Proud to Be Greek Wednesdays - May 16th, 2018

The lifelong bonds you form, the communities you serve, and the invaluable lessons you learn are all part of an unforgettable Greek organization experience. Joining a brotherhood or sisterhood is an honor and a privilege, and with it comes social awareness and responsibility. Each week we are going to be featuring an essay written by a fraternity/sorority member to highlight how Greek life has had a positive impact. Leaving a Legacy The first few weeks of college were full of excitement, energy, and friendliness. As the weeks went on though, I constantly searched for friends to hang out with on the weekends and outside of class. Having no luck, I heavily considered transferring to another college but was still determined to join a fraternity. Since my college only allowed freshmen to rush during their second semester, I stuck with my college for one more semester- one last shot. During rush, I went to all sorts of different events but wasn’t finding a strong connection to any fraternity. I heard that a new fraternity was being introduced on my campus though, so I decided to check them out. That’s when I discovered Pi Kappa Phi and was given the opportunity to become a founding father of a new chapter. Throughout high school I heard all about crazy stories of hazing happening across America, and I didn’t like the stigma that was thrust upon people like my mom, dad, and sister who never hazed anyone. Being a founding father, I could have a strong voice in building a new culture that didn’t need hazing to form everlasting bonds of brotherhood. In the beginning, there were thirteen of us who came from different backgrounds, ages, and classes. As a freshman, I was elected to our executive board’s chaplain position. Big challenges laid ahead of me in order to bond both upper and lower classmen, so I started organizing with other executive board and associate members. This resulted in a slew of brotherhood events, our first overnight retreat, and many rituals that bonded us together into brothers. I learned about leadership, confidence, and initiative, things still important as a graduating senior. After 14 months, on April 21, 2016, we officially charted as the Kappa Theta chapter of Pi Kappa Phi. After my time building the chapter, I’ve stepped back from leadership and leave it in the capable hands of the younger brothers. I want to leave a legacy for my children and grandchildren to be inspired by, so that they can go out and create their own path. Joining Pi Kappa Phi as a founding father wasn’t the easier road, but looking back was the right one. It cemented that there were friends and brothers here in San Diego for me, including one who I now call my little brother. It gave me the courage and initiative to study two majors, spend six months abroad on two different study abroad programs, and join a co-ed professional business fraternity (some of its members I call brothers twice over now). I’ve had to grow throughout all of these events, and it hasn’t ever gotten easier but I can look back on all these semesters with my brothers in Pi Kappa Phi with joy. We’ve created a legacy that will inspire more young men looking for common brotherhood to join us, so that they too may become exceptional leaders and gentlemen of Pi Kappa Phi.