PBLI Spring 2015- Orlando, Florida

This weekend a group of 32 brothers went to Alpha Kappa Psi's annual Principled Business Leaders Institute in Orlando, Florida. The event was held at the Rosen Centre Hotel.

The Principled Business Leaders Institute is designed to further professional growth for brothers by hosting a variety of activities and speakers to teach important business skills and facilitate discussion of brotherhood best practices.

The event began Friday night with an opening ceremony that featured guest speaker Kostya Kimlat, a keynote speaker on magic and business. Kimlat gave a presentation on "the magic of personalities," which taught us about how to recognize different personality types to best foster collaboration and success in groups.

Brothers then started their interactive Saturday at 8 a.m. with a regional meeting that rallied the spirit of all the chapters in the Southeast region. Throughout the day, we had breakout meetings to discuss the five building blocks to becoming a principled business leader and various educational blocks featuring topics such as choosing the right path, planning your future, and how to stand out.

While the Saturday was a very long day, all brothers were excited to learn so much valuable information that would better their future success within the brotherhood as well as in the future with potential internships and careers.

But that's not it... Four brothers from the Alpha Phi chapter participated in the case competition team and won 3rd place out of 16 participants! We are proud of their great success.

Our brotherhood also won several awards including Chapter of the Year. It's safe to say that our chapter's success comes from the boundless energy and dedication from our brothers. We are so proud to represent AKPsi and can't wait until the AKPsi convention in Norfolk, Virginia this summer!

And, as always, Go Gators! 

Washington, D.C. Professional Trip 2014- Part 1

This past weekend from the Nov. 21-23, a pack of 28 brothers braved the cold, windy streets of Washington, D.C.! The weekend was packed full of company tours, city tourist attractions and interchapter relations.

Friday, Nov. 21 we landed in D.C. around 8:30 a.m. We then scurried to the hotel to freshen ourselves up. We toured NPR at 12 noon and then Deloitte at 3 p.m.

NPR, National Public Radio, gave us a great tour! Our brothers had the opportunities to see the Tiny Desk, hold Emmys, see a real NPR studio and so much more.

Deloitte, one of the top accounting firms in the country, also provides a wide spectrum of financial services. Deloitte consulting gave us an interactive presentation about their consulting services. We listened to a great presentation on the overview of the company and then broke up into smaller groups to network and learn more about the company.

After Deloitte, most brothers headed over to American University to see their local Alpha Kappa Psi chapter's Honor Court. It was great seeing how another university handles their honor court and mingling with all of their brothers.

We had a busy day full of great activities! We would like to give a BIG thank you to brother Sarah Van Valkenburgh for organizing the trip and all the activities we attended on Friday.

Thanks for checking out a little about our pro trip! If you would like to see what the brothers did on Saturday and Sunday check out the blog in the coming days to see part 2!

10 Minute Mentor

Last week on Thursday, we had our semi-annual 10 Minute Mentor professional workshop!

The event was hosted like a game of musical chairs. Every speaker had 10 minutes to give a brief talk about their professional experiences and then answer questions from our brothers. After the 10 minutes were up, the brothers would switch tables to speak with a new professional.

Brothers listen intently to speaker Trevor Abbott.

Speakers included:

• Mark Freid, creator of Think Creative Inc.,Orlando, Florida
• Trevor Abbott, co-founder of SpinChill, Gainesville, Florida

Trevor Abbott and Blair Smith pose for a photo.

• Brett Lackey, Geographic Information Systems, Gainesville, Florida

Brett Lackey hydrates between groups.

• Dave Sullivan, Associate Director of Career and Leadership Programs at the University of Florida

Dave Sullivan does his signature move.

• Keith Herndon, Associate Director for Finance and Administration at the UF Emerging Pathogens Institute
• Jill Boylston Herndon, an associate professor for the UF College of Medicine

Our VP of Alumni, Jenna Radomsky, put on a fantastic event.

“This semester's event had an incredible turnout,” she said. “Our mentors were able to share their knowledge and experience with about 50 of our brothers and pledges—one of the largest turnouts we have had for this particular event.”

“I couldn't be happier with how successful this event was, and I look forward to seeing what future mentors share with our brotherhood,” Radomsky said.

Summer Interns/Study Abroad 2014- Rachel Bowden

Rachel Bowden will be a 3^rd year history student as well as the VP of professional development this fall.

From May to July this summer, Rachel was interning in the education department at the Orange County Regional History Center in Downtown Orlando. Currently, Rachel is studying abroad in Cambridge, UK.

At the History Center, Rachel was responsible for the day to day operations of their summer camp administration as well as maintaining financial records for the program. She had the chance to meet many members of the Orange County government and learned how cultural programs fit into the government system. She said it was very interesting to learn all the work that went into making an exhibit which incorporated many departments such as sales, marketing, finance and collections.

Rachel is currently on a 4 week long research-based study abroad program focused on 19^th century European history. Rachel spent one week in Paris to kick start her research and is now spending three weeks at St. Edmund’s College in Cambridge to finish her research paper.

She loves being emerged in all of the history around her as well as being able to research the French colonization of Algeria during the 19^th century for her paper.

“The best part is that we are able to utilize the world-famous Cambridge University Library as a resource,” she said.

We are so proud that Rachel was able to grow professionally with her internship and study abroad program this summer, and cannot wait to see the great things she does as VP this fall!

Study Abroad 2014- Leila Jawad

Leila Jawad is a senior sociology student and will serve as head AVP of pledge development this fall. Leila went on the UF in Dominican Republic program for 6 weeks this summer. 

She took two courses: Service Learning and Dominican Culture and History. For Service Learning, she volunteered about nine hours per week at a local clinic where she learned the daily operations of a medical center, how to do sutures, administer injections, perform Pap smears and give patient care.

The clinic was in an extremely poor “barrio” which sometimes required them to make house calls. 

“House calls were one of my favorite parts because we got to see how our patients lived, though it was very sad,” she said.

For her Dominican Culture and History class, she stayed with a host family who only spoke Spanish.  She said it was one of the most challenging yet most rewarding parts of her trip because her Spanish improved so quickly.

We are so proud of the work Leila did in the Dominican Republic this summer!

Summer Interns 2014- Gretchen Fisk

Gretchen Fisk is a 3rd year telecommunications and political science student who will serve as AVP of recruitment this fall. 

She is a marketing and communications intern for peerFit this summer. Four University of Florida students created peerFit in 2011 with the vision of making group fitness easy and fun. Their main product is a SweatPass that gives its members access to fitness classes at different gyms and studios without having to pay the individual gym membership fees.

Gretchen controls the company’s Twitter and Instagram pages, formats the peerFit blog, and is learning how to network and gain prospective clients.

“I love the group atmosphere of the internship and getting to work with other like-minded people,” Gretchen said.

This summer is also Gretchen’s first semester working as the assistant editor at the UF Graduate Editorial Office. She will assist in the editing process of over 500 doctoral dissertations and master’s theses each semester. 

Her other responsibilities include working with publishing companies while cataloging and coding for the 2014-2015 Graduate School Academic Course Catalog. Also, Gretchen is trying to expand the reach of social media to current and prospective graduate students in the Graduate School.

We are very proud of the work Gretchen is doing this summer and look forward to seeing her future success!

If anyone is interested in learning more about peerFit and their internship opportunities, check out their website here! 

Summer Interns 2014 - Stephen Bolden

As a professional development fraternity, our brothers are always looking for ways to build upon their professional experiences and prepare for the working world ahead of them. Many of our brothers are currently participating in internships across the country with various different companies.

One of these brothers is Stephen Bolden, PC Fall 2012 and our next Alpha Phi Warden. We got the chance to find out a little bit about what he is doing as an intern at P&G in Charlotte.

Stephen began his internship with Procter & Gamble on May 19th in Charlotte, NC. He is working in P&G's Customer Business Development (CBD) function. "The CBD function is such an exciting business within P&G, and I love being a part of it. My job is very multifaceted, and each day I learn something new, whether it be about marketing, advertising, or sales," Stephen said.

Throughout the summer he will be working on a diverse array of projects with world-renowned, billion dollar brands, such as Tide, Old Spice, Crest, and Pampers. So far he is thoroughly enjoying the experience and loves working in a fast-paced environment with intelligent people.

 We look forward to hearing more about all Stephen accomplishes in the next few months and his experiences in Charlotte as well!

Keep checking back to see what some of our other brothers are doing this summer, both here and abroad.

Pledging Alpha Kappa Psi Changes Your College Experience

The only way to understand how much pledging can influence your college experience is to pledge. The Alpha Kappa Psi chapter at the University of Florida strives to shape pledges into professional brothers who will positively influence the business world. The process aims to improve interviewing and public speaking skills, and to make networking connections that will continue into future careers. This semester we have compiled quotes from current pledges describing the pledging process and how the process has affected them personally.

"My favorite part of pledging so far has been having the incredible opportunity to make bonds that will last for a lifetime."- William Wu

"I think that I have most improved on my confidence and public speaking."- Sabreena Davidson

"My favorite part of pledging has been meeting so many new, ambitious and diverse group[s] of people. I have loved watching how our pledge class has grown and the family we have created."- Justine Gordon

"I've learned so much through the pledging process. Alpha Kappa Psi has prepared me for such a wide variety of professional experiences that I am confident in my ability to surpass any competition for future interviews and endeavors."- Kelsie Ozanne

Pledge Retreat Spring 2014