MEINIG FAMILY CORNELL NATIONAL SCHOLARS
EXCELLENCE IN LEADERSHIP AWARD
Matthew Tyhach
Engineering '05
The activity that has absorbed, and benefited from a large amount of my time, has been holding the office of treasurer in Kappa Delta Rho. Most people look at fraternities and assume that they are all solely concerned with parties and females. However, my brothers and I can attest that our organization of gentlemen do not fit the typical "frat" stereotype. KDR is not dominated by beer swilling, party crazy males but rather stands as an example of a worthy cause on campus. As a member of the Kappa Delta Rho fraternity, I have witnessed the many acts of selflessness, charity, and service that most organized groups exhibit on the Cornell campus. Our house too contributes to the community, and we do this out of good-will, not to complete service hours and requirements. As treasurer of Kappa Delta Rho, I have participated and played a major role in these activities throughout this past year.
After being in this house for two years, I was voted into the office of treasurer after holding the position of Alumni Director last year. The treasurer is essentially responsible for keeping track of all financial aspects of the house, and overseeing every penny that enters and leaves the house checking account. Most brothers in the house regard the treasurer as having the most influential role in the house. Any purchases with house funds must have my explicit approval. This power enables me to have a large leadership role in the decisions of our house. For example, the house usually follows my recommendations for large decisions, such as where to hold our formal and what rush activities to have, down to smaller decisions, such as which meals to have our chef cook. Although the office of treasurer is formally the third highest role in the house, next to president and vice-president, being treasure means that you are a leader of Kappa Delta Rho.
Being a leader, among many qualities discussed in my Freshmen Forum, involves initiating change when necessary. Specifically for the role of treasurer, this means finding a delicate balance between friend and businessman. Both of these qualities are clearly evident in my term as treasurer. This year Kappa Delta Rho has less membership than any time in our recent past, which causes a great financial hardship on the house. More specifically, less brothers means less money coming into the house. This problem arises because we were still spending the same amount, regardless of how many brothers are active. This caused a serious problem which I took upon myself to minimize. First, I undertook the responsibility with my leadership role and presence to recommend and perform a close trimming of our budget. This required a careful analysis of each committee’s spending, as well as an analysis of where and how we were spending our money each month. This could only be accomplished by an individual with attention to detail and a good technical background allowing him to crunch numbers, and see general business trends. This trimming did help our financial situation greatly. However, the second, and most crucial aspect of being a leader in the house, proved to be the most important as treasurer.
The second aspect of being a treasurer in Kappa Delta Rho involved keeping a special friend/business balance with current brothers and alumni who are in debt to the house. If we collected even half of what was owed, then we would gain what we normally collected in one year! I attempted to contact each member in debt via a quick email and or phone call. However, this did not work. That was when I realized that I had to meet each individual face-to-face. Being treasurer means you have exclusive access to the financial status of any individual that owes the house money. Brothers must trust the treasurer with this information, and trust is one of the most important qualities of being a leader. Working with a majority of these people, I had to be a friend and understand their current financial status. However at the same time I had to insist that Kappa Delta Rho received its money. This balance enabled me to receive a few thousand dollars in payments, which has temporarily stabilized our house.
I took on the role of treasurer as an opportunity to demonstrate my leadership and to use the office to initiate change within the house. I have already identified some leadership characteristics that were essential for me to display in my role as treasurer of my fraternity: trust, presence, and the responsibility of making crucial financial decisions. Duties such as having to pay bills and constantly reminding brothers to pay their house bills make the position extremely stressful at times. However, when everything goes well and money is deposited into our checking account, the job can be extremely rewarding.
My leadership experience of being treasurer of the house has recently propelled me to an even more important role: the pledge educator. This person has the responsibility, and privilege, of showing all pledges how to be a good brother of Kappa Delta Rho. This role has an infinite amount of exposure as a leader. Not only do I have to represent the example of a good brother, but it is my duty to train new members to follow the example I present. This leadership position, among other things, requires trust, organization, and time management. Pledges much trust the information I am giving them, and that I will see that they have a fun and successful time while learning how to become a good brother. Organization and time management are related, because it is my duty to plan events Friday and Saturday nights, and inform the pledges and brothers of those events well in advance. I am also responsible for writing tests and quizzes to assess the development of the pledges. Essentially, the pledge educator is a highly respected role and can only be performed by a great leader of the house
By holding great leadership positions like treasurer and pledge educator I have further developed my leadership skills, specifically those of respect, organization, and responsibility. Perhaps all of these elements are tied together. In order to run a successful event or meeting, one has to be organized and prepared, not only for the actual event, but also for what might go wrong. I will have to plan months ahead as the pledge educator to make sure that every event is well attended and enjoyable. As treasurer, I had to plan ahead with our projected budget and expected expenses. Additionally, I also had to be prepared to deal with unseen and unpredicted financial costs to the house. With this element of organization and planning comes respect. To be a leader, you must gain and keep respect. You could be the best planner, and show the most responsibility, but if you are not respected, then your ideas will not be trusted and followed by anyone. However, my success as treasurer gave the house reason enough to elect me as pledge educator. This year, I will be building on the respect I won from that office, with hopes that I can continue to influence and lead Kappa Delta Rho to a bright future.
