Over the past semester, I had the incredible opportunity to see 21 chapters throughout the Midwest and east coast, as well as traveled to California to re-establish the Xi Pentaton chapter with my fellow consultant, Trevor Hartley. During my visits, I also explored the areas surrounding our chapters and captured the experience of where I was at the time. This included attending events chapters were hosting, going to local restaurants, or going to local places that brothers recommended. Overall, experiencing what made our chapters tick across the country was an incredible experience, and on top of that, I traveled to places I didn’t think I would go to until way later in life.
One remarkable event I got to attend was the WPI Chapter’s Car Smash recruitment event and bonfire. The Brothers and I took turns destroying an old Subaru the chapter purchased for the event while some of the other brothers barbequed. Afterward, the Brothers and the associates sat around the fire and talked and told stories about their semester and their time in Phi Sig so far. It was a great time to get to know the Brothers and learn why they were drawn to becoming Phi Sigs. One of the coolest parts of the visit is when their Chapter President and I found the original documents dated over 100 years ago, welcoming the initial interest group to become a chapter Phi Sigma Kappa. I also recruited with Epsilon Mu, saw our Alpha Chapter and the University of Massachusetts campus, attended a Delta Zeta philanthropy event with Pi Tetarton, and ate best bagels ever with the Iota Chapter.
Aside from the fantastic experiences I had, I also got the opportunity to see some places that I’ve wanted to go to since I was a child, most notably California, Canada, and New York.
After wrapping up my chapters in the Midwest, I flew out to California to meet Trevor to assist with the California State Northridge expansion project, and it was terrific. We got to help build the with help from Adam Pilder, Arturo Rivera, Roberto Carlos, and other area alumni. On top of that, we saw some great places like Hollywood Boulevard, Downtown Los Angeles, Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier, Malibu Beach, we went to a USC game, and Roberto even invited us to a Mezcal and Mexican Cuisine event. I certainly won’t forget the amazing time I had out there.
In between Epsilon Lambda and Upsilon Tetarton, I went to Canada for the first time, and it was a fantastic experience. My parents met me in Toronto, and we spent the next two days exploring the city, seeing all of the beautiful sights the city had to offer. After that, we drove to Niagara Falls, saw how the falls looked at night.
After that, in between my Phi Septaton and Iota visits, I got a tour of New York City from Brothers David Cohen, J.J. Taylor, Brad Fliller, and Sam Bright. That evening we went by Madison Square Garden, Time’s Square, the Rockefeller Center’s Christmas tree, as well as some seasonal pop-up shops. I also saw ground zero for 9/11, Wall Street, the nation’s first capital, as well as explore the city overall. It was such a fantastic opportunity, admittedly it was difficult at first to learn how to use the busses and trains properly, but after some practice (and almost getting lost several times), I figured it out.
Without question, traveling constantly was a very tiring ordeal. But the fact that I got to meet with so many of my brothers and experience what makes their hometowns unique to them made it all worth the while. I got the chance to see so many amazing places that I would likely never have seen if it weren’t for this position. This first semester as a Chapter Consultant gave me so many incredible stories to share. So many memories to look back on as I develop as a professional and as a person.