When I rushed AKPsi my freshman year, I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into. I knew that AKPsi is a professional business fraternity, whatever that means, but all the same, I was hooked on the first night -- everyone I talked to was incredible. Here is a group of college students who maybe have no idea what they are doing with their lives, but they know they want to do something, and something big if possible. One brother told me during rush that it’s ok if my resume isn’t perfect or my interview flawless, so long as I have passion and the desire to direct and refine that passion through a little brotherly help.
Now as a junior, I still don’t really know what I’m doing with my life, and thankfully, AKPsi is not going to tell me what I should do. Instead, AKPsi continues to introduce me to some of the most driven students on campus, who teach me what different forms of leadership look like, how to make my resume applicable to any job I apply for, and to have the courage to take advantage of the opportunities available to me. One of the best kept secrets of the business world (which, by the way, is any field where people are hired or recruited or volunteer or interact with other people in any way) is that success is not just who you know or the college name on your diploma. Don’t get me wrong, those things certainly help. But how badly do you want it? How many times are you willing to fail and admit defeat and still have the resolve to keep going? Are you willing to reach out to strangers, to humble yourself and ask for help? And then once everyone tells you no, will you have the courage to try something new, to allow that you still have so much to learn?
You might think that no person has that kind of drive, and you might be a little right. But the best part about AKPsi is that you don’t have to face the world completely alone. Sure, I have no idea what I’m doing with myself, but neither do many of my brothers, and so we learn, and stumble, and faceplant together. At the end of the day, we’re still just college students, but we are college students who want to do something big, whatever that big thing might look like to each of us.
The world is in a very tumultuous place right now, in some ways for the better; however, the job industry is not one that’s exactly easy to enter. That being said, there is likely failure in all of our futures. Thus the remaining question is how we will each handle our failures and who will be there to support us when things don’t go according to plan. As we truly begin to shoulder society’s responsibilities, maybe we’ll change the world a little bit, maybe we won’t, but each of our “something big”s will be better because we didn’t get there alone. If you want to hear more, debate my take, or ask any questions please feel free to reach out to me, aolson4@tulane.edu, I look forward to hearing from you.
