Pi Kappa Alpha
Kappa Omega Chapter Newsletter
February 2011
Letter from The President:
The gentlemen of Pi Kappa Alpha are pleased to present our first chapter Newsletter for 2011. Our newsletter is designed to keep our parents and alumni informed about the fantastic things that we are doing for our community, campus, and other brothers. The spring semester is upon us and the Kappa Omega chapter is striving for one of the best years to date. With a new executive council, a general membership totaling 38 brothers and a new associate class of 17 men, we are setting ourselves up for success down the road.
First and foremost, last semester’s grades were released and Pike currently holds the second highest Fraternity GPA on campus, higher than both the all-campus average and the all-campus men’s average as well. Furthermore, February was an exciting month with 11 brothers making the 3 hour journey to Lombard, Illinois. They spent a weekend learning best practice techniques at the Pike University Regional Leadership Conference. Because of a scholarship fund, the chapter was able to cover the majority of the registration cost for these gentlemen. Goals for this semester include but are not limited to a 3.1 chapter GPA, $1500 in fundraising and charity donations as well as 1500 community service hours as a chapter. We also hope to have at least one social with each sorority and a victory in the annual Inter – Fraternity Council softball tournament.
The men of Kappa Omega truly are scholars, leaders, athletes, and gentlemen, and I hope that this semester’s accomplishments will prove that. Please take a look at the newsletter to see in detail some of the things we have going on and learn about some of our members. I wish to sincerely thank you for your continued support of Pi Kappa Alpha. Our organization is growing rapidly and so are the men who compose it. Our growth and continued success would not be possible without your support.
If you have any questions or concerns, or if I can be of any assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me personally at dusenberk08@uww.edu. Dusenberry
Chapter President
Sincerely,
Kevin
Sincerely,
Kevin Dusenberry
Chapter President
for our parents…
Thank you for taking the time to read the chapter newsletter and finding out what is going on in Whitewater. This newsletter is only the tip of the iceberg. Therefore, we would like to extend an invitation for our parents and families to come and spend some time at the Pike House. Many of our parents hear all about Pike, but never get to see it for themselves.
On Saturday, April 9, we will be hosting Family Day at the Pike house. This will be at 1:00, serving lunch at 2:00 and conclude at 6:00 PM. You are welcome to come whenever is convenient for you. We will have yard games, a bags tournament and most importantly: the opportunity to meet all of our brothers and their families.
I would very much appreciate an RSVP from our parents so I know how many will be in attendance. Please e-mail me at SandsMT09@uww.edu with your RSVP or with any questions. But don’t worry, I will send out reminders. Thank you!!
-Mitch Sands – Parent/Alumni Relations Chair
Get to know an active brother
BY: Chris sandor
Mike Nguyen
AKA: Asian, Fried Rice, Yao Ming
Mike immigrated to Whitewater after escaping the brutal regime of UW-Waukesha. He became naturalized on our campus by rushing Pi Kappa Alpha in Fall, 2010. With a push from his sister, senior Kristine Nguyen of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority, Mike quickly discovered that the men of Pi K A are truly the “most best men” here on campus.
Mike studies business marketing, and spends his free time with athletics, playing Xbox, and listening to his music. To date, Mike’s favorite song is “After the Storm” by English folk rock quartet Mumford and Sons. His favorite film is the critically acclaimed indie film Garden State, starring A-list super-hottie, Natalie Portman. To round off the list of cliché questions, Mike claims his favorite color to be red, and attributes this to his undying love of fire trucks. Although he finds fire trucks to be, “pretty cool I guess”, Mike is actually a fan of purple, which I can only translate to being a case of Warhawk Fever.
Mike is an alum of Sussex-Hamilton High School, where he spent free time booking shows for local bands, and teaching himself four different instruments, of which including the drums and guitar. Before moving to Menomonee Falls, Mike grew up in Greenfield, WI.
In closing, I asked Mike to leave us with some words of wisdom, and he gave us this gem: “I don’t know dude, just put something in there for me… make it funny”.
PIKE UNIVERSITY
BY: BRET GOGOEL
In my first active semester in the fraternity, I was lucky enough to attend an event called Pike University, a national leadership convention that any member of Pi Kappa Alpha is welcome to attend.
The first session we went to was Dress for Success, where we were taught how to dress for interviews, as well as interview etiquette. The presentation on the Rituals and Values of the fraternity informed me of the deep history of the fraternity that I did not even know existed. I also attended a fantastic lecture on the best tactics to recruiting around a college campus.
One of the best parts of the weekend was meeting several other Pikes from colleges across the Midwest. We talked to all these different members from all these different schools, and not only got their perspective as to how the fraternity is run, but we also got some insight as to how to make our chapter better as a whole. All in all, Pike U was a great experience that I know will be in my mind for the years to come.
Housing Renovation/ Work day
By: Jake Schueller (House manager)
The spring semester at the Pike house has been very eventful. To start out the semester we received two donations from members of the chapter. First we received a new refrigerator for the downstairs kitchen. Next we received a pool table for the main floor of the house. I would like to thank those who donated these items. We also have International Work Day coming on April 16th. This will be a very big work day for the chapter as we will be completing many small projects to finish the renovation. Another big part of work day will be the dedication of our new sign in front of the house. This will be the culmination of the hard work and donations of many individuals. I would personally like to thank all of those who have been involved throughout the renovation process.
intro to alpha Zeta class
BY: Kevin Delie (Associate educator)
Spring 2011 started off successfully with second-time Recruitment Chair Brad Brozynski leading the chapter to recruit 17 new members. These gentlemen are currently in the third week of their associate process. I will be spending the rest of the semester teaching them about Pike history and values, social skills, etiquette, and preparing them to become initiated brothers of Pi Kappa Alpha. We hope to initiate all 17 new members at the end of the semester, which would be Kappa Omega’s largest Spring initiation in over five years.
Thoughts from a new brother
By: Garrett Verikas (fall ’10)
When I first came to this school I never thought I’d ever want to join a fraternity. I thought they were what you see in movies like Animal House and many more. I was sorely mistaken. I went to one of the rush events and that’s where I met the people who changed my mind. They showed me that they like to have fun, but that they are not stereotypical fraternity boys, that they are better than them and believe that academics come first.
Throughout out the process they cared for me, helped me if they could, and helped me connect with other students and the school. Their ideals, motives, and members are what changed my mind on if I wanted to join Pi Kappa Alpha. When I was an associate they treated me as if I was one of their own and when I finally became a brother, I was even more accepted. They will help me become a more diverse person, more academically inclined student, and most importantly they are showing me how to be more of a gentleman. This fraternity is the best decision of my life because now I’m accepted by respectable people, I’m pushed to be a better person academically and socially, and I now have connections to people all over the United States. I bleed garnet and gold because Pi Kappa Alpha is leading me to a better and more successful future.