WINTER 2024
XI LITES
MENTORING AND LEADERSHIP AT XI
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o you remember your bid day experience and the opportunity soon after to select a big brother? Our Fraternity and other successful fraternities create and promote opportunities for leadership and have a tradition of mentoring the next generation of members. If there is no consistent effort to share knowledge and experience with incoming members our success can falter. When I was an undergraduate brother my first opportunity for leadership came as historian. During my era at the Xi Chapter, we enjoyed the presence and contributions of many alumni brothers. I enjoyed engaging and learning from alumni brothers and because I stayed in the Roanoke area in the summers, I was able to spend extra time with my big brother and other older alumni who contributed mightily to my personal growth and development. What does it take to be an effective and valued mentor? How can we present more opportunities for our undergraduate brothers to enhance their fraternity experience? Mentor can be a noun, “a wise and faithful advisor or teacher,” or a verb, “a tutor – a volunteer who mentors students.” As alumni in this age of multiple communication avenues, we can easily make ourselves available to offer mentoring to undergraduate brothers. Through this process, we may find that we benefit as well. Remember, the best mentorships help both people grow.
Last year, we sent out our Xi Chapter survey. We have received more than 80 responses, but we have a long way to go. Please consider completing this survey. Using this information, we can find possible matches for alumni Big Brothers to our undergraduate officers and also match those with similar interests and backgrounds to the membership in general. When you complete your Xi survey, please indicate your willingness to mentor an undergraduate brother. A regular email, call or text of encouragement can help expand their network and build new relationships within our organization. Let’s work together to build a culture of mentoring and offer an opportunity for our brothers as an additional resource as they transition from college to their life’s work. Yours in Pi Kappa Phi, Mark Edgell 78 “National Mentoring Month in January is an opportunity to highlight the critical role that mentors play in the lives of youth and the extent to which young people have access to mentors in America. Unfortunately, new data indicate that decades of mentoring progress may be eroding at a time when youth mental health needs are soaring.” - from the Annie E Casey Foundation January is National Mentoring Month
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