A Year in Review... (Part 1)

So, I told you it would take me a bit before I told my stories from the past year as a consultant and now I have decided to create a series of blogs to discuss my year. I feel that this will be a better way to depict to you how my year has flown by from scary first moments until preparing for my last days as a fraternity consultant.

I began back in May 2009 with a few weeks prior to my first national convention as a consultant. As I prepared for this first exposure, I worked hard to understand Chi Phi Fraternity as well as its membership. In addition, I worked to grasp the functionality and purpose of the convention and all of its entities. It would be the first time I traveled to another state that was further away than Indianapolis, Indiana for various fraternity activities.

In June 2009, I packed up my suitcase met with the staff at the Atlanta airport and headed to Chi Phi 144th Congress in Denver, CO. When I landed, I saw amazing things surrounding the "Mile High City." Little did I know that I would face my first taste of being a professional at this annual event.

I never felt overworked in various ways and would go to bed each night exhausted. However, it was hard to fall asleep at night with alumni challenging me because I am not a Chi Phi but an Alpha Tau Omega brother. The undergraduates were reluctant but they saw an opportunity to have someone new advise them, especially since I visited more than half of the fraternity this past year. It was hard to see that people did not accept me but I did let me hinder my efforts as a consultant for making Chi Phi something more than what it was recognized as among campuses.

Hence, we begin my year as a consultant...