Alpha Kappa Psi Business Fraternity at Illinois State University
  • Home
  • About
    • Corporate Sponsors
    • Where We Work
  • Recruitment
    • Rush Registration
    • F.A.Q.
  • Brothers
    • Executive Board
    • Chair Positions
    • Members >
      • Resume Bank
    • Chapter Advisors
    • Alumni Spotlight
  • Contact

BLOG

What I did at ISU - joshy thomas

12/22/2017

0 Comments

 
​Joshy Thomas is a 21-year-old from Morton Grove, IL majoring in accounting. He said farewell to college at ISU’s winter commencement. Joshy became a brother of our fraternity in the Spring of 2016 and has kept busy during his time in college.  Some of his highlights include being one of the founding members of the Christian Business Leaders as a freshman and going on two service trips to the south through Alternative Breaks. We asked Joshy a few questions regarding his involvement over the years.
What is the Christian Business Leaders?
Joshy: Christian Business Leaders (CBL) combines business and religious aspects together to provide a place for students to grow professionally and spiritually. Despite its name it is open to students of any major or religious affiliation.
What were some struggles and challenges you faced starting a new club and how did you go about that?
Joshy: When taking on a leadership positions in an already established club you have a foundation of members and structure to work with. We had no luxury when we started. There were definitely some tough times in the beginning when we really struggled retaining members and I worried about the future of CBL. However, if there’s one thing I want to emphasize, it is being a part of any club is a team effort. Having a strong executive team made going to the drawing board and coming up with new ideas, fixing our marketing efforts, and finding a vision for the organization made that much easier. CBL has won ”Student Organization of the Year” both of the years it has been on campus and has no plans of slowing down.
 
What is Alternative Break at Illinois State?
Joshy: Alternative Breaks is a volunteer organization that provides opportunities to help out with the community during spring, summer and winter breaks. It’s great way for students to travel as well as make a difference.
What are some highlights of the trips you went on?
Joshy: I went to Memphis, TN along with about 40 other people to clean up the Mississippi River. In just a week of our time we eliminated over 20,000 pounds of garbage, ranging from old tires to used needles. Kind of crazy to think much of the Midwest gets their drinking water from here.
 
This past year I was a trip leader helping lead a service trip to Atlanta, GA. We got to work with the WINGS program which assists at risk youth, and also worked with a community center for LGBTQ and recovering addicts. It was tough seeing kids already being deemed hopeless at such young ages. State officials would take data from elementary school enrollment to predict how big prisons needed to be for the future. One is not able to change a kid’s life in just a week, however, it is possible to change a young adult’s perception on volunteering. The most rewarding part is definitely seeing fellow peers want to be more involved in their community going forward after just a week trip.
 
What are your plans for after graduation?
Joshy: I will be moving to the Naperville area to work a 3-year Finance & Accounting rotational program with Navistar (FALD).  One of the rotations is going to be out-of-state and being able to leave Illinois for a while has always been one of my dreams!

0 Comments

    Archives

    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013

    Categories

    All
    Fundraising
    Global Chapter Recognition
    Intern Spotlight
    Professional
    Rush
    Service

    Subscribe to our mailing list

    * indicates required

    RSS Feed

All rights reserved Alpha Kappa Psi - Xi Psi Chapter

Member Login
Corporate Sponsor Login
  • Home
  • About
    • Corporate Sponsors
    • Where We Work
  • Recruitment
    • Rush Registration
    • F.A.Q.
  • Brothers
    • Executive Board
    • Chair Positions
    • Members >
      • Resume Bank
    • Chapter Advisors
    • Alumni Spotlight
  • Contact