Illinois Newsletter 2025

TRIANGLE FRATERNITY ILLINOIS ALUMNI

The ILLumINatI SPRING 2025

UPCOMING EVENTS

Illinois Chapter

TRIANGLE FRATERNITY

MUSIC FOR A CAUSE

APRIL 13, 2025 Alumni Congress Meeting Virtural: https://teams.live.com/ meet/937965601941? p=JvNUmClaDC8A0pqoF D In-Person Registration: https://forms.gle/FGy5 LGxdfQrTfb9y8 Agenda Topics: State of the Chapter Address Alumni Board Updates New/Old Business Alumni Board Elections

Concert at the Triangle House.

This past November, the active chapter hosted the house band, The Slaymakers, along with a few other local acts, for a live music concert that was a huge hit with students—and a great success for charity!

Temporarily rebranded as Champaign’s newest and hottest music venue, The Pyramid, the house saw crowds gather to watch The Slaymakers shred on their guitars, keyboards, and saxophones through an amazing set alongside the other acts.

sexual assault, abuse, or harassment.

The brothers were more than happy to offer their musical talents to support a great cause, helping those in need by putting together an incredible show. The turnout and donations reflect their success in doing so — by the end of the night, more than $900 had been raised!

If you are interested in learning more about RACES, visit their website at cu-races.org.

All of this was to benefit RACES, a local Champaign-Urbana charity and community-based rape crisis center serving East-Central Illinois.

RACES provides free, confidential services to anyone affected by

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SPRING 2025

RUSHing to Fill the House Recruitment efforts for 2025 are in full swing. Though last year saw an outstanding 25 pledges initiated into the chapter, Julian Chawla, the active recruitment director, and his team of rush coordinators are putting in just as much effort this spring while also implementing lessons learned from the fall.

As the fall initiates settle in, growing into a close-knit group and building strong ties to the house and the other brothers, the recruitment team has been making the most of the successful strategies they established last year and working diligently to build upon them. One key takeaway was the importance of maintaining momentum throughout the rush season—keeping a steady stream of events (and bids) flowing to keep potential new members engaged and, ideally, encourage them to accept their bids.

Introducing the James Ashbrook Illinois Triangle Scholarship We are excited to announce that Brother James Ashbrook (ILL '63) and his wife, Jean, have generously established an annual scholarship to benefit members of the Illinois Chapter of Triangle! The first $4,000 award will be granted in the fall of 2025 for the 2025-2026 school year.

To be considered for this scholarship, applicants must meet the following requirements: Be a member in good standing with the Illinois Chapter and the national Fraternity.

Be a sophomore, junior, or senior during the 2025-2026 school year.

If a new member, they must be initiated and reported to the National Fraternity by September 1, 2025.

TRIANGLE FRATERNITY To that end, the active chapter has completed a great spring rush, hosting several well-attended events, with 19 pledges accepting their bids to become new members.

The most popular event this semester was Poker & Games Night, which drew a crowd of over 40 potential new members.

But filling the house to capacity isn’t just a recruitment effort; the active chapter’s executive board and house officers have been working to highlight the experience and benefits of living in house to brothers currently living out of house. They have also emphasized the importance of doing so to sustain both the house and the chapter. In support of these efforts, the active chapter has voted on and passed revisions to the existing live-in requirement bylaw. This will help solidify the one-year live-in requirement for all brothers and strengthen the chapter’s ability to enforce it.

Live in the chapter house for the entire 2025-2026 school year.

Maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Major in any engineering field of study.

Demonstrate financial need.

If no qualified applicant is found from the Illinois Chapter, the scholarship will be offered to a member of another chapter.

The active chapter is also actively scouting candidates for the Live-In Scholarship, an opportunity offered to incoming freshmen interested in exploring Triangle and all it has to offer. If you know someone who will soon be attending the University of Illinois to pursue a degree in engineering, science, or architecture, they can apply for the Live-In Scholarship here: https://illinoistriangle.com/scholarsh ip/.

Rush at the University of Illinois.

If you have any questions, please contact Scott Bova, President and CEO of the Triangle Education Foundation, at sbova@triangle.org or 317-705-9803.

We extend our deepest gratitude to James and Jean Ashbrook for their generosity. Their support will have a lasting impact, helping the Illinois Chapter continue its mission of building better men.

The application for this award is part of the Foundation’s annual undergraduate scholarship program.

Only one application is required to be considered for all scholarships offered by the Foundation each year. To apply, visit: https://app.smarterselect.com/progr ams/77116-Triangle-EducationFoundation Deadline: March 28, 2025, at midnight.

Triangle Chapter House.

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SPRING 2025

TRIANGLE FRATERNITY

New Year, New Chef The house’s kitchen rang in the new year with a new chef from our food service provider, UpperCrust.

Reports from the dining room since then describe delicious food — and lots of it! The brothers have been getting along very well with the new chef, and they are very happy to have him there!

Volleyball & Claw Machines Last semester, the brothers found themselves playing volleyball almost daily in the sandpit. This semester, with the sand frozen and the air frigid, they’ve been preparing for the Engineering Open House. EOH is an annual event hosted by the University on the Bardeen Quad.

High school students are invited to tour the engineering campus and explore the many projects and demonstrations put together by engineering student organizations, such as Triangle. Last year, the Illinois Chapter’s DIY Arcade Cabinet wowed attendees and drew a lot of attention. This year, to follow up that performance, EOH Chair Logan Gallenbeck has started work on a DIY Claw Machine. A working version should be ready by April, so

if you plan on attending Alumni Congress in person, you might be able to give it a go!

active President Haddon Lybarger (triangle.uiuc.pres@gmail.com).

Audio Upgrades Recently, the brothers completed the installation of a speaker system in the ceiling of the basement and dining room. This speaker system can even play different media on different sides of the room at the same time, allowing for movies, music, and more to be played simultaneously.

Alumni exploring the makers space.

Chapter Housing Campaign Donations

Alumni socializing at Homecoming.

Alumni Talks Brothers Mark Toliver, AJ Ingram, Saif Malik, and Alex Perez will be visiting the Chapter this semester to deliver Alumni Talks on a variety of topics. If you are an alumni interested in participating in an Alumni Talk, feel free to reach out to

In the last newsletter edition, we announced that over $1.8 million had been raised to support the costs of renovating the Chapter House.

While the Housing Campaign officially concluded this past April, we are still seeking contributions for the Housing Fund. Our goal is to exceed $2 million in commitments to help fully cover the cost of renovations and to reopen the sundeck, which has been delayed due to changing city codes and enforcement.

SUPPORT ILLINOIS’ LEGACY

BY CONTRIBUTING TO OUR CHAPTER ENDOWMENT FUND The Chapter Endowment Fund exists to help address individual chapter needs. The program is designed to provide additional funding to chapters each year to support educational, leadership, and academic programs that advance the mission of Triangle in building better men in the fields of engineering, architecture, and science.

The brothers, the chapter, and the house deeply appreciate your generosity; hundreds of generous brothers and friends have made their investment in the future of the Illinois Chapter of Triangle, and we still have opportunities for our most generous supporters to be recognized. Thank you for helping to support our Second Century!

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UCLA CHAPTER

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ASSURING OUR SECOND CENTURY CAMPAIGN PLAQUE

SHARE YOUR NEWS Illinois alumni, we want to hear from you! Share your exciting news, your favorite Triangle photos/stories from the past, etc., for a chance to be featured in the newsletter!

Active chapter outside the chapter house.