Jeremy Paul: Belonging & Risk Speaker for College Students
Jeremy Paul's Programs
Every Day is for the Boys: Redefining Brotherhood
Fraternity men often receive mixed messages about what brotherhood should look like: show up for the fun, hide the struggle, and keep real emotions tightly managed. Jeremy purposefully disrupts that narrative by inviting men to examine the true meaning of brotherhood and the values their relationships communicate every day. Drawing on research on male friendships and emotional expression, he helps participants explore the gap between performative, social-only brotherhood and the deeper, more authentic support men are increasingly seeking.
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Every Day Is for the Boys is a thought-provoking program that helps fraternity men move beyond performative “good-time” brotherhood and toward genuine, values-driven connection. Grounded in research on male friendship and emotional expression, Jeremy challenges participants to reconsider what their brotherhood conveys and invites them to cultivate relationships founded on accountability, vulnerability, and everyday support. This session equips men with practical tools to deepen their connection, communicate their values, and create chapters where authentic brotherhood isn’t just a weekend slogan, it’s a daily practice.
Through relatable stories, real-world examples, and audience-driven reflection, this program guides fraternity men to confront the expectations they’ve inherited about masculinity and connection. They leave with an enhanced understanding of the role accountability and vulnerability play in building lasting, meaningful brotherhood, and with practical strategies to bring that version of brotherhood to life.
Audience members will…
- Understand how accountability and vulnerability work together to create authentic male friendships.
- Reflect on what their chapter’s brotherhood currently communicates to members, recruits, and the greater community.
- Develop practical skills to strengthen communication, support, and trust within their chapter.
- Distinguish between performative “good-time” brotherhood and genuine, values-driven connection.
Ideal Audiences
- Fraternity Members
- IFC Communities
- New Member Classes
- Chapter Retreats
- Fraternity Leadership Programs
Safety First: Leadership, Belonging, and Risks Worth Taking
Leadership has never been about having all the answers, so why do we feel the need to be polished, confident, and perfect before daring to consider ourselves a leader? Social norms tell them to choose fitting in over belonging, certainty over curiosity, and perfection over growth, all at the expense of their own safety… psychological safety, that is.
Through authentic storytelling, meaningful reflection, and the kind of humor that helps confront uncomfortable truths, Jeremy challenges students to explore why leadership is often an interpersonal risk and encourages students to create communities where people can show up a little unpolished and belong anyway.
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How would you show up differently if you knew it wouldn’t cost you belonging?
Students are often encouraged to pursue leadership, yet many hesitate to step into leadership roles or fully engage in their communities… not because they lack potential, but because leadership requires interpersonal risk.
In a world shaped by social pressure, fear of judgment, and the expectation of perfection, students often choose fitting in over belonging, certainty over curiosity, and comfort over growth. In Safety First: Leadership, Belonging, and the Risks Worth Taking, Jeremy explores why leadership, connection, and growth all require interpersonal risk, and how psychological safety creates the conditions that make those risks possible.
Through storytelling, reflection, and humor, participants will examine what happens when people don’t feel safe to ask questions, share ideas, make mistakes, or show up authentically. Together, they will discover what becomes possible when people feel safe to belong, safe to be curious, and safe to grow, and how those conditions empower them to show up more fully in their communities.
Audience members will…
- Recognize why leadership often feels risky in today’s social environment.
- Define and distinguish psychological safety from comfort or conflict avoidance.
- Explain how belonging influences participation, engagement, and leadership.
- Identify curiosity as a critical driver of learning, growth, and innovation.
- Reframe accountability as an act of care rather than punishment.
- Commit to one action that contributes to a more psychologically safe community.
Ideal Audiences
- Fraternity & Sorority Life
- New Student Orientation
- New Member Programming
- Residence Life
- Leadership Development
Meet Jeremy Paul
Jeremy Paul is a college speaker and educator whose work begins with a question he wishes he’d learned to ask himself sooner: How would you show up differently if you knew it wouldn’t cost you your sense of belonging?
Drawing from his work in psychological safety, belonging, and leadership development, Jeremy explores what becomes possible when people know they can ask the question, have the conversation, try something new, admit they don’t know, and risk getting it wrong. He helps students rethink what leadership actually requires: less pressure to be the smartest person in the room and more courage to stay curious, learn alongside others, and grow. Through humor, storytelling, and honest reflection, Jeremy creates experiences that feel less like a lecture and more like a really good conversation, where students laugh, think deeply, and leave more willing to share an idea, ask a question, or take a chance on something that matters to them.
Jeremy serves as the Associate Director of Student Life at Grand Valley State University and as a Province President for Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. A passionate advocate for the fraternity and sorority experience, Jeremy has earned national recognition for his work with fraternity and sorority communities from both Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority and Sigma Pi Fraternity.
An alumnus of Otterbein University and Ohio University, Jeremy is endlessly curious, deeply invested in people, and almost certainly trying to remember where he left his coffee.
