It was Fall of 2013, I had just come from a summer with the Mansfield University Gateway Program. With no expectations and no intention of rushing a fraternity, I stepped foot on campus to begin what I felt like would begin a student career similar to that of high school, keeping to myself, with a few close friends and little to no social life. In high school, I was a loner, I played video games and swam with my close friends but nothing more than this. I was never able to commit myself to sports or clubs.

Fast forward to the Gateway Program, I began familiarizing myself with many of the students that I would come to know in this program. Not just the students who were taking the program with myself, but the mentors and administrators of the program. The friendships I have gained in this program have been held close to my heart to this point and in the foreseeable future. One person, in particular, would help to change my life forever: he would eventually become my Big in my Fraternity. He helped me get out of my shell, showed me everything that I had missed in high school by staying with what was comfortable. From riding my first roller coaster at Knoebels’ to becoming less and less self-conscious with people I didn’t know, it was clear to me, that this man was not just my mentor, but one of the greatest friends I could possibly ask for, and even though I had not known he was in a fraternity at the time and I was not a part of it, he was indeed a brother in my heart.

Coming into my first official semester of college, I had little expectation, as said before. I had no thought of rushing a fraternity, let alone having a big social life. Contrary to what people know me now, I did not drink alcohol until this point in life, and I did not start smoking cigarettes until later in my college career. Moving on to the first week of classes, I kept to myself as I did during high school, the loner life. I even ate by myself at Upper Manser. That is when my future Big again helped to teach me to be a more socially active guy and just a person in general. He invited me to eat with the Brothers of his Fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, a day that I will never forget. It would seem cliche to say that I felt like a rockstar to be with these larger than life guys but it is truly how I feel about this day. I was the awkward loner straight out of high school with little to no true friends at home and nobody that I really connected to until this point.

As I became more and more acquainted with these guys, I had to fight a conflict within myself that I never had to before. I was spending more, and more time with these guys. Along with that, I became more, and more associated with not just them but being a better person in general. These guys showed me what it meant to be a true gentleman, I learned about the creed, that would become a guiding principle for how I would try to live my life from then to the day I die. And rushing, and becoming initiated into a fraternity, something that admittedly never crossed my mind started to not only be what I dreamed about, but a reality.

I will never forget those who came in with me and the brothers who were active then. This was not an overnight process, however. The man I am today is a result of further exposure to the individual brothers who would become not just my brothers but the absolute best friends I have today. Without mentioning names, I became exposed to the idea of joining the Marine Corps, of which I am part today. I also became more active on campus outside of just my fraternity such as the Inter-Fraternity Council, the governing body of all social fraternities on campus, and I became more of an active participant of community service, and philanthropic events on campus, and around the community of Mansfield. A number of responsibilities I have learned in this fraternity are life-long lessons that I will keep close to my heart for as long as I live.

I could talk for hours about the number of benefits and positives that I have experienced while being an active member of my fraternity. I have learned about qualities that will help me succeed as a graduate in the world beyond the walls of my university. Professionally, I have grown more in Sigma Alpha Epsilon, than I have anywhere else in life. Sigma Alpha Epsilon, before I joined the Marine Corps, was where I began taking leadership roles in planning and taking part in events. The importance of the group was cultivated here before I enlisted in the Marine Corps. The social benefits I have experienced have grown exponentially, I have prided myself on being more social with not just my brothers but people from fraternities, and sororities alike, and those in neither.

All in all, I love my fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon. The connections, friends, stories, and most important of all brothers for life mean the world to me and are people I would actually die for. The brotherhood that exists here is something I would never find anywhere else in the world. To those who would challenge this belief, I welcome you to try, nothing for me in the world, is more important and relevant to my life than the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity.

To Brothers Near and Far, Phi Alpha!