Understanding the role of leadership and communication in engineering is something that’s come naturally to Chemical Engineering BS/MS Senior, Connor Brok during his five years at Drexel. Through experiences with his fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi, and his co-op positions with the PQ Corporation-- Brok is entering life after graduation with confidence in his ability to command a room.
“I would say [Phi Kappa Psi] has had some of the biggest impacts on me. It’s made me a better person, and a better leader,” said Brok in earnest. “I’m actually on the National Board of Directors. The fraternity does regional officer training every year, and I was able to attend two years in a row, which prepared me to be on the board. The programming they provide is phenomenal-- they give you training and experience, and really build you to be better, and learn more about yourself. One of the skills they taught us was how to read other people in the fraternity to put them in the best positions for leadership-- which is a very useful skill to have in life!”
Along with personal leadership training, his time in Phi Kappa Psi has also allowed him to contribute philanthropically to local and national communities.
“My parents raised me to always give back, and to do as much as I can. Through the fraternity, we’re always working with organizations. Even when I’m at home in Florida and can’t be in Philadelphia, I’m still able to be involved in fundraising efforts, so it’s always really rewarding to be constantly involved.”
Brok’s voluntary experiences with the fraternity have also inspired his yearning to give back during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a friend having recently started charity efforts to create plastic face shields and masks, he’s been helping every Friday afternoon with the decontamination efforts. In a time when helping others can feel out of reach due to social distancing, he feels grateful for the opportunity to give back to his community in some way.
Along with his experiences in Phi Kappa Psi, Brok’s last two co-ops at the PQ Corporation have offered a look at what leadership looks like in the chemical engineering industry. He was able to experience two different roles in his twelve months at the company, including Process and Project Engineering. As a Project Engineer, Brok was given an overall budget of over $120,000 to allocate.
“The trust they built in me to make purchasing decisions felt really valuable, and I was proud of my ability to stay under budget. It ended up being a good feather in my cap when I was doing job interviews, because I was able to say I was in charge of and responsible for larger budgets.”
While Brok is grateful for his time at the PQ Corporation, he is excited to see what the future holds with his post-graduation position that he has secured at Johnson Matthey. Thankfully, the pandemic has not altered his plans, and he will be starting with the company at the end of August.