Forum - 2010-11-01 Final - Home Page - Theta Xi Fraternity

ALUMNI GIFTS REALLY
DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE...
In fall of 2006, University of Louisiana-Lafayette
freshman Bernard (Bernie) Lemoine joined Theta
Xi's Alpha Omicron Colony. Almost immediately the
young Brother set his sights on re-chartering the
chapter, and being elected chapter president.
Brother Lemoine realized both goals in spring 2009 and
in August of 2009, he was elected as one of two
Undergraduate Directors to serve on the Grand Lodge.
Earlier this year, we asked the new 2010 graduate to
share with us reflections on his fraternity experiences.
On what alumni generosity has meant . . .
“If I could meet the men who give their time, their
money... I honestly wouldn't be able to thank them
enough. Every investment they made in Theta Xi
helped me get a heck of a lot more out of college than I
could've imagined. I never missed a District Leadership
Academy. I attended the Presidents Academy... that
experience was a highlight of my entire college career.
I learned more in that one weekend than I did during
some classes in a whole semester.”
One of the most important moments came for
me the first time I ever attended a Theta Xi
meeting. I hadn’t joined yet, but I remember
being so impressed to see the genuine respect among
the Brothers for each others’ ideas. The amount of
responsibility they exhibited really sparked my interest
in joining.
Theta Xi’s strength over some other groups is in giving
every Brother a lot of
opportunities to excel in
his particular skills.
At Presidents Academy,
we all took an online
assessment that tested
putting our own leadership
capabilities into action.
There were 10 scenarios
where we assumed the
decision-making role as
the manager of a company
when a problem or chal-
On why he plans
to stay active for
a lifetime . . .
Bernie Lemoine, AO 1053
U. OF LA, Lafayette ‘10
Undergraduate Director on
the Grand Lodge 09-11
“I've invested a
lot of time into
Theta Xi, and I
also feel it's invested a lot in me. We've both kind of
built each other up, building my personal values and
leadership abilities. The Fraternity also provided me
incredible networking; I had two job offers at graduation,
both of which were directly because of Theta Xi.
Now, I just want to be there to help, to always have a
hand in Theta Xi.”
Alumni gifts make a real difference in the lives of our
undergraduate brothers. This year presents us with a
new generation of leaders seeking to improve their
leadership skills and build a stronger Fraternity. The
Foundation Board of Trustees, and Brother Lemoine
ask you to join with them and send in your 2010-11
Fund Drive gift today!
lenge arose. We had to solve it based on constraints
like budget, time, labor, etc. Then our performance
was rated based on how real-life executives had
answered these same questions. That was pretty cool.
Without Theta Xi, I would’ve never learned the value
of responsibility or the patience it takes to lead
people. Last summer, one of our rush chairmen
wanted to quit… I really took some time to think
about how to talk to him and show him why it was
important to get through things, to keep going.
As an alumnus, I definitely want to stay active. A lot of
alumni overlook how important their contributions
are. The strongest chapters I see have a really
involved alumni base. When the undergraduates
know there are people who care about them, they try
harder to not let them down. I think the accountability
is much greater then.
Ben Rowley served as president of Theta Xi’s Alpha
Epsilon’s Chapter and graduated from the University of
Nebraska, Lincoln in 2009.
MAKING YOUR GIFT PRIOR TO DECEMBER 31 WILL ALLOW US TO PUT IT TO
WORK IMMEDIATELY AT THE FOUNDATION’S 2011 ACADEMIES!