Our staff is still getting used to this whole blogging thing…or at least I am. Generationally, I fall into a strange category between the Generation Xers and technology-driven, Millennials. I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that people want to broadcast absolutely everything about themselves through Facebook or tweet what they had for lunch (although I have an account on both). In my day, AOL instant messenger and Napster were cool……
So my deadline to submit a blog came and went because I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to write about. But then it occurred to me, 2009 marked 10 years for me as a member of our fine, Fraternity. Since there is no distinction for this occasion, I visited with our great historian, Mr. Robert J. Miller, and after a short conversation he decided that this was my “Aluminum Legion” (I was pushing for Bronze).
So what has my first 10 years of Phi Delt been like? While I fully understand that my PDT experience has been somewhat atypical (having spent nearly 6 years of it working here in Oxford, Ohio) it has still been similar to most, filled with plenty of Phi Delt Weddings, a couple of homecomings, and lots of memories and great friendships in-between. My unique experience is that as a staff member I do get the honor of coming to work every day to make an impact on an organization that I love, but with my specific role as Associate Executive Vice President, I also have the distinct privilege to work with hundreds of talented volunteers who don’t get to “play fraternity” at work as I do, but instead take hours, days, and weeks away from their jobs and families to make Phi Delta Theta what it is today.
During my “Aluminum 10”, I’ve seen the impact of this dedication as I spent some of my own time as a volunteer for Penn Zeta (Penn) and most recently Ohio Theta (Cincinnati) as a member of their advisory boards. While our job as staff is mainly to communicate and educate, volunteers have the ability to mentor, advise, and empower, while ultimately getting the payoff of seeing the “light bulb” come on when a young leader figures out how to put his ideas in action. And isn’t that what it’s all about? We initially joined this organization for what we could get out of it, but ultimately found out that anything that was going to be worthwhile in our Phi Delt experience was going to be for someone else.
So whether you’re an Aluminum (like me), Silver, or Golden Legionnaire (or somewhere in-between), if you care enough about Phi Delta Theta to take a few minutes to read this blog, you care enough to spend a few hours a month working with an undergraduate trying to figure out how to recruit more men this semester, balance the budget, or find an alternative to hazing. I guarantee you that we can find a chapter where you will have a rewarding, impactful experience. If this sounds like something you might be interested in (An Entourage reference for my Aluminum Brothers) contact me at swagner@phideltatheta.org.
Sean has been a member of the Fraternity’s GHQ staff for six years serving as a Leadership Consultant, Director of Expansion, Director of Alumni Services, and is currently the Associate Executive Vice President. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Mu Chapter and a graduate of Widener University and is pursuing his Masters in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management from Northern Kentucky University and currently resides in Cincinnati.
