"KIT!"
If you own a yearbook you rarely look at, you likely know what that acronym—generally written by someone you once sat next to in math class—means: "Keep in touch!" Well, that's exactly what we're doing with the four PNMS (potential new members, for the uninitiated) who participated in Bama Rush, Max's new documentary that explores sorority culture at the University of Alabama.
Director Rachel Fleit followed the young women as they prepared for Rush Week in August 2022. She spent months with them as they assembled outfits, padded their resumes and pumped themselves up (sometimes with the help of a rush consultant) all in the hopes of making their favorite house. However, some of the potential pledges learned grass isn't always greener on sorority row and chose to drop out of the process early, leaving us to wonder what they are up to. So, we did what any committed sister would do: We turned to Instagram and TikTok to check in with Shelby Rose, Isabelle Eacrett, Mikalya Miller and Hailey Holliday.
Here's what the women featured in the Bama Rush documentary are up to now...
A high school senior from Quincy, Illinois, Shelby was one of the four PNMs (potential new members) featured in Max's Bama Rush documentary that deep-dives into the sorority system at the University of Alabama. Having competed in pageants, Shelby was all about being "classy, cool and calm" throughout the process, even making a binder and Google spreadsheets for her outfits. Naturally, she became an early favorite for #BamaRush TikTok, amassing more than 63,000 followers on the platform.
But, after word got out on campus about the documentary, Shelby chose to stop filming prior to Rush Week. Though we learn she got into her top choice, Phi Mu.
After the trailer for Bama Rush dropped on May 5, Shelby took to TikTok to reveal why she left the project, explaining that "what they were doing did not align with my morals and values."
"This is something that has made me mentally and physically sick for a very long time," she wrote in the caption. "I am thankful I left when I did and pray for every UA girl in a sorority right now. I always want to spread a positive light in the world."
Shelby recently finished her freshman year at UA, where she is majoring in public relations with a minor in digital content engagement.
A high school senior from Rancho Cucamonga, California, Isabelle admitted in the documentary that she likely wouldn't be going to the University of Alabama if "it did not blow up on TikTok."
"Being in a sorority will help me figure out who I want to be," she explained. "I've always needed a thing to be a part of as part of my identity. It's been hard for me to find a sense of self-worth because I don't really know who I am."
Isabelle—who memorably coined the phrase "nervited," a combo of nervous and excited—filmed throughout Rush Week, which culminated with her getting an offer from her top house, Alpha Delta Pi. She is currently an advertising major.
In a May 24 TikTok video, Isabelle explained she wanted to join Bama Rush to "share her story and to show what it's like to be a girl in 2022." In the documentary, Isabelle opened up about being raped at a high school party, and in her social media post, she said she almost decided to drop out of the movie and Rush altogether after her assault.
"I did not know how I was going to pretend to be happy and even make friends in college after being hurt so bad," she said. "And (director) Rachel Fleit told me all I had to do was be myself and she never pressured me to say anything about my story. But I wanted to share it because that was, honestly, during Rush Week all that I could think about."
Still, Isabelle continued, I made it through" and said she's found a support system in her sorority sisters.
Soft-spoken and quiet, the University of Alabama sophomore often seemed uncomfortable while preparing to enter sorority life. So, it wasn't exactly surprising when she decided to drop out during Rush Week.
Still at UA, Mikalya is studying for a degree in criminology, a career path she was inspired to pursue after her father, who was a police officer, died when she was 13.
A sophomore from Orange Beach, Al., Holliday was participating in Rush for the second time.
"I got into my sorority, I was living the dream," she explained. "And then I wore the wrong sorority sticker and got dropped." As in, she put on the letters of another house and was summarily shown the door from her sorority. Said Holliday of the experience, " Like, I would rather a guy tell me I was ugly than get dropped. It was so humbling."
Ultimately, Holliday decided to not to participate in Rush Week, though she is still pursuing a law degree. After winning Miss Orange Beach 2023, she recently competed in the Miss Alabama pageant.
Dubbed "the original #BamaRush influencer," Gracie—who has 54,000 followers on Instagram and 77,000 followers on TikTok—was an active Pi Beta Phi member when she appeared in the documentary. She graduated with two degrees in May 2022, sharing a photo with her fellow senior sorority sisters, writing, "thank you Jesus for giving me the BEST girls to have by my side these last 4 years.
Since leaving the University of Alabama, Gracie has been documenting her travels around the world on social media and has visited 63 countries and counting.
When the trailer for Bama Rush was first released, Gracie posted a TikTok video of her reaction to the footage. "I can't believe it, I am literally shaking," she said. "Wait, I kind of love it!"
One of the rush consultants featured in the documentary, Trisha still offers sorority recruitment tips through her business, It's All Greek to Me. A mentorship program with her costs $3,500.
After Bama Rush dropped on May 23, Trisha, who is married with two sons, took to Instagram to say they did a "great job."
Bama Rush is streaming on Max.