Recent Cal Poly Graduate Colin Shea Receives Distinguished Honor
Colin Shea, Cal Poly ’26, reflects on the broader impact of fraternities and the lessons that continue to shape his life and leadership
As part of its annual Awards of Distinction, the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) awarded Colin the Outstanding Interfraternal Undergraduate Award for 2026. The NIC’s testimonial: “Colin demonstrates leadership and impact across his Fraternity, campus, and broader community. As IFC president, among other initiatives, Colin launched New Member Career Development Day, connecting students with career resources, résumé-building opportunities, and professional headshots, directly enhancing members’ long-term success. He promoted and advocated for the fraternity experience nationally, serving as a panelist at the inaugural Brotherhood Summit and attending 2026 NIC Hill Visits. Colin is a recent graduate with a degree in business administration and entrepreneurship, and is currently a Congressional intern in the House of Representatives for the office of Representative Ken Calvert.”
General Council President Nat Love presenting Colin Shea with the NIC’s 2026 Outstanding Interfraternal Undergraduate Award.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
In five years, I hope to be building a career that combines business, government affairs, and public service, while continuing to stay involved in the organizations and communities that have helped shape me.
Professionally, I see myself working at the intersection of business and government, ideally in the defense or national security space. My experiences in student leadership, fraternity advocacy, and Washington, DC, have shown me how much I enjoy working on problems that require an understanding of both organizations and public policy. I hope to continue developing those skills and eventually take on roles where I can help organizations grow, build relationships with the government, and contribute to work that has a larger mission behind it.
At the same time, I do not want my involvement with Phi Delta Theta to end when I graduate. So much of my college experience was made possible because alumni, advisers, volunteers, and General Fraternity leaders were willing to invest their time in me. In five years, I hope to be in a position where I can begin returning that investment. Whether that means serving as an adviser, volunteering at conferences, mentoring undergraduate members, supporting government relations efforts, or simply being a resource for a young member trying to figure out his next step, I want Phi Delt to remain an important part of my life.
More broadly, I hope volunteering continues to be a priority for me. One of the most important things I have learned through Phi Delt is the value of being involved in something larger than yourself. As my career develops, I want to continue finding ways to contribute my time and experience to my community and to organizations that have had an impact on me.
Five years from now, I certainly do not expect to have everything figured out. What I hope is that I will be challenging myself professionally, continuing to serve others, and staying connected to Phi Delta Theta. I have benefited tremendously from people who were willing to invest in my development, and one of my goals for the next stage of my life is to begin becoming that person for someone else.
Why did you choose Phi Delt?
I never originally planned to join a fraternity. I was unfamiliar with the fraternity system, and most of what I knew about Greek life came from friends and movies. From the outside, it seemed like fraternities were primarily about partying, and that was not something I was particularly interested in.
During my freshman year, however, I was looking for ways to become more involved on campus. Fall recruitment had already passed, and many of the people in my dorm had begun finding their communities through clubs, sports, and Greek life. One day, while walking back from class, I was approached by a recruitment specialist who told me about an opportunity to join what he described as a men’s leadership organization. That immediately piqued my interest, so I gave him my contact information.
After several meetings and conversations about the opportunity, I began to realize that this organization was very different from what I had originally imagined a fraternity to be. That organization was Phi Delta Theta.
After meeting the other members and seeing the opportunity to build something from the ground up, I decided to join as the eighteenth member of the California Nu Re-Emerging Chapter of Phi Delta Theta. What attracted me most was the opportunity to create the type of fraternity I believed should exist, an organization where young men could find community, develop as leaders, hold one another accountable, and become better versions of themselves.
We were not simply joining an established organization; we had the chance to build and develop one. Each of the early members believed in that same goal, and that shared commitment to creating something meaningful is ultimately why I chose Phi Delt.
How do you think your college experience would have been different if you hadn’t joined a fraternity?
I think my college experience would have been night and day different had I not joined a fraternity. The opportunities, experiences, and relationships that came from Phi Delta Theta shaped nearly every part of my college career in ways that I do not believe any other organization could have.
At the campus level, Phi Delta Theta gave me my first opportunity to understand how our university and Greek community functioned. As we built our chapter, I learned how to work with campus administrators, understand university policies, build relationships with the surrounding community, and position our organization to positively contribute to campus life. That experience prepared me to become chapter president during my second year. Leading a student organization and seeing the real impact that student leadership could have ultimately helped me earn an appointment as chief of staff of the student body during my third year. Those experiences gave me an even deeper understanding of campus operations, student government, and local community relations, which prepared me to serve as Interfraternity Council President during my fourth year. In that role, I had the opportunity to lead the broader fraternity community through a challenging period and work through issues involving the university, students, and surrounding neighborhoods. Without Phi Delta Theta, I do not believe any of those leadership opportunities would have been possible.
Phi Delt also expanded my college experience far beyond my own campus. Through General Headquarters, I had the opportunity to attend programs and conferences such as McKenzie Family PLC, Kleberg, and Convention. At each of them, I learned from alumni leaders, peer mentors, fraternity staff, and members from chapters across the country. Those experiences gave me knowledge and perspectives that I was able to bring back to my own chapter and eventually gave me the opportunity to serve as a peer mentor myself and give back to other members of the Fraternity.
On a national level, Phi Delta Theta gave me opportunities I never could have imagined when I first joined. I had the opportunity to advocate before the United States Congress on behalf of the fraternity and sorority experience and help ensure that future generations of students have access to the same opportunities that had such an impact on me. I also had the opportunity to speak on a panel at the inaugural Brotherhood Summit, discussing challenges facing young men in the United States and the role that organizations built around brotherhood, leadership, and accountability can play in addressing them.
Looking back, Phi Delta Theta was not simply one part of my college experience; it became the foundation for much of it. It gave me opportunities to lead, travel, advocate, mentor, and build relationships at the campus, fraternity, and national levels. Without Phi Delta Theta, my college experience would have looked completely different, and many of the experiences that shaped the person and leader I am today simply would not have happened.
When you hear the phrase ‘value of fraternity,’ what’s a specific moment that comes to mind?
When I hear the phrase ‘value of fraternity,’ I think about how easy it is to define that value only by the friendships and memories you make with your brothers during college. Those relationships are incredibly important, but I believe the value of fraternity extends far beyond the years you spend on campus.
To me, a fraternity is one of the best experiential laboratories available to young men on a college campus. It gives members the opportunity to develop real-world skills in an environment where they can learn, make mistakes, and grow. Nearly every aspect of running a chapter has a direct connection to life after college: managing a budget, recruiting and developing people, managing risk, engaging with the community, supporting those around you, resolving conflict, planning for the future, and ultimately, helping lead an organization. These are not just fraternity skills; they are leadership and management skills that directly translate into future careers, organizations, and companies.
A moment that always reinforces this for me is when a potential new member asks, “How do I get the most value out of joining a fraternity?” My answer is always the same: get as involved as you possibly can. Not everyone will become chapter president, serve on an executive board, or attend every conference, and they do not need to. The value comes from being an active participant, taking responsibility for something larger than yourself, and having the curiosity to learn from the people and opportunities around you.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with joining a fraternity for the friendships and social experience; that is an important part of fraternity. But I believe the greatest value comes when you take the next step and invest yourself in the organization. Every time you help move the chapter forward, you are also developing yourself. The more you put into the fraternity experience, the greater the return you receive from it, not only during college, but for the rest of your life.
What is one defining moment that you would credit your Phi Delt experience for giving to you?
It is difficult for me to identify just one defining moment because I can think of three that represent major turning points in my Phi Delt experience and ultimately shaped the direction of my college career.
The first was meeting Robbie Nunes, Santa Clara ’21, who was serving as a recruitment specialist on my campus. That interaction is where my Phi Delt experience began. I actually wrote a LinkedIn post (see https://phide.lt/hot_dog) about that first meeting because, looking back, I recognize how consequential such a simple conversation became. Had Robbie not approached me that day and introduced me to Phi Delta Theta, my college experience would have looked completely different.
The second was when then-General Council President J. David Almacy, Widener ’92, encouraged me to run for chapter president. At the time, stepping into that position felt like a major responsibility, but it became one of the greatest periods of personal growth during my college experience. It gave me the opportunity to take ownership of the direction of our chapter, learn how to lead an organization, and become much more involved with the General Fraternity. That experience opened the door to opportunities within Phi Delt that I never would have imagined when I first joined.
The third, and perhaps the moment I would identify as the most defining, was being selected as a delegate for the Fraternal Government Relations Coalition and traveling to Washington, DC, to advocate for the fraternity and sorority experience before members of Congress. That opportunity introduced me to government affairs and showed me how advocacy could be used to protect and strengthen organizations and communities that I cared about. I was able to bring those lessons back to Cal Poly and use them in my work within our Greek community. On a personal level, it also sparked an interest in government affairs that eventually contributed to my decision to return to Washington, DC, and work as an intern in the House of Representatives.
Colin (back row, second from left), with other Phi Delta Theta representatives at the Brotherhood Summit.
Why is a brotherhood like Phi Delt still (if not more) relevant today?
I believe a brotherhood like Phi Delta Theta is not only still relevant today, but in many ways more relevant than ever. Young men need places where they can build meaningful relationships, find mentors, be challenged by their peers, and feel a responsibility to something larger than themselves. A strong fraternity has the ability to provide all of those things.
This became especially clear to me when I had the opportunity to participate in a panel at the inaugural Brotherhood Summit, where we discussed some of the challenges facing young men today. One of my biggest takeaways from that conversation was how important it is for young men to have intentional communities around them. It is easy to have hundreds of connections online while still lacking the type of relationships where someone knows you personally, holds you accountable, supports you when you are struggling, and pushes you to become better.
That is where I believe organizations like Phi Delta Theta have tremendous value. Brotherhood is more than having a group of friends or people to spend time with. At its best, it creates an environment where young men learn how to support one another, handle disagreements, take responsibility for their actions, lead others, serve their communities, and hold themselves and their brothers to a higher standard.
Phi Delt also creates something that has become increasingly important: intergenerational mentorship. Through advisers, alumni, General Headquarters, conferences, and other fraternity experiences, members are exposed to men at different stages of life who can share their successes, failures, and lessons learned. Those relationships provide young men with examples of what leadership, character, and responsibility can look like beyond college.
My experience at the Brotherhood Summit reinforced for me that the answer to many of the challenges facing young men is not isolation; it is stronger communities. Fraternity cannot solve every problem, but it can create an environment where men have connection, accountability, purpose, mentorship, and opportunities to lead.
That is why I believe Phi Delta Theta remains so relevant. The traditions may be more than a century old, but the fundamental need for genuine brotherhood has not disappeared. If anything, the need for organizations that intentionally bring young men together and challenge them to become the greatest versions of themselves has only become more important.
What is one thing you can attribute to these experiences that you have taken into your college/post-college life?
One of the biggest lessons I have learned from my Phi Delt experience is that in many areas of life, you get out what you are willing to put in. If you make the investment of time, effort, and energy into your fraternity experience, the return can be tenfold compared to simply being a general member and allowing the experience to happen around you.
I have carried that same mindset into the rest of my college experience and will continue to carry it into life after college. Progress toward your goals rarely happens by sitting back and hoping opportunities come to you. You have to be willing to put in the work, seek out opportunities, take on responsibility, and continue pushing yourself even when the outcome is not guaranteed.
Phi Delta Theta taught me that the people who gain the most from an experience are often the ones who choose to fully engage with it. Whether that is in a fraternity, a career, a community, or a personal goal, the more willing you are to invest in your own growth and contribute to the people and organizations around you, the greater the opportunities and rewards that can follow.
