“I never thought I was going to be in Greek life when I went to college. I had a lot of other time commitments and was involved in a lot of other areas,” said Brother David Marias (California – Davis, 2014). “And, then by the time I graduated I was flying to exotic Indianapolis to start my career by working for AEPi.”

David’s AEPi experience proved to be very formative and built a professional foundation on which he still calls. “A lot of my involvement on campus, including the pro-Israel stuff and the other advocacy and involvement on campus was AEPi Centric.”

“When I started a conversation with AEPi about working there after college, I wasn’t sure it would be a fit. I was active in AEPi, but I was never on the rush committee, never rush chair, social chair, never on the executive board. But Daniel Brick called me, he was in the AEPi programming department at the time, and it turns into a job interview and then a job.”

AT AEPi International, David took on the role of developing a civic engagement program to get undergraduate members more involved in student and community government. “We knew that a lot of the anti-Israel stuff on campus started in student government, so getting more pro-Israel students involved made great sense. It’s also a part of AEPi’s culture to get involved and advocate for the things we believe in.”

“We built a program – it was like rush with a twist – where we taught AEPi brothers to teach others how to get elected to student government positions. I thought I would be at AEPi International for one year and then move back to grad school and, four years later, I was still there, and my GRE scores were expiring.”

Since his AEPi experience, David has worked for the last seven years at the Israel on Campus Coalition in Washington where he now serves as its National Political Director. “One of the things I’ve learned is that there are two ways to get involved with organizations post-graduation. You can donate or you can give of your time. Everyone has some time to give back. That’s a lesson I learned at AEPi.”

David has used his time – and his bike – to give back in honor of his cousin.

“My cousin, Robyn, has cystic fibrosis (CF). She actually went to Davis with me for three years. Watching her fight this disease since I was young has been terrifying at times. My family got very involved with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, doing awareness campaign, walks and fundraisers.”

During the pandemic the in-person walks were cancelled. In part because of a need to avoid large gatherings but also because those suffering with CF are already immuno-compromised and fighting a respiratory disease. The combination of CF and Covid can be very serios. So, instead of a walk, fundraisers rode a bike remotely and two of David’s passions – biking and philanthropy – merged.

This is now David’s sixth year doing the CF Cycle for Life and raising funds to help fight the disease which has sidelined his cousin. In those years, he has raised nearly $50,000 for the cause. With his next fundraising ride scheduled for October, David set an initial goal to raise more $5,000 this year and he’s already surpassed that and is aiming to raise $10,000.

“The bike ride is like the cherry on top. I would do the bike ride either way, but I can combine it with raising money for something that means a lot to me, that’s special. It’s also gratifying to know that the research being funded is literally life changing. Life expectancy for people with CF used to not be very high and now its 65 years old which is getting close to the average American age. Knowledge about the disease is increasing and we’re always getting closer to a cure. This is important to me not just because of my cousin but CF does disproportionally impact Ashkenazi Jews. Something like one in 25 or 30 Ashkenazi Jews carry the genetic mutation which can generate CF.”

“The way I look at it is that the work’s important to me, it’s personal to me. That’s how my professional life goes also. From AEPi to ICC, I’ve been able to work in places where I believe in what they are doing.”

To support Brother Marias on this year’s ride, please click here.

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