Phi Kappa Theta Foundation Board Welcomes Pat Barrera

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA | Feb 19, 2019 – The Phi Kappa Theta Foundation is pleased to welcome Brother Pat Barrera (Texas State University, ‘87) as a trustee!

Brother Barrera was a founding member of Phi Kappa Theta’s Beta Sigma Chapter at Southwest Texas State University (“SWT,” and now known as Texas State University). Pat served as the SWT Chapter’s first Vice President and helped Phi Kappa Theta be admitted into SWT’s Intra-Faternity Council. Within two years, the Beta Sigma Chapter grew from seven founding members to a group of over 22 active brothers, with a fraternity house and a Chapter of Little Sisters. After graduating with a business degree, Pat attended law school.

Immediately after graduating from the University of Texas School of Law, Pat relocated to Los Angeles, California where he currently resides with his wife and daughters. Pat is licensed to practice law in California and Texas. He is an invited member of several professional associations including the American Board of Trial Advocates, the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 and the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Pat has been named a Southern California Super Lawyer for each year between 2004 and 2019 by Los Angeles Magazine.

Pat is AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell. In addition to his trial practice, Pat lectures at continuing legal education seminars. He has served as a Judge Pro Tempore with the Los Angeles Superior Court. Pat previously served as a volunteer prosecutor with the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office.

When not working, Pat volunteers at his local Catholic Church and schools. Pat serves on the School Board at Notre Dame Academy and previously served as President of the American Martyrs Parents Association. Pat enjoys hiking, kayaking and standup paddle-boarding. Pat has reached the Summits of Machu Picchu and Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the Contiguous United States and he has completed the LA Marathon and a Tough Mudder.

It is the mission of the Phi Kappa Theta National Foundation to enhance the quality of the educational, spiritual and fraternal programs of the National Fraternity and its local chapters, by providing funding for those programs, and offering guidance as to their implementation. Click Here for more information on The Phi Kappa Theta Foundation and its vision.

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Phi Kappa Theta is a national fraternity that fosters five areas of development within its membership: leadership, fraternal, intellectual, social, and spiritual. Currently, the Fraternity has 37 active chapters. The mission of Phi Kappa Theta is to actively develop men to be effective leaders who passionately serve society, Fraternity and God.

www.phikaps.org

The Pillar That Sets Us Apart

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Brother Vavek (University of Nebraska-Lincoln, ‘19) (left) and Brother Evan Helman (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) at IMPACT18 in Orlando, FL.

by Jeb Vavak
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, ’19

Most fraternities will talk up their brotherhood’s social, academic and leadership achievements until your ears fall off. Those are incredibly important, don’t get me wrong. But what distinguishes our fraternity from all the others? I rushed Phi Kappa Theta because it offered something that I didn’t see in any of the other fraternities on campus—the Spiritual Pillar.

This past January I had the privilege to travel to Indianapolis alongside 40 other brothers of the Nebraska Pi Chapter to attend SEEK2019.

SEEK is a biannual conference put on by FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, a national collegiate outreach program. Over 17,000 students who attended the conference were able to hear inspiring talks from top Catholic speakers, attend Mass daily, take part in adoration and confession and hear a concert from Matt Maher and NEEDTOBREATHE. We were also able to connect with fellow brothers from four other Phi Kap chapters. Some of these opportunities were made possible by FOCUS Greek—the FOCUS outreach tailored to students in fraternity and sorority life.

That weekend, it seemed like the pieces just fell into place like a puzzle. First of all, we were fortunate that the conference was held in Indianapolis this year, not far from the National Office. Employees of the National Office as well as our National President, Adrian Gonzalez (University of Texas at Austin, ’78), were present at a the Phi Kap vendor booth throughout the entire conference. The fraternity served as a sponsor for the conference, obtaining a booth to gain leads for students and chaplains interested in starting a Phi Kappa Theta colony on their campus. This also allowed Phi Kaps attending SEEK to connect with staff from the National Office and network with other brothers that stopped by the booth. Some brothers even took a break from the conference to visit the National Office in Indianapolis, only 20 minutes away from the convention center.

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Members of Nebraska Pi at SEEK 2019.

But it didn’t stop there; the pieces of the puzzle kept falling into place. It also happened that the weekend of SEEK was the same weekend that Dr. Michael Brown and his DMB Coaching team would be in Indianapolis training alumni volunteers on the new spiritual development curriculum.

This resource guide, Beyond Belief, will soon be launched to chapters all over the country to assist in strengthening brothers spiritually and embracing the pillar that makes us unique. This perfect timing allowed the DMB Coaching team to hold a special session for the brothers attending SEEK: a sneak preview of the Beyond Belief material. I was taken aback when I got my hands on a hard copy of the resource guide because of how thick the booklet was!

Dr. Brown then gave us an introduction to some of the resources and activities inside. The wealth of information in those pages couldn’t even be covered in the three hours we had together.

After getting a sneak peak of Beyond Belief, I am convinced that it will be incredibly beneficial to all the chapters that give it a chance. It is inspiring to see the our Fraternity making an investment into the spiritual formation of its members.

As a brother, I am proud to be part of an organization that embraces and values spiritual development. The new Beyond Belief spiritual curriculum is a great example of Phi Kappa Theta’s commitment to developing well-rounded, passionately driven men. Development in all five of our pillars is crucial. As Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity continues to be dedicated to a pillar that many other fraternities neglect, we will begin to truly distinguish ourselves as the premier organization for developing servant leaders. Furthermore, we will begin to live every day more in line with our mission: Phi Kappa Theta actively develops men to be effective leaders who passionately serve society, Fraternity, and God.

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Jeb Vavak is a senior Management major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is from Ashland, Nebraska and graduated in 2015 from Ashland-Greenwood High School. He has served the Nebraska Pi Chapter as President, Philanthropy Chairman and Recruitment Assistant. On campus, he is active at the Newman Center, is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society and served as an Orientation Leader for UNL New Student Enrollment. In his free time he enjoys playing basketball and listening to music.

Main Image: Brothers from all chapters at FOCUS Greek Bid Day event.

Phi Kappa Theta is Creating Life-Changing Experiences at BBLA

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Brothers from the 2019 BBLA in Seattle, WA.

At the start of 2019 we have already seen several gatherings of the Boysie Bollinger Leadership Academy held across the country!

Brothers from various chapters gathered in Omaha, NE, Seattle, WA and Bowling Green, OH to hear from our DMB Coaching team.

The Boysie Bollinger Leadership Academy is a bold new spin on Phi Kappa Theta’s Regional Leadership Conferences. Now in it’s second year as the “BBLA’s”, brothers from across the country are gathering around life's biggest questions and coming away with new insights and real solutions!

What else can brothers expect at our BBLA’s this year?

Life-changing Ideas:
Unique content drawing on decades of experience helping young men become the best version of themselves.

Honest Conversations:
No one-way lectures. No fluff. Deep, meaningful dialogue designed to help each brother identify their unique contribution.

Ongoing Relationships:
The most important thing brothers leave BBLA events with is connection. Connection to brothers, to other chapters, and to life coaches.

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If you or your chapter are interested in attending of of our remaining BBLA’s, please select one below!

Eddie Garcia: A Master Communicator at Age 23

by Kathy Jonas

Eddie Garcia at the National Academy of Arts & Sciences.

While it is unfortunately true that mass shootings have become pretty regular news events, Eddie Garcia (Northern Illinois University, ‘18) found a compelling way to tell the story of the 10th anniversary of the shooting at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.

“Shooting Anniversary Newscast,” produced by Garcia and Mateo Avila, was nominated by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for a 2018 Emmy in the category of Best Student TV newscast. He and Avila attended the Chicago Chapter event in November of 2018.

The shooting occurred on Valentine’s Day, 2008, when a gunman entered a large lecture hall, killing five people and injuring 17. The shooter ended up taking his own life.

Garcia and Avila, as producers, created, organized, and wrote the script, airing it as the first show of the semester. They start out the piece – which can be viewed on YouTube – doing personal stories about the five students who lost their lives by interviewing parents, friends and others who knew them. Another segment highlights a “reflection walk” that took place on campus where families and friends could walk and stop in particular rooms to reflect on each person who died. Other parts of the half-hour newscast delve into security on campus, an interview with a first responder, an interview with a survivor and information about the scholarships given in honor of the victims.

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On Feb. 14, 2008, five Northern Illinois University students were shot and killed by gunman Steven Kazmierczak before he took his own life at Cole Hall on the NIU campus in DeKalb. (Chicago Tribune)

“Gathering all of the correct information was our main priority,” says Garcia. “Our goal was to honor the victims while revealing details about the tragic event.” He says they wanted to tie it together with the more recent school shootings.

“We were saddened to see that shootings that occurred here on campus 10 years ago, are still occurring regularly.”

A senior majoring in broadcast journalism and media communications, Garcia credits Phi Kappa Theta, which he joined his freshman year, with giving him the tools to build on what he calls the foundation of his career—the importance of communication. He credits his parents with providing his life foundation and says his mother is his biggest cheerleader.

“Everything that has happened to me is about communication,” he says. “I really want to help others succeed too and realize that we are all in this together.” He was inspired by the late Paul Allen (Washington State University, ‘75), who he heard deliver his Man of Achievement speech at the Phi Kappa Theta National Conference in Washington DC in 2017. Allen, 65, the co-founder of Microsoft, died October 15, 2018 of Non Hodgkins lymphoma.

“The entire conference was about leadership and the impact we can leave. It truly was an amazing experience,” he adds. He was impressed by the work ethic he saw there and even as a member of the executive committee he liked the way you had to learn to communicate with others to achieve a goal. “This helped guide my career.”

He became hooked on broadcasting when he went to college and entered the school’s television production area. He immediately knew it was what he wanted to do. But his true passion is sports. While a student, he has produced a weekly sports program, Top Shelf Sports, which is a part of class curriculum, serving not only the university but the nearby local community.

Garcia recently visited ESPN and hopes to make Bristol, Connecticut his home following graduation in December.

Beni Enas, General Manager of the Northern Television Center, and a former producer at CNN, among other media outlets, says Garcia is mature beyond his years. “He’s what I want to be when I grow up,” Enas says with a laugh.

“He is a born leader. In television production, there are a lot of moving parts so everyone is expected to follow your lead. He sets the bar high and everyone wants to rise up to that.” His natural passion for sports is obvious and it inspires others, Enas says.

Enas has no doubt that Garcia will achieve great things. “He has ‘it,’ whatever ‘it’ is.”