In His Own Words

Each February, Delta Upsilon hosts five Regional Leadership Academies across the United States. RLA is the Fraternity’s largest undergraduate educational program, and each academy serves as a unique opportunity for current and future chapter officers in a specific geographic region to attend sessions on a wide range of topics. The DU Quarterly team recently attended RLA Midwest in Chicago and caught up with Reid Milligan, Purdue ’19, the Purdue Chapter’s Vice President of Academic Excellence, and asked about his RLA experience.

Tell us about your time at RLA. What you have been doing so far?

I have had a lot of opportunities to go to breakout sessions regarding tactics for things like study hours and holding people accountable. I think my position is a lot about holding people accountable and making sure they are getting their stuff done. I have been learning a lot about accountability and strategies to make sure people are doing the things they are supposed to be doing.

RLA reaches more brothers than any other DU program each year. Why do you think RLA is important or special?

The good thing about RLA is that we are all coming together. It is also a lesson for us to learn even more about our Four Founding Principles. I feel like there is a lot of Development of Character and Diffusion of Liberal Culture. Everyone comes from different walks of life and colleges. There is a lot of Promotion of Friendship through meeting people from a lot of different places. For Advancement of Justice, we are here. We are learning about different skills to take back to our chapter.

What is something from RLA that will help your chapter be successful?

I went to a session specifically for Vice Presidents of Academic Excellence. I got a lot of new strategies for things like grade checks. Starting the semester, people should not be on study tables. Midway through the semester, maybe they should be on study tables. We are trying to find a way to prevent people from getting below our grade point average requirement.

How do you think DU will help you with your professional career?

I was not much of a public speaker, but standing up at chapter meetings every week has improved my communication skills. I feel like DU has definitely taught me how to be a leader. In my future career endeavors, I feel like both of those will help me in job interviews and other situations.

In your personal DU experience, how do you try to make an impact in Delta Upsilon?

I am trying to make sure my chapter is caring about its grades. I am making sure people are graduating on time. Directly in my chapter, I am striving to keep people on track for their future. People might not understand that; they might think I am punishing them. I would like my legacy to be that I cared about everyone and their future.

How has RLA made you a better leader?

With a lot of the lessons I have learned, I am going to be able to go back to my chapter and use these strategies to make things more efficient. By taking time from our schedules to be here, we are showing we care about the chapter and want to improve ourselves as an Executive Board.