Excellence in Leadership Award

Mr. Timothy Min

Years ago, I remember seeing a feature on television about the Alaskan Salmon. The Salmon starts its life in a secluded creek, hidden away in the Alaskan mountains, and travels downstream towards the ocean, where it reaches full maturity. However, upon reaching its prime, the fish becomes inflamed with a burning desire to return to its place of birth. Fueled by a vision of hope and duty, the Salmon finds its way home at all costs. If it survives the arduous trek upstream, the Salmon lays its eggs and perishes knowing its legacy will continue.

Like the Salmon's journey back home, the journey of leadership begins with a vision. Mine came to me three years ago when I crossed into the brotherhood of Lambda Phi Epsilon, during my first year at UCLA. Upon completing one of the toughest pledging programs in the Greek network, every member of our pledge class shared a fire in our hearts that made us feel indomitable. The pledging program had achieved its purpose, and its message of leadership and brotherhood was branded into our hearts.

However, despite the success of the pledging program, I can't help but admit feeling strangely disappointed at the start of my active career. There was no doubt that the bonds forged between my pledge brothers and I were genuine, however as the year progressed, I witnessed the fire in our hearts waste away with idle fraternity functions that revolved around aimless drinking, partying, and fighting. As a pledge, I remember being promised the truest brotherhood, yet I found myself holding onto the short end of the stick as an active. Sooner than later, the novelty of alcohol and girls wore off and I eventually stopped caring about the fraternity all together. I stayed in touch with my brothers but joined other student organizations and made new friends. In my mind, I was simply making up for the time I lost during my first quarter because of pledging.

But one day I remembered the fire in my heart. I made new friends through various clubs and activities, but no friendship came close to the brotherhood I first shared with my pledge bros. I returned to Lambdas with a desire to transform and improve the state of the active house. I envisioned a time in the not-to-distant future when Lambdas would be recognized as honorable leaders, not only at UCLA, but also in their communities and homes. I was proud of being a Lambda and I wanted others to see why.

Fast-forward to the end of my second year at UCLA. Although I began the year with only one position on the fraternity cabinet, I ended up holding and completing three positions throughout the year. I spearheaded the recruitment of Alpha Rho class and Alpha Sigma class as Rush Chair. I  improved our fraternity's image at UCLA as Lambda Little Sis' Pledge Dad.  And I established  legitimacy of our organization among other Asian fraternities and sororities as the Asian Greek Council Representative. And during elections that year, my dedication and hard work was rewarded when I was elected President for the 2007-2008 year.

At the beginning of my term, I had no idea how to be a successful president. I took note of “dos” and “do nots” from past presidents, but still found myself lacking on the subject of leading my brothers into a year of productivity and advancement. I am not ashamed to say that I turned to the Bible for guidance. Even though I have been a Christian for only three years, the message preached in the Christian faith is  pretty simple: Love God and Love Others. So instead of approaching my presidency as a position of power, I retained an attitude of servitude and sacrifice. The first half of my presidency was spent gaining the trust and respect of each brother on a personal level. I understood that fraternity advancement would be impossible if I tried to force my vision onto my brothers with a barrage of mandatory community services events and charity fundraisers. So instead, I worked on understanding brothers who were in disagreement with the majority and offered everything I could to unite the brothers of the house. I wanted the brothers to trust me and realize that I was a capable leader on their side. Whenever I had the opportunity, I gladly risked and sacrificed myself for their safety, respect, and general well-being.

And finally, one day, while speaking to my brothers outside the fraternity house, I realized I had earned their support and trust. Maybe it was the way they were returning my eye contact as I spoke, but at that moment I knew that the house was united and that the brothers understood my love for them. Lambda Phi Epsilon is not yet the most social, athletic, smart, rich, or philanthropic fraternity. However, I am undoubtedly confident that we have achieved a level of profound brotherhood unsurpassed at UCLA. The strength of our fraternity comes from the central belief that the strengths of many can be united into a single influential unit that can achieve feats more extraordinary than that of any single person. So long as we maintain this brotherly unity and clear direction, it is only a matter of time before we start setting the bar in the fields we apply ourselves to.

As my presidential term comes to an end, I realize that this is only the beginning of a difficult journey upstream. However, our common vision to become leaders of our university, community, and lives, has been recognized and is finally starting to put into realization the legacy of our founding fathers. As for me, I plan to expand Lambda Phi Epsilon's vision to the larger Asian Greek community by being elected President in the Asian Greek Council elections this coming month. Wish me luck :)

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