Ohio Kappa is a home to women from all over Ohio, but also all over the world. From Philadelphia to Spain, Pi Beta Phi has truly become a home away from home for it’s members. Located in downtown Cincinnati, campus life is very urban and fast paced. It’s easy to feel home sick, no matter if you are two or 10 hours away. Ohio Kappa has created a sisterhood so strong that all of our sisters get a sense of home, right here.
Emily O’Reilly is from Philadelphia, about 500 miles away from her Pi Phi Home in Cincinnati. Now in her second year, she is getting the hang of a new routine to accommodate the change.
“My hometown lifestyle and college lifestyle are extremely similar. It’s a constant balance between social life, work and education. Pi Phi has provided me with numerous resources that touch on each of those areas. If I need a job I can ask around in Pi Phi and they’ve provided me with so much information and they even put in a good word at their work of place for me! Pi Phi also has made me focus on my education more. Being held to an academic standard has formed me into a more aware and serious student. Having socials, date party’s and sisterhoods has also improved my social life by being able to network with other greeks!”
Sometimes, the transition from high school to a university is even more significant than a trip to a new city. New member Raquel Melgares is not only new to college, but also to America.
“When I first moved to America from Spain, I was very nervous about being able to communicate and interact due to the language barriers. But joining Pi Phi totally changed my feelings; I found a place where everybody accepts me for who I am, no matter what my accent may be or where I come from. They have treated me like a sister and that really helped me with getting involved in the culture and adjust to the changes I was experiencing.”
Often times our sisters feel that their biological family and their Pi Phi sisters are extremely similar. In the four years that we spend together, we play a significant role in each others lives.
“My sisters give me a sense of home here at UC. When I go back home for holiday breaks I always feel like a piece of me is missing. My sisters and I have a relationship that can’t be put into words. I know if there was anything I would ever need, my sisters would be there for me. I can truly be myself around them and that has created my comfort zone at Pi Phi.”
Raquel explained;
“My sisters play the biggest of the roles, I have never been that far from my family in Spain and for so long time thus my sisters support me every moment my family cannot. They make me feel like I am a part of a family and that I am not alone anymore.”
