North Ridgeville Resident Brian Le plays an active role on the Ashland University Campus

2017 Mar 23

To say that Brian Le, a sophomore at Ashland University, is a very active student on the Ashland, Ohio, campus would be an understatement. Le, a resident of North Ridgeville, Ohio (44039), can be found serving in many different roles across the AU campus.

Le grew up with his father, Hung Minh Le; his mother, HongDiem Thi Nguyen; and sister Brittney Le in North Ridgeville. He graduated from North Ridgeville High School in 2015.

Brian is currently a triple major in history, political science and international political studies at Ashland University. He plans on moving onto become either a professor or having a career in international policy. Although he has been on campus for only two years, he is actually a senior based on academic credits and has been a part of more organizations than a typical student.

To show how active he is on campus, he has given a list of every organization and his role in the organization he is a part of. Le is currently the Vice President of the Junior Class on Student Senate. He is the Vice President of Young Democrats as well as being a part of the Ashbrook Scholars Program. He is just a member of each of the following: Council for Exceptional Children, Ashland University Choir, Alexander Hamilton Society, Order of Omega, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, and Kappa Delta Pi Education Honorary. Le is an Executive Board Member of St. Jude Up 'Til Dawn; he serves as the Student Organizations Chair. Le has been a resident assistant for this academic year.

Le is also an active member in Greek Life on AU's campus. He became a member of Phi Delta Theta in the fall of 2015 and so far he has served as secretary, special events chair, chorister, parliamentarian, IFC delegate, and public relations chair. "It's nice to have a brotherhood who accepts me for who I am and whom I have a deeper bond with than just a regular friendship," Le said.

Le says he stays motivated by meeting new people and loves being in an organization with people who have the same purpose. "Especially in activities such as choir and Phi Delta Theta, I am surrounded by people who have the same drive and similar goals that empower us to be the greatest version of ourselves," he said.

He considers himself to be a leader on campus, and many would agree. He hopes to be able to translate the leadership skills he's learned from his organizations to his future career as both a good speaker and someone who works well in teams.

Le tells of the culture shock he had when coming to Ashland University -- not only as a first-generation college student but as a first-generation American.

"For the first time, my home life was not a strong core family of people who spoke Vietnamese, the food was American or Chinese or Greek but never Vietnamese, and for the first time in my life, I was not surrounded by the people who I had grown up with, gone to school with, and had essentially known my entire life. From a small community of tightly knit friends to one where I knew no one, where I would have to forge new friendships and find my own niche, the prospect was enough to heighten my anxiety and panic attacks to a point where I thought I would have to withdraw within my first week of being on campus. "

One of Le's friends, who is from the same hometown, took him to the Greek Life involvement fair as a freshman. He had a lot of apprehension about attending the fair because he had seen movies and shows that shaped the negative perception of Greek life. Because of this, Le did not want to be a part of an organization that degraded men, whose sole purpose was to pre-game the entire week for the weekend. He was not the poster child for American Greek Life on college campuses. Eventually, after getting into deep, real conversations with some of the brothers of Phi Delta Theta, he found not only one of his best friends, which happens to be his Big brother, Ian Kieffer, he found a home. Le felt like Phi Delt was the perfect fit for him that exceeded the expectations he had in mind about Greek life.

For the past academic year, he had the honor to serve on the Executive Board and assist in making several executive decisions in his fraternity, and while the day-to-day trudge of Greek life may seem pedantic, when he looks back on it all, Phi Delta Theta has been one of the best influences on his development as a leader and as a member of the Greek community. In Phi Delta Theta, he has found a family who embraces who he is and what he aspires to be.

"Phi Delt has had a profound impact on who I am as a person, not just a leader, but as a brother in a familial community. It is not just the rituals that tie the fraternity together, but their unbreakable bond of brotherhood as well," he said. "It has been an honor to have been accepted into this family. It is a family who embraces who I am and what I aspire to be, and my brothers have done nothing but help and encourage me to become the greatest version of myself."

He said he believes he has a big influence in Greek life, not just through the positions he has held or will hold, but also with the involvement he has on campus. He plans to help AU as someone who has such a large influence on this campus.

"Quite honestly, if I can help the people around me be a little happier, walk with a little more pep, and work a little harder in the organizations on this campus, I think I would have done my job. Nothing makes me happier than people who don't congratulate me on my awards or for how much I've done, but who tell me how much of a difference I have made in their lives, even if I was a part of it for only a short time," he said. "My large scope in involvement allows me to get to know a lot of people, and through these connections I hope to turn Ashland University into just that much of a happier place, even if it's one or two people."

Ashland University, ranked in the top tier of colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report's National Universities category for 2017, is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) deeply values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students. ###