Seeking Success through Passion

Brothers set their sights to be North East District’s Top Chapter

By Michael Stinson Jr., Secretary

Iota Xi - KKΨ Norfolk State University

“Winner.” It’s an interesting term, isn’t it?

In life, a lot of times, there is an astounding presence around what it means to be victorious. Everyone eventually wants to be the winner of something, but not everyone is willing to put in the work behind actually being a winner. As a new member of the Iota Xi chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi at Norfolk State University, the goal to reach new heights as a collective has never been more present. Winning the top chapter of the Northeast District taught me a lot about what it means to achieve, or to win. Music, Service, Leadership and Brotherhood, - are four things that contribute to the greatness that the brothers of Kappa Kappa Psi uphold. The glory doesn’t start once you’ve attained the prize, the glory begins when those who have goals come together to start something new, a journey to better days.

As members of the Spartan “Legion”, there is a lot that goes into being a normal member of the band program. One of those things is musicality, and in this band it goes a long way. Within the band program, most of the brothers contribute greatly as we are all capable and dedicated to our crafts, so much so that a lot of the brothers in the chapter are section leaders. Even those that are not, still add on to the success of this band program’s sound, look, and overall feeling when around the band members. A good band can not and will not survive without adequate musicality, and we take that seriously here at Norfolk State.

In between balancing what it means to uphold musicality, we still do what we signed up for - service. Service is an interesting notion in this fraternity because we are a fraternity whose purpose is to serve the band the best way possible. We don't take a halt at Music. As bandsmen a part of this fraternity in Iota Xi, this starts with simple things like cleaning the band room, handing out water to the band, and helping out the band directors, to things like having events where students can connect, making people feel welcomed around us, to becoming mentors to those within the band.

Speaking in terms of brotherhood, We have bled this pillar during our process to be the top chapter of the Northeast District. During the fall season of 2020, it was an awkward time throughout the band. Coming off of quarantine, the marching band (being that mass organization that it is) went through trials and tribulations. During this time, Like every group, there were natural times where there was discourse between the brothers of the chapter. In order to thrive and reach our goals, we rose above the circumstances that the band community was going through. Overall, we can definitely say that we have achieved progression by upholding our organizations four pillars. As a unit, we were seeking something more, and it could absolutely be described in one word.

“For the Iota Xi Chapter it took heart and hard work to become the NED’s Top Chapter. I think all 18 of us collectively wanted to achieve this goal not only for the greater good of our fraternity, or our chapter but for all of the brothers that have come before us that paved the way. To become Top Chapter sometimes our ideas may have fell through but we always found another way to pick it back up and do more. It takes heart to be a busy student, a busy bandsman and to be busy every weekend with Events for our chapter, it takes passion. We collectively Strive for the Highest and put in our time and dedication to serve our band, campus and community in the best way that we could. It took early mornings some days and late nights on the other days but as a brotherhood we made the best out of every circumstance even when we faced obstacles. Becoming the Northeast Districts Top Chapter took Passion.” And that’s it, similar to what Brother Lashaun Ruffin said, the word is passion. We found what we needed through our passion and love for the band, driving us to success.

“In the summer of 2021 , I had the pleasure of attending our National Convention with 4 other chapter brothers of mine in Grand Rapids , Michigan. We had an amazing time , but one thing stuck out to the 5 of us as we reflected on our time at NATCON. We noticed that many chapters from all over the nation received awards and accolades that we could have obtained if we applied for them or even knew about them. More importantly , the Brothers of the Iota Zeta chapter at NCAT won the National Top Chapter Award , being the first HBCU chapter to win the award. My Brothers and I who attended were proud of their achievements , but something told us that we wanted that for ourselves too. That was the moment we decided we wanted to earn a national award, aiming for Top Chapter.

Our first chapter meeting when we returned to school , the brothers who attended NATCON made our own statements about it , but one thing we all said was ‘if they can do it, we can too!’. We continued our duties as a chapter as usual, but we started doing different things, accepting any opportunity we got. From mentoring at schools, to helping with rituals at other chapters, to our COVID-1919 Sanitation plan. We did new and unique things to set the standard for our chapter to earn such an award. We also made sure to reach out to District Governors, Alumni Brothers, and other district officers to see what we as a chapter can do to make our chapter stand out. Earning Top Chapter in the Northeast District was a defining moment for myself as a member in the chapter , but even more of a moment for my chapter brothers. Top Chapter is something we aimed for , and eventually earned through hard-work and dedication.” Brother President Vinze Laurden states, expressing how we as brothers executed our drive for what we do and take it to another level. Overall, I believe that top chapter isn’t just a title. Everyone can be top chapter with the passion.