Alpha Phi Omega is a national co-ed service organization, who focuses on leadership, friendship and service. I was recruited the fall semester of my freshman year in college and I have stuck with it ever since. I've held a few executive positions and chair positions over the six semesters I have been involved with the organization.

My first position was the Public Relations chair where I gained our chapter's facebook page views and followers by fifty (simply by being more active and uploading photos of events and the like). After that, I was the Secretary and I took notes and emailed information to other members.

Then I was the Fellowship Vice-President. I was in charge of coming up with events for the chapter to do that were fun and team building. I planned our Chapter Retreat, which was camping at Lake Perry, it was cold and there was an attacking goose but it was a great time that I will remember for years to come.

I am currently the Membership Vice-President. I am in charge of retention, recruitment and making sure the current and future members pay their dues and complete their requirements.

Recruitment is always a stressful time for everyone in the organization but mostly for the recruitment committee. Spring semesters are always difficult to recruit for because there are not freshman trying to find clubs anymore, most of the people who are on campus know what they want to do and are already involved with clubs.

Recruitment, in general, is an easy task to plan for and have ideas. Putting the ideas and plans into action and having something to show for it is the difficult part. Having information sessions and fellowships and service projects that are planned around getting people involved is a lot harder than you would think. It also does not help when you do not have much involvement from the current members or if something you planned for does not go as it was intended to go.

School organizations are not meant to stress people out. They are meant to push you out of your comfort zone and become an active person in society. They teach you to be a working member of a team and help you understand that without you, your organization could fail.

Joining a group that has the same outlook on life or the same goals in mind, is a heartwarming experience. Being with people who have the want and need to serve others and have fun reminds me that I am where I belong and I want to keep this camaraderie for as long as I can.

Alpha Phi Omega - Theta Sigma is a great organization to join if you are interested in meeting people, hanging out and serving your community. (Was this whole post about getting someone to join? I'll never tell but feel free to email us at apo.okstate@gmail.com if you have any questions!)