VP Scholarships and Awards Spotlight: Bonding in a Virtual Setting
Written by: Aditya Chatrath
Brother Aditya Chatrath: VP Scholarships and Awards
During this time of virtual learning and social distancing, it’s important for brothers to feel as though they’re still connected with the DSP community. A large way to accomplish this is by hosting a variety of social events and try to get the chapter as involved as possible with one another. With my position as this quarter’s VP Scholarship & Awards, part of my duties involve organizing virtual gatherings for the brothers in the most engaging way possible.
Initially, this idea of hosting social events exclusively online didn’t appeal to me as I was afraid that no one would want to attend these events and that most people would shrug it off. This fear lingered up until a few days before the fall quarter started where I came to the realization that every student is in the exact same boat as me. No one has truly been able to meet each other since the start of the pandemic so everyone was just as eager as I was to get out there and finally meet people again. I kept faith that people would come out to these virtual events because they’re excited to meet each other, even if it’s not in person. This ability for the brothers to adapt quickly to this new environment was clear during my first social event where I hosted an “among us” event for the brothers and new pledges.
As it was my first social event of the quarter, I was nervous about hosting it and worried that people wouldn’t be engaged. I sent out multiple reminders and marketed the idea the best I could to the rest of the chapter. As the among us event began, I started to realize that there were going to be a lot more people participating than I had previously expected. This was great news to me as an event planner’s biggest fear is that no one would show up. As I circled through the different break-out rooms I saw how the pledges and brothers freely interacted with one another and were laughing and joking while playing this extremely simplistic, engaging game. It dawned on me that during the pandemic, while we may have stayed connected to our friends from before, we never really have a chance to meet with new people. The pledges brought new life to the chapter as each and every brother was curious about who they were while trying to get to know them. Furthermore, due to the large size of the chapter, these social events give people a chance to catch up with brothers they may not have spoken to in months.