Pi Kappa Phi - Omega

 

Leaders by Choice

 

 

 

    “Leaders by Choice” is the second century vision of the national fraternity, but it can easily be used to describe the expectation of the Purdue Pi Kappa Phi chapter, too.

For us, fraternity is part of, but not all of, your college experience. We believe that scholastics, fraternity and leadership are keenly intertwined as are building social skills. Accordingly, we expect our members to be leaders not only in the chapter, but also on campus. Each member needs to be involved in at least one on- or off-campus group.

    For example, Pi Kappa Phi members have been leaders in three of the highest profile groups on campus – Boiler Gold Rush, Old Masters and Purdue University Dance Marathon.

Most freshmen are familiar with BGR, the largest new student orientation program in the nation. Pi Kappa Phi consistently has multiple team leaders. However, what is not commonly known is that we have had members in leadership roles such as team supervisors and even the eight-member Student Orientation Committee (SOC), an overarching organizer of the weeklong event.

Alex Prichodko, a senior in mechanical engineering, was on the SOC during 2010-11. He worked with the student initiatives committee, specializing in diversity training for student leaders as well as the specific transfer student orientation program.

He worked with BGR for three years.

    “I learned more about being a peer leader than I could have expected,” Prichodko said. “(I got to be) comfortable in front of large crowds, being approachable for others to ask advice and being a mentor.”

    Within Pi Kappa Phi, Prichodko has held the positions of chaplain, new member educator and now, president.

     Other chapter members involved in BGR at some point during their college careers include: Rob Lampert, Tyler Julian, Chris Mascaro, Nathan Plag, Mike Lolkus, Nick Prichodko, Keagan Dunville, Marshall Drew, Dylan Lisec, Alex Faulkner and Chad James.

    Old Masters is a 60+ year Purdue tradition that brings distinguished professionals to campus to share their stories and to inspire students.

    Chris Mascaro, a senior in communication, is one of 12 students on the Old Master Central Committee. As such, he is responsible for selecting students who serve as hosts and hostesses, participating in indentifying Old Masters and executing the campus-wide program. During his first two years he has also been a host.

    “Being part of Old Masters has helped develop my leadership skills,” Mascaro said. “Beyond that, I have worked with a group of leaders on campus. So, I have learned to incorporate many great ideas along the way to develop planning skills.”

At the chapter level, Chris has been new member educator, assistant new member educator and now, vice president. Furthermore, he has been a team leader in BGR and on the Greek Promotions Team for PUDM.

    Pi Kappa Phi also has Alex Prichodko, Will Volpe, Mike Lolkus and Nathan Plag involved in Old Masters.

    The Purdue University Dance Marathon (PUDM) is a major fund-raiser for Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. In fact, the 2011 the 18-hour event raised more than $300,000.

Brian Vanneman, a junior in acoustical engineering, is the operations chairman for the executive board. As such, he is in charge of set-up, communication and delegation for thousands at the event. During his four years involved with PUDM, Vanneman has been on the morale committee (twice), morale committee co-chairman and in charge of Greek relations.

    “PUDM helps me put my life into perspective – from school to my personal life and everything in between,” he said. “It brings on a sense of accomplishment and selflessness.

“It has helped me learn and experience leadership on a larger scale. Making a difference in such a large organization and Riley kids’ lives makes every moment memorable.”

Other fraternity members involved in PUDM include Austen Burkholder, Ricky Rivelli and Chris Elliott.

    Being leaders in campus groups have augmented the development of chapter members, and in turn, benefitted the fraternity.

    “It helps with Greek relations because you work with other leaders in the Greek community,” Mascaro said. “It’s a good resume builder and you can develop networking with people with similar interests.”

    It helps build character, too.

    “Involvement outside the chapter allows you to become a more well-rounded individual,” Vanneman said. “Taking a leap from the safety of your chapter brothers will help you succeed after graduation and can only add to your college career. It also allows you to share ideas and meet new people.”

    For Prichodko, campus leadership is an extension of being a fraternity leader.

“I think this university has so many opportunities and members would just be slighting themselves if they did not purse opportunities outside the chapter,” he said. “I’ve grown so much from being a leader of Pi Kapps, but I have grown as much through other organizations.

BGR, Old Masters and PUDM are only a few organizations that Pi Kappa Phi members participate in.

    For example, Peter Bassick and Keagan Dunville volunteer with Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Kyle Smith belongs to the Bass Fishing Club. Brian Allemeier is on the Triathlon Club.

Additionally, Michael Schmierer is a campus tour guide. Branden Sowers and Marshall Drew belong to Eta Sigma Delta, a professional hospitality and tourism fraternity.

And that’s only a sampling of organizations Pi Kappa Phi supports.

  Pi Kappa Phi was recognized for excellence in a variety of areas at the January 2012 Mid-Year Leadership Conference. Among the awards was being named the best in the nation for Chapter Operations and Volunteer Relationship awards.

 

Fraternity recieves recognition

    The Purdue Pi Kappa Phi chapter continues to rank among the nation’s elite, as noted by the national fraternity in January.

    At the Jan. 6-7, 2012, St. Louis Pi Kappa Phi Mid-Year Leadership Conference, the local fraternity was recognized numerous times. Pi Kapp chapters are rated on three levels in the Seven Objectives of Chapter Excellence. Purdue was recognized in top tier in five of the seven judging categories. Furthermore, it won the overall Sound Chapter Operations Award. That means it is considered the best in the nation among the 150+ chapters nationwide.

Among the categories it was named as a Level III chapter, include:

• Recruitment Excellence,

• Superior Member Education,

• Sound Chapter Operations

• Living the Ritual, and

• Commitment to Service.

There were individual chapter awards won by Purdue as well. They included:

• Commitment to Continued Growth,

• Alumni Newsletter of the Year, and

• Legacy Recruitment.

Push America, the fraternity’s national outreach program to assist the disabled nationwide, honored the fraternity, too. Those awards included:

• Top 5, recognizing it for being among the top 5 chapters in fund-raising during 2010-11, having raised $21,648 during 2010-11.

• Gold Star, for raising more than $10,000.

• Star of Hope for “most outstanding and comprehensive use of Push America programming on its campus.”

• Volunteer Relationship, considered the best chapter in the nation for working with agencies on a local level.

    During the summer when personal awards were given out, Peter Bassick was named the Philanthropist of the Year. He received that award due to his execution of a fund-raising and an awareness effort on behalf of brother David Feltner. The Purdue and Greek communities helped the chapter raise $13,000 to fund a special needs dog for Feltner, who died June 5, 2011. The money has since been used to assist others in need of dogs and to assist families who have children with cancer.

In April, the fraternity received unprecedented recognition on campus as well. It was named the R.B. Stewart Award winner recognizing it as Purdue’s best fraternity. Pi Kappa Phi has now won the award in 2011, ’10, ’09 and ’08 – a feat never done four consecutive times in Purdue Greek history.

 

 

Spring 2012 Rush Schedule Announced

 

 

Tuesday Jan. 10: Meet and Greet