By ANGELA MURPHY, CSU Communications Student Assistant

For the first time* in Fraternity and Sorority Life, both heads of recruitment are persons of color. Abi Saha and Megan Miland were both elected into their respective FSL positions as Vice President of Recruitment for the year 2022.

Abi and Megan will lead a team of recruitment counselors through summer training in preparation for FSL Rush Week(previously known as Formal Fall Recruitment) starting Aug. 25. Both remain passionate about creating a larger community and making the best out of the recruitment process for potential new members and the FSL community as a whole.

Why did you join FSL?

MEGAN: “I joined FSL through formal recruitment in the fall of 2019. I signed up for formal recruitment because I wanted to make lifelong connections, have leadership opportunities, and develop a support system at college.”

ABI: “I joined FSL through informal recruitment. The main reason that I joined my fraternity was because of the brotherhood during the recruitment process. Through that process, I got to meet lifelong friends. Fraternity & Sorority Life also provides you the opportunity to grow yourself as an individual, and as a leader. It helped me come out of my shell.  It also teaches you to give back to the community through community service, volunteership, and philanthropy.”

Why did you want to be VP of recruitment?

MEGAN: “When I originally joined I hated recruitment. I was extremely shy and never could have imagined myself doing this. With hesitation, I applied for my chapter recruitment chair and I fell in love with recruitment. So when the opportunity arose this semester, I decided I wanted to share my passion and love of recruitment with the FSL community.”

ABI: “I wanted to be VP of Recruitment because going through the process as a Bro Chi ( Recruitment Counselor) I enjoyed the whole process of recruitment. Through that process, you can help prospective members find their home among the various fraternities on campus. The big reason I ran for this position was that I also wanted to diversify FSL.  In my little, yet significant, time at FSL, I only received love, brotherhood and camaraderie from its members. I wanted to harness that energy during recruitment season and share that message onto new members about what they can experience in Fraternity & Sorority Life at Minnesota State University Mankato.“

What are the changes/goals you plan to bring to FSL and the recruitment process?

MEGAN: “I want to make recruitment as harmonious, fun, and inclusive as possible. Our recruitment counselors(Pi Rho Chis) will be attending a fun, interactive retreat at the end of the summer. I will be working with our recruitment counselors to make sure we as recruitment counselors are making Rush Week a positive experience for all involved. In addition to that, we will be having one scholarship that can be put towards part of the recipient’s first semester of dues.“

ABI: “Diversifying our community is one of the adjustments I’d want to see at FSL. I also want to improve people’s perceptions of fraternity and sorority life, which can be unwelcoming in general but not at Minnesota State University Mankato. During recruitment season, I’m making some modifications to the way Rush Week is organized so that it can be a joyful, inclusive experience for everyone. Some of the adjustments we’ve already undertaken include waiving the Fraternity Formal application cost. W,e as well ,will be offering scholarships to three students who go through formal recruitment that will cover their first semester of dues. I’ve also been able to diversify our Recruitment Counselor position (Bro Chi), which now has representatives from the majority of the chapters, with a third of them identifying as people of color.”

At Purdue they released a story a few weeks ago on international students who have joined FSL at their campus and their experience, you can read this story here.

*Records only go back to 2000, any records before we were unable to access/recover. Meaning this could be the first time in the history of FSL at Minnesota State University, Mankato that the heads of recruitment are both jointly POC’s.