Never in his wildest dreams did Alexander “Zander” Martins (Western Ontario University, ‘21) think he would have to know the pain of losing a chapter Brother. But through the uncertainty and slow road to recovery, Martins has been reminded of the unconditional love and support that comes with his Lambda Chi Alpha membership.
“Part of the value that I truly found in the Fraternity was watching the group of men come together and just be open, honest, vulnerable and go through a challenging time together,” said Martins. “I think it gave meaning to a lot of those values and ideals that we have, and that’s when Fraternity, to me, meant a lot more than just a club at university.
“It’s truly a Brotherhood because we were leaning on each other in ways that we never have before.”
Through his time as an undergraduate member, Martins has continued to grow and learned valuable lessons in leadership styles and how to effectively manage honest and immediate feedback from others. While Martins has known success in every aspect of his collegiate career, one of his proudest accomplishments has been serving on the Grand High Zeta in the role of High Sigma.
Martins says that he is thankful for the unique opportunity to serve on the board of a large organization, which has provided him with insight on how membership-based organizations conduct business.
Not only has Martins and the rest of the Student Advisory Committee (SAC) assisted the Office of Administration in becoming more transparent with their members through such measures like a newly updated website with a breakdown of dues, but he is also proud of his Canadian representation. Martins hopes to continue to push for the recognition of Canadian Brothers and the rich history they bring to the organization.
“Being a Canadian and a Canadian Brother in a U.S.-based organization, I thought it was important for some representation and a Canadian seat at the table,” said Martins.
With this differing lens, Martins has latched onto the idea of how to value perspectives from across North America in working towards a common goal.
As Martins phases out of his duties as Grand High Sigma, he is eager to see how his beloved Fraternity continues to embrace Brothers of all backgrounds and opinions. For incoming SAC members, he urges these young men to stay true to the reason they were chosen for the committee.
“When you’re in advocacy, sometimes you can get too caught up in the mechanics of government…and you can kind of get distracted by the details of pushing policy forward or enacting change, but I think it’s best to always remind yourself why you did it in the first place, so you don’t lose sight of the end goal or the passion that was there initially,” said Martins.
So, from a tragedy that brought him and his Brothers closer to creating real change in his Fraternity, Martins is prepared to make his next big leap.
