By Joseph Sotile
I really like making mistakes: I think that they’re the best way to learn. And over my short college experience so far, I’ve made a lot of them.
I changed both majors and schools after the first year of college and transferred into Tulane in the fall semester (it wasn’t a small change either: engineering to international relations). Quickly, I became overwhelmed at the number of things to do on campus. Even though I was technically a college vet going into my second year, I identified way more as a wide-eyed, curious first year who just wanted to make change on campus and a couple of friends.
I initially decided to rush AKPsi for social reasons—I knew a couple of brothers already and wanted to be friends with people like them: interesting, funny, enjoyable. At this point, I had interned at a couple of different companies and didn’t really think that there were many more professional skills other peers could help me to develop. Needless to say, that was a mistake and I have gotten so much more than just friends from AKPsi.
The fraternity shrunk Tulane down so much so that I can’t even walk across campus without running into a couple of brothers along the way. And they are involved, passionate, determined, and inspiring people. Never have I met such a group that is able to have so much fun and then turn around and help you to edit your cover letter at the drop of a hat.
And their interests aren’t all in business or finance: they pursue art, law, medicine, teaching. They want to (and some do) work for companies like Deutsche Bank, Amnesty International, LinkedIn, the Saints, the Met, Amazon, law offices across the country, and Ben & Jerry’s (in the tasting division, of course). They have started their own businesses, their own magazines, and they are so much more than career ambitious; they are kind and caring. They give out more than they take in. The connections and information I had because of AKPsi helped me (and so many other brothers) to secure my summer internship.
I’ve made a lot of mistakes. Joining AKPsi was not one of them. I think that you should try it out, even if you are just considering it. And even if AKPsi is not for you, making mistakes is the best way to learn.
