By Vincent Iannece
As I sit here, less than a month away from graduating with honors from the University of Pittsburgh, I look back and reflect on all of the amazing moments and memories that have defined my college experience. I can look back on the last four years and truly be proud of all that I have been able to accomplish, and of the man I have become. Phi Delta Theta has pushed me to realize my full potential to lead, learn, and to challenge others to do the same.
I was lucky enough to be inducted as a Phikeia while the Re-Founding Fathers of the Pennsylvania Iota Chapter of Phi Delta Theta were seniors, as I am now. These men were not only well-respected, but they were also smart and ambitious. They taught me what it meant to belong to a values-based organization and how important it was to live the principles of friendship, sound learning, and moral rectitude each and every day.
I learned that the most effective way to lead was by example and that in order to set a good example, I needed to work just as hard as I played. I pushed myself scholastically, taking on a heavy workload that included double majoring in Political Science and History with a minor in Theatre Arts. I was able to complete all of this, maintaining a GPA of over 3.5. While maintaining high academic standards, I also held the positions of Phikeia Educator for the 2010 calendar-year and Chapter President for the 2011 calendar-year. During these two years, our chapter grew to the largest on campus, with over 100 men, while maintaining a Chapter GPA in the top two of fraternities at the University of Pittsburgh. My mission was to set the same example for the chapter that was set for me by the Re-Founding Fathers. I wanted to teach these young men that being a Phi Delt meant being both the best person and best brother you could possibly be.
While I sit here and look back at the good times and the rough times, the laughs and the tears, the countless all-nighters in the library, and of course the fun times with brothers, I begin to realize more and more that this brotherhood lasts forever. The relationships I have forged and the chapter I have helped shape will only continue to grow stronger and better. I owe everything that I have to Phi Delta Theta, and I can only hope that I have honored the last line of the Phikeia Oath and that those that follow after can enjoy all of the opportunities and experiences that I have and much more. This is truly the greatest organization in the world, and I will be forever Proud To Be A Phi.
Vincent Iannece is a 21-year-old senior at the University of Pittsburgh and former President of the Pennsylvania Iota Chapter of Phi Delta Theta. He will be graduating with honors and will be receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History. Vinny is from Bayside, Queens in New York City where he lived with his loving parents (Jerry and Lynn Iannece; both attorneys) and his sister (Elena; soon-to-be freshman at the University of Maryland). He played both football and baseball at St. Francis Preparatory High School in Queens and continues to be very athletically involved. Next Fall Vinny will be attending St. Johns University Law School with a $40,000 per year scholarship.
