Pi Kappa Phi- Delta Alpha Alumni Newsletter

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DELTA ALPHA VIRGINIA TECH Fall 2014 Alumni Newsletter

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Fall 2014

Transcript of Pi Kappa Phi- Delta Alpha Alumni Newsletter

Page 1: Pi Kappa Phi- Delta Alpha Alumni Newsletter

DELTA ALPHA VIRGINIA TECHFall 2014 Alumni Newsletter

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FALL 2014TOP: Batting Practice @ Salem Red Sox Rush Event

RIGHT: Fall 2014 Associate Member Class

BOTTOM: Brothers and guests enjoying the Ability Experience Carnival

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CHAPTER UPDATE040506

1009

12

NEW BRANDINGJOURNEY OF HOPE

ABILITY EXPERIENCE CARNIVALLBR RENOVATION

UPCOMING EVENTS

MESSAGE FROM THE ARCHONDear Brothers,

As this semester passes along, I am finding myself more and more proud to be a member of this strong organization. This semester has been nothing but positive for the Delta Alpha chapter, whether it was recruitment, philanthropy, or even the sound operations of the Chapter itself. Including the newest Associate Members, the Chapter is at 114 members, which is an all time high for us. These numbers allowed for us to produce one of the most proud moments of my collegiate career, the Ability Experience Carnival (an article later in this newsletter). Along with that, our first ever Brotherhood Mountain Weekend Retreat took place, strengthening the already strong bonds we have in this Fraternity.

As we prepare to transition to new officers, and my time as Archon comes toward an end, I have never been more pleased and honored to see the impact that not only I made, but what each and every brother of this organization has made towards the ongoing growth and development of this Chapter.

Fraternally Yours,Alex RobersonArchon

INDEX

PAGE

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CHAPTER UPDATE

120ACTIVEMEMBERS

EXECUTIVE BOARD

DEL

TA A

LPH

A

NEW

LYARCHONJosh Greenberg | [email protected]

INTERNALRyan Alkire | [email protected]

EXTERNALCorey Schaefer | [email protected]

TREASURERMichael Slay | [email protected]

SECRETARYKeith Schad | [email protected]

HISTORIANAdam Rothe | [email protected]

WARDENAdam Bujnowski | [email protected]

CHAPLAINBrian Halvorsen | [email protected]

EXECUTIVE BOARDARCHONAlex Roberson | [email protected]

INTERNALNathan Barth | [email protected]

EXTERNALJackson Beck | [email protected]

TREASURERBrandon Chandler | [email protected]

SECRETARYJosh Mensinger | [email protected]

HISTORIANSteven Gethard | [email protected]

WARDENTommy Dickson | [email protected]

CHAPLAINBrian Halvorsen | [email protected]

2014

2015ELEC

TED

18 ASSOCIATEMEMBERS ΔH IN

CLU

DIN

G3.046 | 12/28GPA

FROM LAST SEMSETER

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NEW BRANDING

At Supreme Chapter, Pi Kappa Phi unvieled a completely revamped brand. For more information, visit pikapp.org/logos.

Push America’s capabilites had far expanded its original meaning. It seemed fitting to rename our philanthropy to better represent it’s current capacities. It both celebrates the abilities of all people and the experience of members involved.

PUSH AMERICA IS NOW THE ABILITY EXPERIENCE

NOTICE SOME THINGS HAVE CHANGED?18 ASSOCIATE

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This past summer, The Delta Alpha chapter of Pi Kappa Phi had five brothers participate in Push America’s Journey of Hope. Evan Eshelman, Sam Johnson and Tim Scott rode on the TransAmerica route, leaving out of Seattle, WA, while Darren Miller and I (Ryan Alkire) decided to ride with the North route, leaving out of San Francisco, CA. Looking back on the summer, I think I can speak for Darren and myself in saying that we had no idea what to expect from a journey quite like this. I had always said throughout the year, “Yeah, I’m biking across the country this summer,” but it hadn’t hit me until I was on the flight over to San Francisco. I also hadn’t realized how quickly our team would come together and how close we would grow in such a short amount of time. Once everyone had arrived at orientation in late May, we all discovered that the room was filled with leaders from each chapter, whether they were on Exec Board, past Pi Alphas, or brothers that had a clear passion for the philanthropy. Kickoff came shortly after, and I will never forget the rush of excitement and weight of intimidation I felt while I was cycling under the orange girders of the Golden Gate Bridge. Darren and I rode together during the ride through Kirkwood and into Lake Tahoe, CA. Kirkwood was definitely the toughest ride during the first part of the summer as Darren and I climbed over 12,000 feet, rode for over 95 miles and were in the saddle from 6 am until 6 pm. Our friendship visits were few and far between until we reached Utah and the early parts of Colorado. We met with organizations such as the Arc and the Southside Art Center that helped improve the lives of people with disabilities. While meeting with the Southside Art Center, the clients put on a concert for the entire team and it was truly eye opening. Finally seeing how excited these people were to have us come to their hometowns and organizations made the entire team feel appreciated, and definitely made each ride worthwhile. After entering Denver, the TransAmerica route and the North route were able to meet up for a couple of days. Both of the teams arrived at stage up outside of Mile High Stadium, and then

JOURNEY OF HOPEby Ryan Alkire

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rode into the center of Denver near City Hall to be welcomed by the city and also by friends and family members. We had the next day off so Darren and I met up with Sam Johnson and his family to go see a Rockies game and just enjoy ourselves. After Denver, the trip seemed to speed up quickly and days went by even faster than before. One of the most surprising stops must have been in a little town inside Nebraska named Grand Island. The community of Grand Island was so welcoming and appreciative of what the team was trying to accomplish. I met Nia, at one of our friendship visits with the Arc and she ended up being one of my closest friends on the trip and we continue to talk to this day. Nia, age 25, suffers from Spina Bifida and most of the time uses crutches to help her move from place to place. She’s had to use crutches or be assisted by a wheelchair ever since she was born. Nia also hosted the team in Lincoln with a friendship visit that helped raise awareness for people with Spina Bifida. The team then rolled through Iowa, and started making our way into Minnesota and Illinois. Seeing friendly faces and being a part of all of the organizations that we were able to meet with were really starting to have an impact. Seeing tears on people’s faces from how appreciative they were of Pi Kapp and what we do made everyone else in the room tear up. It’s in moments like those when you start to realize how one person’s actions can influence an entire group of young men. On the day we were arriving into Rockford, Illinois, Darren had an accident that kept him off the bike for the remainder of the summer. After pushing off from a red light at a four way intersection, Darren had trouble clipping in and fell to the right, breaking his collar bone. I wasn’t in Darren’s pace line that day, but once I heard what had happened, one of the crew members had already taken him to the hospital to get X-Rays taken. Darren took the situation really well though and helped crew for the rest of the summer, which made me happy knowing that he wouldn’t be leaving the team early. The rest of the summer seemed to have flown by. After Chicago, the team rolled through Indiana, I met up with relatives from my father’s side of the family in Ann Arbor, MI, and then the summer was truly coming to an abrupt halt. Looking back on all the experiences that we were able to be a part of and what kind of impact we had on organizations in the smallest corners of America, it really showed me what kind of influence a group of fraternity men can have on communities across

EVAN ESHELMAN+ SAM JOHNSON

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NATS GAME

WANT TO SUPPORT OUR UPCOMING RIDERS?

DELTA ALPHA WILL HAVE FIVE RIDERS IN 2015

Donations can be made at:support.pushamerica.org

the United States and also how a group of people can have such an incredible impact on our fraternity. I have such a different outlook peoples situations and lives after this past summer because of what Push America allowed me to become a part of – something greater than myself. Here we are, a group of men cycling across the United States for people who wish they could ride their bikes across the street. After a summer like this, I’ve learned that the only disability in life is a bad attitude. Luckily, all five of our local brothers were able to make the ride into Washington, DC on August 2nd, welcomed by close friends, family, chapter brothers, alumni and also friends who we had met in Colorado, Nebraska, and other states we had visited along the way. None of us wanted the best summer of our lives to end. We had all formed close relationships within our team, through the daunting days of Kirkwood or during the countless conversations through Nebraska and Iowa, we all were going to miss each other. At the arrival banquet, I had the privilege of accepting the Bruce Rogers Award for the North Team. The Bruce Rogers Award is an award given out to one person on each of the three routes that best exemplifies the values and ideals of Push America (now the Abilities Experience.) I’m truly thankful for the opportunity I was given this past summer to become part of a group that far surpassed my expectations. Next year, we have five more chapter brothers doing Journey of Hope, and the past Pi Alphas will be helping them train until May.

After the JOH ride-in, our brothers and alumni met for that evening’s Nationals game. With about 40 in attendance, it was a great way to reconnect and enjoy the game! We hope to do the same next year.

Do you have ideas for future alumni events? In an effort to further improve our relationship with all ages of alumni, we’d be happy to plan any type of event in any location that is convenient.

KEVIN [email protected]

ADAM [email protected]

ALEX [email protected]

BRAD [email protected]

GABE [email protected]

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LBR RENOVATIONThanks to our Housing Corp and donations from parents, we were able to complete a major renovation to the Little Brother Room in our house. A new wall unit was installed including a mounted TV, along with new furniture and a white board.

The LBR is home to nearly all exec and committee meetings and is used by brothers to study on a nightly basis. These improvements will go a long way in the membership experience and will entice brothers to live in the house. Thank you to everyone who has donated to the chapter recently- we hope to continue improving our house in the upcoming years.

OLD LBR/IMPROVED LBR

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ABILITY EXPERIENCE CARNIVAL

On the morning of Saturday, October 25, brothers and associate members were busy ushering tables, chairs, games, prizes and 225 square foot moon-bounce into Squires Colonial Ballroom. We were joined by 25 different on-campus organizations, all coming together to throw the inaugural Ability Experience Carnival. The booths went up – ball toss, face painting, old tyme photo, balloon pop among many others – and the moon bounce inflated. By noon, the event was ready to begin, the doors opened and our invited guests from the Intellectual Disabilities Agency and Special Olympics in the New River Valley began to arrive. We all spent the afternoon together playing games and winning prizes, and by day’s end, in the midst of the dance party that had developed at the front of the room to The Brady Bunch’s musical performance, I had a chance to look out over the crowd. I gave a sigh of relief that the months of planning and hard work we had all put in to make this event a reality had paid off so much, and that we had all achieved the goal we set out to accomplish – to create a new fall philanthropy event that raises disability awareness by giving our brothers, and our Virginia Tech community, an opportunity to interact directly with the people we serve.

The idea for the event came from a conversation our Vice President, Nathan Barth, had on Journey of Hope with some Pi Kapps from Arizona State. A single day event, were we invite on-campus organizations, both Greek and non-affiliated, to set up a game or craft booth that members of our local disability community can come to enjoy. It creates an atmosphere where we can break down barriers through games, art, music, and dancing. Squires Ballroom allowed us to utilize the stage for entertainment, enough room to set up large equipment like the moon-bounce, and a central campus location. It was our hope, and the hope of everyone involved in the planning of the event in the philanthropy committee, that this event was going to be an exciting new philanthropy, with a fresh take on what service means at Virginia Tech, and a reflection of the kind of organization Pi Kappa Phi is.

Going forward, we feel that this event has a massive potential for growth. We believe that 25 organizations participating the first year speaks volumes about the reception we have had. As word of the event grows we can shoot to add more each year. Our volunteers ranged widely from Greek organizations, to religious clubs, to university residential living communities, and everything in between. The members of the IDA and Special Olympics who came out have already been asking me about next year, how little they can wait, and all of the regrets of friends who didn’t attend the first time around. I said with confidence to the chapter that Sunday, that I had never been more proud of the chapter. Our brothers made this event possible. The members of the Ability Experience Committee put in countless man-hours and creativity into making this event what it is. I know that we laid an amazing framework for the Ability Experience Carnival, and already, we have begun planning next year’s.

by Joe Ciurlino

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CONNECT WITH US

WWW.“Pi Kappa Phi at Virginia Tech” @VTPiKapps www.vtpkp.com

http://bit.ly/1jrXjhk

UPCOMING EVENTS

INTERESTED IN DONATING?

SUDFLOOD +GOLF TOURNAMENT

SPRING GAMETAILGATE

APRIL APRIL

11 25We appreciate any financial support you can provide the chapter. House improvements, events, and other chapter operations can be taken to the next level with your help! The included PayPal link is the easiest way to contribute. Please contact our treasurer, Michael Slay, if you have any questions.

Pi Kappa Phi | Delta Alpha [email protected]