From A Chickadee: elise

My story of joining KPhi is a little different than others. I transferred to UT Austin my Sophomore year and was only looking for clubs that other people were doing. However, it never really made me feel fulfilled enough. I was always searching for more or trying to do too much until my junior year, where I saw Chi Kappa Phi during speedway tabling and decided to give it a shot. 

I started my Junior year off in a weird place. Not really knowing what direction I was heading in and trying to do too much, rather than enjoy my last two years. Little did I know that KPhi was going to be my little family that I did not know I needed. After going to the many introduction events and meeting the different members of the organization, I was slowly starting to feel like I was becoming happier in my surroundings and felt like I was being cared for. 

I was the oldest in my class but I never felt that gap throughout the Peep project or in the organization. If anything, my peeps are my parents and I am their child lol. I felt like I had a group of friends that I could lean into if I needed anything. Additionally, I never felt like I had to act a certain way or felt left out. I felt included in the organization and felt like I had a small group of friends that I could rely on if I really needed them. 

Not only has this organization given me another family, but they share the same values that I do which is caring for the community around us. It is a privilege to be able to go to college and get a degree, thus, I always felt indebted to the community around me because they have given me the chance to do the things that I wanted to do. Joining a service organization has helped me give back my thanks to those that have given me the opportunity to be here. 

Lastly, I just wanted to say that if you are nervous about joining or scared of how little of an organization we are, do not be. I am happy that we are a small organization because I get to know everyone on an individual level and get to share my experiences with them. I have had my most wholesome moments with KPhi, whether it be the 6 am service events to Healing with Horses or our Halloween spirit event where we all decided to go to a frat party together and later decided not to go. They have given me so much and have always understood the parts of me that were difficult to understand. I promise you will not be disappointed by this organization. 

Fly,

Elise Nguyen 

Lambda Class