By Joseph Eulo

My experience at Officers Academy was life changing! Meeting other Phi Theta Kappans and talking to them about my candidacy for New Jersey State President granted me an opportunity to make new friends and establish relationships that would last a lifetime.

Even though I ran unopposed, I did not take that for granted. I knew that it was not only vital to earn the respect and trust of my fellow Phi Theta Kappans from New Jersey but from the rest of the region as well.

After we arrived, unpacked, and settled in our quarters, we set out for dinner. Prof. Stokes, Sheila, Chrissy, Diana, Chris, and I sat down to enjoy our first, and seemingly only, meal together and discussed the weekend. After speaking with other chapters, and sharing a few laughs we all set out for our next destination.

Upon arrival, and introductions, everyone in the room was divided in to twelve different groups. Separated from the members of my beloved chapter I began to forge new friendships with the people at table I sat (known as table one) and by the end of the day we were all best of friends.

The four weeks of preparation for the two-minute paradox of affluence speech, thanks to Sheila, paid off. At 6:30 that evening the candidates for regional office delivered their speeches. Yes, I was nervous, but I was more confident then I have ever been before. Dave’s speech was inspiring and his confidence gave me the extra something that I needed. I delivered my speech flawlessly, I think, and in that moment I overcame my fear and became, as one of my favorite Toni Morrison characters said, anew once more.

It was life changing experience one that I will never forget. I choked backed tears, as I looked upon the faces of those I have shared the moment with. The pride that radiated from Prof. Stokes my advisor, Sheila Casey my best friend, Diana Gonzalez my inspiration, Chris Mauro my supporter, and Chrissy Keely my motivator filled me with sense of accomplishment and Joy that cannot be described in words.

The rest of the evening involved presentations on a variety of topics ranging from defining the Paradox of affluence, the criteria for five-star status, and Honors in Action. A team building exercise followed in which each tables competed against each other in an attempt to build the best free standing egg catcher. A contraption that would be tested that evening from the balconies of the building. Even though our eggs never broke, we missed our catcher on the last drop and was disqualified. It wasn’t about winning or losing but about building relationships.

The Next day, after only 4 hours of sleep, (and a half of piece of toast), I returned to the lecture hall and was reunited with my new friends at table one. We listened to a presentation give by Alumni James Crouse and Kaitlyn Tonti on Operation Green our International Service Program.

The moment to elect the regional officers came upon us and twenty-six chapters from around the region cast their ballots for Middle States President, PA State President, ME/DE State President, and NJ State President. After the election, Dr. Dan quietly congratulated Lemarr, Matt, and me, informing us that we were chosen to be regional state presidents. The election of Middle States President was so close, that we agreed to amend the bylaws and create and fifth position: the President of Service. Dave Seale won the election for Middle States President and Karly Chester was granted the President of Service position.

After the official announcement and Induction of the New Regional Officers, we officially closed the 2009 Officers Academy, and met for dinner to discuss our roles as regional officers with Dr. Dan, the outgoing regional officer team, and the Alumni.

The 2009 Honors Institute officially kicked off as Dave Seale, our New Regional President welcomed everyone and introduce the new regional officers team. Matt Lawson, our ME/DE State President, introduced Lisa Hastings our first presenter. It was our job as regional officers to get to know the presenters and introduce them. I had the honor of introducing Dr. Kenneth Kerr. After the first presentation we divided up into thirteen separate seminar groups, and were given an issue on Paradox of Affluence to discuss.

I was in group two, with seminal leaders Dr. Kenneth Kerr, the advisor, of Alpha Delta Sigma Chapter at Fredrick Community College in Maryland. We were assigned Issue two: “How do the fine arts shape and reflect the paradox of affluence?” Our objective was to research contemporary award winning poets, playwrights, and short story authors who used the paradox of affluence as a theme in their writings. We were to select material from their works and develop a ten-minute reader’s theater and deliver it the following evening.

As a group we bonded right away, everyone was on the same page from the beginning Dr. Kerr, directed us in our search, and emphasized the symbolism in film, poetry, plays, and novels. We all learned what Dr. Kerr meant as we dissected the symbolism of a popular movie from the 80s: ET. That first meeting we decided on three poems: “Still I Rise,” by Maya Angelou, “We Grow Accustom to the Dark,” by Emily Dickinson, and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. We have four more meetings the next day to finalize and create our presentation.

The next day, Karly Chester, our new President of Service, Introduced our third guest speaker Maria Myers on the new rules of “Single Stream Recycling” it’s was very informative and I learned a great deal about recyclable materials. After the presentation we broke off into our individual Seminar Groups again and talked about our direction for the project. Instead of using a power point presentation, we decided as a group that we would present a short film. We would combine images, music, and poetry in an attempt to create an emotionally charged and thought provoking presentation.

An hour later we returned to the lecture hall and I introduced Dr. Kenneth Kerr to present his topic “Maryland: A Paradox of Affluence.” Dr. Kerr’s presentation was informative and relevant to our region, he presented the topic of the Paradox of Affluence from an “in text” perspective. He demonstrated how we could research the paradox of affluence from the communities from which we live. As a result of Dr. Kerr’s presentation I could see the Paradox of Affluence from a more personal perspective. It was an eyeopening presentation. After Dr. Kerr’s presentations we broke out into our groups for a third time.

During this third seminar group meeting we defined our goals ever further. We described the resources we needed and assigned the tasks to be completed for the project. We divided into three groups, one group for each poem, and scoured the internet looking for pictures that represented the symbolism in the poetry that we chose. Everyone participated and was invested in the project. We worked through lunch creating a story board for our film and chose the right images and music to convey the heart of our issue. We timed the length of each reading and adjusted accordingly. At 2:30 we paused our progress on out presentation and attended a tree planting ceremony by the dorms. The regional officers teman and I planted two trees and we all helped dig holes for the potted trees and fill them back up with muddied hands after the trees were planted.

We were in the final stretch, we had five hours to complete, practice, and present our project. We chose a “A Sentimental Mood” an instrumental song by Duke Ellington and John Coltrane. My job was to put the pieces of the presentation together, while the others practices their lines in the other room. I animated the images, created the titles and captions, blended the music, and added them all to the time line of the movie. It came together perfectly, and I was proud to be a part of this exceptional project with this brilliant group of people. As the movie rendered, I was able to pose for a group photo, and then I scurried to the large lecture hall, remembering what Dr. Dan had told me “to be the first to arrive, and the last to leave.”

The group was able to practice as we awaited our turn to present, I created several different version just in case of technical difficulties. Our time came, and we were flawless. (to see this live presentation visit http://betaalphaphichapter.shutterfly.com/439?eid=112). It was pure bliss and after that, the rest of the weekend was just a blur.