Andrew McMahon ’19 was honored as an outstanding member of Sigma Chi, not only within the Chi Chi chapter at Birmingham-Southern College but among all chapters worldwide.

At the fraternity’s inaugural Krach Transformational Leaders Workshop in Bowling Green, Ohio, McMahon received the 2019 International Balfour Award. The award recognizes the most outstanding graduating senior who served as an excellent member and leader in the organization.

“They took into account everything that I’ve done, not just my involvement in Sigma Chi,” McMahon says.

The honor will provide McMahon with a $10,000 scholarship and a place on the Sigma Chi National Executive Committee for the next two years. McMahon plans to attend law school next fall after spending a year at Maynard Cooper & Gale, where he has worked as a paralegal since June.

Within Sigma Chi, McMahon served in various leadership roles since his earliest committee position as a first-year student. He has served BSC as an orientation leader, a member of the Hilltop Men and Women, and as Honor Council president.

McMahon remembers beginning his term as Sigma Chi’s recruitment chair, which followed his days spent as an orientation leader welcoming new students.

“That was a fun year where I made so many connections,” he says. “Being as involved as I was in Sigma Chi, sometimes it feels like you’re in a social bubble. Orientation introduced me to people I wouldn’t have met before.”

During his four years at BSC, McMahon traveled to Ireland for his senior year E-term and spent a summer in Nepal working with a community health clinic. He was also a Hess Fellow and interned at the public defender’s office in Richmond, Virginia, an internship that confirmed his interest in law.

McMahon entered BSC as a pre-med student, but he later became a math major as he explored other possibilities. As he considered who to approach for recommendation letters for his law school applications, he realized how many professors he has gotten to know.

“I knew I wanted a school where I could have close relationships with my professors. BSC checked all the boxes for me: small size, great faculty, liberal arts education, and strong Greek life,” he says.

As a member of the Sigma Chi National Executive Committee, McMahon will participate in monthly conference calls and quarterly in-person meetings. He will have a seat at the table as the organization discusses new policies for safety and well-being, Sigma Chi taking the lead on these changes among the national fraternities.

“Right now, there’s not a good stigma surrounding fraternities, for understandable reasons,” McMahon says. “The first step is to be stricter about the rules to protect students from hazing and alcohol-related deaths. Once that’s done, we can rebuild the reputation so Greek life is seen for the philanthropy, the leadership, and the growing inclusiveness.”