For Philip Moyles, his success as an Executive Vice President of EPIC Inc. as well as the Managing Principal & CEO of Vanbridge LLC and being the President of the Board of Directors of Answer the Call, a charity that has raised over $170 million for the families of fallen first responders lost in the line of duty, has its roots in his time at Delta Tau Delta at Kenyon.
“I learned how to compromise and be able to agree to disagree. It was similar to the skills that I built when I played lacrosse, but in the fraternity there was no head coach. We had to create our own teams and learn how to get things done. We learned how to raise money, handle housing, recruiting and build a community. Those are lessons that are not taught in a classroom, and are very, very important in real life. What I learned was invaluable and has stayed with me forever.”
He remembers pledging to Delta Tau Delta. “In 1982, a significant amount of freshmen joined fraternities — we were rushed almost from the day we got on campus.” He says that he got to know several fraternities, but soon saw that he wanted to be a Delt. “I saw that I could build great friendships there. There was a community that I liked, and I could see that the networking with my fellow Delts would be very important.”
He soon became vice president of the pledge class, joining a group of “good people who wanted to succeed in life.” He says that became a benchmark for the pledge class. “We didn’t take ourselves too seriously, and never thought that we were above anyone else… we were just a great group of guys who built very strong friendships.”
The 27-men strong pledge class — mentored by a very influential senior class — forged tremendously important relationships, forming the core of the best fraternity on campus. This group then worked hard to rush new pledge classes to come in after them.
“It was essentially a sales campaign to invite people to join us vs everyone else,” he said. “And it was an easy sale because I believed in the Delts and the fraternity system. It builds great people who support each other. It creates relationships that you can turn to later in life. It’s important to keep the place going and have it be successful for generations to come.”
Moyles says that when Jeff Moritz, who he calls “The Uber Delt,” came to him to ask for support, he readily agreed. “The fraternity has done so many good things for me.”
“Jeff has a loyalty to Delta Tau Delta because it positively impacted him as it has for me. The fraternity is so important if it’s run the right way. It teaches leadership, how to run and sustain organizations, and forges relationships that last a lifetime.”
“Delta Tau Delta provided me with a set of skills that have helped me throughout my life, and I want those skills to be taught to other young men. I believe that you should give back to organizations that are meaningful to society and meaningful to you.
It’s very simple: If you believe Delta Tau Delta affected your life in a positive way, and believe in the fraternity and the college, it’s an obligation to give back. These kinds of institutions don’t exist without people giving back. If you have the wherewithal, it’s a moral obligation. If the college and DTD did well by you, then you need to do well by them.
Without Delta Tau Delta, I might not be where I am today. I could have found my way but it would have taken a lot longer.