By John Alexander
As an environmentalist hippie walking onto Tulane’s campus last August, the last thing I expected was to join AKPsi, a business fraternity. Well, here I am. I came to Tulane early my Freshman year to be involved with the EXPLORE Program: Ignite. I immediately jumped right into the community service with Ignite and was loving every minute of it. One afternoon, as we were on the bus headed back from another hot and sweaty New Orleans August day, my Ignite OC mentioned AKPsi. My response was a rant against the business community, and it’s direct opposition to environmentalist goals (Ya, I was that kid). She, regardless of how many times I would lay into the business community, continued to encourage me to rush AKPsi in the Fall once classes started. I finally agreed when rush week rolled around.
I walked up the stairs in my “Casual Dress” and was immediately met by a smiling face inviting me to sign in, walk through the doors and begin. I sat down and engaged in the Information Session. I found myself listening intently as we were given information about the rush process and what was required. When the information session was over, we were told it was time for networking. I got up, walked over to a brother and said hello. That’s when it hit me: Every single brother has their own field of interest and contributes in their own way to the brotherhood. I decided I would come back to see what these engaging people were all about.
I kept going back for the brotherhood, the unity, the integrity, the knowledge, and the service that the brothers so exemplified. These fellow students I was meeting were from so many disciplines across Tulane I couldn’t believe I had written AKPsi off for being focused just on business. I had conversations ranging from the relationship of environmental activism and business hierarchies to talking about a Scuba Cat themed parade float. The people I was meeting were fun, smart, interesting, quirky, and down to earth. So I came back again, again, and again until, before I knew it, I had finished the rush process, the interview, and had been accepted into the Alpha Delta Pledge Class of AKPsi.
The process of joining AKPsi was a weird one for this home-grown environmentalist hippie from Waco, Texas and it was an experience I’ll never forget. I feel completely welcome into the brotherhood. Now and then I’ll say or do something that will trigger a loud “Sustainability?!?!” from others in the room, to which we all laugh and enjoy each other as brothers in AKPsi.
