Thanks to the individual contributions of alumni, we were able to send eight undergraduate brothers to Delta Upsilon’s Annual Leadership Institute over the summer. In addition to the sentiments of alumnus John Little in the previous post, the actives have shared their experiences below.
Going to LI was without a doubt the single greatest experience I have had while being a member of Delta Upsilon. When I joined this Fraternity I knew that I was part of something much bigger than myself, but I was not able to really grasp this idea fully until I was in a room filled with five hundred other leaders and alumni of Delta Upsilon. The successful chapters were no longer just stories of one hundred man houses that we aspire to be one day but actual men who I was able to hang out with and hear first hand how they were able to achieve such great success. IHQ was no longer just a website that we had to send dues and CEP submissions to, but the men and women that make up the backbone of this fraternity. They are working tirelessly to make Delta Upsilon into the fraternity that all other fraternities want to strive to become. After going to LI I can honestly say that I have never been part of something as great as this fraternity.
I could write an essay about what I learned and all the ideas that I have for this upcoming year but at the end of the day ideas are just ideas and that’s not what a DU man is all about. A DU man is about going out, doing work, and making a difference. The educational sessions were amazing and I learned so much more than I expected but the main gift LI really gave me was a purpose. It gave me a purpose to go out and make myself and as many peoples around the world into better people. This is a purpose that every man in Delta Upsilon can work towards. It gave me the drive to fulfill this purpose with all my heart. But most importantly it gave me the confidence that with that drive and hard work that we can achieve that purpose. I wish that every single member of Delta Upsilon could go to LI because it lights a fire in everyone who goes. If you talk with Bruce, Vaughn, John, or any of the men who went to LI they will tell you of this same fire that is inside of them now as a result of attending.
I would like to thank all our alumni who made it possible for the eight of us to have the privilege to attend LI. But like I said before ideas and words don’t mean much unless they are acted upon. You don’t donate your own money for us to go to LI in order to just receive praise in a newsletter; you do it because you believe in this fraternity and want the men in it to create something great. So in order to really thank you I promise that I will give everything I have to make this the best fraternity it can possibly be. I am more excited about this upcoming year and the future of our chapter than anything else I have done with my life. Our fraternity is on the verge of creating something truly special. Years later when I am an alumnus with all of you and our fraternity has grown to its full potential I know I will be able to look back to this moment and know this was the turning point. This was where everything changed.
Fraternally,
Brett Beuck
VP of Finance
Since I didn’t have an executive position when going to LI, I decided to focus most on recruitment. In all honesty, the recruitment sessions led by Mark didn’t seem to relate to our chapter very much, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t get a lot out of the small groups discussions. I learned some of the tactics that our more successful chapters have used in the past. Although we don’t have a ridiculous $30,000 rush budget like one of our chapters had, we can really improve our rush week by having more food at events. Freshmen are always excited to meet upperclassmen, so inviting them to anything (especially with food) is going to get them hanging out with us more. Hopefully we can utilize the Aztec Center’s bowling alley next year to hang out with potentials, but that might have to be something we use in the spring/next fall.
Another thing we are seriously lacking in is our branding. We need to get our name out there and design some new shirts for not only ourselves, but for girls too. We could charge $15 each for back to school tanks that girls would have to place orders for ahead of time. This is essentially free advertising for us plus we could even make money off of it if we had enough orders. It’s ridiculous to think that we only put out 2 shirts a year when other fraternities and sororities are putting out at least 4-6 per year. I was also thinking of designing some hats that have our letters and the crest on them that brothers could wear so even when we aren’t wearing a DU shirt, we could still wear our letters (without the weather being cold).
As far as scholarship goes, I’m 100% confident that Lee will continue to push us to get good grades. We’re still developing tools to get people to do their study hours and submit grade checks, but next semester the system should work a lot more smoothly.
Aside from a couple rather pointless breakout sessions, my entire LI experience has really developed me as a leader. I can’t wait to get back to school to share some of what I’ve learned with my brothers that didn’t have the opportunity to go.
I’d really like to thank all the alumni that donated money for us to go. My experience as a whole was amazing; I had tons of fun and learned a lot in the few days I was there. I really hope LI comes back to Arizona in a couple years so that our chapter could send a lot of us again. Having 8 guys go is something only larger chapters do, the fact that we sent almost a third of our house is something I doubt any other chapter could say.
Fraternally,
Ernie Rowe
Being that this was my second LI, I still can’t get over the fact of how much these educational conferences have to offer. As president, there is nothing more satisfying then seeing my exec board not only experience their first Leadership Institute, but also come out of it being a better man. There is no other opportunity as great as this for a bunch of brothers from all over the U.S. and Canada to come together with one common goal: personal growth.
Through my time in Delta Upsilon, personal growth has become the staple of my fraternal experience. I planed to not only better myself through leadership, but also encourage the rest of my bothers to do the same. Without these opportunities I believe that I wouldn’t be the man I am today and most certainly wouldn’t be as prepared for the many challenges after college.
One of the best aspects of LI is connecting with alumni from all different chapters. It taught me that the oath we all take doesn’t end once we graduate, but should continue be held dear for the rest of our lives. There is nothing more inspiring as an undergraduate than to see alumnus participating in chapter events, donating money for educational scholarships or attending various leadership institutes alongside their brothers. While we all were active members at different times and our chapters were run in different fashions, in the end we are all brothers and nothing this world can do will take that away from us.
There are no words to describe the gratitude we as a chapter have towards our alumni, without your support we wouldn’t be the chapter we are today. I personally would like to thank every alumnus who has donated their time and/or money to help better their brothers; I don’t know, nor could imagine where I would be today without your support.
Fraternally,
Josh Chazen
Chapter President
The 2013 DU Leadership Institute was nothing short of an amazing weekend. This years LI was hosted at the aesthetic Arizona Biltmore from August 1-3. I am originally from Phoenix and I have been to the Biltmore resort before, but this enlightening conference allowed me to see the hotel in a brand new light while learning and growing with not only my chapter, but my DU brothers from across the country and Canada.
LI ’13 really impacted me personally through the Global Service Initiative presentation, showing me the amount of good that can be done in world when a few brothers donate their time and energy to improve the lives of people far less fortunate than us. I am honored to say my Big Brother Josh Chazen went to the most recent GSI in Jamaica , and hearing about his experience and seeing the difference that he has made solidified my desire to hopefully be a part of the next Delta Upsilon Global Service Initiative in January.
The entire LI experience was great; being in the company of so many DU brothers it really created a fun and energetic tone for the entire weekend. The Biltmore was a great environment to provoke professionalism. The entire weekend was run with precision, it emphasized the leadership skills that each executive board member should have and apply to the fraternity. It also gave insight to fellow exec member positions, which I believe is key to successfully running the house. Because each brother can support and constructively help each other grow in their position and as emerging leaders, it strengthens our executive board and the house.
The leadership training give to us this weekend was extraordinary, and wouldn’t have been possible without our amazing alumni who believe in us as leaders and want to see the house succeed as much as myself and the San Diego State University chapter does. The generosity of our alumni allowed 8 SDSU brothers to LI this year, this showed me the level of dedication to the fraternity that our alumni have, inspiring me to take as much as I could from LI and bring it back to San Diego to kick of an extraordinary year, and to show the extensive impact on the house that the alums have when they are involved and just as much a part The leadership training give to us this weekend was extraordinary, and wouldn’t have been possible without our amazing alumni who believe in us as leaders and want to see the house succeed as much as myself and the San Diego State University chapter does.
The generosity of our alumni allowed 8 SDSU brothers to LI this year, this showed me the level of dedication to the fraternity that our alumni have, inspiring me to take as much as I could from LI and bring it back to San Diego to kick of an extraordinary year, and to show the extensive impact on the house that the alums have when they are involved and just as much of the house as I am now.
This has been an eye opening experience that has left me wanting more. My blood bleeds old gold and sapphire blue, now more than ever. I look forward to hopefully being apart of next years Leadership Institute in Kamas City .
Fraternally,
Max Purdy
VP, Associate Member Education
The Delta Upsilon Leadership Institute at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix was everything I expected it to be, and then some. Not only did I learn how to hone my skills as a leader in our thriving fraternity, I learned ways to lead a successful life overall. I attribute my ability to soak in the extensive lecturing to the riveting speeches and seminars. The three most important influences on me while in Phoenix were Will Keim’s speech and booklet, Bernard Franklin’s charge, lecture, and speech, and finally, the ample time to mingle and network with the emerging leaders of America and Canada, also known as the brothers in my fraternity.
LI provided me the opportunity to listen and learn from the distinguished men of Delta Upsilon, and I capitalized on it. I had the pleasure of witnessing our president, Bernard Franklin, deliver the charge for the second time of my life! That wasn’t all, however, as he later taught us how to be global citizens in his seminar, and also to find happiness through how I live my life as well as my attitude towards it. Will Keim’s advice on achieving success and separating ourselves from the average man was a game-changer in my opinion. Be a scholar, serve, be healthy, be spiritual; just a few of his keys to success that I will now live by. There are so many other lessons to elaborate on, but I must emphasize that above all, the ability to meet and network with my brothers from across the continent overwhelmed me. It was awesome (in the original context of that adjective) to be surrounded by hundreds of men who also made one of the best decisions of their life; joining Delta Upsilon. This trip was, and will always be, a cornerstone of my life.
Ben Fields,
Justice, Our Foundation
The most eye-opening thing for me at my first Leadership Institute was the realization that we have brothers from all over the North American continent. We are an international fraternity, but it really doesn’t come into perspective until you meet members from Texas, or members from Florida and some of our Canadian chapters (though, I did meet some of our Alberta brothers at RLS in the winter.) The weekend really showed me what brotherhood is like on a much bigger scale, and it was fantastic to get to talk to other chapters about what they’re doing and how they’re doing it, because really we’re all so similar in our views and goals.
Something else that really amazed me was the guest speakers. This conference was the first time in my life that I have had so many accomplished people, let alone DU men, speak about not only our place in the global society, but also about how we as undergraduates can better ourselves as men. It’s difficult to describe, but the speakers were just incredibly powerful and inspiring.
Particularly important to my position as VP of Scholarship, the breakout sessions provided a lot of insight on how I can more effectively and efficiently run my position. One specific breakout session helped the most, when I, along with many other men in the same position at their respective chapters talked about how to handle not only the problems of poor academic record, but also how to maintain academic excellence for those chapters who have achieved it once before. This gave me many ideas on how to better facilitate high academic accomplishments, as well as some ideas on how to help Max with the associate member education and how to best help them with academics.
Fraternally,
Lee Holcomb
I just want to personally thank our alumni for their generous support in sending us to the 2013 Leadership Institute in Phoenix. It was a really great event that had me leaving with a lot of new knowledge I will implement
to not only improve the house, but myself.
As the VP of Recruitment for our undergrad chapter one of the most important things that I gained from this trip was a better sense of what it means to be a DU, and this has helped me to create a better pitch to sell to potential new members. It helped to instill even more pride and passion in me for this house, and that is something that I will carry over into recruitment. I also learned some valuable new recruiting tools from listening to the guest speakers, as well as from speaking with members from other chapters who have been more successful with their rushes than we have.
It was really great to be able to meet and spend time with brothers from other chapters as we were able to make new connections with people who share the same values that we will have for the rest of our lives. Talking with them all just really make me see how great it is to be a DU, not only here in San Diego, but across the whole nation.
None of this would have been possible without the generous support of ouralumni chapter, and I thank you all for the opportunity you afforded me to grow myself.
Niall McCarthy ’14
VP of Recruitment – San Diego State
Going to Leadership Institute for the first time was a memorable experience for me. When we left from San Diego, my goals were to learn something new that I could apply to my executive position and to make a stronger bond with my brothers. I feel that after the trip to the Biltmore, I have accomplished those goals. There were so many mind stimulating seminars throughout the weekend, at times I couldn’t decide which ones to go to. There were also had a number of guest speakers and Ignite speakers. I can’t say how powerful Will Keim’s message was. His speech pushed me to want more out of myself as a person and as a man.
Aside from the seminars and speakers, I was fortunate enough to hang out with my brothers. We made a lot of memories from this trip and they make me excited to be a part of Delta Upsilon. They motivate me to want to improve our chapter everyday. Also, we are really lucky that we have a strong alumni base that sets the bar for all other DU alumni bases. Without them we wouldn’t be able to have so many brothers attend LI and learn and apply the skills that we learned.
DUEL was very unique for me. It was held in Becket, Massachusetts which meant that it was going to be the closest I’ve ever been to the Atlantic ocean . It was the first time that I’ve ever flown on a plane by myself, and the first time I’ve ever booked a hotel by myself. I was the first person from the San Diego State chapter to ever attend this so I had no one to tell me what it was like or what I should expect while I was there. Nonetheless, I got on a plane and a day later I was with 20 other DU brothers at some kind of YMCA camp in hot and humid weather. I would have never expected I would have a good time at a YMCA camp.
DUEL
The whole point of DUEL was to show us as individuals what our strengths were as leaders and how we should go about implementing them when we came back to our individual chapters. DUEL brought us together so we could talk objectively about our chapter strength and weaknesses and what our individual plans were to improve our chapters. It was great to see that other guys go through the same victories and struggles and it was awesome to see the support that was given throughout the trip. Out of all the things I learned, the most valuable thing I took away from the whole DUEL experience was that in order to have success I would need to get out of my comfort zone.
I remember one of the days was dedicated to doing a ropes course and this huge swing course. It’s like a regular swing except I was attached to a rope and was hoisted up 30 feet off the ground. Easily a crazy thing to do for me because I am terrified of heights and freefalling. It wasn’t in my comfort zone to do something like that. I remember telling myself that I wasn’t going to go on the swing and was just going to avoid it. Eventually the brothers took note of that and cheered me on to go through with the swing. Their motivation pushed me to do something that I would have never done on my own. That’s what I want to bring back to our chapter. I want to motivate my brothers to want more out of themselves and to actively seek ways to make them better men.
If I was given the chance to go back I would absolutely would. The friends that I made there at DUEL really embody what it means to be a DU brother, the lessons that were taught changed what kind of leader I am, and everything we did pushed me to be a better man. It’s not often that opportunities like DUEL are given out, and I was fortunate enough to be chosen to attend and to have an alumni base that supported me throughout the whole experience. I really can’t wait for another brother from our chapter to attend so he can experience what I did and hopefully be put out of his comfort zone so he can do new and better things!
Fraternally,
Zach Peters ’16
