By Emily Baldridge
It all started on December 28th. Well, my journey with AKPsi started long before then, but for this story’s purpose it started on December 28th, 2017 because that was the day my house burned down.
I was sleeping in my bed, groggy with a cold, when I was awakened by the smell of smoke. After busting down my door and carrying me through fire, the firefighters deposited me on my front lawn in front of channel four news in the freezing cold. My house wasn’t visible due to the smoke, and there were fire trucks lined all around the block. After hours of waiting for news, we were told that our house was destroyed.
I felt alone and strange, and everything smelled like fire and was covered in ash. In those first minutes standing outside, watching the smoke clouds get bigger and bigger, it didn’t feel real, because I didn’t know how to process it. I immediately got a call from my pledge brother and good friend Kyle McIntyre, and he told me that he and the brotherhood would be there for me. After we ended the call, it was like floodgates of support had opened and the entire brotherhood made sure I knew I had a home at Tulane and with AKPsi. They made sure I had a place to go for New Year’s Eve, and Armand’s mom made us possibly the best chili I’ve ever had in my entire life. This is what AKPsi is.
Fast forward a couple of days and I was in the airport waiting for my flight back to New Orleans. I had felt so guilty for leaving my family, and I was scared for the new semester. That’s when I connected to the Wi-Fi at my terminal and I realized I had had a couple of unopened emails. I clicked on the first one and tears immediately streamed down my face. I started openly sobbing like an idiot in the airport because my brothers, my people, had come together in secret and raised money for me to buy new clothes. This is what AKPsi is.
During spring rush when I hadn’t yet bought business clothing, they let me participate on business formal day in my rush shirt and my uggs bought with emergency insurance money, and everyone made extra effort to make sure I didn’t feel out of place among the sea of suits. This is what AKPsi is.
When I was supposed to take photos as AKPsi’s Historian but no longer had a camera, Josh Christian, my freshman RA, good friend and incredible brother, let me borrow his professional grade camera even though I had no idea how to use it correctly. This is what AKPsi is.
AKPsi is Matt Saletta, who helped me run movie nights when I was my pledge class funk chair without wanting any credit. And who is by far my parents favorite child, even though he’s not in my family.
AKPsi is Armand and Wisnicki and Oliver, who all made sure I had somewhere to go for New Year’s eve after my house was gone, and made me forget about everything that was going on.
AkPsi is Jacob Budin, who always gives a helping hand when any one needs it, and always has a place for me to stay.
AKPsi is my family, Brett McSherry, Kelsey Maloney and Marcus Greenstein, who love and accept me even though I’m probably the craziest person in the room at any given time.
AKPsi is Sam Bruchhaus who let me borrow his truck and Ann Gaddis, Josh Passman, and Cam Galic, who – with zero notice – drove me to pick up a couch for my house and got Cane’s with me.
AKPsi is Nic Abington, who once drove me from Florida to Alabama at one in the morning one time because I was stranded at an airport after a super delayed flight.
AKPsi is Eli perlmutter, who was by my side as we suffered through long calc and then accounting, and it's Tan Mike and all of the brothers who have tutored me for free when I need help.
AKPsi is Jenny Ly, Margo Schnapf and Jess Galloway, who have held my hand while I cried. It’s also Aarshvi Patel, Mary Myers and Hallie Moore, who have made me laugh so many times I should’ve been crying, whether they know it or not.
The point is, I could list every brother in this fraternity and write about the profoundly positive effect they’ve had all on my life. These are the people I call when I get the best news, and the first people to reach out when something bad has happened. I have never met a group of such passionate, caring and inspired people that lift each other up to be the best they can be.
AKPsi has taught me many things: That I am never alone, that I should never let people underestimate me, that it is cool to care, and they make sure I know that I’m loved every single day.
AKPsi isn’t just a fraternity or friend group to me, it’s a home.
