From Roommates to Panhellenic Executive Board Members: How Kalen and Rian Found Friendship and Leadership Through Panhellenic
We are excited to feature the friendship between two members of our Clemson Panhellenic Executive Board, Kalen and Rian! They were roommates their freshman year of college and now they have the opportunity to serve alongside one another as leaders in the Panhellenic community. What started as an Instagram DM quickly turned into a lifelong friendship. Read on to learn how their friendship has shaped their Clemson experience and what it means to lead together.
“It all started with something as simple as an Instagram DM. I was looking for a roommate who was also going through recruitment, hoping to find someone I’d click with, but I never expected it to turn into something so meaningful. From the beginning, Rian and I just made sense. Our conversations were easy, we shared so many random similarities, and before we even met in person, I felt like I already had someone in my corner. Soon we were getting ready for recruitment together, figuring everything out side by side and stepping into that week with a sense of comfort that not everyone gets to have.
Living together only made that friendship stronger. We became the kind of roommates who could talk about anything, whether it was big life decisions or just the little things that felt overwhelming in the moment. She made college feel less intimidating and more like home. Over time, she became my go to person for everything. She is the first one I call with good news, the person I trust for honest advice, and someone who consistently shows up for me in ways that matter. One of the things I admire most about Rian is how she carries herself. She has this way of teaching the people around her to be confident and kind no matter what, just by the way she treats others and handles situations. Being around her has pushed me to be a better friend and a more confident version of myself.
Looking back, it is crazy how one small decision led to such an important friendship. Getting to now serve alongside her feels like a full circle moment that I could not have planned. The most meaningful part of my Panhellenic experience is not just the leadership or the opportunities, but the friendships that came from it. What started as a simple message turned into a friendship that has shaped my entire college experience and continues to impact who I am every day.”
- Kalen Cullan, Vice President
“I love telling this story. Kalen reached out to me after I was posted on the Clemson 2028 Instagram page, and we instantly clicked. It was actually so funny, we bonded over the fact that we both played soccer, both had head injuries, and are equally clumsy and always somehow getting hurt. Talking with her felt so easy, and I still remember the day I FaceTimed her to ask her to be my roommate. She was my very first friend at Clemson, and I wouldn’t change that for anything.
We officially met while unpacking our dorm room, Kalen fully decorated… I didn’t. I still have the picture she drew for me to help me decorate. We became comfortable with each other almost immediately. Get yourself a roommate who will run your name tag to you in the dead heat of summer so you don’t embarrass yourself during rush, that’s Kalen. She always puts others before herself. We were the kind of roommates who could talk through anything, from personal struggles to overanalyzing random conversations, and it was so comforting to always have someone who truly understood me. The funniest part is that we somehow never had any pictures together, until this year when she came to my formal.
Kalen is someone I will always want in my life. She celebrates your successes like they’re her own, and she’ll even bake you dairy-free banana bread when you’re having a tough week. Without her support in my role as VP of Philanthropy, I don’t think I would have been as successful as I’ve been. She never gets enough credit she deserves. I’ll never forget walking into my interview and suddenly seeing her there, we just looked at each other like, “What are you doing here?” When she told me she applied for the role of Vice President, I knew she would get it. Now, getting to serve alongside her has been such a full-circle moment. We work so well together because we can always tell when the other needs support. It’s incredible that I now get to make a difference with someone who has made such a difference in my life.”
- Rian Cooper, Vice President of Philanthropy and Service