This summer, Brother Matthew Geary attended the SigEp Ruck Leadership Institute in Richmond, VA. The following is the summary that he has been kind enough to provide of his experience!

During my time at the Ruck from June 12-16 at Richmond College I was placed in a small group mixed with brothers from other chapters from across the nation. I met a wide range of SigEp brothers from California alpha chapter to Maine alpha chapter. Meeting brothers from across the country was a great way to make contacts with other chapters and get an insight into how they run their chapters, run rush weeks, and host events. Talking to brothers from across the country was an experience I never had at Carlson and made me appreciate SigEp and the values it has instilled. At Ruck I was apart of Team Hartman with our team leader being John Hartman, past grand chapter president and recipient of the Order of the Golden Heart Award, the highest award given in SigEp. John and I had many insightful conversations about what it means to run a chapter, how to allocate resources, but above all how to be passionate to everyone. John made an emphasis on being caring, passionate, and understanding as these qualities are not important as a member of SigEp but as a member in the community and in life. John also made an emphasis on making the most out of out time in college and surrounding yourself with the right group of people. The other facilitators for Team Hartman, Travis Taylor and Chris Minnis also had great insight on how SigEp has changed from the time their were in college, and on how we can make changes in the future. Besides the facilitators, mentors, and brothers I got to be with. Being in Richmond where SigEp was founded was a learning experience in of itself. Learning more about the founding of SigEp and the reasons for the formation of the fraternity gave me more insight into who we are and why we do what we do. Visiting the SigEp headquarters at Zollinger House was another great learning experience to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes and the history of Conclave, Carlson, and other events that occur. Overall the Ruck Leadership Institute taught me more about myself, the fraternity and where we should go in the future. This leadership opportunity, unlike Carlson or Conclave, allows us to work with others more one on one and focus on our own personal skills rather than broader skills as I saw at Carlson. Sending a brother or even more than on each year to Ruck would benefit not only the chapter, but the brother who go as it has benefited me.

VDBL,

Matthew Geary

Sigma Phi Epsilon NYX