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.