Why I Joined Lambda Theta Phi
I swore I’d never join a fraternity. I mean EVER. Growing up, I only knew the stereotypes: loud parties, prying on women, Greek letters worn by men who didn’t look like me. My family would warn me about los muchachos locos de las fraternidades. "Those crazy frat boys," they’d say, shaking their heads. As a first-generation student of color, those letters felt like a wall, not a welcome. But life has a way of bringing you to the people and places you need. For me, that was Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Incorporated. From the moment I learned what Lambda stood for, something in me stirred. Academic Excellence. Brotherhood. Leadership. Latino Unity. Service. Five ideals. Five promises that mirrored the values quietly guiding me all my life. I didn’t join Lambda Theta Phi to become someone new; I joined to become more deeply myself.
Academic Excellence took root in me at my kitchen table. I was the curious Puerto Rican and Cape Verdean kid in advanced classes, the one who stayed up late under a dim lamp, wrestling with words and numbers that felt just beyond my reach. My grandparents, who crossed oceans and left homelands for the promise of a better life, always told me education was the key. As a little boy, I’d watch my mother come home from a long day and still ask to see my homework, her tired eyes lighting up as I read my book report aloud.
I often felt like an imposter in those gifted classrooms, scraping by on determination when natural brilliance failed me, but each challenge taught me resilience. I learned to find tutors, to form study groups, to turn confusion into curiosity. By the time I set foot in college, I carried not just my own dreams but the dreams of two generations before me. Academic Excellence wasn’t about being the smartest in the room; it was about honoring my family’s sacrifice and proving that their journey was worth it. It’s a lifelong hunger to learn and improve, a promise that I will lift others as I climb.
Brotherhood, for me, began long before I knew the word. It began the day I was born and grew to understand I have a brother by blood. My older brother Syree has special needs, and from a young age I learned that being a brother is a verb, an action. It’s guiding him gently through a noisy world that doesn’t always understand him. It’s speaking up for him in settings when his voice trembled too much to speak. I remember one afternoon at the park: other kids stared or whispered because Syree flapped his hands with excitement at the sight of the swings. I stood beside him, my arm around his shoulder, shielding him from the stares and smiling with him at the simple joy of a swing ride. In that moment I understood: brotherhood means patience, advocacy, and unconditional love.
I carried that understanding with me into adulthood, and it’s what I looked for in others. I had doubted fraternities because I feared they were only about parties and status. But the first time I met the brothers of Lambda Theta Phi, I recognized the same protective warmth I knew from caring for Syree. They greeted me, a stranger, like family. I watched them support each other: mentoring brothers through different applications, rallying around one who lost a loved one, celebrating each other’s successes without envy. I knew then that this was a brotherhood in the truest sense. Joining Lambda Theta Phi, I gained many brothers, but really I found reflections of the brother I’d been all my life.
Leadership was something I stepped into out of necessity and heart. Before college, I worked at predominantly Black and Latino schools in Florida. I was only a teenager myself, but when I saw kids who looked like me struggling, I couldn’t just watch. My role wasn’t just about helping with schoolwork; but rather showing up for students who looked like me. I assisted students with behavioral and emotional challenges, building connections with them and supporting their learning journeys. I saw firsthand how much representation matters, how a familiar face and a kind word could change the course of someone’s day. I learned to be patient, to listen more than I spoke, and to encourage their dreams, even when the world seemed to set limits. I didn’t call it leadership at the time; I just knew that I wanted to be present for those students in the ways I had needed growing up.
My grandmother had a saying that stuck with me: “Never forget where you come from.” I took that to mean I had a responsibility to reach back and lift others up. Working in those schools, I felt the spark of something powerful: the courage to stand in front of others and be a voice for change. It was the same spark I felt when I joined Lambda Theta Phi and stepped into community service with my brothers.
One of the most impactful moments was our Adopt-a-Highway cleanup. We weren’t just cleaning trash in residential neighborhoods, but we were also honoring the memory of a founding brother's cousin who had lost his life to gun violence. Piece by piece, we cleaned the neighborhoods around the elementary school he attended, not just for the sake of cleanliness, but for the sake of remembrance. On this day, I felt the true weight of our brotherhood—how we turn pain into purpose, and loss into legacy.
Lambda Theta Phi is truly a movement. One that I have the privilege to be part of.
Latino Unity is the heartbeat of my identity and this fraternity. I am the product of two worlds: the Caribbean warmth of Puerto Rico on my father’s side and the resilient spirit of Cape Verde on my mother’s. I grew up hearing salsa and morna, eating arroz con gandules one night and cachupa the next. In our home, Spanish, Portuguese and Creole words mingled with English, creating an identity that was uniquely ours. But outside my home, I often felt different. To some I was too Latino; to others I was not Latino enough because of my African roots. It wasn’t until I stood among the brothers of Lambda Theta Phi that I felt the full power of unity in diversity. When I first met some of my sector brothers, I looked around and saw an array of different cultures: Mexican, Black, Dominican, Colombian, White, Puerto Rican… just to name a few. Some of my brothers spoke Spanish fluently; others didn’t speak any at all. We all have different stories, but the same yearning to belong. Lambda Theta Phi gave us that belonging.
In this brotherhood, Latino Unity is a daily practice of empathy and pride. It’s learning from each other’s cultures and realizing that our collective strength lies in our love for who we are. When I wear Lambda’s brown and white letters, I carry the flag, identity, and culture of many nations. I know my ancestors are proud to see me in a community that cherishes where we all come from.
Service is how all these ideals pour out into the world. One of the most impactful experiences I’ve had with Lambda Theta Phi has been visiting high schools with my chapter brothers to speak with students of color and Latino backgrounds in D.C. These weren’t big presentations in auditoriums. We sat down with them in small groups, sometimes in classrooms, sometimes in the college and career services offices, just talking.
We shared our stories: how we got to college, why we joined Lambda Theta Phi, and what it means to us. I told them about my family’s journey, how my Puerto Rican and Cape Verdean grandparents left everything behind for a shot at something better, how that sacrifice is what pushes me to keep going. My brothers talked about their own paths, the struggles, the victories, the moments that shaped them. We weren’t there to lecture. We were there to connect. We switched between English and Spanish, whatever made them comfortable.
I remember the looks on their faces when we explained how we found community in Lambda, how being part of this brotherhood wasn’t just about wearing letters. It was about support, representation, and giving back. We even had a day where we had many first-generation, low-income students from New York City came to visit American University. We had a session with them, sharing what college life was really like, answering questions about financial aid, dorm life, and everything in between. We did this to let them see themselves in higher education and break generational cycles.
I walked away from those days feeling more certain than ever about the power of community.
I joined Lambda Theta Phi because its five ideals were already written in my soul: Academic Excellence, Brotherhood, Leadership, Latino Unity, and Service. I’ve lived each of these ideals in my own way, but as part of Lambda Theta Phi, I can live them more fully, with brothers beside me. I think of my grandparents, who gave up everything so I could chase opportunity, and how proud they are to see me striving in school and community. I think of Syree and how every time I support or defend a brother, I’m honoring what he taught me about love. I think of those students looking up to us, and how one day they’ll stand where I am, ready to give back.
In Lambda Theta Phi, I found a home that reflects the best parts of who I am and who I want to be. I wear these letters as a reminder of my purpose. And when I stand with my brothers, whether we’re studying late in School of International Service building, lending a hand in the community, or sharing our cultures, I feel the spirit of something bigger carrying us all. This is why I joined Lambda Theta Phi: I believe in these ideals with every part of me, and I wanted a life where I could carry them forward, together with others, every single day.