The Duck Call Alpha Omicron Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "The Duck Call Alpha Omicron Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha"

Jesse Clark
5 years ago
Views:

1 The Duck Call Alpha Omicron Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha April 2016

Founder s Day 2016 On Saturday morning March 5, 2016, four days after our historical Founders Day the Brothers of Alpha Omicron, both active and alumni, came together to celebrate and reconnect.

Alpha has cultivated through the years. This model of sustained brotherhood provides countless examples for actives and pledges to emulate for the coming generations.

2 Founder s Day 2016 On Saturday morning March 5, 2016, four days after our historical Founders Day the Brothers of Alpha Omicron, both active and alumni, came together to celebrate and reconnect. Such numbers of retuning alumni and their continued involvement is not only unique to Greek life on Southwestern s campus, but also showcases the successes and lifelong relationships that Pi Kappa Alpha has cultivated through the years. This model of sustained brotherhood provides countless examples for actives and pledges to emulate for the coming generations. After a very insightful and productive EC meeting to start the morning, it was clear that the Chapter is once again In good standing with administration in terms of academics and policy conduct. This leaves the active chapter in a great position looking ahead, while reassuring that the bonds and rewards that keep our alumni coming back are here to last. The past year of restructuring has provided some introspective evaluation which has galvanized the Chapter and strengthened our internal organization. These successes could not have been possible without the help and guidance of our Alumni Directors and all who worked with the University and Chapter over the last year. As a result, the Active Chapter dedicated a plaque in honor of those who led us through the 2015 restructuring of The Alpha Omicron Chapter. (Pictured at right with Brothers Mitch Barnett, Jack Parker and Paul Franz). The plaque will remain in the house as a daily reminder of the strong network of support from our alumni and the diligence required to stay on top. We would like to thank all alumni who came out and for those who could not make it, we welcome you anytime. 1 P a g e

Creative Works and Capstone For many seniors and a number of underclassmen, the spring semester is often highlighted by the completion and presentation of their Capstone or Independent Study at the

The combination of intellect, determination and passion culminate in a variety of forms and fields of studies for each Brother.

the intellectual communities of sustainability, innovation, communication, health care and others.

3 Creative Works and Capstone For many seniors and a number of underclassmen, the spring semester is often highlighted by the completion and presentation of their Capstone or Independent Study at the Creative Works Symposium which Southwestern is holding on April 12 this year. The combination of intellect, determination and passion culminate in a variety of forms and fields of studies for each Brother. In fields as diverse as Biology, Robotics, Psychology, Business and many more, the Pike men have made significant contributions to the ever changing needs of society and economies, helping increase the intellectual communities of sustainability, innovation, communication, health care and others. For example, Brother Chance Clark is using his Computer Science Capstone to help the Austin based group, Girlstart, which promotes quality STEM education to at-risk young women. Clark is also addressing the feasibility of Austin offering city wide wi-fi by investigating a number of variables using a geographic information system (GIS). Brothers Amir Hessabi and Dakota McDurham will also use a GIS application to introduce drone technology to provide more reliable, clear and making real-time images easily accessible for GIS users. Lucas Evans (AO 15) will be displaying effects of urban sprawl land usage on native flora and fauna, focused on Georgetown and the IH- 35 corridor. Brother Kyle Zarosky (AO 14) led a Southwestern Green SAFE grant initiative which used his major in physics to develop an energy efficient water recycling system to protect the Foutainwood Observatory from condensation, a huge issue for the extremely expensive equipment. Brother Mustafa Tajkhanji (AO 14) will be presenting his academic internship at St. David s Center for Cardiac Rehabilitation. The schedule of Capstone presentations is featured in the Gentleman Column. 2 P a g e

PIKE Brother Receives Inaugural Honors in Emerging Technology Brother Dakota McDurham (AO 14) received the first ever Kendeda Excellence in Environmental Geographic Information

GIS or Geographic Information Systems is an emerging and immensely useful program that can be applied to many fields of work.

visit the opportunity to check out the entire campus as if they were there in person.

4 PIKE Brother Receives Inaugural Honors in Emerging Technology Brother Dakota McDurham (AO 14) received the first ever Kendeda Excellence in Environmental Geographic Information Systems Award at the 2016 Honors Convocation. This award recognizes students producing outstanding applications of geopatial technology in their work and scholastic ventures. GIS or Geographic Information Systems is an emerging and immensely useful program that can be applied to many fields of work. Dakota has been integral in creating an accurate and clear aerial image of our campus, which has been developed into an online virtual tour that gives potential students who cannot visit the opportunity to check out the entire campus as if they were there in person. This technology has countless possibilities Senior Brother Amir Hessabi and Dakota currently plan to present one of their projects at the upcoming Creative Works Symposium on April 12. By combining their knowledge of GIS with Amir s robotics background, they hope to better acquire data and provide clearer geographic images with use of a drone. 3 P a g e

PKA Domination at SCAC Swim Meet, SCAC Golf Tournament and Intramural Basketball At this year s SCAC Swimming

Glover (pictured left),brought home a total of six gold medals and set the school record for the 200 medley relay.

to the Jekyll Island Invitational in Georgia.

5 PKA Domination at SCAC Swim Meet, SCAC Golf Tournament and Intramural Basketball At this year s SCAC Swimming championships held in Lewisville, Texas, the Southwestern swim team featured an unprecedented performance by PIKE athletes. Four brothers, Simmon Belianeh (AO 14), Matthew Sluss (AO 15), Mickey Scharborough (AO 15) and pledge Michael Glover (pictured left),brought home a total of six gold medals and set the school record for the 200 medley relay. Southwestern Men s Golf sent three PIKEs, Tyler Gammill (AO 15), Andrew DeHennis (AO 14) and Cody Hebert (AO 13) to the Jekyll Island Invitational in Georgia. DeHennis led the way for the Pirates with scores of to finish in T45. Gammill finished with scores of and Cody Hebert rounded out scoring for SU with rounds of Pi Kappa Alpha once again took home the 2016 Basketball Intramural Championship. 4 P a g e

Work Presentations The Creative Works Symposium is Southwestern s primary showcase of our Brother s intellectual and scholarly pursuits.

. Brother John Semlitsch(AO 13) is presenting his capstone project, Creating an Egalitarian Privileged Space: Displaying Works by Artists of Color in the Modern Art Museum

John also currently has an exhibition that he helped organize on display until April 24 at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts.

His presentation is titled "Do as I Do: Expressions and Desires of the Five Love Languages", and may be eligible for several Psi Chi awards.

6 Work Presentations The Creative Works Symposium is Southwestern s primary showcase of our Brother s intellectual and scholarly pursuits. Many of which are already being applied to solve real world issues.. Brother John Semlitsch(AO 13) is presenting his capstone project, Creating an Egalitarian Privileged Space: Displaying Works by Artists of Color in the Modern Art Museum in Atlanta on April 13 th at the Southern Sociological Society Conference. John also currently has an exhibition that he helped organize on display until April 24 at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. Aaron Garcia (AO 14) is presenting research at the Southwestern Psychological Association Spring Conference in Dallas, TX with Dr. Traci Giuliano. His presentation is titled "Do as I Do: Expressions and Desires of the Five Love Languages", and may be eligible for several Psi Chi awards. Chance Clark will make his formal Computer Science Capstone presentation on April 25 in the Prothro room, highlighting three topics including Austin Wi-FI, Girlstart and a GIS application. Future dates of Capstone presentations and recitals will be made available as soon as they are set, and are open to all. We encourage alumni to attend, as these presentations provide an excellent opportunity to apply the principles of intellectual pursuit and social responsibility which Pi Kappa Alpha emphasizes. 5 P a g e

7 Upcoming Events: Greek Reunion Weekend The University has put a lot of work into this weekend to make it useful and fulfilling for everyone involved. Our goal is to cement Southwestern Greek life as an essential institution within the University--not only financially, but also through networking and providing guidance for Southwestern s future vision.. Over 40 percent of Southwestern students belong to Greek organizations, and it is time that the University recognize not just what PIKE has done, but Greek society as a whole, for students who have reaped its endless benefits and opportunities as actives and alumni. Greek Reunion Weekend will be an opportunity for Greeks to come together and rejoice as well as give back. Please contact me with any questions or special requests for the weekend. FRIDAY, APRIL 8, :30 pm Greek Professionals Panel. (FW Olin 110) 9:00 pm -- Midnight Greek Hospitality House. (Howry Center) SATURDAY, APRIL 9, :30 am Meet and Greet Breakfast. (Cullen Building room 360) 11:00 am -- 12:15 Business Meeting with President Burger. (Mood Bridwell Hall) 12:30 pm Individual Greek Chapter Times (PIKE House) 2:30 pm Greek Block Party. (Fraternity Row, Open to all Greek) 6:00 pm Greek Kickball Tournament. (Intramural fields) This weekend will also coincide with the Annual Career Connections Barbecue. 6 P a g e

Active Members Name Email Hometown Pledge Class Omeed Azmoudeh Azmoudeo@southwestern.edu Dallas TX AO'13 Aaron Carvajal carvajalaaron3@gmail.com Katy TX AO'13 Chancellor Clark clarkc@southwestern.

8 Active Members Name Hometown Pledge Class Omeed Azmoudeh Dallas TX AO'13 Aaron Carvajal Katy TX AO'13 Chancellor Clark Wimberley TX AO'13 Ryan Fees Fort Worth TX AO'13 Cody Hebert Katy TX AO'13 Amir Hessabi Houston TX AO'13 Kenneth Mann Spring Branch TX AO'13 Dillon O'Dell Austin TX AO'13 John Semlitsch Columbia MO AO'13 Mustafa Tajkhanji Garden Ridge TX AO'13 Connor Koper Scottsdale AZ AO'13.5 Nnamdi Akabogu San Antonio TX AO'14 Oscar Barbour Darien CT AO'14 Simmon Belaineh Arlington TX AO'14 Andrew DeHennis Austin TX AO'14 Michael Gallegos San Antonio TX AO'14 Aaron Garcia San Antonio TX AO'14 Sebastian Gualy Katy TX AO'14 Mason Jeansonne Houston TX AO 14 Evan Jones San Antonio TX AO'14 Dakota McDurham Waco TX AO'14 Chris Molina Boerne TX AO'14 Connor Murphy Searcy AR AO'14 Kyle Zarosky Cypress TX AO'14 Kyle Anderson Monument CO AO'14.5 Tyler Bludau Angleton TX AO'14.5 Michael Kitner Plano TX AO'14.5 Coleman Counihan Austin TX AO'15 Curtis Cuccia San Marino TX AO'15 Lucas Evans Hutto TX AO'15 Tyler Gammill Austin TX AO'15 Shelby Hall Hoover AL AO'15 Jonathan Hernandez Georgetown TX AO'15 Daniel Kellum San Antonio TX AO'15 Taylor Lewis Napa CA AO'15 Christopher Luca Austin TX AO'15 Harvey Mulvihill Richardson TX AO'15 Karrey Sanders DeSoto TX AO'15 Mickey Scharbrough Lake Havasu AZ AO'15 Matthew Sluss Harker Heights TX AO'15 Russell Stith San Antonio TX AO'15 7 P a g e

9 Spring 2016 Pledge Class Name Hometown Pledge Class Tommy Angeloni Dallas, TX AO '16 Tyler Bault San Antonio TX AO '16 Brayden Bishop Plano TX AO '16 Dimitri Christie Houston TX AO '16 Winston Cooke Montgomery TX AO '16 Samuel Cox Corpus Christi TX AO '16 Michael Glover Amarillo TX AO '16 Kevin Guzman Austin TX AO '16 Jordan Kessler Austin TX AO '16 Kai Knight-Turcan Ft. Nelson B.C. AO '16 Alexander Newell Albuquerque NM AO '16 Peter Robinson Misión Viejo CA AO '16 Nicholas Swope Dallas TX AO '16 Elijah Velasquez Port Lavaca TX AO '16 Jared Welsh Palm City FL AO '16 Adam Wood Albuquerque NM AO '16 Spring 2016 Chapter Officers SMC Nnamdi Akabogu Alumni Chair Lucas Evans IMC Aaron Garcia IFC Representative Curtis Cuccia THC Harvey Mulvihill House RA/ House Manager Sebastian Gualy SC Tyler Gammil Public Relations Chair Mickey Scharbrough Pledge Educator John Semlitsch Philanthropy Chair Coleman Counihan Sgt. At Arms Kyle Zarosky Civil Service Chair Kyle Anderson Social Chair Chris Luca Continuing Education & Brotherhood Chair Dillon O Dell Risk Chair Taylor Lewis Intramural Captain Karrey Saunders Scholarship Chair Chris Molina Campus Involvement Oscar Barbour 8 P a g e

10 Acknowledgements Thanks to Megan Frisque, Associate Vice President of Alumni and Parents Relations. Her assistance is highly valued and appreciated. I hope this newsletter finds you and your families well, and wish you fellowship and prosperity in this spring season. Phi Phi, Brother Lucas Evans AO 15 Alumni Relations Chairman (512) evans3@southwestern.edu Alphaomicron.pikes.org 9 P a g e

THE DUCK CALL ALPHA OMICRON CHAPTER OF PI KAPPA ALPHA

THE DUCK CALL ALPHA OMICRON CHAPTER OF PI KAPPA ALPHA SCHOLARS This semester, the Alpha Omicron Pikes wasted no time achieving academic success. For example, Brother Sebastian Gualy was recently accepted