This past June, the Texas Beta chapter of SigEp at the University of North Texas had the honor of sending brothers Austin Davis and Josh Frenzel to the 20th annual Ruck Leadership Insitute in Richmond, Virginia. During the five day leadership experience, brothers from all over the country gathered to learn techniques and life skills that gave them the tools to be leaders, and to better shape the chapter experience for all those around them back home. The motto of Ruck is “Teach the few to impact the many”, and both brothers were asked to share their personal experiences.

Austin Davis 

I’ve always heard great things about the Ruck Leadership Institute, but going into it, I still wasn’t very sure what it was exactly. Ruck was a life changing experience that taught me so much about being a greater leader as well as life skills that I will carry on with me for many years to come. I strengthend my weaker points as a leader while also honing in on my strong suits. Throughout the week I was pushed out of my comfort zone physcially and mentally to become a better version of myself. My favorite experience from Ruck had to be the life long connections I made. It was nerve racking at first to be spending all day and night 1,300 miles away from home with a bunch of people I just met, but we all became extremely close instantly. Going to Ruck was the greatest decison I have ever made, and I am excited to implement what I learned into my chapter. 

Josh Frenzel

My biggest takeaway from Ruck was that it is not about me, it is about the people who surround me. Learning qualities of true leadership and dedication changed my life as I always assumed leaders were supposed to be the center of attention, boy was I wrong. The five days I spent at Ruck showed me that as a leader, I have an obligation to put myself under those I am leading and guide everyone to the finish line under a common goal. My favorite lesson was that small wins build momentum. It is not always about big victories right away, because those are easily reached when you take each small win and build off of them, leading to the big end goal. I could not be more thankful for the experiences I had during my time at Ruck for they have molded me into an even more balanced man, and I am eager to share these lessons with the rest of my chapter.

Texas Beta would like to also formally thank our AVC board for their contributions allowing our brothers to attend Ruck this year, we thank you, and appreciate you.