This week was the last time that I got to speak in front of my fraternity in a tradition we do called “swan songs” for our graduating seniors. For this blog post, I wanted to share what I wrote down and what I said to the chapter I will miss a lot. In an experience of lifetime, everyone in my fraternity impacted me. Read below:

Good evening gentlemen. As I’m sure you all know by now, my name is Colby, I’ve been a brother in this chapter for three years, and I’m a firm believer that this place and these people can shape you into a better person if you give it a chance. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to be a part of all of your journey’s for a while now, and being down here for the last time, it feels surreal. The days in college might feel long but the experience is extremely short, so as many before me have said: enjoy this experience. Cherish it. Be present for all of it. Because it does go by so much faster than we may think.

Over the course of the last three years, during my time living in and allegedly living out, I’ve always loved connecting with the people in this chapter and getting to know them and what makes them tick. I love learning how people operate and how I can connect to it. I love answering the question of why we do the things that we do. I find it so fascinating how people operate and what makes them unique and how they come to the decision of what they believe in and what they stand for. And now that I’m at the end of my time here, I’ve done some self reflecting and the goal of this speech is to finally answer that question for myself: why I love this chapter and why I did what I did for it.

The first reason that I love this chapter is that FIJI and our brotherhood has a lot of tenacity and strength. I see this in Butters, who serves not only the chapter but our country well. I see it in Stewie, unafraid to stand up for what he believes in, even if people don’t agree. In Stepaniak, for his passion to inspire people in this chapter and the leadership he will bring. For Joseph Kilpatrick, who withstood verbal abuse from Lonnie, our old chef, and was the lightning rod from his bs. From Reif, for doing the right thing when it meant risking a lot. From Stewart, who transformed our social standing even though it meant driving me crazy wanting to go to them, but beginning to act the adult I knew he could be. Strength is present in Tyler Nguyen, who is the first philo chair in a while to get FIJI to care about and win philanthropies. It’s there in Landon, who’s handled the job of being president when we’ve gotten a lot more degenerate over the past couple of years very well and grown up a lot since I first met him. And tenacity is present with Michael, who had more issues than he could count during his presidency but never gave up hope.

The chapter has also gotten to be very charismatic lately. And I never thought that would be case even during my presidency. I see that quality a lot with Isaac, who is equal parts suave and sweet. In Lucas and Nick, who are both a little too sassy but have that sweet side to them. I see it in Ryan Fox, even though his girl is probably at Pi Kapp. There’s a lot in Silas and Will Kennedy, who both are easy to talk to. And it’s very present with Spencer, whose quiet confidence is present with a firm side of humility.

Fiji is also just super funny. All of my slideshows were based on things that you all did and being with you guys, there was never a time that there wasn’t some bullshit happening. We all know what I’m talking about. There won’t be a day that goes by that I’ll forget Carson’s rizzler face, Costanti’s dry humor that had me laughing until I wet myself, Coleman’s goofy lanky ass walking around built like a demogorgon from Stranger Things. When it comes to my Pookie, my sunshine, and my everything, there’s always a stupid side quest you could get into with Connor that always ends in a way you never expect. Gustavo, who you will always get into some bullshit with, even though he is immigrant and immigrants are very bad. It’s there in Wyatt’s autism, Darin who should be off playing a WNBA game right now, Sebastian who has yet to figure out that he’s pooped himself again, Xander who is at least part skinwalker, BallZach aka my angry little crotch monster, Norman who is the human embodiment of Melman from Madagascar, Leo who started the pandemic, Fiene who is my man at heart, Covlin who I had to tell no less than a dozen times that his party ideas were a nonstarter, and how could I forget my alpha shotgun bid, Joey Cardinalli, and his wolfpack that I can never get enough of. Those jokes and people I will not forget anytime soon. 

What is often said about us is that we are very kind. And that is a quality I believe is very much in short supply in Greek Life and in this world in general. I do see kindness in Bart and Brett, when they’re in the mood to give it. It’s very much present in Taylor, Nate, Nick Johnson, and Tyler Enger, who always ask me how my day is going. I feel it with Ryan Zheng, Ryan Stout, Lawrence, and Noah Morshige as they’ve begun to come out of their shells and begin to connect with everybody, it’s there with Jonah who tolerates way too many Jew jokes and there’s probably no ceasefire in sight with that. Will Prentice, Trevor, Andrew, and Boyles, who always give me a smile when I see them in the gym or on campus, Sam, Dylan, and Gunnar when they genuinely want to know how you are doing, Kasey, Zimbrick, and their group which give such an inclusive vibe wherever they go, Lil Buff for his quiet authenticity, and kindness is always present in Simon & Ty, who both always radiate an energy of sincerity that is felt in any room that you are in with them. In a world where simply being nice to people is in short supply, everyone should strive to bring that much optimism and cheerfulness as those guys do all the time. 

What I’ve also come to realize is that I love that there is a lot of intelligence in this chapter. When we’re looking at it from an academic perspective, it’s definitely not the business majors, but I’m not referring to that. This chapter has a lot of emotionally intelligent people that are very perceptive. Someone that I perceive as intelligent in this regard is Suge, who has a unique worldview that I haven’t seen before, but layers that worldview with the fraternity that gives me the sincere confidence that he will be the most successful recruitment chair the chapter has seen. It’s present with Varunesh, who has a psychological and technological understanding of people that is unmatched, it’s there in Tucker, who politically can weigh the benefits and costs of any decision with ease, Devin for understanding the different sides of conflict when the chapter was going through its transition to where we all are now, in JJ for having a neutral and logical grasp on arguments that is comparable to practicing lawyers, and being perceptive is a quality very present with Joseph Tornberg, who always served as my realistic, strategic sounding board on CAB that stood behind the scenes and allowed others to be in the spotlight while he worked to keep the chapter balanced. All of them I consider to be very intelligent people.

I believe one of the main reasons that we all fell in love with FIJI when we were first recruited was because we met people that were sincere and real. I consider these people to be very wholehearted in whatever they do. I believe that quality shines in AJ, who I had a really good deep talk with a week after he joined, with Ben’s wholesomeness in the way that he carries himself, in Cam Lee for his sincerity, strength, and patience in his role as risk manager, in Campbell’s buzzy little attitude, for Clarkey and his lovable demeanor that makes you grin, to Luke Shmoll’s infectious smile and laugh, to Reid’s optimism in wanting to see everyone be the best versions of themselves, and Will Diedrich’s energy that is felt when you start a conversation with him. That wholeheartedness is what keeps us grounded and real and I don’t think is present in other fraternities.

And finally, there are people in this chapter who I admire very much and try to embody the qualities that they exhibit so well, and they happen to be my closest friends. I’m a firm believer that you need to surround yourself with people who make you better and these people have done that to me and this chapter for the past three to four years. There is not enough that I can say about how I much I admire Chato’s compassion and loyalty, Tobin’s confidence and swagger, Parker’s attitude and boisterousness, Kamran’s strength and patience, David’s spontaneousness and discipline, Keagan’s perseverance and ethics, Caleb’s tranquility and empathy, and John’s spirit and friendliness. They represent the best of what FIJI has to offer and I’m proud to call them some of my closest friends. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.

So that is the answer to the question I’ve been searching for. I love this chapter because of everyone in this room at this present moment. I don’t see this experience as how I impacted the chapter and all of you. I see it as to how the chapter and all of you impacted me. I did what I did because you all have been important in my life and I wanted to give back. But I don’t want to be arrogant and try to overstate my impact on this chapter. Because it wasn’t one persons effort as to why this chapter is in the healthy state that it is now. That the negativity of the grads before us is gone and why the chapter hasn’t died like my big thought it would. It happened because of the best qualities that we all represent working together. It wasn’t because Caleb saved the chapter. Or me. Or any CAB. Fiji got saved because everyone saved FIJI. It’s been amazing to see how our individual experiences in this chapter are intertwined into one large story that we all get to tell for the rest of our lives. And I’m so genuinely optimistic about what direction that story is going to go next for you guys.

It’s been hard accepting that this chapter in our lives is over, and for the rest of the guys graduating with me, it’s okay to be sad. But it’s time for us to move on and go do something important somewhere else. This is only the beginning for us. And to the rest of the guys staying back, don’t be sad that we’re leaving. You have an opportunity to use this chapter to do good and to be good. Leave this chapter better than you found it. Have fun. Take chances. Fuck around and find out. The only thing limiting you is yourself. And when your time is done here, find another mountain to climb and go out and accomplish great things. Be important to someone. I know you all can do it because you’ve all been important to me. 

On behalf of all of us graduating, thank you all for making this experience worth it.

This is not the end, but only the beginning.

One last time:

I love all of my brothers and I am mighty proud to have been a KO FIJI