The hardest part of building a national community is also the simplest: deciding what you are willing to say no to.
Membership is a promise
When somebody tells you they are an ASYP member, that statement is meant to carry information. It tells you something about how they prepare, how they treat the people in the room, and how they handle the moments when nobody is watching. If the statement carries no information, the community does not have standards. It has a mailing list.
That is the line we will not cross.
What the bar actually is
The ASYP standard is not a GPA, an internship, or a school. It is a small set of traits we look for and a longer set of behaviors we expect:
- A pattern of doing the work without being asked
- A track record of treating people well, including the ones who cannot do anything for you
- The willingness to be coached when you are wrong, and to coach when you are right
- A serious, generous, ongoing commitment to the community you joined
We accept members who meet that bar. We hold members to it after they join. And we are honest with one another when we slip.
Why the bar protects us
A high bar is not a barrier. It is the promise we make to every person who walks into an ASYP room. They are going to meet people who showed up for the same reasons they did, and who will hold them to the same standard they came to be held to.
That is the deal. We are going to keep it.
