Taking the Reins: Your Guide to Leading Growth as a Freshman

by Matt Farrell

This fall, Aiden Iorns went from new college student to in charge of his chapter’s growth almost immediately.

Would you like to get involved with growing your chapter just as quickly?

Here are some tips, in Aiden’s own words, from how to gain this leadership role to how to succeed in it!

Remember Why You Joined

Think back to our own process you went through. What I remember first is I was given options. A lot of people are uncomfortable around strangers in person. The student who recruited me let me decide between chatting over the phone or meeting face-to-face. He made it as personable as it could be – his goal was to get to know me as a person.

So, remember that stuff like that is why you joined. Don’t feel the need to copy events for other groups on campus, if that didn’t get you to join. That should form your key philosophy with how you’d want to do the job.

Advocate For Yourself

If you’re looking to get involved as a freshman, this is what I’d tell your chapter’s leaders….

These newest members, we have the most energy and enthusiasm anyone could have. We’re just burning with it, as young leaders. And if we do not have the opportunity to show what we’re able to do, that snuffs out the flame that is burning so brightly.

Have a Stretch Goal, & Track it With the Best Tech Available

The job is most tough when you don’t set your own goals. My goal this spring was 8 new members, which was unheard of for our organization. After I got 5 I was tired, but feeling pressure in a good way. Healthy pressure you put on yourself is the best kind. If you set low goals for yourself on purpose, you’re not gonna have any motivation.

ChapterBuilder was my entire thing. Mass texting, being able to go through it with my chapter, using the grading scale. I still get really busy with school and that is my first priority. So when ChapterBuilder gives me alerts on people, and still have homework to do, I know they need to be reached out to. That lets me either get someone in my chapter to help right away.

Love The Whole Process, Not Just Hitting Your Goal

I love reaching out to people and talking to people, it really is about that and not how many you get to join.

Even though I love people, I still can’t keep track of every conversation. Having ChapterBuilder take care of that for me, it really helps keep the people part fun. I don’t have to do any of the name entry, or phone number entry work myself. That alone saved me hundreds more hours for the fun parts of the job. The names would flow in, and I’d just hit a button to sort. Being able to dump an excel spreadsheet into ChapterBuilder saves me so much time, too.

I had a brother telling me, if you weren’t checking in on me, following up constantly, I don’t even know if I would be here – or be at Oklahoma State. Your job is honestly changing people’s lives. To get that kind of feedback, it’s incredible.

About Aiden: Aiden joined Kappa Alpha Order at Oklahoma State University in fall 2020. He hopes to manage freshwater ecosystems, and use his recruitment technology experiences to boost the business and sales side of his resume.