“This is probably the hardest thing you’ll ever do in your life, but it will also be the most rewarding.” Those words changed my life and the lives of countless other Lambda Phi Epsilon brothers internationally. The first time I heard that statement, I thought it was a bluff; I found it very difficult to believe that joining an organization in school could be harder than anything I had ever done. Shortly after starting my new member education process, I could already see the truth in that statement. Today, after having been a brother of Lambda Phi Epsilon for over two years, I can say that, without a doubt, it definitely is the most rewarding thing I have ever done.

When I had first set foot in Baruch College, I didn’t have the slightest idea what a fraternity was. As an incoming freshman, I was swarmed with clubs that approached me with promises of an enriched and rewarding college life. I ultimately chose to attend Lambda Phi Epsilon’s recruitment period because a friend of mine, Alan So, had already crossed into Baruch’s chapter. After attending several events, I felt like the brothers were people that I could see myself hanging out with, and surely enough, was given a bid after interviews.

Throughout the recruitment period, I had heard that there would be a process before one becomes a brother, but I had always assumed that it would be a short and easy hurdle to leap. Needless to say, it was an understatement to say that my assumptions were wrong. Every aspect of the new member education process truly caught me by surprise, and I’m glad that it did. What makes it such a rewarding experience are the challenges that you face. Everything that is done throughout that period truly builds everlasting bonds between you and your class brothers. Each challenge that you are faced with has a purpose, and every step of the process teaches you valuable lessons and skills that can be applied to life. The process as a whole makes you a much stronger person both physically and mentally. Crossing as the captain of my class in December 2007 gave my class and I a great sense of pride.

The two years that I’ve been blessed to spend as a brother of Baruch College’s chapter of Lambda Phi Epsilon have been some of the most meaningful and rewarding years of my life. Becoming a brother changed my life. People can say that they have close friends that they can call family, but those bonds can never be compared to brotherhood. I’ve been blessed to be able to call the leaders of Baruch Lambda Phi Epsilon my brothers, and I know that I can count on them for anything.

Recently, I was given the opportunity to visit chapters of Lambda Phi Epsilon in California. I was amazed to see how far the bonds of brotherhood reached; I met brothers from the other side of the United States who treated me like family. The things you learn, the character you develop, and the bonds that you build as a brother of Lambda Phi Epsilon truly show why we are leaders among men.

- Jason LeeFall 2007, CUNY Baruch College

When I began college at Stanford University I really wanted to have the full “college experience,” so I took it upon myself to participate in a lot of different activities and befriend a lot of people from various backgrounds. I had a fair amount of fun, but after two quarters at the university I still hadn’t really found my niche, and I had a feeling it would be a very long time until graduation without a base of friends.

At the time, I worked alongside a few Lambdas in a volunteer student organization but they never said much about their fraternity to me, perhaps because they didn’t think I was that interested. Nevertheless, I wanted to take advantage of Recruitment Week to learn more and see if I could find in Lambda Phi Epsilon the base of friends that I had been missing. When I came out to their events during the recruitment period, I was impressed with what I saw: a close-knit, fun-loving yet highly intelligent, and charismatic group of young men. On top of that, they were a group of Asian American men who were comfortable with their identity and not apologizing to anybody about their membership in an Asian American fraternity. Despite some of the negative things I had heard about Lambdas in the past, I found myself admiring these “bros” and figured these were the type of guys I wanted to associate with during my college career. Soon enough, I pledged and crossed into Lambda Phi Epsilon at Stanford University. The friends I had been looking for were no longer so important – I had brothers now.

Three years and a lifetime of memories later, I can honestly say that joining Lambda Phi Epsilon was the best decision I’ve made in my college career. My fraternity brothers have not only provided the base I needed as a freshman but also served as mentors and motivators in helping me to realize my full potential as an undergraduate. As an active, I’ve had the honor of receiving two of my fraternity’s national scholarship awards, the privilege of serving as New Member Educator for another class of Stanford Lambdas, and the chance to network with hundreds of other brothers from across the nation. I’ve even had the pleasure of seeing my actual little sister cross into our sister sorority, alpha Kappa Delta Phi at Stanford!

Through all of my actions I would like to believe that I’ve made a lasting positive impact on my fraternity, but over the years I’ve also learned that fulfilling our fraternity’s motto – to be leaders among men – isn’t just about the things I do. Aristotle put it best when he said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.” For me, everything I’ve done in this fraternity has made me who I am: a confident yet humble person who cares deeply about the people around him and devotes his utmost focus to every task. I am a Lambda and every day, I work to earn the right to call myself a leader among men.

- Vang XiongSpring 2009, Stanford University

Life takes you in the strangest directions sometimes, both good and bad. I would say that Lambdas is one of the most profound and unusual event that has ever occurred in my life, mainly due to fact that I never had any interest in doing a fraternity whatsoever nor would I ever think it would change my life considerably.

The first time I’ve ever heard of Lambda Phi Epsilon was during my first day as a freshmen. At Baruch College there is Freshmen Convocation, which is the first day of school exclusively for freshmen, where they get the students more familiar with Baruch College. After Freshmen Convocation there would be a street fair where the school welcomes the students to free food and refreshments. All the clubs and Greek letter organizations had a table to promote themselves.

I already hated going to Baruch because it wasn’t my intended school in the first place. I had been a reject from Binghamton University and my small experience at Baruch so far was terrible. During the street fair, I was eating a cheeseburger by myself because I didn’t know anyone. Out of the corner of my eye, I see two guys point at me in the distance. They looked at each other, nodded, then quickly walked towards my direction. This made me nervous and scared. All I could think was, “It’s my first day of school, I didn’t meet or talked to anyone and I still caught beef, I’m about to get jumped on the first day.” I was wrong though; the two guys approached me, introduced themselves, and told me about Lambda Phi Epsilon. The older looking one did most of the talking, and he told me about what Lambda Phi Epsilon is about, what rush is, and about the college experience at Baruch College. That person would end up being my Big Brother. I wasn’t hooked at that point though, but I thought I give it a shot to see what it was about. When I rushed, I truly respected what Lambda Phi Epsilon stood for. I joined and crossed into the brotherhood of Lambda Phi Epsilon. This was over two years ago, and it’s one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.

Being a Lambda is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life. Being a Lambda means many things for me. Whoever thought about the motto, “To be leaders among men” was a genius. That is what I strive to be at the end of the day. I feel that being a Lambda means being a real man, but not just any other man, but a man that’s a leader among men. I feel that being a true Lambda shows a great deal of character. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how good looking you are, how many girls flock around you, how much money you have, what type of car you drive, what brand name clothing you wear, these are not things that make a man, let alone a leader among men. A leader is an exceptional individual who has this aurora of command, authority, and genuine respect. The character traits of being a leader are beyond trivial things such as girls, cars, clothes, and money. Being a Lambda means being the best possible person you could ever be, and to have this strive to become a leader one day.

Being a Lambda means a great deal, but the benefits of being a Lambda are also there. I have benefitted from Lambdas in so many profound ways, that’s why I consider it one of the best decisions I have ever made. I would say the brothers in my chapter make a big part of it. Our chapter is so diverse in personality and people that it truly makes the chapter special. I feel that I made some deep bonds with the people in the chapter, and it amazes me how if it wasn’t for Lambdas I would have never met them. At best, even if I met them, there would be no possible way that we would have the same deep bond. There are the obvious things like the mixers and the parties, but I want to go beyond that. I remember going to Chicago Convention, and I’m just looking out the shuttle bus to see everyone boarding the other shuttles. Everyone was chanting where they were from, Norcal, Socal, East Coast, Texas, Midwest, it was amazing. I have never seen such a gathering where people across the nation meet in one location and represent who they were. I knew right then and there, if I wasn’t a Lambda, I would have never seen such a thing before. All of the great people I’ve met and all the wonderful places I’ve been to wouldn’t have been possible without Lambdas.

Besides how I’ve benefitted from Lambdas, I would say Lambdas has benefitted from me also. I’ve taken numerous positions in my chapter and fulfilled those duties required for those positions. People would say that would be how my chapter benefited from me, but I feel that although taking up a position is important for a chapter, it’s not everything. I think the being brotherly is very crucial, and I’ve think I offered that to not only brothers of my chapter but various brothers from other chapters across the nation. It’s the little things that count, like driving a brother somewhere, buying a beer, offering a place to crash. I would say throughout my Lambda career I have shown that to many brothers in my own chapter, and to brothers across the nation.

- Ken YeeFall 2007, CUNY Baruch College

One of my good friends from high school convinced me to rush Lambdas. At the beginning of the rush process, I had no intention of joining a Greek organization, but after meeting the active brothers at UVa, I warmed up to the idea of joining an Asian-interest fraternity that aligned with my interests. After beginning the pledging process with my good friend and the rest of my class, I was surprised to learn that the active house only had 3 brothers, who were all graduating. My friend that had been so fervent about joining Lambdas eventually dropped. There were many times during the pledging process where I felt that joining Lambdas would be a fruitless venture. What was the point of joining a fraternity with no one in it?

What kept me going was my class’s shared vision of the future chapter at UVa. I knew that with hard work, dedication, and commitment, Lambdas at UVa could be something great. Throughout the pledging process, I was emboldened by the fact that there were no actives left at UVa, because that meant that my class would be able to shape the future of the chapter. The fate of the UVa chapter being left up to a class of new members excited me, and posed as a challenge I was ready to accept.

Being a brother of Lambda Phi Epsilon requires stepping out of one’s comfort zone in order to be a true leader. To be a true brother of Lambda Phi Epsilon, one must be able to overcome challenges, adapt to new situations, and be able to illuminate unknown or difficult paths for future brothers. A true Lambda makes time for academics and service, as well as going out on the weekend. A true Lambda encourages his brothers to be the best they can be, without resorting to coercion. If problems arise, a true Lambda relies on logic and wisdom, as opposed to emotion, in formulating a solution.

While in Lambdas, I have befriended many people I would not have otherwise had the chance to meet. After visiting other chapters, I have made connections with brothers from different schools, as well as their friends. More importantly, I have made tight-knit and everlasting bonds with the brothers at UVa. This year I am living with my entire class. Ever since becoming an active, my life has been inextricably tied to my class brothers. I take great comfort in being able to rely on my brothers if I get into trouble.

Last semester I was in a serious longboarding accident and suffered a severe brain injury. I was hospitalized in the intensive care unit for three days with a brain bleed. The first people in the emergency room were my brothers. I saw a brother every day that I stayed in the hospital. After I got out of the hospital, brothers called me every day to see how I was doing. Even after arriving home, my brain injury was still significant, so other actives took over my responsibilities while I recuperated. I am forever indebted to my house, and I am so thankful that I have met my brothers through Lambda Phi Epsilon. The greatest benefit I enjoy from Lambda Phi Epsilon is knowing that I can depend on capable individuals.

- Michael KimSpring 2010, University of Virginia

Joining any fraternity was the last thing on my mind when I first entered CUNY Baruch College. I felt that it was a joke, waste of time and I was really against the idea. Many organizations tried to “rush” me, from different cultural backgrounds but I never bothered to even look into it because at the time I was coming into College with a goal of “self-actualization” or trying figure out what I want to do with my life. During my 4th semester at Baruch, I had officially decided to declare my major as Pre-Medical. Out of the 12,993 students that attend Baruch College, only around 45 are Pre-Medical majors, since the school is predominantly for Business major students. That same semester, I realized that my life in school was the same pattern, repetitive routines every day and on top of the school being commuter school, it felt like high school again. I decided I need an alteration to this repetition in my life. I heard about Lambda Phi Epsilon since I first entered Baruch because Lambdas at Baruch College had a presence that was known to many. I heard of the many accomplishments that the organization had and it intrigued me to see what they were about. That was when I first began to look into Lambda Phi Epsilon and little did I know that it would be one of the decisions that would impact my life dramatically.

Everything I do in my life, I do with expectations of myself being far beyond what they should be. If I don’t live up to those standards, pushing myself even further is the only option for me. Being a Lambda meant I had to finally take responsibility for something that was far bigger than any one person. Wearing the letters meant I had to display all that I acquired and learned during my new member process. I had to display my passion and dedication to the chapter in a way that it would be exceptional and not just better than those who had crossed before me.

Very few people in college realize the meaning of value. Lambda Phi Epsilon helped me apprehend what I value in my life and that I can always push myself past what my mental, physical or emotional capabilities might limit me to. There are several other things such as time management and prioritizing what is important. I am thankful for that but the way Lambdas brought me closer to my family at home is something I am truly indebted to. My relationship to my family was not so great before I joined but building bonds with my new brothers helped me get closer to my family also, and I will forever be grateful to this brotherhood for that. Although after joining the fraternity I hardly have enough time to myself, I don’t complain because everyday I learn something new from a brother or just value the time I spend with my brothers and doing work for my chapter.

- Bilal ShahSpring 2010, CUNY Baruch College

Going into college I had the strongest feeling of not joining a fraternity. I was so set in my head that I was not “going to pay for friends”, because I already had plenty since I was going to go to Virginia Commonwealth University, which is about 15 minutes from my house. I also did not want the bad reputation of oh, you are in a frat and all you do is drink and party. I did not want those characteristics since I was just trying to go to school to get an education and get into Nursing school and no be occupied with anything else. Well one day I was walking to class like usual and one of my good high school friends who I wrestled with came up to me and was like hey come check out this fraternity I am part of, there’s a meeting tonight at 9pm in the commons. I had no clue my friend went to VCU and he crossed Fall ’08 Beta class. I was like oh ok, I’ll be there but I thought to myself I am not going to that meeting. I looked up the fraternity name because I was curious to what fraternity he was a part of. I googled Lambda Phi Epsilon and clicked on Wikipedia. The thing that caught my eye was the description, an Asian interest fraternity; I never knew such a thing existed. I started to wonder what it was about, so since I had done all my homework and already studied I might as well go to the meeting to check it out to see what they are all about. When I walked into the meeting I was astonished because there were about thirty other freshmen just like me interested in rushing for Fall ’09. Another thing that caught my eye was that all the brothers were wearing line jackets. This was a lot different than I expected because I was thinking about the typical white fraternity. But while I was listening to the brothers they started talking about their values and what they believed in. The brothers stressed to us that that value academics, leadership, philanthropy, service, and eternal brotherhood. A value that stood out to me was yes of course the academic part and the leadership part, but I really liked how they stressed brotherhood. Brotherhood is not like a friend, and that is something I enjoyed hearing because I already have enough friends. I have always wanted a brother to chill with and someone that will always be there to support me and help me unlike a friend. I have also always wanted an older brother to guide me in the right direction. I never knew fraternities had values and I really liked what they believed in and I got very interested. They told us about rush events throughout the whole entire week and I went to every single one of them to show my dedication and interest into their brotherhood.

Being a Lambda means everything to me. I have full pride in my letters and I will for the rest of my life. It means so much to me, almost like family but not as much as family. I enjoy going to other chapters around the country and just hanging out with them even though it is my first time hanging out with them. They seem to always show you around the area showing you a good time and they also treat you to dinner as well. This is something I would have never expected because I feel as if we as Lambda Phi Epsilon have the strongest brotherhood worldwide and that is something I hold really high in my values. I love each and single brother I encounter just because everyone respects each other.

Lambda’s benefited my life in so many ways. The thing that benefitted me the most was the leadership positions I took right when I crossed. It has made my resume look like something that it never would have without Lambdas. It has made me a more dynamic best all-around person and stick out in the crowd. Another thing I benefitted was my leadership abilities. Being in Lambda Phi Epsilon ever since I crossed Fall ’09, I have been historian, academic chair, and currently the Internal Vice President for my chapter. Not only that but I have been on the executive board for the Multi Cultural Greek Council including VP of Operations (Treasurer/Secretary) and currently hold the Vice President Position. It has also gotten me into many other organizations such as Vietnamese Student Organization, Filipino Americans Coming Together, Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society, The National Society of Collegiate Scholars, The VCU Fraternity and Sorority Life Budget Team and many numerous hours of community service.

- Michael CaldwellFall 2009, Virginia Commonwealth University

“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, but as unbelievable as it sounds, one day you’ll look back and laugh when it’s all over.” At that time, those were the most ridiculous words anyone has ever said to me on my road to becoming a brother. Having the only friend I had drop the first night and being stuck with a big bro I had not spoken a word to at rush, I was certain these words were the misstatement of the century.

The day I submitted my acceptance letter for colleges was probably one of the worst days of my life. I had signed and dated the next four years of my life away to Baruch College, a city university. This meant commuting an hour and a half every day to and from school. The worst part of it all was that I had other choices. I was accepted into state universities and private schools like Stony Brook, St. John’s and LIU. But, I found myself in front of the mailbox with my letter of acceptance to Baruch in one hand and nothing in the other. I knew I was going to regret this for the rest of my life but I knew I had to stay at home and take care of the family.

Family is absolutely the most important thing to me. My father had recently retired from his profession as a construction worker because of a bad back and my mother worked late nights as a waitress. My brother had gone away to Stony Brook for school. I didn’t have the heart to leave my aging parents who spoke little to no English to fend for themselves. This was the most unselfish thing I’ve ever done, but who knew that Karma would intervene.

Fast forwarding a year into my college career, I had still never heard of Lambdas. I was never rushed by anyone. I was against the whole “Greek Life” thing because I didn’t like how they carried themselves from my experience on campus and at clubs. I had recently broken up with my 5 year girlfriend. She was the only person that kept me sane while all my best friends were away at school. I realized I had friends in school, friends I played basketball with and friends I partied with but none of them which I could call my “boys.” Suddenly, I felt like there was a huge void in my life. A hole I had to fill.

During my sophomore year, my girlfriend at the time actually opened me up to “rushing” for Lambdas. I had no clue what it was or why I would be interested in joining what seemed to me as a club but exclusively for guys. I swallowed my ego and decided to check it out. There I experienced something I hadn’t felt in forever. I felt very comfortable. This group of guys did everything I liked. This was the motivation I carried into the new member process.

The new member process was everything they said it would be. “This will be the hardest thing you’ll ever do. But it will also be the most rewarding thing you’ll go through.” We started as 16 boys and ended up with 8 men. We were as tight as can be. We were there for each other every step of the way. Through thick and thin, and blood, sweat and tears, we came out of every task laughing and smiling because we made it. I didn’t do it for the sorority girls and I didn’t do it for the networking. I did it for a sense of belonging. Going into the process, I was hoping to get some “boys” out of it, and when I was done I got something more meaningful. I had people I could call my brothers.

Lambda Phi Epsilon has done so much for my life. I’ve been humbled, I’ve become a better leader and most importantly I’ve found out who I really am. These are the reasons that I work so hard for my fraternity as a chapter and as an international organization. I want to show the ropes to the new members that come in after I have like how my Pops and Big Bro have done for me. I want to help fill that void that someone who was in my position feels.

- Perry WongFall 2008, CUNY Baruch College

My parents have emigrated from the Philippines to America — a month before I was born — to labor in the agricultural fields of Eastern Washington. Having been born in a Native American reservation and raised in a school district that had a predominant (80%) Hispanic population, I had a difficult time identifying with my Asian American heritage. In fact, I was more proficient in Spanish than I was with my parent’s native tongue of Tagalog. I never even realized the unfortunate state my assimilation until I graduated from Wapato High School and enrolled at the University of Washington in Seattle.

That’s when my life was flipped upside down and everything around me had changed. In contrast to the demographics of my hometown where less than two percent of the population was Asian, the University of Washington was predominately full with Asian American students — I was in for a complete culture shock. Excited and surprised, I tried joining different Asian American clubs on campus to learn more about other Asian cultures. However, these clubs had members in the hundreds; and nobody knew everyone on a first name basis. For example, I became a member of the Filipino American Student Association, but I never felt a sense of community within the club. What’s worse, I couldn’t even relate to my own Filipino identity, so I had the hardest time fitting into an organization in which I was supposed to belong. It was only the first week of school, and I couldn’t help but feel even more lost in a sea of over 40,000 students. All I really wanted was to find some sort of family that I could call my own.

And then I discovered Lambdas.

While traversing through the campus’ annual student organization fair, I was given a rush flier from an active brother who gave me a brief description of Lambda Phi Epsilon. This quick interaction got me interested in exploring Greek life, specifically Asian-interest groups. After checking out my available bids from other fraternities, I decided on Lambda Phi Epsilon. Other fraternities and Asian-interest sororities advised me—a conventional, by-the-book, honors student—not to join Lambdas because they thought that “[I] couldn’t last through the process.” However, my observation of the Lambda brotherhood during rush week is what finalized my decision to join. What I witnessed piqued my interest: unspoken camaraderie, unrestrained confidence, and a tightly-knit family.

I initially entered new member education with one main motive to continue: to prove all the naysayers wrong. Pushing myself beyond limits of extremity, I learned so much more about my potential than I have ever realized in such a short period of time. Because of the program, I was able to familiarize myself with the local community and get heavily immersed in the Asian American culture (I was introduced to foods like pho, sushi, kimchi, dim sum, pad thai, etc. for the first time during new member education). Along the way, the brotherhood that was cultivated between my class throughout the process grew over time. And it was this unbreakable brotherhood fostered within my class that renewed my focus and motives to continue through the difficult and arduous process. On the break of dawn on January 9, 2009, I crossed into eternal brotherhood with seven others alongside me. All of us couldn’t help but burst into tears.

Crossing was a defining moment; I proved it to myself and to my class that I was somebody.

- Bryan DosonoFall 2008, University of Washington

The reason I first considered joining Lambda Phi Epsilon was not exactly something to be proud of. To word it politely: I was more concerned with the social opportunities that joining would afford me. It was the social aspect of the fraternity, more a composite of hopes and expectations and a little bit of Hollywood brainwashing than anything real, that made me first decide for myself that I would join the fraternity. Little did I know how much my insight into brotherhood and Lambda would change from that simple beginning.

Even over the course of my rush season, those two short weeks, I began to feel what Lambdas was about: family. The brothers treated me in a way that I had not really felt in other organizations. Sure, I was friends with people, and I knew others from meetings or classes, but nobody really reached out to the extent that the Lambdas did. Precious few were willing to be more than just a friend. Yet the Lambdas were inviting me into their house, paying for my food, and most importantly, trying genuinely to find out about me and to know who I really was. From wanting to merely be a “bro”, I suddenly had a desire to join these people in order to be just what each one of them was: a brother.

Now I won’t get into the details of how I became a brother, but I will say that it was a long process, that it was hard, but that it was definitely worth the effort. At the end I emerged with more than twenty people on campus whom I could consider brothers, and hundreds, perhaps thousands more that were a phone call or a road trip away. And that has had a lasting effect on my academic and personal life, ever since I crossed that line and became an active.

In some ways it is hard to even see how Lambda has changed my life, since it has been over two years since I became an active. The fraternity has become such a natural part of my everyday life that I barely even notice the changes it has made in me. It takes effort to recall that, before I joined Lambda, I was rather aimless. I had a lot of things going on, a lot of classes and activities, but nothing that I could really invest my fullest effort into. I did not have anything I really cared about that promised to give as much back as I put in. But Lambda has given me numerous opportunities to consider what I wanted out of my college career, and to fully pursue those goals. For instance, I wanted a chance to learn how to be a leader, so I ran for President of my chapter, and my chapter gave me that opportunity. I wanted to learn how to throw events that people would actually come to, and the chapter gave me numerous opportunities to learn. I wanted to be empowered with legal knowledge, so our alumni gave me the opportunity to help them incorporate a non-profit. At every step of my Lambda career, the chapter has given me the freedom, ability, and support to train and improve myself. It has taught me humility, responsibility, resolve, and the numerous other qualities that will be forever valuable in my future.

So in the end, what does Lambda mean to me? Two words: family and opportunity. The ability to consider what you want and then go out and grab it, all with the support and guidance of none other than family.

- Leland ZhiSpring 2010, University of Chicago