Prompts

Brothers: How have you developed as an individual since pledging for ΑΦΩ?

Pledges: What do you want to learn throughout this process? How do you hope to develop as an individual throughout this process?

 

"Throughout this pledging process, I believe that my main goal is to be a more social and open-minded person. I have always thought of myself as super shy and awkward. I don’t like stepping out of my comfort zone because I’m afraid of what people might think. I was pretty hesitant about joining APO, but some members were able to encourage me, and I decided to join. And I’m so glad I did. In the first three weeks I have already done things I never would have done, and already met a lot of great people. I just hope that through this pledging process I’ll be able to carry these experiences into future opportunities.

 

Also through this process I want to be able to learn hot to manage my time and what my priorities are. Ever since pledging, I’ve discovered that I really had to plan out my schedule ahead of time. I have to find time for my school work and time to be able to fulfill the APO requirements. So far I believe I’ve been doing pretty well so far and it’s really teaching me how to put everything into perspective. I also want to be able to share my opinion and speak my mind more. So far I’ve really been struggling with that. With topics that are brought up during meetings, I usually have ideas, but I’m always scared to share them because I don’t want my ideas to be rejected or seen as dumb. I know that APO is a family and is always a safe place, but I’ve just never been good at speaking my mind. So I hope that with these upcoming months I’ll have enough courage to share. Or hopefully by the end of this process.

 

With that being said, I want to be able to expand my leadership skills. I feel like I’m a very passive person. If someone wants to lead, I’ll let them. I usually take charge if no one really wants to. For, example in high school, I’d always be the group leader because no one really wanted to so I would just volunteer. I have good ideas, don’t get me wrong. And I like leading a group, but like I said before, I’m not very good at sharing my ideas. If it’s a small group, it’s no problem. But with big groups, it’s more pressure because it involves more people. I want to learn to not be afraid of new things. I’m so used to a routine, and that’s where I’m comfortable, but I’ve discovered that life is boring that was. I want to see APO as a new beginning. I don’t mean that I’m going to change myself, but I want to actually be me and be comfortable with a group of people. I’ve never really opened up to people and I want to be able to do that. So through this pledging process I hope to be a better leader, person, and a friend. This pledging process will also be able to benefit me in the long run by taking me out of my comfort to experience new things and opportunities."

"Recruiting for Alpha Phi Omega has already been so rewarding, and has pushed me to become a more understanding, caring, and thoughtful person. I personally wanted this process to teach me to become a leader, so I can apply it to other aspects of my life. Additionally, I wanted to improve specific qualities such as being accountable for my actions, driven, and caring. Lastly, I wanted this process to remind me the importance of giving back to the community we live in. Generally speaking, I believe this experience will be life altering and will ultimately challenge me to grow as a student, citizen, and a member of Alpha Phi Omega.

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Fortunately, I  have already gained experience in becoming a better leader from planning Fred Heismeyer’s first fundraiser. This experience was the perfect opportunity to put myself out there, and go for it. I originally initiated the fundraiser ideas, and later was chosen as to be one of the main leaders. In particular, I personally tried my best to make sure every one of my fellow Fred Heismeyer peers felt their personal opinions were being heard. I learned when being a leader, everyone within the team should feel comfortable to state their ideas.  In addition, a key factor to being a good leader is to listen and observe. Many think being a leader means to direct people to do specific tasks, but there are also much more important procedures. Throughout this experience I was able to learn how to handle conflicts effectively and efficiently. When being a leader many questions are directed towards you, and it is important to answer them thoughtfully and carefully.

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Throughout this process, I want to become a better individual on my campus, in my community, and in my country. I want to learn different skills to become someone who is more accountable for the world they live in. I have already started to see myself mature within the past couple of weeks, because of Alpha Phi Omega. As I have engaged in a variety of different services, I have become more aware and understanding of the community around me. I know everybody has very busy schedules and because of that we sometimes forget to give back to our community. After volunteering I’ve had this rush of happiness come from within, and it has reminded me I am a very fortunate individual. To fulfill service to humanity has filled me with personal gratitude, and I am thankful Alpha Phi Omega has given me opportunities to engage in volunteering events all around San Francisco.

Through this process I hope to ultimately become a more well rounded person. I believe this process will successfully teach me to become more aware of the community that surrounds me. Through volunteering at services, talking to members, and become a successful leader, I hope to continue to better myself as an individual. I hope and know Alpha Phi Omega will challenge me to continue to be the best individual I can possibly be, and to embed the “Be a leader. Be a friend. Be of service” in my heart."

"The main reason why I decided to pledge Alpha Phi Omega, was because I wanted to meet new people and get more involved on campus. Last year (freshman year), I was so engrossed in my studies that I literally was not a part of any club or organization. This seclusion made me really shy and introverted, or at least a lot more than before, so I definitely wanted things to change this year.

 

Before pledging even started, I was not expecting much out of this experience, other than something to put on my resume and a few solid friends, but so far, this process has been so much more rewarding. I have already learned so much, but in the remaining weeks of pledging, I hope to learn a lot more about myself, this organization, and the people around me. I also hope to develop into a stronger, responsible, and more grounded leader.

 

First, I hope to learn more about myself. Because of my past and everything I’ve been through up until this point, I’ve always felt lost and never really felt like I knew myself, which often led to confusion and self-hate. It sounds weird, but I hope to learn more about how I am as a leader and teammate, the kind of traits I value, and basically what I want and need in life. At the end of this pledging process, I hope that I will be able to accept myself and have a better sense of self-identity and confidence in who I am.

Second, I hope to learn more about this organization. Essentially, what I mean is to get to know the brothers, but I also want to understand this organization and what it stands for. In the past year, I noticed that all of the brothers in Alpha Phi Omega take such pride in being a part of this brotherhood. I’ve always wanted to feel like I was a part of something, so I hope to know this organization and to represent it proudly when I cross over into brotherhood.

 

I also hope to learn more about the people around me, pledge brothers and brothers included. Because of past events, I used to be really introverted and I’m just starting to open up again, so it is hard for me to branch out and make new friends. It often leads me to have a negative outlook on people and to judge them before getting to know them. Throughout this process, I hope to grow beyond that and to open up to and truly get to know my pledge brothers and understand who they are.

 

Last, I hope that from this experience, I will develop into a more responsible, accountable person. This pledging process has already taught me a lot about the importance of accountability for myself and for my pledge brothers. I hope that after crossing over, I will continue to implement these lessons that I’ve learned. I also hope that I will become more outspoken and not be afraid to speak up. I also hope to develop my leadership skills, whether it is to be the head director and delegate or to be the analyst and first, tend to issues within the group.

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So far, pledging for Alpha Phi Omega has been more rewarding that I ever imagined it would be because, as cheesy as it sounds, I feel like I am not only finding myself in this organization, but also a place that I can truly belong to. :-)"

"As an aspiring member of this organization, I want to enhance my growth as a leader, a friend, and a community member of the University of San Francisco, as well as Alpha Phi Omega. Since the beginning of this semester, I have learned so much about myself as a leader. Throughout high school, I was heavily involved in student government and class organizations. However, I’ve never really taken the time to identify with which type of leader I’d like to be. In past experiences, I definitely identify as a mediator and team player in my leadership style. I like to think that great leadership is to know the difference between dictating and distributing power. I also believe that great leaders know when to step up and take the lead and step down and listen. However, throughout this process, I’ve come to find that I’ve had to step down from taking “the lead” more often than what I’m used to. When you’re in a room with a group of other leaders, I don’t necessarily need to take charge all of time and it’s a great thing. However, it really makes me question if I’m ever doing enough or if I could possibly be doing more. I identify as a more non-confrontational personality, but as I’m going through this process, I think I should learn to speak my mind more and sharing what I’m truly feeling or thinking isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Many times, others are thinking the same thing and want to hear what I have to say. This process really emphasizes all of these things and has helped me discover what kind of leader I am and what I am truly capable of.

 

This process tests time management, accountability and communication skills. As is anything in life, balancing school, work and this process is challenging for anyone. However, as adults, I think it’s so important to practice these skills in order to prepare us for our future. More than anything, accountability is a big lesson I’ve learned throughout this process. From day one, learning to be accountable for each other was challenging because there are so many of us and towards the beginning, we hardly knew one another. However, as a team, it’s so important to learn to rely on others and to trust one another and earn that trust from others as well. As is anything in life, we learn to take responsibility for ourselves and many times we aren’t used to being responsible for 26 other individuals. I think it’s important to be more trusting of others and to be considerate of how each of our actions affects others. I’ve definitely learned to be more responsible during this process because I do not want my actions to affect my class. It’s challenging but rewarding for me, and I believe it’s so beneficial for my development. This process has taught me to be mindful of others and as an individual, I’d like to practice accountability and learn to apply it in my life and career."