The Brotherhood

Today, we feature long-time Brother Aaron Son on Life as a Brother. Aaron is in his fifth year and studying Computer Science and Engineering. He is from Psi Upsilon's Theta class, so you can always count on Aaron to share his wisdom. With that being said... Who better to ask the question, "What have you gained from joining Alpha Kappa Psi?"

"Like many high school students, I was the one that didn’t plan on going to college. Most of my time was spent pondering when I would get a job to build my dream computer. With some motivation from a great friend, I became a student at the University of California, Merced. I thought that getting into college was already a big step in helping my professional career… I was totally wrong.

Starting college as a Management major, I wasn’t sure where I belonged… Joining Alpha Kappa Psi drove me in the right direction toward my goals. Before I joined, I felt like I was the person who didn’t have any confidence, wasn’t organized, and was inefficient. Being a new member, I learned about what a professional leader was. During the process, I was struggling to develop these skills. I learned google calendar was my best friend in scheduling my classes and how to juggle obligations in AKPsi, as well as staying on top of my schoolwork. AKPsi helped me understand how to organize my life. It was overwhelming as a freshman to experience, but I knew that I needed to practice these skills to push myself harder in order to achieve my goals and dreams. 

I thought that after I learned these skills, I would find what I really wanted to do, but I still didn’t have a direction in my professional career. I was a person with an understanding of the technical aspects of technology, and armed with the anxiety of writing a line of code. Within my time in AKPsi, my Brothers helped me analyze my skills and motivated me to go out of my comfort zone. This led me to chase what I thought I could never do; switch my major towards a degree in Computer Science and Engineering. From then on, I strived to be involved in more organizations to build myself as a leader. I am proud to have worked at E. & J. Gallo Winery for one year as an Undergrad Programmer Intern, having served as the Outreach Coordinator at CITRIS, a Tour Guide for UC Merced, as well as executive leadership within the Association for Computing Machinery. 

Alpha Kappa Psi taught me that diversity is the strongest way to foster innovation. The brotherhood we share has personally supported me and gave me the tools to learn how to be successful not just for college, but as a working professional post-graduation. AKPsi has a lot of the aspects that I genuinely believe can shape a leader, but it’s the amazing friendships that I’ve made that make everything truly worth it. The consistent motivation and inspiration from this organization is what I’ve gained in my time here. I can confidently say that it has given me the network, leadership, and ambition to succeed in my future endeavors."