Imagine balancing a social life, relationship and leadership activity both on campus and in the community. Now, imagine keeping this up and graduating with a 3.91 grade point average.
This is the reality of University of Memphis pre-med major Reza Ahmadian, who is also a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. He will be receiving the award for senior Interfraternity Council member with the highest grade point average at the Greek All Sing at 8 tonight in the Michael D. Rose Theatre.
“I’ll admit that it has been pretty difficult to balance everything,” Ahmadian said.
“The fact that I came into college knowing what I wanted to do really helped because it has kept me focused.”
Ahmadian said he has wanted to be a doctor for a large portion of his 22 years because he did not want a career where he would have to “step on other people to get to the top.”
He said he believed the medical field was better suited for his personality than anything else, partially because he enjoys helping people.
He has done work with Push America, Pi Kappa Phi’s philanthropy, in order to help people with disabilities.
“It’s great to be able to interact with those kids,” Ahmadian said.
In spite of his hard work, he attributes his success to many things, namely his parents.
“My parents have been a huge help because they have been really involved,” Ahmadian said. “They have supported me financially so I haven’t had to work part-time.”
He feels that his hours saved due to parental support have helped him to devote more time to his studying than some other students may have been able to. Still, he believes that good grades are attainable for anyone.
“It is very possible to make high grades,” Ahmadian said. “It is just a matter of being able to focus on them.”
He said that he was very happy about the award, not only because of the prestige of the award, but because of what he feels that it says about his organization.
“Fraternity members are notorious for partying, but that really isn’t what it is all about,” Ahmadian said. “In spite of what the statistics say, people assume that we party and neglect our grades.”
According to several studies, students affiliated with Greek organizations obtain higher grades than students who are not.
Amanda Fowler of Alpha Gamma Delta will be receiving the award for the senior Women’s Panhellenic Council member with the highest grade point average. However, after repeated attempts, she could not be reached for comment.
