Just in case you have never heard of it before, Phi Sigma Pi is a gender-inclusive national honor fraternity whose members embody the ideals of scholarship, leadership and fellowship. In order to join, a person must first have at least a 3.0 GPA and have taken at least 12 credit hours prior to rushing. After going through the rush process, the current brothers decide whether or not the potential new member should get a bid.If the person decides to accept their bid, they go through the initiate process and afterwards they officially become a brother.

By joining Phi Sigma Pi, I have been able to meet so many different kinds of people, grow as a person and become more confident when it comes to speaking in front of crowds. If you need any more reasons on why you should consider rushing then keep reading.

1. It's gender-inclusive

Basically, this means that if you are a human being with at least a 3.0 GPA and have taken at least 12 credit hours then you can rush. Having both guys and girls in the fraternity makes it really unique because only one other fraternity on campus is gender-inclusive. It is not unusual to have a girl with a big who is a guy or a guy with a little who is a girl, and vice versa.

2. Any major can join

I'm a business major, so all of my classes are in the basement of one building. If I had not rushed Phi Sigma Pi then I would have probably never met very many people outside of my major.We have almost every major represented in the fraternity, everything from Business to Art to Criminal Justice to Science to anything else you could think of. This really comes in handy if you are struggling in a class and need help or need recommendations for which classes and professors to take.

3. You can go Greek and go Geek

Phi Sigma Pi is non-Panhellenic, which means that it is not a social fraternity. This means that if you wanted to you could be in both Phi Sigma Pi and a social sorority or fraternity. It is an honor fraternity, so you could also be a part of it and a part of a service fraternity. We have brothers who are also in service and social fraternities.

4. There's an emphasis on academics

One of Phi Sigma Pi's ideals is scholarship, which is seen in the 3.0 GPA requirement needed to rush and must be maintained in order to stay an active brother.

5. You can almost always find people to study with

It's hard to go to the library, Hoag student center, or even Chow and not find another brother or a group of brothers studying. Even if you all are not studying the same thing they can help to keep you accountable to make sure that you are studying.

6. The Rush process itself

The way we do Rush at UNG is that the potential new membersgo to a variety of different events during a two week time period. After Rush is over, the current brothers will then vote on who they want to give bids to. The Rush events range from service events like baking or cleaning up the parking deck to leadership building skills to sports like Human Fooseball. They are pretty chill events and are meant to allow the potential new members to get to know some of the brothers. The more events you go to the more brothers you will meet and the higher chance you have of receiving a bid.

7. The initiation process

The initiation process here at UNG is very unique because it gives the initiates a chance to really get to know the current brothers on a one-on-one basis through interviews. It also allows the initiates to bond as a class because they are required to plan a couple of events. It seems like a lot of hard work at the beginning but it is actually a lot of fun and not too difficult.

8. Big/little reveal

Just like with sororities and fraternities, Phi Sigma Pi also allows you to kind of form a little family within the fraternity. During the initiation process you get to choose a big from any of the eligible brothers. When you choose your big you are kind of adopted into one of five different families, and as more and more people join the fraternity the larger the families get.

9. Intramurals

This is honestly one of my favorite things about Phi Sigma Pi. Like many other organizations we participate in intramurals, which are basically sports against other organizations on campus. We play sports like ultimate frisbee, basketball, flag football, soccer, corn hole and many brothers' personal favorite: inner tube waterpolo. They are a really great way to take a break from the stress of college and hang out with some pretty chill people.

10. Cheaper dues

Our dues are significantly cheaper than other fraternities which is nice because college itself is not cheap. First semester dues are around $235, but they go down to $105 a semester after your first semester.

11. Brother hangouts

These can be anything from going out to dinner to watching Marvel movies to throwing a frisbee around when the weather is nice. These are nice because they can be pretty informal and allow you to really get to know your fellow brothers.

12. Leadership Opportunities

I have never really been much for leadership positions in organizations, but being in Phi Sigma Pi has changed that. There are many positions that you can run for like president, historian, Rush Chair, Social Chair, and many more.These positions can really bring you out of your shell and help you grow as a person by helping you to become comfortable with planning events and speaking in front of a large group of people.

Overall Phi Sigma Pi has been an amazing experience and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get involved on campus and values scholarship, leadership, and fellowship. Our Fall Rush is coming up in a few weeks and if you have any questions about anything about the Fraternity feel free to ask anyone in it. There are posters hanging around campus, there will be information tables in Hoag, and I have even included the links to our Facebook, our Facebook Rush page, our Instagram, and our Twitter so that you can learn more. Even if you are on the fence about joining I recommend going to at least one rush event so that you can get a feel for the people and the organization itself. Hope to see you there!