2023 Scholarhip AnnouncementKeynote:

MARK DEPASQUALE, PI’ 88 (SYRACUSE)

Mark DePasquale, Pi ‘88, is a CEO and entrepreneur from the Boston area. On May 5th he addressed the 2023-24 scholarship recipients on the value and the meaning of Psi U. Below are excerpts from his remarks, lightly edited for flow and content.

I was happy when Alex asked me to speak, I think I can talk about my experience at Psi U, and just all the wonderful things. [I] could go on forever about it, so cut me off at an hour, hour and a half, okay? But I was just up in Syracuse, the last couple of days, my daughter is a sophomore there. Every time I’m there, I take a quick walk around campus and kind of relive some memories. I, of course, walked in front of the Psi U house and the memories just come flooding back. Every time I look at it, I know, I would just give up everything I’m doing right now and go back in a minute. …A bunch of years, walking through the house in the summertime there happened to be a couple active guys there. We immediately started talking about stories of the old days, and said, :Yeah, I would I would give it all up and come back.” I turned and my entire family was looking at me like “What?! What do you…what are you talking about? He would leave us all for this?” And there’s a part of me that would…it makes me very jealous of all of you. You’re in the time of your life. Please savor it, and enjoy every minute that you can possibly get out of where you are.

I do want to offer my congratulations to everybody. This was not an easy process. It’s less about congratulating a few for getting an award and more for just applying…it’s quite an involved process to go through…all the recommendations and writing the essay in amongst the time that you have on your schoolwork and other activities. I really started thinking about that, and that what you’ll find during life is sometimes just that simple act of taking a step forward is what it takes. That step sets you apart, the fact that you applied and there’s a relatively small number of individuals that apply for the scholarships compared to how many active brothers that we have. So it’s always amazing to me that, you know, that sometimes if you just pick up the pen, if you just open up the application, that might be just enough to get you ahead of the next person.

Too many people in this world I think, wait for the world to come to them and they end up missing out on opportunities; just by not wanting to put in that little bit of effort. …Take for example your journey, you know; there’s some mystical force in the universe that that drew you to Psi U…

But for whatever reason, you walk through the doors, knowing little if anything about what you might experience. …If your pledge process is anything like mine, you’d learn things like the history, that fraternity, you may have learned the chapter roll, some famous alumni, you have to learn the first, middle, and last name and hometown of your pledge mates and the senior brothers or, you know, a whole bunch of different various things. Also, you learned the standards by which we conduct ourselves as people. It probably didn’t take you very long before you realize that this was something special. This was not just a bunch of oak paneled walls, or a place to network for your career, or place to go to party. This was something that was special. You [start] to feel what the bond is…the bond that is like really like none other that you’ll ever find in any aspect of your life. You’ll have workmates. You’ll have friends from the town you land in. But there truly is no bond. You don’t realize it at the time [you join] but you’ve met the people who will be an integral part of your life literally forever. You will be there for them, they’ll be there for you. [Y]ou’ve joined something that’s much bigger than you ever bargained for. It’s really a forever bond.

You don’t have, unfortunately, a whole lot of time left it at school…it goes by so quickly. It might feel like a long time, but then before you know it, you’re a junior, you’re a senior, and then you’re out in the real world. So you know, consume as much knowledge as you can. By reviewing your applications, this class of people really has done that.

As Dick [Rassmussen] has gone through, your GPAs are phenomenal. Your ability to communicate what Psi U means to you is very important. Your recommendations all speak very highly of you. And it’s a very impressive thing. The Syracuse motto, I won’t attempt the Latin, but the motto is “knowledge crowns, those who seek her” and it’s a fantastically concise way of putting it and I’ve always appreciated that; that model. So take it all in. But not just Psi U, you know…Join clubs, travel abroad, meet everyone you can and hear their views and appreciate what you learn about other people. But [Psi U] is very important. Get involved in your chapter for many, many reasons. …It’s a fantastic experience for the future.

As I was looking through the applications for the scholarship, I definitely felt myself looking closer and harder at the ones that were archon, or senior officers. …

Our chapter, and I believe everyone else, you know, they run like a business for our product. We weren’t a manufacturer, but our product was fun. That’s what we delivered, we delivered fun, and some community service, and we had events, and that was our business. And so it needed the workers, it needed middle managers, it needed senior managers, and it needed officers to, to, to survive and thrive. And so I highly recommend when the opportunity presents itself, to hold your hand up, volunteer to be a chair, work towards being an offer officer. And when the time comes, hold your hand up and say yes, and just do it. My dad would always tell me when I was a kid, he’d say, you know, becoming a leader is often sometimes very easy, all you have to say is “I’ll do it”. And you’ll find that a lot of people will just hang back and they’re happy to let other people lead. This is again, something that you’ll use for the rest of your life. As you as you do this know being a leader is a little bit trickier. I mean, you have to do a good job. You don’t just get the job and let things happen…you actually have to make it happen. And you have to set an example for other people. Too many people, I think, stand back and let life come to them.

While you’re still in school, don’t lose sight of the fact that you go down this path but once. Don’t be too anxious to get on with your career. There’s plenty of time for that. It’s really coming much sooner than you think. Enjoy that safe nest that the university environment offers. Be present. Be in the moment. Literally take it all in.

When I was dropping my daughter off Freshman year, we walked down the road and I just said, listen, just take advantage of absolutely everything you can at this place. There’s so many things going on. And before you know it, you know it’s going to be over and you’re going to be on to somewhere else and picking her up on the ride back from Syracuse to Boston.

You know, [earlier] we talked about the fact that it’s 50% of the way done. And that’s quick. I don’t know if you guys know the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, you know…Alex will know, maybe. But he had a great line. And Ferris said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop to look around, you’ll miss it.”

As you as you make the transition to the next chapter of your life, that four letter word “work”, you’re going to constantly draw on the skills that you’ve learned. And the friendships you’ve made…these, these bonds that you’ve made, will help you in more ways than you can ever imagine. And it’ll be…some will be very outward, and some will be very subtle. But it’s ultimately still up to you. You got to do everything you can do to set yourself apart, up looking to do more. They’re not asking about, you know, they’re not asking about what’s in it for them, or how much I’m off to I get or what are the benefits or all these things. They’re just looking at it saying, you know, what can I do for the organization, they’re putting the organization first.” And when you get noticed, you get promoted. And when you get promoted, you get put in a position to help other people. but honestly, it’s actually simpler than, than it sounds. You know, you don’t have to be, you don’t have to do some crazy thing just to set yourself apart.

It means Zig when everyone else is zagging. So alright, so that’s kind of vague, right? So what does that mean? It goes go beyond the minimum; be the one that asks, “What can I do to help here?”

While you’re at the Pi [chapter], or sorry, at your, at your chapter or in your career, be the one that’s in the office, when everyone else is working and running errands from home. It’s a very different environment than it was when I graduated. And many people are just great, I can kind of work from home, I can do that. But there’s a downside to that. Because it’s a little harder to get noticed…you’re only in the room when people want you in the room through a zoom call. If you’re in the office, you are zigging when everyone else is zagging. You’re around when that senior manager is looking around saying, “Hey, who’s here? Who can I throw on this special project? Oh, that guy’s here. You know, I see that person here, you know, three, four or five days a week. And they’re always have their hand

So don’t be misinformed. You know, business is a meritocracy. This is not US Soccer, there are no trophies for showing up. You do well, you advance, you get promoted, you get paid more. You get put in senior positions of authority and responsibility. If you focus on yourself, and just your own personal, immediate needs, it’s short term thinking, and it’s going to end up holding you back…play the long game, and put your organization first, and it will come back to benefit you tenfold at least. As much as, you know, I like to emphasize the more personal aspects and the bonds and friendship aspects of Psi U, there is no doubt that it’s a very powerful networking tool. You will, without a doubt, lean on this. This network of people, whether they’re in your immediate chapter, or people you’ll meet through Psi U International or through Facebook pages or LinkedIn, whatever way it is, you’ll meet people.

I mean, Alex [Senchak, Eta ‘06] and I met each other well after I graduated college through our international, and we’ve, you know, shared contacts with different things, and it just comes up quite naturally. You know, but having Psi U, as part of your background, though, really is a distinct, distinctive aspect. You know, if I get a LinkedIn request, and by all means if anyone wants to send a request please do, if I get a LinkedIn request I always scan through it. [In my mind] it’s like, Alright, who does this person know, why did they reach out? 90% of them, they want to sell something…if it says you and they are in any way immediately connected, it’s an immediate message back, “Hey, how are you? What? What can we do to help each other?” I’ll talk to anyone that