Things I'm Going to Miss about Ohio, Part II -- Sigma Pi, Eta-Phi Chapter

For the past four years, I have served as the chapter advisor to the young men in Sigma Pi fraternity at Miami University. Being an advisor meant that I attended almost every weekly chapter meeting, in addition to weekly executive council meetings. I also attended other appropriate events, as my schedule permitted such as BBQs, baseball games, intramurals, and Greek Week events.

It's still a little surreal to say goodbye to them. It's going to be weird when the semester starts up in the fall to know that I won't be making my way over to the house on Sunday night for exec and chapter meetings.

To say that we've survived a lot over the last four years would be an understatement. I won't chronicle the past here, but know that I've dealt with it all. And I think the chapter--and I--are better for it. We've survived the loss of a brother within the chapter, won Greek week three times, narrowly escaped suspension, and, well, I guess I am starting to chronicle things a bit. There are too many memories worth noting, I guess.



Eta-Phi was a little bit more than rough when I started working with them. I'd like to think that they've improved greatly. In fact, they are very close to being a top chapter in the nation according to the national fraternity-- whatever that means. I'm quite proud of them. They've had to stand up to a lot, and often to their brothers within the chapter. I'm becoming even more convinced that there is nothing more difficult in the undergraduate experience than standing up to or confront a fraternity brother whom you love like a blood brother. I think there are other things that are comparable (dealing with the loss of a loved one, for example), but none seem to be as difficult as this. They've made great strides in this area. I think that's been the single greatest joy to watch unfold.

Being an advisor has been even more important to me over the last two years. While my work at the foundation has been very rewarding, it lacks the component of working with students, which I've been able to fill by working with the Sigma Pi's. Some of the relationships I've been able to build with the guys truly feel like brotherhood, even though we were on a bit of a different plane (advisor vs. student). The men are immensely talented, and it's been a pleasure working with them.

When I first began to work with the chapter, I used to always refer to the SVSU chapter of Sigma Pi (my undergraduate chapter) as "my chapter." About two years in, I started calling it "my undergraduate chapter" because I felt as though I now had two chapters -- Theta-Beta and Eta-Phi. I'm not sure anyone ever caught on to the subtle language shift, but it was intentional and was intended to convey an important message. Spending four years with a chapter--coming to every chapter meeting, attending events--is *almost* like having another undergraduate fraternity experience, minus the drinking, living in, and paying dues part.