Claws, Coke, & College: An Honest Conversation 
presented by Archie Messersmith-Bunting

In every college, coming-of-age movie, beer pong, parties, and hangovers are basically a guarantee. For most, the big screen reflects our reality. A majority of students will at least dabble in alcohol use, perhaps even experiment with other drugs. It's normal, right? While most will not find themselves in a hospital ICU, most of us will know someone who battles alcoholism or addiction. These battles are often fought alone, with many of their friends having difficulty confronting the dark nature of the disease. In this powerful program, Archie will use his own personal journey to show how easily partying turns problematic. Students learn how to spot warning signs in their peers. Ultimately, equipping us all to have vulnerable conversations that can help those struggling find a path to recovery.

Presenter Biography:

Archie has been championing mental health awareness and addiction for more than a decade. His vulnerability and authenticity allow today's students to rethink complicated and emotional topics like depression, suicide, alcohol, and drug addiction. He guides attendees to a place of self-reflection, allowing them to find balance and begin to reclaim power of the emotional baggage that can often control our lives. Archie reaches students in a personal way as he chooses to openly and honestly share his own struggle with addiction and clinical depression. He weaves the research of top therapists and addiction specialists into his examples, allowing audiences to understand the potential for loss and pain. Whether it's a conversation with campus staff about mental health in the workplace or an orientation or student leader keynote, Archie delivers a vibrant mix of life lessons that will leave students inspired, empowered, and ready to make authentic change in their life.

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Expectations Expectations Expectations: The Way We Grow Our Chapters Might Lead To Our Biggest Problems and Risks 
presented by RJ Taylor and LaShatá M. Grayson

Every move you make. Every smile you fake. Every choice you make. Every single day. Prospects are watching you. And those prospects are deciding not just whether they want to join or not... they're deciding what it means to be a member of your organization. So in a semester from now or in a year from now, many of their behaviors will be rooted in the way we marketed to them, in the way we recruited them, in the way we offered them an invitation for membership, and in the way we onboarded them. Expectations are set early, and they're really hard to break. The bad news: we're not great at setting high expectations for our prospective members to live up to as they become members. This session will look closely at expectation creation and alteration as an approach to overall organizational improvement.

Presenter Biography - RJ Taylor:

RJ Taylor is a professional sorority/fraternity evangelist and deeply believes in the power of people together. He serves as Vice President of Phired Up & TechniPhi and leads the Education and Strategy Team. Since 2012, RJ has helped start more than 20 fraternity chapters across the country, guided numerous campus communities and inter/national organizations through marketing strategy work, and trained thousands of student leaders in the art and science of dynamic recruitment. He has previously worked as the Director of Growth for Alpha Tau Omega National Fraternity (ATO), led growth for a retail start-up company called Wanderlust Outfitters, and served as Squad Leader on an 11-month 11 country trip around the world with his partner Kayla. RJ is a proud alumnus of Austin Peay State University, brother of ATO, and even prouder #girldad to his 1-year-old daughter Ada. His family is on a mission to visit every country in the world and has currently visited 37 of 196.

Email:  [email protected]
Instagram: @RJexcited
LinkedIn: RJexcited

Presenter Biography - LaShatá M. Grayson:

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