in what ways can you see how you are becoming aware of your role as an NPHC member and how are those experiences shaping you as a leader?

I become more aware of my role as an active member of the NPHC by learning more history of the various organizations.  Moreover,  I believe that the more involved I am in the positions I hold I realize how much power I have as an individual and that I can actually make a long lasting change on this campus.  In class today we read an article that talked about historical African American Greek letter organizations.  One of which was the Boule which is an extremely hard society to become of a member and consists of only the most accomplished individuals of the African American community.  Learning this history inspired me because I would like to be considered an accomplished person when it is all said and done.  The members of Boule are all leaders of the highest caliber and I believe that I possess the qualities to join the ranks of these individuals.  However, in order for me to become a leader of this type I must continue to push myself in everything I do.  Practice makes perfect and I think that the NPHC is ladder that will allow me to reach my peaks as an individual.  Learning about the individuals who have laid the groundwork for me encourage me because if they were able to do it under all types of adversity there is no reason that I should not be able to do it with the support system that my family, friends, and fraternity provides.   My role on the NPHC is to be a leader not only among Greeks but a strong, influential African American leader among the entire community.

What Role does your fraternity or sorority play in your identity? Why are you greek?

I do not think the fraternity directly affects my personal identity.  It affects how other people view me.  Being Greek has made me be more conscientious of my actions because everything I do now is in the spotlight.  It is no longer "Bobby did this.."  but rather "the Sigma Bobby did this."  I do not like this aspect of Greek life because I still believe that I am my own person and that my organisation is not my claim to fame.  Unfortunately, this is how Greeks are viewed in the NPHC in my opinion.  People no longer look at your Individual identity but they view you as the Greek letters that are on your chest.  Although, I love my organization and am proud to wear my letters I would prefer for people to still view me as the original individual I am, and look at my fraternity as my platform to showcase it.  I decided to become Greek because I saw it as a great opportunity.  It would allow me to meet people that I would have never met before and it would provide me with the opportunities to become the leader that I know I can be.  Secondly, I saw Greek Life as a way to get real world experience by interacting with people from all walks of life.  One of the biggest challenges of converting from a college setting to a professional environment is learning how to interact and effectively communicate with people who you would not normally talk to.  Moreover, learning to go out of your comfort zone.  So far I have enjoyed Greek Life, I have met several people who I never would have met otherwise.  Phi Beta Sigma is slowly but surely helping me grow and individual, and hopefully by the time I leave Ohio State I will never have to leave my comfort zone because I will have had a enriched, diverse experience.

This is I Believe

The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) consists of Nine organizations, also known as the DIVINE NINE.  The NPHC was founded on MAY 10, 1930 on Howard University.  The purpose of the organization is "Unanimity if thought and action as far as possible in the conduct of Greek letter collegiate fraternities and sororities, and to consider problems of mutual interest to its member organizations.  The NPHC was created by members of all of the organizations and my organization, Phi Beta Sigma was on of the charter members and joined in 1930.

I believe that the purpose of the NPHC is to bring together the African American Greek community.  I think that the NPHC has a long way to go on this campus.  It does not have the respect of its member organizations that it deserve and people do not take it seriously.  I believe that the NPHC has the power to do great things for the Divine 9 and that its meant to bring us all together.  To be honest though I have trouble explaining what I believe NPHC is because so many things still need to be improved within the council.  I have dreams and aspirations about what I think the council can become but for now that is all they are.  I believe that in a couple years after much work and sweat has been put in, the NPHC will accomplish great things and hopefully be respected across the entire campus.  I believe that eventually the NPHC will create a unity in which individual chapters do not think about only their individual organizations but rather their entire community when they make decisions.  I believe that the NPHC is historically important in both  Greek and African American history. 

Yes we do more then step and stroll..but I thought some of you might enjoy this lol..

Who Am I?

My full name is Robert Oscar Rutland III.  I am the product of a single parent house hold and I am a first generation college student.  I am from Grand Island, New York which is a small town in between Buffalo and Niagara Falls.  I have two siblings, an older brother and a younger sister.  My brother attended Syracuse University for his undergraduate degree and Eastman School of Music for his two masters degrees.  My sister is currently a freshman at University at Buffalo where she is pursuing a degree in business.  I am a family oriented person and a Christian.  I am  a second year pursuing a degree in Accounting and would like to earn my M.B.A.  After graduation I would like to work at a Big Four Accounting firm and pass the C.P.A exam.

I became a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. in spring quarter of last year.  Being Greek has been a challenging experience that has constantly caused me to push myself and better myself each day. The second part of the assignment was to explain how we would like to change the world.  I am honestly not sure how I would like to change the world at this point in my life but I have decided what I would like to change about Ohio State.  I would like for there to be better relationships between Greeks at OSU.  From my experiences here I have noticed that there are a lot of elitist attitudes about one's organization.  People spend more time trying to boost up their organization by bringing down each other and this is preventing the community from being uplifted.  I would also like for Greeks to be held at even higher standards.  In order for the rest of the population to look up to us as leaders we have to make it clear that we hold ourselves to higher standards and make it apparent that we achieve them.  Lastly, I would like there to be more interaction between Greeks and other non Greek Organisations.  Not only will this help eliminate the elitist image of Greeks but it will also increase the amount of people interested in being Greek.