this is HOME
My name is Mary Ashley Gandy, and I have the honor of serving as Membership Vice President for the Zeta Xi chapter of Alpha Xi Delta! My role is to ensure that all potential new members have the best experience possible when they meet us during recruitment and to work with my recruitment team to ensure the communication line between our chapter and Panhellenic is maintained.
I am so excited to meet and get to know each and every one of you! Recruitment at Auburn is a thrilling time for all those involved. These are about to be the best four years of your life! As stressful as recruitment may sound, I can assure you that the process is rewarding and worth every second when it is over. Having an open mind and staying true to yourself will allow you to see what all recruitment has to offer. Alpha Xi Delta is truly my home away from home and it is my goal to show you all why we love it so much!
During my own recruitment, I felt all the emotions of being excited, nervous, and anxious of what was to come. As soon as I spoke to the sisters in Alpha Xi Delta, this feeling subsided, and I knew that I had found the place I wanted to call home. Alpha Xi Delta has given me the most loving and best friends that I could have ever asked for. From day one, the girls have encouraged me, loved me, and challenged me. Alpha Xi Delta is filled with intentional, kind, and authentic women who embody what it means to be an Alpha Xi Delta woman. They inspire me to be better everyday, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the community that I have found. My sisters and I have felt the unconditional love and acceptance offered within the Alpha Xi Delta chapter doors. In a time of uncertainty and transition there is one thing you can be certain of, there is a home here waiting for you at Auburn and we hope to extend that to you in Alpha Xi Delta.
I cannot wait to greet all of you and get to know what makes you unique while simultaneously showing you the gracious and kind hearts of our chapter.
TFJ,
Mary Ashley Gandy
Meet Our Membership Vice President
What to expect during Recruitment...
Potential New Member Orientation
After you get settled into your new home away from home, you will meet your Pi Chi and the girls in your recruitment group. You will meet with these girls each morning before you start your day! This group is so special and you will be able to lean on them throughout the week.
Ice Water Tea Parties
Ice Water Tea parties are the first round of Recruitment where you get an introduction to every sorority. You will get to watch videos made by each sorority with your Pi Chi. This round is the perfect start to such an exciting week!
Philanthropy
Following Ice Water Teas, Philanthropy parties take place over a three-day period. Each chapter will explain their philanthropy and tell you how they get involved throughout the year. What better way to learn more about your potential sisters?
Sisterhood
Sisterhood parties may be the most exciting and fun round of recruitment! Each chapter room is decorated to show the chapter's personality. The sisters get to show you their favorite things about their chapter! By this point in the week, you should begin to have an idea of where you will call home for the next four years!
Preference Day
Preference parties are the last parties before bid day. They are more serious than the other parties throughout the week. Each chapter will express how their sisterhood has changed their lives and what it means to belong to their sisterhood, so don’t be surprised if you see tears! Although emotions may be running high, everyone will be waiting with smiling faces and open arms to greet you on Bid Day!
My name is Kellyn Murch and I have the privilege of serving Alpha Xi Delta and its pledge class of 2023 as New Member Educator (unofficially known as “Mama Bear”!). I feel so lucky to be playing a role in welcoming home our new members with arms wide open and serving the chapter of women I love so dearly.
My role as Mama Bear is to act as a guide during the transition from new member to initiate. I ensure that all new members feel loved, welcomed, and valued as sisters of our chapter. I am there to walk with them through this journey of new beginnings and be that someone to laugh with, cry with, go on a drive with, study with, and walk to class with whenever they may need it. Although freshman year is filled with incredible new experiences, it can also be a difficult season of transition. My job as Mama Bear is to be a friend in every regard of the word: to ensure that our new members feel secure in their new home, in Auburn, and in Alpha Xi Delta.
For all of the potential new members about to go through recruitment, my advise to you is to never lose sight of who you are. This process can feel hectic and overwhelming at times, and it’s easy to become frustrated with yourself when an outcome might not be what you expected. But please remember you are all beautiful, worthy, and gifted each in your own wonderfully unique ways—be proud of that. Be confident in yourself and your decisions, and at the end of the day, everything truly works out. Grow where you are planted, and the next few years will be some of the best yet.
XOXI,
Kellyn Murch
Meet Our New Member Educator
Legacy Policy
Effective July 29, 2020, Alpha Xi Delta has eliminated all preferential treatment given to legacies during the recruitment process. The previous policy stated that legacies must be invited through the first round of invitational events. In addition, any legacy who attended the chapter's Preference event had to be placed at the top of the bid list. All chapters will now treat legacies equally to all potential new members during recruitment. Legacies are still defined as any granddaughter, daughter, sister, or niece of an Alpha Xi Delta member in good standing, as well as step- or half-relations resulting from blended or other non-traditional family structures. Potential new members who meet our legacy definition will still be considered a legacy and celebrated after a bid is extended. However, chapters will no longer be permitted to give them preferential treatment throughout the recruitment process.
Recommendation Policy
Auburn Alpha Xi Delta welcomes recommendations, but they are not required.
Alumna can forward all letters of recommendation to the following email address: