After rush week sweeps through ASU, the fervor of a new school year picks up as hundreds of potential new members select their new "homes" and settle into their chosen fraternities and sororities.
Greek life is a prominent part of campus culture, with over 65 organizations standing as the largest membership-based community on campus, a cornerstone of student life at ASU.
The costs of membership, social stress of bidding, and traditional elements of a sorority or fraternity may not align with every student. For students still seeking a tight-knit community on campus, professional and service-oriented fraternities could better fit their college experience.
READ MORE: Greeking out: a look at ASU Greek Life culture
Olivia Osborne, a senior studying architectural studies and president of Satyros, ASU's architecture and arts professional fraternity, was a founding member of the reinvigorated chapter.
The chapter serves as a third space for students to connect and gain networking opportunities outside of studio classes, creating a goal-oriented community for aspiring architects. what are studio classes?
"The studio is the time where you showcase some of that learning that you've done independently, but behind the scenes, everybody's going through a lot of the same issues," Osborne said. "Having that community to go to have that sounding board sometimes is really helpful in architecture."
Setting itself apart from a typical fraternity, Satyros places architecture students at the center, offering specialized professional development like portfolio reviews and opportunities to connect with architects in cities that students may aspire to work in postgraduate.
Other fraternities that align themselves with specific professions serve similar goals, veering away from a social focus and more toward a career-oriented approach. Even while preparing for niche professional spaces, students across many disciplines can still connect in professional Greek life.
Avery Toft, a senior studying philosophy and vice president of finance at Kappa Alpha Pi, ASU's pre-law and government co-ed fraternity, said the broad array of students who seek to pursue legal careers can join in a shared space.
"You can be anything for pre-law," Toft said. "We have supply chain management; we have nursing. It can be anything you want."
Kappa Alpha Pi, alongside other professional fraternities, bares similarities to traditional Greek life with rush week and bid day as a part of their recruitment process. Each organization carries out its process differently, but typically involves this hallmark of initiation.
While some non-traditional Greek life organizations focus their efforts on giving students access to niche career development resources, others take a more service-oriented approach.
Jon Chang, a junior studying sports journalism and vice president of membership of Kappa Kappa Psi, the National Honorary Band fraternity, shared how he has been able to give back to the community that has given him so much.
"I think speaking on behalf of a lot of our brothers, we were all very much in our band rooms in high school," Chang said. "The majority of time that we spent was doing things to help make our programs better, and being able to come and have that community here at ASU just gives us another group of people that we can really fall back into."
Beyond efforts to support the marching band community through hands-on event volunteering, Kappa Kappa Psi is a space for members to grow personally alongside their professional goals.
Chang said some of his closest friendships have flourished through the fraternity, embodying the organization's aims of brotherhood through connection with a purpose.
Professional fraternities are becoming an increasingly popular alternative to Greek life, as the reintroduction of old chapters and the initiation of new ones take root across campus.
Through joining these organizations, students who are focused on pursuing their career goals might just find a community and friendships that last a lifetime.
"Kappa Kappa Psi gave me a space where I could open up to others and really start developing a sense of pride and self-confidence in my work," Chang said. "Being able to give back that experience to other people is a huge part of why I'm in the organization and why a lot of our brothers continue."
Edited by Dhemi Bell, Alan Deutschendorf III and Senna James.
Reach the reporters at ccbixby@asu.edu.
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