Phi Mu Delta
Like my reflection with Lambda Alpha Epsilon says, I never would have thought during my freshman year that I would join a fraternity in any way, shape or form, most notably a social fraternity. It was something I was pretty adamant on well into my junior year at Longwood University. In my eyes, I saw fraternities as many do: a way to “buy friends”, an excuse to drink and party heavily every weekend, and I way to quickly drop a GPA. I know many people who joined fraternities and fit that exact description. It was only during my second semester of junior year that I realized I was looking at the failing minority, and not the successful majority of those that join Greek life.
I first heard about Phi Mu Delta during my freshman year. Every year the fraternity puts on a Super Smash Bros. tournament, where entry fees and costs all went to their philanthropy, Saint Jude’s. I remember having a great time at the competition, and thought to myself if I had to choose one fraternity out of all of them, Phi Mu Delta would be it. All of the brothers I met that day were super friendly, easygoing, and not at all like the crazed party goers I saw in other fraternities. They took pride in service to the community, and that’s what stuck out to me back then. But it wasn’t enough for me to join.
Fast forward to junior year. One of the executive officers in Global Leaders and my best friend, Justin Repoli, tells me the story of how he met the Phi Mu Delta brothers, and his intentions to rush this spring semester. I tell him that from I’ve seen, Phi Mu Delta is a great fit for him and that if I had to choose a fraternity, that would be it. He then asks me why I never considered joining them, so I go about my rant on how national dues are through the roof and that I’m afraid that I don’t have the time to be a part of the brotherhood. Rather than try to immediately prove everything I know about fraternities wrong, he instead asks me if I would like to go to an open house with him. In all honesty, I had nothing to do that day so I took his offer with little seriousness and even a little reluctance.
It turned out that the open house was a saving grace for me. I thought that as soon as I walked in the door, I would be introduced and that’s where all connection would stop. At the very least, they would keep talking to me with the pure intent to recruit me: a number to them to brag about when asked how many people rushed to them that semester. I could not be further from the truth. Yes, I was greeted at the door by all the brothers as expected, but rather than talk about recruiting and why I wanted to join, they instead took me as one of their own. Numbers were exchanged, I made genuine connections with the brothers, and I was even invited to one of the brother’s house for the evening to relax and play games with them. These were not the wild people I had created in my mind. These were kind brothers, brothers who put service and academics first and parties last. They understood if brothers couldn’t make it out to some events because they admired how much they were dedicated to their work. Those facts stuck out to me that winter day, and it was those facts that led me to join the brotherhood. The day I ran home to Phi Mu Delta is one of the best days of my life, and it’s one I’m always going to treasure.
The new member education process was also different. I thought we would be going over very trivial stuff, but we learned everything from our history of the fraternity to our Creed, represented by brotherhood, service, and democracy. Some of my best friends were made in the class, and together we took our national exam and passed with flying colors. After our secret initiation, I was proudly inducted and welcomed as a brother of Phi Mu Delta, Sigma Alpha chapter.
It feels unreal writing this, as I look back at my life and see how much hatred I had for fraternities and sororities. It just goes to show that you never know unless you try. My big brother in Phi Mu Delta is one of the people I follow and strive to be like. Him and my other older brothers have been the role models I want to be one day to my little brother. I might be a little biased on this, but I believe all of the Phi Mu Delta brothers are the embodiment of citizen leaders in the community. Service hours aren’t a requirement, it’s a passion. Giving back comes natural to them. They encourage and motivate others to step up and take the helm when it comes time. Phi Mu Delta is the family I needed.