Leadership Highlight: Junior Vice Polemarch of Kappa Alpha Psi’s Middle Eastern Province, Dameon Griggs Jr.

This summer, the brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi held a conference for their Junior Vice Polemarchs (JVPs), the undergraduate brothers who have been chosen by the fraternity to represent regional leadership of the fraternity.

In an effort to highlight these young brothers, we at Watch The Yard reached out to the fraternity and were put in contact with them for interviews. Among these JVPs was Dameon Griggs Jr., a 22-year-old Spring 2016 initiate of the fraternity’s Rho Zeta Chapter at Methodist University who is the Junior Vice Polemarch of the Middle Eastern Province which is made up of North Carolina and Southwest Virginia.

We talked to the financial economics and accounting major about his position and goals.

Read the full interview below.

What does it mean to be a Junior Vice Province Polemarch to you?

It is a great honor to serve Kappa Alpha Psi as well as my province the ‘Mighty’ Middle Eastern Province. The experience and the continuous networking is amazing as well as having fun serving this great fraternity.

What are the specific initiatives you are working on this year in your province?

My key initiatives are to reiterate the importance of the Achievement Academy which is a program for all undergraduate brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi that helps connect the undergraduate brothers with alumni brothers for potential jobs in their respective fields of study. I also plan  on helping to increase our philanthropy program through St. Jude Children’s Hospital which donates money to all children patients.

What are you doing this year to specifically support the undergraduate chapters that you represent?

Myself as well as my undergraduate team have plans set to have numerous fundraisers such as car washes, social events, and recreational activities for the public to help support all of our chapters in the Middle Eastern Province.

What made you want to pledge Kappa Alpha Psi?

Just seeing the true genuine brotherhood of the fraternity. I first fell in love with my chapter as they have been supportive of me from the very beginning and just being able to handle business for the good of Kappa Alpha Psi. Obtaining great knowledge and being able to network with numerous amounts of brothers also is what intrigued me. Of course I could not forget all of the community service events as I love to serve and help the less fortunate.

What is it about your province that makes it so unique in Kappa?

The fact that my province is a tight knit group and we all stick together no matter the circumstances. We are always willing to travel for each chapter’s events and support one another in any way possible.

In what ways have you experienced mentorship from alumni brothers as a JVP?

I experience mentorship through my fraternity on a daily basis. The alumni brothers have already experienced what we as college students are going through currently and they always have great advice about Do’s and Dont’s and making sure that we stay on the proper path of achievement. Its always great to fellowship with older brothers especially those who have been in the bond way before most of us were born.

We now live in a digital world, what do you think undergraduate chapters across all orgs need to do to represent themselves online in 2018?

Make sure that your chapter is representing Kappa Alpha Psi in a positive light and also use social media since it is the biggest platform of communication that we have today,

Why do you think Watch The Yard is important to Black greekdom?

Watch The Yard is important to Black greekdom because it gives us that creative voice and gives us the power that we need in order to stand out and to show everybody across the globe what our black fraternities and sororities are and all of the productive things we are doing to help better our people.

What does brotherhood mean to you?

Brotherhood to me means to always be there for your brother(s) no matter the circumstances, to always be honest and give constructive criticism regardless of how hard the truth may hurt,  and to never give up on each other even when things seem bleak.

What do you plan on doing after graduation?

I plan on becoming a financial adviser for a financial firm and also go back to graduate school to obtain my Masters in Business Administration.

We at Watch The Yard would like to thank Dameon Griggs Jr. and the brothers at Kappa Alpha Psi including Ryan E. Tucker, MPA, the Director of Undergraduate & University Affairs for making this interview possible.

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