By Sean Maloney, '12, Phi Sigma Kappa
This August, four brothers from the Nu chapter of Phi Sigma Kappa attended the Shonk Leadership Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. These brothers representing leadership roles in the house ranging from President to House Manager took it upon themselves to further their education in what it takes to be an excellent leader. The conference was three days long and consisted of a variety of different events. There were group activities including a barbeque at the National Headquarters for Phi Sigma Kappa that promoted brotherhood and communication. There were also smaller breakout sessions that taught valuable lessons on topics including recruitment, risk management, leadership, scholarship, and a variety of different issues. The overall goal was to capture the abilities to bring these ideas back to the chapter here at Lehigh and educate the other brothers, which the group plans on doing this year.
A special privilege was presented to one of the Phi Sig brothers, Sean Maloney, as he was nominated and chosen to attend the Zillgitt Institute. A group of 18 brothers from all around the nation were brought to the conference a day early to participate in a through leadership training. The day these brothers arrived they were put on a bus and arrived at the Damar Services facility. This is a living community for children ages 10 to 21 with Autism or other maladaptive behaviors. The brothers in Zillgitt were able to play games, get a tour of the facility, and connect with the young gentlemen in the program. Also during the Institute, the brothers had a crash course in leadership in an all day session of presenters. They then attended the rest of the conference and brought what they learned back to the other brothers.
Throughout the conference awards were given out to the chapters on various levels. The brothers of the Lehigh Chapter had a successful leadership school as they walked away with 7 awards for the chapter. They were in the areas of Scholarship, Community Service On Campus, Community Service Off Campus, Campus Involvement, Philanthropy (participation), Philanthropy (sponsorship), and New Member Education. James Trollo also received special acknowledgement when he was presented with an award for scoring over 70% on the Phi Sigma Kappa Ritual History Test, which he opted to take during the conference. Overall, the brothers of the Nu Chapter feel that they were recognized for their excellent year and plan on continuing this tradition again this year.