The Undergraduate Cabinet consists of three Brothers elected, who serve to represent all of the chapters and colonies through the next academic year.
As members of the Undergraduate Cabinet, our undergraduate Brothers have the unique opportunity to become elected representatives, interact closely with International Staff and the Supreme Board of Governors, and work as a liaison of the undergraduate Brothers to the main policy makers of the Fraternity to ensure the undergraduate perspective is always taken into account when key policy decisions are made.
Brother Ben Kaiden
Brother Ben Kaiden (William and Mary, 2024) had heard about AEPi before going to college so when he got to college he wanted to rush the fraternity. Rush fell during COVID so there wasn’t much going on and some of the Brothers took him out to lunch. “I liked some of the guys I had met. It just seemed like there was good culture around the organization, so I decided to join.”
Helping his fellow undergraduates in any possible way is Brother Kaiden’s top priority as part of the Undergraduate Cabinet. He hopes to achieve more of a direct connection between alumni and undergraduates. “I feel like right now a lot of undergraduates don’t appreciate the alumni but also vice versa. I feel like if we can combine those groups even more we can get things moving even better.”
A cohesive Brotherhood is something that Brother Kaiden wants to bring from his chapter. “I know what’s going on in each of my Brother’s lives. I think that some chapters I’ve spoken to have that but a lot of chapters either have multiple cliques or they just don’t meet as frequently. I really think that being actual friends with your Brothers in the fraternity is very important.
Brother Kaiden is excited to serve on the Undergraduate Cabinet with his friend from Masters Academy, Josh Gordon, and to meet Noah Spiegel from Arizona.
Brother Josh Gordon
Brother Josh Gordon (Binghamton, 2023) knew of AEPi because his father was the president of AEPi at the University of California – Davis. “He was like no pressure but you should go see the AEPi guys at Binghamton.” Brother Gordon ended up meeting the Brothers, liking the guys, and joining.
At convention, Educational Leadership Consultant Josh Fisher spoke with Brother Gordon about running for Undergraduate Cabinet. “We talked for a while and it seemed interesting to me. It seemed like I could make a difference.” It also helped that his friend from Masters Academy, Brother Ben Kaiden, also decided to run and ended up winning.
“I want to have more interchapter connections. I want to try and go visit some more of the chapters like Alpha Chapter, Oneonta and all the other New York chapters just to get more of a more region-wide Brotherhood.”
Brother Gordon’s advice for other chapters would be to put an emphasis on rush. The Rush Chairmen is the most important position – even more so than Master – in the entire chapter because rush is the future of the chapter. If you don’t have a good rush, you’re not gonna have a good chapter and you’re not going to have a good future.” He said the key is to be patient with people and really try to not come from a place of superiority but instead a place of understanding. “The more you’re able to connect with your fellow elected leaders and Brothers, the more successful you’re going to be.”
Brother Noah Spiegel
Brother Noah Spiegel (Arizona, 2025) was working at a country club in Los Angeles when he unknowingly bumped into a brother wearing a University of Arizona Polo. Brother Spiegel asked if he was a current student at the University, and the guy said yes and mentioned AEPi. “He said, ‘Have you ever heard of AEPi and are you interested in rushing?’ I said I hadn’t heard of it but I was interested in rushing, although I wasn’t too sure if the fraternity route was right for me. I got put in contact with the rush chair and had a summer zoom call with some brothers and later accepted my bid.“ He started recruiting other freshmen to join before he was even a Brother, and also helped form his 25-man new member class in Fall 2021.
Since his freshman year, Brother Spiegel has been President of his chapter. “I am so honored and grateful to have been elected the first ever freshman President in the history of AEPi. I wanted to be President, and I wanted to show everyone that I would work for it because I was tired of people saying that Freshmen couldn’t do it. I wanted to restore our chapter to what it once was and bring back the overall house morale.”
“I wanted to run for Undergraduate Cabinet because AEPi has given me so many amazing opportunities throughout my time. Because of this, I wanted to step up and provide support to other chapters throughout AEPi’s greater community, especially since it’s my last semester as President.”
Brother Spiegel wants to share some wisdom and input with the younger Brothers and keep the momentum going. “I want to make a positive impact, whether that be in rush, planning events, or giving back to the community.” He wants to help chapters turn their weaknesses into strengths. “It’s just a matter of time, energy, and effort that you put into it. Genuinely stepping up to do the hard work and being passionate about what you’re doing is one of the hardest parts of being a leader. The skills needed to be chapter Master are all very attainable, it’s purely an effort basis, and anybody’s goals can be achieved with the right blueprint.”
“It’s an honor to serve as an Undergraduate cabinet member. I had the privilege of getting to meet the other elected Brothers at this year’s convention, and I’m excited to work with them during the upcoming school year. We’re all spread out in different parts of the country which will allow us to try and connect with as many chapters as possible. Coming together and getting to work with amazing Brothers across the country is the true privilege of serving on the undergraduate cabinet.”