Jake Bliven is a senior Psychology with Pre-Nursing major at Florida State University. He is the current president of FSU’s chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha, a national co-ed service fraternity.
Name: Jake Bliven
Year: Senior
Hometown: Jacksonville, FL
Major: Psychology with Pre-Nursing
Her Campus (HC): First off, would you tell us more about EƩA?
Jake Bliven (JB): Epsilon Sigma Alpha is a co-ed service fraternity. It is an opportunity for anyone to get service hours while also meeting new people in a very friendly environment.
HC: What type of service do you do with EƩA?
JB: Well, our main philanthropy is St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. We do as much fundraising as we can for them and also send letters to the kids. As for the kind of local things we do, we do clean-ups at Maclay Gardens and Lake Ella, we go to the Kearney Center and serve the homeless as much as we can, and a lot of other fun things. We are actually going to participate in a dog wash soon. We try to be as diverse as possible with our service.
HC: What do you think sets EƩA apart from other organizations that are similar?
JB: I think with EƩA, we are very tight-knit. I’ve found that other service organizations tend to only focus on quantity over quality and that is something I’ve learned from our past president, Christine Mucci. It is mostly that we focus on the quality of the things we do and the activities we are involved in as well as the relationships we form – especially with other organizations in the community and most importantly among ourselves. We like to focus on the family aspect of our organization.
Courtesy: Jake Bliven
HC: Why do you think service is an important part of the college experience? What do you think it teaches us?
JB: I think service is a way to get beyond yourself and to think about where need is present in the community. It is important to think about that especially if your career may involve helping others, but mostly it is just a great way to become well-rounded and to think about the world around you rather than just the small sphere of college.
HC: Why did you want to take on the challenge of becoming EƩA’s president?
JB: From the time I started college I felt a lot of passion towards this organization and its members as well as for the span of involvement we have in Tallahassee. I’ve also had a passion for service since high school – I started with mission trips all up the East Coast. But being able to lead people and show them how rewarding it is to serve others was a big factor.
Courtesy: Jake Bliven
HC: Does your organization have any major events coming up?
JB: Our big event this semester is our conference. On November 5th, we are going to have a big service event where we will invite anyone on campus who wants to join and help. We will also be hosting other EƩA chapters from all over to come and find out what the core of EƩA is about. We have several speakers, including one from St. Jude, to come talk to us, so it should be a really special event. This year we also have homecoming with Chi Phi and Gamma Phi Beta, so we are definitely looking forward to that, as well as Relay for Life – which is another one of our big events. We also have a lot of new service events coming up this year so I am really looking forward to those. We will be visiting a wolf preserve, helping improve the garden in Railroad Square – lots of fun things like that!
HC: What is the process like for becoming a member of EƩA? Who should apply?
JB: Anyone can apply! Because we do rolling recruitment we like to say that we’re always welcoming people in – even if it’s past the time that our dues are being accepted, we still like to bring new people on board. We are looking for people who don’t mind giving up a Saturday every once in a while to go wash dogs or to help serve the homeless. We are always looking for people who don’t mind getting their hands dirty and who are willing to put the work in, but at the same time we are looking for people who want to meet new people and make memories with a family.
Learn more about EƩA by following on: Facebook
Twitter & Instagram: @ESAatFSU