The Best (Collegiate) Decision I've Ever Made

Five years ago this week, I made the best decision of my collegiate career.In a day and age that has constantly changing technologies, resources, and expectations there has been one constant for me. That constant variable has not been my school work (sorry, mom!) or my sense of commitment to the University of Cincinnati. In a sense, it's bigger than both of those things combined:





Educationally, I have gleaned more  knowledge from Sigma Phi Epsilon than the totality of my hours spent on my academic experience during the last five years. That's not to say that UC has provided me with anything less than a world-class education, but rather to say that I have developed personally in ways that don't occur inside the four walls of a traditional classroom. SigEp has taught me those soft skills that we often forget about while studying for our next midterm or final. Among those skills are inclusivity, attentiveness, analytical thinking, situational awareness, fiscal responsibility, self-evaluation, and self-motivation. This list is not wholly inclusive of my developmental journey through SigEp, but I think it's a great place to start.

A large influence on the quality of an experience has to do with the environment that surrounds the individuals involved, and it is my firm belief that there is no better college campus of which to be a part of than the University of Cincinnati. When I arrived at UC, I arrived with a slightly bitter attitude. Another university had withdrawn some of their financial support just two months before I was slated to start fall classes, and I came to UC wondering what could have been.

Although I didn't realize it at the time, the largest driver of my willingness to connect with the campus community was my involvement Ohio Theta. The older Brothers in SigEp acted as fantastic mentors and helped guide me in the right direction. It was through these interactions that I developed an unquantifiable sense of pride for all things dealing with the University of Cincinnati. SigEp affirmed my connection to my alma matre; for that, I will forever be indebted.

As I begin to wrap up what has undoubtedly been the best college experience that I could have ever imagined, I find myself returning to The Creed of Sigma Phi Epsilon. When deciding whether or not I should invest in the college fraternity experience, I did some research and came across The Creed. As I read it over, I found myself stopping and connecting the core values of SigEp to my core values. I found myself connecting those core values to the men that I had met that were already Brothers in Sigma Phi Epsilon. But most importantly, I found myself connecting the values of SigEp to the values that I wanted to stand for at all points of my life. These values, VIRTUE, DILIGENCE, and BROTHERLY LOVE, have made all the difference for me.

As Rush Week begins at the University of Cincinnati, I want to share with you one quote from The Creed; one that makes all the difference for me. While we no longer employ a pledge model system at the majority of our chapters across the country, if you replace the word 'neophyte' with the words 'college man,' these words ring as true as they did on the day they were written:

"I believe that a man will be made better for having been a member of my Fraternity. I know that I cannot expect the neophyte to be a finished product. Rather I will try to discover whether or not the environment and contact with men of high ideals will make of him a good fraternity man."