If you asked me four or five years ago whether or not I could see myself as the president of a business fraternity, my answer to you would have been an emphatic “NO!” As an environmental science major uninterested in entering the world of profit-hungry executives, I had no desire to associate myself with the “business” crowd. I was only convinced by a friend that rushing Alpha Kappa Psi might be a good idea because my dream is to start my own environmental consulting firm; I needed professional training and skill development to find a job that would eventually allow me to pursue that goal.

After reluctantly making my way to rush, I was immediately astounded by how completely wrong I was to categorize people in AKPsi as simply power or profit hungry. The brothers I met were enthusiastic about my passion for environmental issues and sustainability and interested to hear about my past internships for the energy department on campus. I realized the people around me had not only worked as investment bankers and entrepreneurs, but also for the Peace Corps, the Children’s Hospital in Oakland, and at the US Department of Labor. I quickly realized I had come to the right place, and accepted my bid to pledge AKPsi at the end of rush.

Ironically, I think the best things I got out of joining AKPsi weren’t the things I originally rushed and pledged for. Yes, I got the some of the best professional development and training an undergrad can receive at Cal. Yes, I got access to an incredible alumni network working in the world’s best companies all around the globe. Yes, I got real consulting experience by advising a growth strategy for a multi-billion dollar Fortune 50 Company with BCS, AKPsi’s for-profit consulting arm.

Yet, for me, it isn’t these experiences that have defined my experience in AKPsi. It’s the late-night food runs with my pledge brothers; it’s the road trips to the beach and Las Vegas; it’s the feeling of knowing I can call up any of my 50 brothers in AKPsi and have a picnic and play Frisbee at Memorial Glade on a sunny day. It’s the fact that my best friends and roommates and mentors are in AKPsi that have made every minute I have spent as a member of AKPsi more than worth it.

AKPsi is at the same time an incredibly tight-knit and a truly diverse group of students. It is here that you will meet the business leaders, doctors, lawyers, politicians, and social activists of tomorrow. It is here that you will meet people both interested in finance and social issues, or technology and the environment. I emphasize this because what you’ll hear at rush and from your friends in AKPsi is true; you can really get the professional development from many places, but it’s the people that make AKPsi really stand out from other organizations.

Sit down and really think hard for a minute about what you want to gain out of your time in college, and where you want to be after Cal. I promise you that if you’re looking for the experience that will change not only your college career, but your entire life, look closely at joining Alpha Kappa Psi – you won’t be disappointed.

Biography

Tracy is a senior studying Economics and Environmental Science. He will be president of Alpha Kappa Psi for the Fall 2009 semester and has in previous semesters served as VP Administration and VP External. This summer, he interned in the Nonprofit Strategy and Operations group of New Sector Alliance, a nonprofit management consultancy headquartered in Boston. He has also worked as an investment banking summer analyst at Bank of America and as a corporate strategy intern for Boeing Aircraft. Tracy swam competitively for Cal's varsity team in the past, and currently enjoys exploring San Francisco's nightlife scene and reading up on green technology.

I still remember walking down Sproul as a freshman checking out all the different organizations. How was I supposed to decide what I wanted to join? Do I go with a club that will develop me professionally? Do I join an organization where I will gain real work experience? Do I pick an organization where I think I will have the most fun and meet people who share the same interests as me? Luckily, I realized early on that for someone who has an interest in business, Alpha Kappa Psi does a perfect job bridging the gap between the professional and social worlds.

The organization starts and ends with the people of Alpha Kappa Psi. From the very beginning, the brothers are there to help, teach, and guide you along your way. I learned a tremendous amount from the members of the fraternity. Alpha Kappa Psi helped me realize what I needed to do to achieve my career aspirations. For those that don’t know what career they want to pursue yet, that’s okay too. The brothers are there to answer any questions you may have. They are there to teach you what’s out there and help you find and learn what you want to do. When you do figure it out, they are there to help you prepare for interviews. In short, they are there in any way that will help, regardless of where you are along your career path.

Working with other members is also a great learning experience. In just my second semester in AKPsi, I was given the opportunity to help start Berkeley Corporate Solutions, which is now one of the consulting arms of Alpha Kappa Psi, with some other members of the fraternity. Our goal was to help provide members with invaluable consulting experience with a focus on finance, while providing businesses with viable solutions and recommendations. I was absolutely awed and humbled by the others’ intelligence, drive, and qualifications. Their qualifications varied from having worked in quantitative analysis at Goldman Sachs, to having done investment banking internships at bulge bracket firms, to having worked at Morgan Stanley in real estate private equity, to receiving venture capital funding for a start-up company. I, on the other hand, was just starting my second year in college and had minimal work experience in comparison to the others. I learned so much by working with them and yet, that was only half of the story. We were consulting for real business clients, getting real work experience, and even presenting to a billionaire CEO one semester. With that said, BCS is just one of the many great opportunities AKPsi provides, but it has been the most inspiring and interesting activity that I have gotten to participate in on campus. Since its founding, BCS has gone on to work for companies ranging from Cisco to Agilent to other top fortune 500 companies.

Because of all the great opportunities and help that AKPsi provides, the fraternity’s social benefits are often forgotten. AKPsi enabled me—someone who moved from Chicago to California and didn’t know many people at Berkeley—to build close friendships with people who shared similar professional and social interests as me. The great thing about AKPsi is that it is small enough to be a close-knit community, but at the same time large enough that other members will share the same interests as you. For me, that meant going to the gym with others and joining the AKPsi intramural basketball team. It meant going to Cubs and Yankees games with my little bro (he’s a Yankees fan from New Jersey). Sometimes it merely meant going out to dinner, watching a movie, or going to other AKPsi social events. Whatever your interests are, Alpha Kappa Psi will enable you to truly call Cal home.

In the end, I believe AKPsi is that perfect balance between the professional and social aspects of college that I believe one should seek. You will add a great group of friends that you can count on and at the same time, AKPsi will teach, guide, and help you in your career path. Maybe most importantly, AKPsi helps you create your own path to success, wherever that may lie. I, for one, am delighted that I joined and could not imagine what Berkeley would have been like if I hadn’t.

Biography

Sebastian Cua is a fourth year pursuing a simultaneous degree in Business Administration and Economics. Sebastian is interested in a career in investment banking and most recently interned with Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York during the summer of 2009. In the past, he has worked at Lazard Frères, UBS Financial, and AG Edwards. Sebastian is one of the co-founders of Berkeley Corporate Solutions and continues to be involved. He has a strong passion for stocks and investing, and in his free time enjoys working with kids and playing sports such as basketball, tennis, and volleyball.