The four outgoing presidents of the fraternity/sorority governing councils discuss what their roles have meant to them.

Published: Feb. 24, 2023

By Jesse Berlin 

This story was originally published Feb. 7, 2023.

Assuming an on-campus leadership role is the ultimate growth opportunity for students. The former presidents of the governing councils – Samantha Brown of the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC), Logan Goulet of the Pan-Hellenic Association (PHA), Isaiah Massey of the National Panhellenic Council (NPHC), and Thom Molen of the Interfraternity Council (IFC) – talk about what they took away from their tenures and what their successors should know. 

What achievement are you most proud of? 

Samantha Brown, MGC: The Bridge to Success conference. We partnered with the Association of Fraternal Leadership & Values, NPHC and some campus resources to create personal and professional development workshops that high school students from Columbia Public Schools could attend.  

Logan Goulet, PHA: My board, for the way we emphasized large-scale events to bring our community together. Over the summer, we put together a welcome event where all chapters were welcome to have pizza on us to kick off recruitment week. We also hosted a “Panhellenic Love” week with events to bring together people from other chapters and spread love to students outside Panhellenic. 

Isaiah Massey, NPHC: Bringing a new service project to the Black community. During my term of presidency, I worked with the Black Culture Center, Columbia Urban Agriculture and Mizzou Botanical Garden to create our first urban garden on the campus of Mizzou. It was an amazing opportunity to be a part of. 

Thom Molen, IFC: The new programming IFC started. The biggest example was the IFC New Member Orientation the first Sunday of school. We have a basic overview of the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life, the four councils and Mizzou to the students and also brought in Qy’Darrius McEachern to speak on diversity, equity and inclusion. 

What did you learn over the course of your tenure? 

Samantha Brown, MGC: The importance of community. MGC’s slogan is “for family, for community, for culture,” and it lives up to it. I’ve met some of my greatest friends through my involvement and I always wanted to put my all into my position because of them. Additionally, being part of a community with so much support and care has really made my time in college. 

Logan Goulet, PHA: Building relationships among fraternity and sorority chapters, governing councils and campus offices starts with individual relationships. Getting to know each other and building trust is the first step to a good working relationship. 

Isaiah Massey, NPHC: Being president is not easy, but it can be rewarding to know that you are in a leadership position not for the role but for the service. Being someone to serve your community and being the person who takes the initiative to drive change, whether that’s sitting on meetings, doing interviews or being in rooms where the voices of your council deserve to be heard. 

Thom Molen, IFC: To be patient while working with large groups of people. It was easy enough to accomplish goals with the small group of the IFC board, but more challenging to collaborate with a larger group of IFC chapters and student organizations. 

What did you learn about yourself? 

Samantha Brown, MGC: The importance of collaboration. I believe nothing truly amazing can be done alone. Being able to work with others makes things more fun and interesting. Additionally, having more ideas and more opinions means more choices. I was able, along with others, to make the best decisions to create the greatest experience I could for MGC members. 

Logan Goulet, PHA: Balance is essential in life. I once had a mentor tell me, “Logan, you know ‘no’ is a full sentence, right?” I’m still working on taking this advice, but it’s something I think about from time to time. 

Isaiah Massey, NPHC: I can handle a lot more things than I imagined I could. This experience has shown me what it’s like to be the voice and face of an organization, and it’s shown me that I am capable of handling and managing a team through both the good and the bad. If I want to see and direct change, I can.  

Thom Molen, IFC: I can balance being a leader while also keeping fun in mind. Everything that the IFC does, whether it be service, philanthropy, recruitment, Homecoming, or anything else can be an opportunity for fun. There are so many great opportunities to become a better person, and I hope that people continue to take full advantage of that. 

What do you want the new council president to know about the position? 

Samantha Brown, MGC: She always has my support. Angelica Duarte is a great friend, and I believe that she’s going to do wonderful things during her time as president and beyond. Additionally, I want her to know that delegating is important, and she shouldn’t load everything on to her shoulders. 

Logan Goulet, PHA: Besides that “no” is a full sentence … This position will introduce you to so many different people on campus: faculty, staff, peers, leaders, etc. Truly soak in each opportunity to get to know these people. The relationships I’ve built throughout this term are something I will carry with me for a lifetime. 

Isaiah Massey, NPHC: I would want the next president to do their best to uphold tradition, uphold their presidential responsibilities and remember that as NPHC president, you are serving as a member of the NPHC, not as a representative of your chapter. When you are a servant leader of the NPHC, you have to put your letters aside for the greater good of the NPHC.  

Thom Molen, IFC: Be persistent, patient, and plan ahead. Working with large groups of students and the University causes things to move slow at times, so keeping these three Ps in mind was very helpful for our board. There are so many great resources on campus for students, and they can be used to help the board and chapters of the IFC in a myriad of ways.