Next up in Feature Friday (where members of the Greek community share reflections on their Lehigh experience) is Dan Ritter from Delta Chi!
This past summer I was
offered an internship in the Office of Student Leadership Development, a
division of the Dean of Students office that, through the programs and
initiatives they provide for students each year, help students become leaders
in the campus community. Although I was unsure what the internship would
actually entail, I could have never imagined the benefits that the few short
months would bring. Not only did I have the opportunity to meet other Lehigh
students, faculty, and staff that I would not have otherwise met, but I was
able to work on several different tasks and projects that helped me develop
skills that I know will benefit me in the future.
One of the ways that my
internship this summer has already started to have a positive impact is through
my experience in my fraternity, Delta Chi. One of my largest projects as an
intern was to design the Student Leadership Kickoff, which involved planning,
organizing, and coordinating several different aspects such as catering,
decorations, and invitations. Through that planning process, I was able to gain
invaluable project management skills. These skills will definitely be able to
help me in future work within my fraternity, such as helping to plan out a
philanthropy event or a brotherhood retreat. Balancing various tasks throughout
my internship experience, and learning time management from doing so, will
undoubtedly help me in my fraternity experience. Between classes,
extracurricular activities, and being in a fraternity, there are often a lot of
tasks that I have to balance my time between. After more practice with time
management this summer, I know that I will be able to effectively balance all
of my commitments, and because of this I will be able to dedicate time to Delta
Chi in order to help accomplish tasks that the chapter must complete.
One of my favorite aspects
of my internship this summer was my role as a ropes course facilitator.
Although I was already a ropes course facilitator prior to beginning my
internship, I was able to facilitate for a variety of group over the summer,
which helped me gain experience in facilitating teambuilding activities and
helping groups address the challenges they faced or objectives that they wished
to achieve. Facilitating has become something that I love to do, and I hope to
be able to facilitate different activities and teambuilding exercises for Delta
Chi over the course of the year so that we can grow as a brotherhood and
address any challenges that we may face as the year goes on.
I am so grateful for the
experience that I had over the summer with the OSLD, and I am excited and eager
to see the benefits that will come from the experience that I had.