MY STORY:

• Maintaining the connection and sustaining the spirit on University of Utah Greek row in the midst of a global pandemic 

MY BLOG:

As a relatively indecisive person, choosing a topic for my enterprise story was a complicated task for me. I wanted to write about something that I was interested in but also a topic that was relevant to my own life. As a freshman and new member to Greek life, I was curious about how this year differed from past years. I have only experienced a COVID-19 style Greek life, so I decided to write about the way this year had changed the organization as a whole. 

I wanted to locate sources who were personally involved in the planning and regulating of fraternity and sorority events. I started with asking my own sorority president, Katya Benedict, if I could interview her. Once I did it led me in the direction of other good sources to interview. I chose to interview people who had a executive position, because I believed they would have the most current information on COVID-19 safety precautions and plans for next year.  

Next I interviewed Matt Economos, who is vice president of programming for his fraternity. He plans all events and gatherings, and this year has been a big change for that role. Everything he plans must be approved, and it needs to safely follow city and state guidelines. He knew every up-to-date rule that organizations must follow and answered every question I had for him. 

Interviewing Tracey Mai was an important asset to my story because she is on Panhellenic Council and oversees all memberships. She gave me the plans and goals for the future, and was very transparent about what Greek life was currently dealing with. I had a slight obstacle when some of the information that my sources gave me contradicted one another. Matt Economos told me that they were planning an in-person recruitment in the fall, whereas Tracey Mai said that all recruitments would be virtual. I discovered later that because fraternities are under the jurisdiction of Interfraternity Council, their recruitment might differ from what Panhellenic decides sororities can do next year. 

After all my interviews I had a good idea of exactly what I wanted to include in my enterprise story. I had to re-read my interviews a few times to really process what they told me, and then look over what I had researched. I discovered my writing process through this assignment. I realized that when I write from scratch without thinking over everything beforehand, my work is sloppy. I had to make an outline, and then under each bullet point I made I would put the quotes that I would use. After my outline, the writing was easy and smooth. 

It surprised me how little I knew beforehand about the regulations and plans for next year in Greek life. I know I am only a freshman, yet I thought I knew most of what was going on. During each of my interviews I learned information that I was not aware of beforehand. I am glad I chose this topic because I know I learned a lot from it so I hope any readers feel the same.

ABOUT ME:

Emma Sellers is a freshman at the University of Utah. She has always enjoyed stories, whether that be reading or writing them. She is studying Journalism and hopes to pursue a career in writing. 

She grew up in Southern California and recently moved to Salt Lake City. Here she discovered her passion for writing. She wants to become a travel writer. Traveling has always been another of her passions and her goal is to combine her two loves into one career. 

Next fall, Emma hopes to continue her journey in writing while learning more about the craft and herself. She plans to take this knowledge with her throughout the rest of her college experience and future.