Greeks join for bond, networking chances

When Jake Maxwell rushed his fraternity, networking was one of the factors he
considered.

At IU, 18 percent of the student body chooses to go greek, according to the Interfraternity Council. One of the points the greek system boasts during rush is help with networking, which can lead to job opportunities.

Maxwell, a sophomore in Alpha Epsilon Pi and student in the Kelley School of Business, is currently interviewing for internships, and he said going greek has helped him.

“We were the founding father class of AEPi,” he said. “So, a lot of times they see ‘founding father’ on the resume and they’ll want to know what that’s all about.”

One of the former presidents of Tempur-Pedic Management, Paul Coulis, was a brother in Phi Kappa Psi at IU. He recently returned to Bloomington to teach in Kelley, and he said going greek and serving on various committees in his house helped shape his life.

“That taught me that management was something that I enjoyed and something that I was good at,” he said.

He decided to rush Phi Psi as a senior in high school.

“I selected Phi Kappa Psi because that was a group of people who were as serious at getting as much out of school as I did,” Coulis said.

His fraternity also helped him find his wife, whom he met at a paired party.

Coulis said he needed the support of his brothers throughout college.

However, as far as networking goes, Coulis said he thought the skills learned in a fraternity were more important than the networking.

“You had to learn how to be tolerant of others, respectful of others, flexible,” he said. “I was just a different guy, and fraternity life helped me learn the skills of socializing.”

Hilary Carroll, a junior and a sister in Alpha Gamma Delta, said networking wasn’t a priority for her when she chose her sorority.

“It was more about helping set up a good college career,” she said. “I don’t think, in my case, (networking) really helps.”

Kirsten Turchan, an alumna from Kappa Kappa Gamma and a pediatric dermatologist, said networking wasn’t promoted in her sorority, either.

“When I was in a sorority, I think a lot of girls went to college to meet a boy and get married,” Turchan said. “A bunch of girls were in education, and then a small percent of girls were in business.”

She said networking might be important for business majors.

However, Turchan said the skills she learned were not irrelevant.

“I think it also just helped me from an organizational standpoint and just kind of gave me something totally different from what I was doing school-wise,” Turchan said.
 
Both Turchan and Coulis said being in the greek system gave them confidence and helped them improve their interviewing skills after going through the rush interviews.

Coulis said he couldn’t recall any specific incidents in which going greek helped him in his career.

“I think that fraternity and sorority people are at least as equipped as their competition,” Coulis said.

Maxwell said being a brother gives him a leg up on his competition in the career world.

“I mean, kids who don’t go greek obviously aren’t in a terrible spot, but the networking opportunities are huge,” he said. “If I’m in an interview, and the other person happens to be in AEPi, I would say that gives me a big advantage. It’s just the whole brotherhood aspect. Even if it was 30 years ago, the same traditions still hold.”