Fraternity Spotlight: Pi Kappa Phi
Friday, April 16, 2021
Epsilon Theta chapter receiving the Branding and Communication Award on January 4th, 2020.
The Greek Life community is a large part of the deeply rooted cultures and traditions at Seton Hall University. The Fraternity and Sorority community consists of over 25 chapters and 1,300 students affiliated with a Greek-lettered organization. One organization who has been recognized and highlighted for their achievements this year, is the Epsilon Theta chapter of the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity.
Pi Kappa Phi was originally chartered at Seton Hall University in 1980 and then rechartered at the University in 2016. Pi Kappa Phi was founded on the premise of creating exceptional leaders and uncommon opportunities for its members. During this school year, Pi Kappa Phi has been able to raise a substantial amount of money for different philanthropic efforts. Pi Kappa Phi hosted virtual fundraisers raising over three thousand dollars for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Toys for Tots, and the Ability Experience. The Ability Experience is Pi Kappa Phi's national philanthropic organization, that aims to create experiences that promote the abilities of all people and works to eliminate the labels that unfairly define those living with disabilities. Over the holidays, Pi Kappa Phi raised money for the Ability Experience by receiving 1st place in the Tik-Tok competition hosted by the Greek Municipal Assembly (GMA). In the spirit of giving, Greek organizations were encouraged to make a Tik-Tok about how their organization gives back. These videos would be posted by GMA, and whichever post received the most likes would win prize money for their philanthropies. For the video, Pi Kappa Phi decided to give back and help out the large homeless population in Newark, NJ. Members ordered meals at McDonalds and handed them out to the less fortunate. It was a very humbling experience for members, and a great act of kindness that resulted in the organization receiving a monetary donation towards the Ability Experience.
Aside from philanthropic efforts, Pi Kappa Phi has also made many strides and advancements through their social media presence. Pi Kappa Phi runs an Instagram account and Twitter account to keep members and the general public aware of current events and news about the fraternity. Pi Kappa Phi also created a Google website in order to promote their chapter's accomplishments. The website features profiles for each brother, profiles for each recent alumnus, and a newsletter section about their recent philanthropic efforts and awards. Due to the creation of this website and the strong social media branding, Pi Kappa Phi was awarded the 2020 Branding and Communication Award. This national award recognizes the top chapters in the country that have the best social media branding. The fraternity also won this award in 2019.
Sawyer Conrad, the David D. Morgan "Extra Mile" Scholarship Recipient.
Along with this national award, Pi Kappa Phi also achieved national scholarship recognition this year. One main pillar of Pi Kappa Phi is scholarship and academic excellence, and as a member you are expected to strive to attain the highest possible standards of scholarship. One student who was recognized this year, was Sawyer Conrad. Sawyer is a junior majoring in Finance and Marketing in the Stillman School of Business. He holds executive board positions in ALPFA as the Fundraising Chairman and Consult Your Community as the Treasurer. This year he received the David D. Morgan "Extra Mile" Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to Pi Kappa Phi brothers who go the "Extra Mile" in everything they do. He was one of fifty-three Pi Kappa Phi members to be nationally recognized for this award.
Although COVID-19 put a halt to many in-person activities this year and had a large impact on Greek Life at Seton Hall, it is clear many organizations are still striving to attain excellence. Pi Kappa Phi is just one of the many stories that highlights the positive experiences members are having through their involvement within the Greek Life community. To find out more about Greek Life at Seton Hall, please click here: https://www.shu.edu/greek-life/index.cfm.
Categories: Campus Life