The well-know Fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, held its annual Emerging Leaders Institute (ELI) this year at the Fraternity’s birthplace at Miami University in Oxford Ohio. Phi Delta Theta consists of around 230,000 members with Chapters in the United States and Canada. ELI is a program put on by the fraternity in which two or more Brothers are nominated to represent their Chapters in a leadership based conference.ELI began on July 30th and ended Tuesday morning, August 2nd. The topics discussed at this year’s

convention were; Ritual, Recruitment, and Risk Management with guest speakers: Jon McBride (NASA Astronaut), Will Keim, Josh Orendi, Erle Morring, and Thomas “Sparky” Reardon. Small Chapter meetings were scattered through the event and members of Phi Delta Theta were able to practice ritual with Brothers from various Chapters in the United States and Canada. Alex Burns, Oregon Alpha, stated “I gained newfound respect and reverence for our founding principles and can say that I am now certain that Phi Delta Theta will be a part of my life until the day I die, both through my actions and through the support my hundreds of thousands of brothers show me.”. He went on to explain, ” I have never been so proud to call myself a member of Phi Delta Theta.” In between Chapter meetings, seminars, and lectures, Phi Delta Theta Brothers were able to tour the General Head Quarters of the Fraternity, compete in Phi Athletics such as wallyball, 3 v. 3 basketball, soccer, a three point shoot-out, and rock climbing, introduce themselves to other Brothers at Phi Cafe, and run in the Iron Phi Landmark 5K.

Nick Morgan of the New York KappaChapter of Phi Delta Theta recalled meeting new Brothers: “It’s a strange feeling. Here’s a person who you have never met and yet you feel like you’ve known each other since grade school. There is an emotional connection that cannot be explained because we have pledged ourselves to the same principles.”. The conference became a pathway for Brothers to resolve issues in their Chapters and participants walked away with more than just new perspectives. Brothers left Miami University with a deeper understanding of Greek life.