Class, work, meetings, bed. Repeat.
My name is Eudora Linde and I am a college senior. I’m trying to pack as much as I can into my senior year before entering the “real world” while still maintaining my grades, being a positive leader with club involvement, holding a job as a waitress and keeping some sort of social life in my final weeks at Shippensburg University.
As the initiate advisor of Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity, I am in charge of our 12 pledges. I help guide them through their pledging process and act as a buffer between them and the rest of our organization.
This leadership role is stressful and demanding. You're scrutinzed while trying to get the initiates through all of their requirements and I often feel like I'm trying to keep 12 children in line. Every once in a while, however, the initiates do something that makes me so proud of them that it all becomes worth it.
Rudy, a fraternity alumni serving overseas in Afghanistan, recently emailed our president, putting out a plea for t-shirts, sweatpants, and sweatshirts. Injured soldiers are sent home in less than preferable attire, he said, because supplies are dwindling.
After our brotherhood meeting, the initiates had their own meeting to plan their events for the week ahead. One of them, remembering Rudy’s letter, said she wanted to help. The initiates decided to buy clothing from a local thrift store to send overseas to Rudy. Before sending the items over, however, they used the clothing to make scarecrows. It was a fun way for them to bond with the rest of the brotherhood.
About a week and a half ago, we wrote letters to Rudy and sent over more clothing we'd gathered from our own closets. At our most recent meeting, our president read a second email from Rudy – the clothing and letters had made it overseas. Rudy even passed along a photo of himself with our donations. Now we're rallying to get more people involved so we can send another shipment overseas to help out a brother whose community is in need.
The stress, workload, late nights, and ridiculously early mornings this role requires are often trying on me. I am however, moved by the actions of the initiates. They drove the fraternity to make an even bigger contribution than we perhaps thought we could make. I can only hope that the brotherhood sees what I see in them, and that they can go on to be integral and inspirational leaders in Phi Sigma Pi.
