UConn Fraternity and Sorority Life Newsletter - April 2015

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Ap r 2015

UNI VE R SI TY O F C ON NE C TI CU T F RA TER NI T Y & S O RO RI T Y C O MM U NI TY NE W S LET TE R WWW.GREEKLIFE.UCONN.EDU

In This Issue: 

Page 1: Submissions

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Page 2: Alpha Kappa Lambda Chartering Ceremony

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Page 3: Greek Week 2015 Schedule of events

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Page 4: Dear White People event information, Husky Spring Event information

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Page 5: New member presentations, Founder’s day, Future Student Employment

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Pages 6: Greek of the Month

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Pages 7-8: Senior Spotlight

Three UConn sorority women show some Greek pride during an alternative break!

OFSL Newsletter Submissions Do you want your organization to be featured in the LifeTimes? It’s easy! Send your submission with any pictures you want to be included in the newsletter to Jacob Mabee at student2705@ad.uconn.edu by the 25th of the month!

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Introducing the Gamma Pi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Lambda Recently, as of March 28, 2015, the Men of the Alpha Kappa Lambda Colony here at the University of Connecticut have received a charter, thus deeming their organization the “Gamma Pi” Chapter of Alpha Kappa Lambda Fraternity. Chapter founder and current standing IFC President, Thomas Caruso, summed up the sentiment of the room as he cracked a smile on his trademark stoic face, “We made it.” Mr. Caruso went on to speak of the trials that the chapter had faced in 2013, its inaugural year on campus, and how each step along the way had grown the organization in to the tight-knit family that it is today.

Also speaking that day was current Alpha Kappa Lambda President, Nicholas Kopchik, who spoke to the virtue of constant improvement and how the chartering was not an end to Alpha Kappa Lambda’s story on campus, but a starting point from which the organization would take off and excel. Along with the charter, Alpha Kappa Lambda was presented with a proclamation from Todd Sullivan, UConn’s Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, which acknowledged university recognition of the new chapter.

Both Head Executive and National President of Alpha Kappa Lambda, Jeremy Slivinksi and Bryant Gatrell, were present at the ceremonies as well and spoke of the Fraternity’s 5 Ideals: Judeo-Christian Principles, Leadership, Scholarship, Loyalty, and SelfSupport; each emphasizing the Fraternity’s duty to mold its youngest members in to Men of Character, and to nurture a Greek Life climate that is amicable to other Greek Life organizations, yet emphasizes each and every member’s civic duty to their community, school, and family.

The gentlemen of Alpha Kappa Lambda now look forward to their first postchartering philanthropy event, “These Hands Don’t Hurt”, which benefits the Violence Against Women Prevention Program on campus.

The “Men of Character” of Alpha Kappa Lambda [Gamma Pi Chapter], stand poised to take on the responsibilities of being a part of a role-model fraternity.

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Please Contact Benjamin.pulley@uconn.edu for more information!

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Congratulations to the following organizations on their recent New Member Presentations!

ΣΓΡ - 3/24/15 ΛΥΛ - 3/31/15 ΛΘΦ - 4/1/15 ΛΑΥ - 4/2/15 The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life would like to wish a Happy Founders Day to the following organizations this month:

FIJI - 4/22/15

Interested in working for the Greek community?

Within the upcoming weeks the OFSL will be posting opportunities for student employment for 2015-16! If this is of interest to you, please keep on the look out for future announcements from OFSL for opportunities to join the staff team.

ΠΒΦ - 4/28/15 Happy Founders Day!

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Lauren Weaver, Kappa Alpha Theta

Alyson Tacchi, Phi Sigma Rho

Lauren Weaver is a senior in Kappa Alpha Theta who has developed tremendously as a leader while serving as our chapter's Chief Operating Officer (COO), where she oversaw the chapter's risk management and led the Membership Development Committee.

Rather than sticking to what was done in the past, Lauren and her fellow executive committee members assessed the needs of the chapter and made changes that pushed the chapter forward. Lauren has always been an avid volunteer, visiting CT Children’s Medical Center each week to play with the kids who needed to be reminded what it was like to just be a kid. She has served over 300 hours to the hospital alone, and plans to continue volunteering until she begins UConn Medical School in the fall. She also took on a major leadership role on the HuskyTHON Management Team as a CoDirector for Special Events. Lauren has been a top scholar, always putting school first, and allowing herself ample time for her studies each week. Lauren excelled in her class work and became involved in research, working as an undergraduate research assistant in a Molecular and Cell Biology lab. She also was granted a Life Science Honors Thesis Award to help fund her research. Furthermore, Lauren views sisterhood as an invaluable aspect of her experience in Theta. She strongly believes that the support of her sisters has helped her develop and become a better version of herself. Lauren's undergraduate experience in Theta will go on with her forever and she will continue to represent the organization as a true Leading Woman.

Alyson Tacchi is an exemplary sister of Phi Sigma Rho and member of Greek Life. Aly is a sister that anyone can talk to about anything on any given day. She has a positive attitude that is contagious to the members of her organization. Not only is she a member of Phi Rho, but she is also a member of Kappa Kappa Psi, a National Honorary Fraternity on campus for members of the UConn Marching Band. As a junior studying the time-demanding major of chemical engineering, Aly has committed a lot of time to her academics. It’s prevalent that she is devoted to scholarship because she has sought out a research position on top of her academics and is in the Chemical Engineering Honor Society, Omega Chi Epsilon. Over the past few years, Aly has been dedicated to philanthropic events and has encouraged her sisters to participate in events such as HuskyTHON each year. Not only does she strive to succeed, but she also wants all of her sisters to succeed in their endeavors. She genuinely wants all of her sisters to be happy and is always willing to reach out to others to check up on them. Aly is a sister that we are immensely proud of as she truly embodies the values of Phi Sigma Rho and of Greek Life.

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Lynette Moody, Alpha Epsilon Phi

Nichole Aquino, Phi Sigma Rho

Lynette is a clear example of everything a Greek woman should be. She has served on her Alpha Epsilon Phi's executive board two years in a row, as VP of Programming and also as chapter President. During her term as VP of Programming, she was in charge of planning Greek Week, Homecoming, and a number of sisterhood retreats. She planned everything willingly and with an amazing attitude. She worked by encouraging her chair positions and making sure they were doing their job, while also giving them the freedom to creatively explore their position.

Because of this, AEPhi was able to win Homecoming and had a great time doing so. As President, Lynette was a strong leader while remaining connected to her sisters.

She understood that sisterhood was the most important part of being President and ensured that the well-being of the chapter came first. Lynette and her e-board implemented many changes that improved her chapter, resulting in increased service hours, better community involvement, a very successful recruitment, and an increased GPA. During her presidency, Lynette had a strong presence in the Greek community and was able to connect with Greeks from all councils. Lynette was and still is an accessible leader who made AEPhi a stronger, happier chapter. Both AEPhi and the UConn Greek community have been enhanced by having Lynette be a part of them.

Nichole Aquino has been an incredible member of her chapter and of Greek Life. Nichole always sets a good example for her sisters with her positive attitude and kindness. She exemplifies sisterhood beyond the walls of chapter meetings. Throughout her years in Phi Rho, she has taken on numerous positions with open arms. Nichole doesn’t stop there, she goes above and beyond by guiding those who succeed her by providing helpful insight for the position. She has never been afraid to step up and be a leader in the community outside of Phi Rho. This is her second year of serving on the HuskyTHON Management Team and has exhibited relentless enthusiasm about the dance marathon.

Nichole has served on RMT and Order of Omega which allowed her to create bonds of sisterhood outside of Phi Rho. This year, she was selected to be our Greek Week team’s Greek Goddess. This is a welldeserved recognition because she reflects all of the values of Phi Sigma Rho and the pillars of Greek Life. Nichole puts forth 110% in everything that she does and her sisters are overwhelmingly proud of all that she has accomplished within these past four years. Nichole’s campus involvement, commitment to her organization, and desire to connect with other organizations are among the many reasons why she is an outstanding member of Greek Life.

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Alexandra “Lexxi� Martini, Kappa Alpha Theta

Lexxi is a sister of Kappa Alpha Theta who puts her heart and soul into everything she does for our chapter and the Greek community at large. Within her chapter, Lexxi has served as the Alternate Panhellenic Delegate and New Member Director, where she was able to help new members find their home in our sisterhood. She has represented Kappa Alpha Theta in the Greek community serving as a Junior Panhellenic Council representative, UNITE delegate, UNITE President, and Director of Recruitment Counselors for the Recruitment Management Team. As UNITE President she founded the organization's first-ever philanthropy event, the Watermelon Eating Contest, which has been successful from the start. Outside of Greek life, you may have seen her encouraging new students to attend UConn, as Campus Tour Guide in the Lodewick Visitors Center. Lexxi's personality is contagious. She is energetic, passionate, and driven in all that she does. Whether it be encouraging young women to go Greek, helping new members find their potential in Theta, or showing high school students all that UConn has to offer, her radiant personality enables her to impact each life she touches in some way. It is evident that Lexxi truly embodies all that it means to be a Theta Leading Woman and her experiences will continue to help her grow in the next chapter of her life. She has taken every opportunity presented to her here during her time at UConn and excelled in her studies in the School of Business, which has helped her land a job working for EMC in their marketing department this summer after graduation. It is no doubt that Kappa Alpha Theta will miss Lexxi, but we wish her all of the best in her future endeavors.

Nominate outstanding Greeks and celebrate the seniors within the Greek community by submitting nominations for Greek of the month and Senior Spotlight! Nominations are due by the 25th of the month and will be featured in the next issue of LifeTimes!

To submit your nomination, please visit our UConntact page: https://uconntact.uconn.edu/organization/OfficeofFraternityandSororityLife/availableforms

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