Fraternity men can get a bad rap from time to time, being portrayed as partiers who only care about chicks and booze. But that’s not the case at Purdue. One of the most rewarding things about being part of Purdue’s student body is the diversity of everyone in it, which includes senior Kelly O’Brien. Kelly is not only a member of Delta Chi fraternity, but also extremely active on campus all while managing to keep up with some of the most rigorous and demanding coursework on campus as an industrial engineering major. Somehow he manages to do what most of us only hope to accomplish in our years at Purdue, and all with a smile! With his positive attitude and welcoming personality, it’s easy to understand why Kelly is a campus celeb!
Her Campus: What have you been involved in with your time here at Purdue?
Kelly O’Brien: While at Purdue I’ve been involved with my fraternity, Delta Chi, Boiler Gold Rush, Purdue University Dance Marathon, Purdue Foundation Student Board, the Fraternal Values Society, and an engineering peer mentor.
HC: What organizations have you been involved in that have made your grow the most?
KO: Boiler Gold Rush and Delta Chi have helped me grow the most by far. Boiler Gold Rush really focuses on personal as well as professional development. You learn a lot about your strengths as well as the strengths of others and how to work together. Delta Chi has also helped me grow by getting to know so many different types of people that are still somehow similar. Also, I learned—and am still learning—how to lead in a more social atmosphere than a structured one, which can be extremely difficult.
HC: Have you held any positions in your house?
KO: I’ve been the Director of Recruitment, Standards Chair, and am currently the Vice President of Operations.
HC: What position have you enjoyed the most?
KO: I really enjoyed being the Director of Recruitment. It was fun getting to know the potential new guys because they are the future of our Chapter. I also currently enjoy my VP position. I oversee recruitment as well as new member education, and it’s really cool to see how much thirty new members grow from when they first come to college until after their first semester. My job is trying to help the whole chapter be the best they can be which is gratifying and rewarding.
HC: I’m sure living with all your brothers is a blast! What have been some of your favorite memories or experiences of living in a fraternity house?
KO: One of the coolest things about being in a Fraternity is never being bored. If I don’t have anything to work on, I can go in to literally ANY room in my house and just hang out, talk, watch TV, or anything else. I have over 100+ best friends and am never bored. Some of my best memories are just the random conversations on a weekday afternoon or the crazy adventures we’ve gone on when we were bored on the weekend.
HC: How have you been able to handle all these responsibilities with an engineering major?
KO: A LOT of time management and a lot of sacrifices. Luckily, I was able to balance engineering, my activities, and also having a life for the most part. But I had to sacrifice sleep and just hanging out sometimes. I am very passionate about my activities, and while I do my schoolwork to the best of my abilities, I also believe there is a lot to learn outside of the classroom, so I made sure I dedicated time to being involved. Sometimes my schoolwork would be put on the back-burner until I completed everything I needed to for my involvement. Like life in general, it was a balancing act and always taking things in proportion so that I always gave my absolute best to my schoolwork as well as all of my involvement.
HC: Definitely! The saying “You can only pick two in college: sleep, a social life, or good grades” could not be more true! So, every Boilermaker has his or her own collegiate bucket list. What’s left to do on yours before you graduate?
KO: I’ve still yet to sled down Slayter Hill, so I’m definitely going to do that this winter. I also want to go on another fountain run with a group of 50+ people before I graduate.
HC: That’s about all I have! Anything else you want to add?
KO: I LOVE Purdue!
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Purdue chapter.