Topic Journal

If I could compare Chi pledge class to a separate entity, it would be that of a basketball team. How does our Chi pledge class resemble a basketball team? Let me explain. Sammi Abraham is like the general manager. She oversees the day-to-day operation of the team, in this case our pledge class. She makes sure that we are on top of our duties, and is in charge of running the team as a whole. Our entire team depends on how she directs us. Sai is the coach of the basketball team. He is an encouraging person. Whenever the teammates are having a bad day, you can count on him to rile us up by saying something uplifting. Just his presence alone makes me very optimistic. He’s the type of person who would rally the team to a victory. Priscilla would be the assistant coach. She’s the type of person that works behind the scenes. She has a complementary role to the general manager and the coach of the team, and she makes quite an impact on our team’s performance. Steven and Ronald would be the mascots of the team, because since they are publicity chairs, they are the ones advertising the team by wearing the mascot costumes and performing during halftime. Lenique would be the person in charge of media. She is the one taking pictures of the team during practice and games since she is a historian. Koya is the financial advisor of the team. He is very wise and meticulous in terms of planning out finances for fundraising, so in a basketball team, he would be managing all the funds and making sure we don’t go over the cap space. Olivia, Nikki, Meg, Tony, Jake, Caline, and Tyler are the role players of the team. It really doesn’t matter what their positions are. Role players are very important in a basketball team since the starting lineup can’t carry the team all the time. When the starting lineups struggle, these guys know how to step up and fill in the void, helping out in whatever way they can. They can score points, they can rebound, they can play defense, and they do whatever the team needs to win. They are not all-around players, but they have unique characteristics that can add to the attributes of the team. Nick, Cindy, and Yeon are the training staff for our team. They are always on top of their stuff, and they know how to train the team so that they can thrive out in the court. They help out in various ways—making goody bags for actives, giving out interviews when people need them—to ensure that all the people involved in the team are active and healthy enough to overcome any challenges that the team might face. Jason is the erratic star on the basketball team, kind of like Allen Iverson. He doesn’t show up to practice, and as a result, he gets a lot of criticism. But down the stretch, he realizes that he’s the one that needs to step it up, and he gets it done. When he is focused and ready to go, there is no one that can stop him. When he catches on fire, he’ll be the best player on the court. As for me, I would be the sixth man in the team. I’ll be like James Harden. I don’t start because I’m not ready to assume leadership over the team, but I’ll be the one complementing the starters when they need it—stepping up to score for the bench when the team needs it, and when the game comes down to the line, I am available to step up and dominate the game. When our pledge class works as a team, there is no one that can stop us.