During the Fall of my freshman year at the University of Alabama (UA), I decided to change my major from Political Science to Finance. With that came a change of not only my field of study, but also the college in which I would be learning. I was unsure of what I wanted to make of this massive change in my life. However, I knew that I needed to find a group to get involved with on campus. I think it was by coincidence that I happened to stumble across a page on UA’s student organization website, The Source, for a coed professional business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi.
At the beginning of my second semester, I began the rush process for Alpha Kappa Psi. During which time, I created strong connections with the current members and learned a lot about what it meant to have a good elevator pitch, a good resume, and how to ace an interview. With these skills, I was ready for my initial interview. I remember I was beyond terrified, but those workshops during the rush process helped to ease my nerves. A week passed after my interview, and I got the call that I was being offered a bid. I was ecstatic. The next week, I started the pledging process.
Led by the Alpha Rho chapter’s VP of Pledgeship, Hadden Langley, we were guided through our development and education to prepare us for becoming members of Alpha Kappa Psi. We continued to polish our resumes, sharpen our resume skills, and develop as business professionals. During this 8 week period, I noticed a lot of changes in my demeanor when I was around campus. Having a goal to work hard toward outside of my school work made me a lot happier and helped me develop a new, better work ethic.
Additionally, I noticed that I was seeing a lot more people around campus that I knew. I couldn’t seem to walk anywhere on campus without either seeing someone in my pledge class or an active member of the chapter. The connections I was forming during this time gave me some of my best friends. The pledgeship process also gave me countless successful people to look up to within the chapter, namely my big, Megan Demo. I met people who had internships with Dell, Snapchat, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and countless other companies who served as inspiration for what I could achieve if I worked hard and applied the principles that AKPsi sought to instill in us.
Finally, after 8 weeks, we arrived at our initiation into Alpha Kappa Psi. This was the culmination of all of the hard work we had put into this process. It felt so gratifying to know that all of the time and effort I had put into this organization was all paying off. I was finally a brother of the Alpha Rho chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi.
During the summer of 2021, I was asked if I would like to be a committee chair within the chapter. While I was definitely nervous, I felt like this organization was something I wanted to get deeply involved with. So, I accepted the offer to take on the responsibility of being a committee chair for chapter collaboration. I have no idea what my future in this group of friends holds for me, but I know that it will be worth every second of the journey.
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Nick Moyes
Sophomore
University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL
@nick._.moyes