In just five short days, I learned the
true meaning of being a "values-based organization", of how to
connect my fraternity's rituals to our everyday lives, and made extremely
strong and lasting friendships with fellow students from across the country.
This was my UIFI experience.
UIFI was built upon the reconnection
of fraternities to their founding purposes, as values-based organizations. But
what does this mean? It was introduced to us simply enough as, making men
better men, and women better women. From there we expanded, discussing why our
organizations were formed and the purposes they originally served. We were
challenged to think and talk about our own values: What was important to us?
What do we most value? This simple yet serious questions introduced us to that
idea that knowing yourself and what you stand for is essentially important to realizing
your potential as an individual and as a part of any group. Being values-based
is knowing what is important to you, and acting in a way that best exemplifies
these beliefs.
UIFI talked a lot about our fraternity
rituals, the words and acts that connect our chapters across the nation and
through the years. We were introduced to the idea that these rituals are not
just for special occasions and closed doors but for every day and every where.
These rituals express the values and beliefs that are important to us, and by
trying to live them out not once a year but every day, we can lead more
fulfilling and rewarding lives. We looked at the idea of fraternity ritual in a
whole new way, as a guide to the principles on which our groups were founded
and as a way to reconnect with those ideas.
I entered UIFI knowing no one; I left
with countless lasting friends. Our small groups truly bonded over the few days
we were there, sharing our problems and concerns and being vulnerable to one
another. The leaders there were really great people, the sense of community at
UIFI was extremely strong and impressive. It quickly became easy to see that
the fraternity experience is so similar across the country, and that this is a
bond that we all share with so many others.
I cannot recommend highly enough the
experience of UIFI; every person in a Greek organization has so much to benefit
from this unique experience. I enjoyed it immensely, and know that it has made
me a strong leader and put me more in touch with what my fraternity truly
stands for.
-Kyle Ferdinando, Pi Kappa Alpha
IFC President