I am sorry but my second post is not as pleasant as my introductory one. At the beginning of this month, our colony here at Iowa experienced a very sad situation. Our main advisor lost his young son earlier this March.
This was a shocking and unfortunate reminder of how things can turn rather quickly in life for the better or in this case, the worse. Nevertheless, I feel that this is important to discuss briefly because at some point all of our chapters and members of Phi Delta Theta experience personal tragedies. The question is, how do we respond to these situations?
The answer to the question posed above is that we all must support each other. Sometimes, there will not be much any of us can do to help people in situations like our advisor’s except to ease the pain by being there for people like him. Knowing that you have people that care about you is perhaps the most important thing in life that you can have and caring for others is the most important thing you can do.
When some of us went to the wake for our advisor’s son, we experienced how emotional and moving something like that could be for our advisor. We were waiting in the church to pay our respects to him and his wife and we could see each and everyone that went up to them before we did. After a while, we finally got to Mr. White and gave our condolences.
While there, something happened that really touched each of us. He had been relatively composed up until we greeted him but when it was our turn to speak to him, he nearly broke down in tears. This moment really reminded us how important Phi Delta Theta is to many people and the connection that he felt with us in that regard helps to explain why he got so emotional with us compared to other people.
When you join Phi Delta Theta, you are not just joining some campus organization like College Republicans or Student Government you are becoming part of an extended family. Not all of our experiences are going to be pleasant but the thing that separates us from others is that we share these experiences like a family. Phi Delt is not something you just put on your resume, it is something that you carry with you throughout your life.
Yours in the Bond,
Jamie Travis Iowa Beta (Kansas Alpha #2503)
Hey man,
That was a good read! Reminds me of my time in the chapter when one of the guys lost his father. I was in my apartment when I heard the news. Then, as an e-board member, I made sure the chapter knew what happened. My girlfriend asked me why I was doing this because the girls in her sorority wouldn’t do anything like that. I told her, its just someone we do when something really great or really bad happens to a member. This way whoever it is dealing with the situation knows we’re all there for him.
Another time, one of the guys lost his mom and it was a similar situation at the funeral when about 20 of us showed up for our brother and his family.
Anyway, thanks for sharing. Proud to be a Phi!
Rick Montanez
Cal Rho (Bond 139)
Thanks for the update. Sorry to hear about this news. As a member of Iowa Beta, I’m rooting for your success!
David Virden
Iowa Beta 1215