Seek The Noblest

This blog post is based off a podcast I made about my sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha. If you’ve kept up with my blog, you know that I’ve already written a post about my sorority called LOVE…The Greatest of All Things. If you read that blog, you’ll see that it mostly has to do with what ZTA means to me; because I am so passionate and involved in my sorority, I really wanted to explain ZTA as a whole and not just my experiences.

Zeta Tau Alpha was founded on Oct. 15, 1898 in Farmville, Virginia, at Longwood College. There were nine founders: Frances Yancey Smith, Ruby Leigh Orgain, Ethel Coleman Van Name, Della Lewis Hundley, Alice Bland Coleman, Helen M. Crafford, Alice Grey Welsh, Mary Jones Batte and Maud Jones Horner. A fun fact is that Zeta Tau Alpha is considered a women’s fraternity rather than a sorority.

A few more fun facts about ZTA is that our flower is the white violet and grows abundantly in Virginia, our colors are turquoise blue and steel gray, our patron Goddess is Themis and the open motto is “Seek the Noblest.” I often get ask, “what does it mean to seek the noblest?” from those not in ZTA. Well, to be noble means to have or show high moral principles, ideals and qualities. To seek the noblest means that we strive constantly, “to make our lives a symphony of high ideals,” which is a line from our creed. It is important, as a ZTA member, to have high moral standards and act ethically.

There are two symbols of ZTA, the five-pointed crown and strawberry. Although the five-pointed crown is the primary symbol, which stands for our five values that only initiated members can know, how the strawberry became the secondary symbol is a heartwarming story. During ZTA’s earlier days, a gift was sent to Mary Campbell Jones by an admirer. The gift was a basket full of strawberries and provided the inspiration for the first ever social gathering, which was called a "Strawberry Feast." My personal chapter, Delta Theta, has adopted he obnoxious habit of saying “love em’” every time someone says “strawberries.” I love it honestly.

Speaking of my personal chapter, we make up the 105^th link out of the 169 chapters that make up the National Fraternity that is Zeta Tau Alpha. We are known as the Delta Theta chapter and are located at Ohio Northern University along with three other sororities. I asked our current chapter president, Riley Jones, how she felt Delta Theta was unique from any other ZTA chapter and she responded, “I feel like we are so unique as a Zeta chapter because of the amount of diversity we have to offer. We have women who excel in the classroom, women who are musically talented, women who are into politics and women who are athletic. When someone thinks of a sisterhood, they typically think of 70 women who are just a like. For the Delta Theta chapter of 63, I don’t think we have even two sisters who are alike and it is exactly that which makes us all so close and bond with each other. Sisters want to hear about other’s passions and support them, even though they are different from their own.”

I then asked Riley what she thinks makes Delta Theta different from the other sororities on campus and she said, “as far as ONU Greek life, I feel like something that makes our Chapter unique is our silliness. Zeta ladies are always down to bring fun to any event. Whether that be chapter, a philanthropic event or, even in the classroom. Sisterhood is all around us and we don’t need a planned sisterhood event to have a good time. Stopping by the house for two minutes can easily turn into two hours and walking to class with a sister can easily be the highlight of someone’s day.”

I hope that helps anyone reading this post understand why people might want to get into Greek life. Different fraternities and sororities stand for different things that people may agree with and want to be a part of. I’m biased, I think ZTA is the best, but there is no doubt in my mind everyone could find what they’re looking for in Greek life.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/153690/637908-social-media-principles-podcast