Frater Paul Feghali Selected to Represent TKE and St. Jude at Google Headquarters
Last November, St. Jude announced an exciting opportunity for undergraduate members in Tau Kappa Epsilon to spend a day at Google Headquarters in California for a Google Creative Skills for Innovation (CSI) Lab. The purpose of the lab is to assist St. Jude with complex issues and create solutions for their organization.
Frater Paul Feghali (Xi-Omega, Virginia Tech), has been selected to represent TKE and St. Jude! Paul will spend tomorrow at Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California for this unique opportunity.
"I believe it is important to learn from the most experienced and ambitious people possible. Since Google Creative Skills for Innovation Lab is noted as an effective internal workshop, I knew an opportunity like this would allow me to grow, develop, and accomplish my goals," Feghali said.
In his freshman year of college, Paul learned about TKE's partnership with St. Jude and was eager to join. The following year, he was elected the Philanthropy Chairman of his chapter and was invited to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis to attend TKE’s pledge to raise $2.6 million for the proton therapy synchrotron/particle accelerator in the Red Frog Proton Therapy Center.
"While I was there, I met many inspirational leaders and patients including a little girl named Abigail. She was diagnosed with leukemia, her fight opened my eyes and my heart. I was so touched by Abigail that on my flight back home, I decided that instead of taking five years to raise our [Xi-Omega's] pledge of $100,000 I would try to raise half of it during our upcoming philanthropy week," Feghali recalled.
In April 2016, the Xi-Omega chapter held their fourth annual TKE Week with an ambitious goal to raise at least $50,000 for St. Jude. At the conclusion of their many TKE Week events, the Xi-Omega chapter raised more than $55,000 for St. Jude in a matter of days.
The secret to their success is not only hard-work, but also personalized communication methods with their donors.
"I knew making the process as easy as possible would motivate everyone, so I wrote a letter that was easy to personalize to anyone and had every brother send it to as many potential donors as possible. With almost doubling TKE’s international St. Jude fund raising record in less than a week, my chapter was truly able to see how far we could go with determination. It was an amazing and unfathomable feeling," Feghali said.
Currently studying Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Paul wants to find creative ways to help St. Jude when he participates in the Google CSI Lab tomorrow.
"I strive to blend my problem solving capabilities and passion for St. Jude. I want to gain more insight and practical experience to transfer these stronger skills to help reach my new philanthropic goal of $75,000 raised for St. Jude," Feghali said.
The Grand Council of Tau Kappa Epsilon has released our 2020-2025 Strategic Plan. Looking for a way to contribute to the future of TKE? Make a gift to Life Loyal Teke today.