Talking to a group of Greeks can be very intimidating. They’re a group of individuals who know each other so well they sometimes forget that a third party might feel uncomfortable being left out of the loop of these deep-seated relationships.

With this in mind, the most immediate trait of Phi Sigma Sigma (ΦΣΣ) is how humbling they are. They’re a tight-knit group but treat strangers as family guests. They don’t want you to feel unwanted and are happy to have you in their presence.

“We’re all very compassionate people,” said senior communications major and member of Phi Sigma Sigma Allie Olender, “we feel for people and we show that.”

Olender explained how far this compassion can go through a story where members of Phi Sigma Sigma helped a girl who was in a car accident and drove her to the Emergency Room. They didn’t know who the girl was but were concerned for her safety and wanted to ensure she was medically taken care of. This type of involvement defines ΦΣΣ’s interpretation of compassion and community service.

Outside of assisting strangers, ΦΣΣ values philanthropic work and actively helping the community. The organization contributes to the National Kidney Foundation’s Kidney Walk in New York City that takes place every fall and holds local events on campus such as Believe in Beauty, a breast cancer awareness event. Each member of ΦΣΣ is required to complete ten hours of community service per semester.

An interest in community service is one of the traits looked for in potential members of ΦΣΣ.

“We’re looking for girls that we see have leadership qualities,” said senior childhood education major and treasurer of ΦΣΣ Katy Menusan. “We look to see if they were leaders in high school and if they were involved.”

Being involved means more than going to mandatory events for ΦΣΣ, they see contributing to other organizations as an extension of contributing to their own. ΦΣΣ reaches out to other organizations to co-sponsor events so that more people on campus can get involved. ΦΣΣ is the largest Greek organization on campus, with 38 total active members, which means a co-sponsor with the organization leads to a massive increase in attendance. ΦΣΣ uses their numbers as frequently as possible to help out other organizations that need help generating interest in their events. They try to look out for more than their own interests.

“None of us want to settle with being an average organization. We want to make improvements to ourselves, our organization and the campus,” said Menusan.

ΦΣΣ’s events also intend to give back some fun to the campus. This semester they will be holding a Holiday Bazaar on Dec. 2 for students hoping to buy holiday gifts for friends. In the immediate future, ΦΣΣ will host a talent show on Thurs. Nov. 8, one of the longest running events at Pace.

ΦΣΣ hopes to recruit members interested in contributing to a community but they recognize that each member has an identity of their own.

“We’re not the cookie-cutter sorority that’s looking for one type of girl,” said senior business management major and president of ΦΣΣ Kelsey Weinstein. “We’re all very different on our own but we work well together.”

Weinstein, Menusan and Olender all joined ΦΣΣ in the same semester but had three different introductions to the sorority. Menusan didn’t think she would join a sorority during college but decided to try it out after many of her freshmen year friends transferred from Pace. Olender was not very involved in campus life and chose to join to become more integrated with the school.

Weinstein transferred from an all-women’s college and immediately felt comfortable with ΦΣΣ. She decided to join during her first semester at Pace.

“I didn’t feel they were putting on a show,” said Weinstein. “It was a ‘take me how I am’ kind of thing. I liked that about them.”

Without prior knowledge, it’d be impossible to tell that these three girls joined for very different reasons and had different experiences getting introduced to the organization. They have their own personal quirks but their personalities complement one another when combined. The organization has an expression that conveys this unique phenomenon in the sorority.

“Individually unique, together complete,” said Menusan.