Volunteer Profile – Kyle T. Prager, Chico State ’18
Kyle works at the IT services and consulting firm Avaap as a Workday enterprise solutions senior consultant designing student information systems for higher education institutions.
Why did you join Phi Delt, and how has it impacted your life and career?
I joined Phi Delta Theta on a whim because two people from my dorm invited me to a recruitment event. I didn’t know what fraternity was, how it worked, or why I was really there. I was offered an opportunity to join. Figuring why not, I can walk away in a few weeks if I don’t like it, and it ended up being the best decision of my life. I have made friends around the world and gotten every job I have had post-college because of this Fraternity. All because I showed up to a random house for pizza and mini golf, and then men who were there offered me a community I never knew I needed.
How have you stayed connected with Phi Delta Theta after graduation?
After graduation, I was offered a position with Phi Delta Theta General Headquarters as an expansion consultant. Traveling across the country, I brought Phi Delta Theta to new campuses, allowing more men to continue their leadership journey. I then transitioned to the chapter services team, and after a year and a half on staff, I worked with over sixty chapters across North America. This endeavor was incredibly meaningful to me, seeing how unique Phi Delt is depending on what part of the world you live in. At the same time, our commonality is the commitment to our values and the quality of our leaders. Schools with undergraduate enrollments of 60,000 and those with 2,000 could not be more different in campus culture. Still, both institutions can offer a Phi Delt journey and make you feel immediately at home. That opportunity was truly unmatched. Since then, I have volunteered as a chapter advisory board chairman for two different California chapters and am currently volunteering as a province president in Northern California. I also facilitate at the McKenzie Family Presidents Leadership Conference and the Kleberg Emerging Leaders Institute each year.
My connection to Phi Delta Theta and my home chapter is just as important to me now as it was when I was an undergraduate. Every January, a group from Cal Xi goes on a ski trip somewhere new. We have more than a few ten-year-running fantasy football leagues. I am in a fantasy baseball league with Phis nationwide that I’ve never met. I was a groomsman in my big brother’s wedding. I will be a groomsman in my little brother’s wedding this fall. A small group of us attend every Sacramento Republic home soccer match. I went to college not knowing a single person and left with a worldwide community, knowing there are brothers all over the world I can help or lean on when in need. It has given me an opportunity to serve ALS families and raise money to end ALS. I can connect where I am today, personally and professionally, back to the day two of my dorm roommates convinced me to go to a day of recruitment with them and then become a Phikeia without knowing what that word even meant.
Do you have any advice for current students?
Take a chance. Who cares if you fail? Be selfish and use this as an opportunity to find yourself. Try things out and take chances. If you have a great idea for a social media campaign you want to try out, great, do it! Run for the social media position. If you want to be an event planner as a career, great! You can be the philanthropy or social chairman and learn how to run events, what parts are hard, how to work with vendors, and how to mitigate risk. This grand ole fraternity has a lot to give you, but if you go through the motions and expect opportunities to come to you, then you will be severely disappointed. Have a great time, say yes to opportunities, and show up to everything. The event you least expect will become the most memorable for you when you look back in twenty years.
What are you most proud of?
I am proud every time I return to my home chapter and see them recruiting new members, carrying on the same traditions while starting new ones, and knowing that my chapter brothers and I contributed to building an opportunity for more young men to be a Phi. One of the most impactful quotes I heard from my first time attending the Kleberg Emerging Leaders Institute was, “plant the seeds of the tree even if you may never benefit from its shade.” Tio Kleberg said that in his address to the attendees, and it has become my personal leadership philosophy. Everything you do will impact someone in the future. As a chapter leader, you will return as an alumnus and hear stories that were passed down about an event you created. In life, you make decisions that will impact your future family. You may never personally see or feel the benefits, but somebody will.
