cover photo? Which one did you pick? Let me know below!