iota alpha chapter spring 2013 newsletter

7/30/2019 Iota Alpha Chapter Spring 2013 Newsletter

1/10

In this newsletter, you will hear from both the outgoing and incoming officers

about this year and the one ahead, as well as well learn about our new brothers. We

are very happy to have Andy Nunez, our current Phi Alpha, in our Elder Spotlight.

Outgoing Alpha Sigma ReportBen Sherman

This has been a semester to be proud of in Iota Alpha. The actives and

alumni continued to grow closer, coming together for three poker nights, the

Executive Board meeting, and the Founders Day celebration. When we hosted the

Executive Board meeting, we welcomed more than 50 Zetes from around the world

to Austin in full force and showed what Iota Alpha is all about. For Founders Day,

we played a lively extra-innings game of kickball, enjoyed a variety of high-quality

grilling food, and shared stories about Iota Alpha.

Our goal this year was to bring the actives and alumni into tandem with eachother. Between our many events and increased communication this year, we are

thrilled to be significantly more connected with our alumni. You are the backbone of

our chapter, and we look forward to working ever more diligently with you to make

Iota Alpha as strong as it can be.

Incoming Alpha Sigma ReportShehryar Shah

After an incredibly successful year spearheaded by the efforts of outgoing

Alpha Sigma Ben Sherman, relations between actives and alumni are closer thanever. This year, the Iota Alpha chapter had a string of successful alumni events: from

the alumni tailgate/flag ceremony, to various poker nights, and even a founder's day

kickball event. As the incoming Alpha Sigma, I hope to further strengthen the bonds

of our fraternal brotherhood, through the institution of a weekly poker night rather

than monthly, as well as an open invitation to all of our active tailgates. I look

forward to working closely with the alumni and hopefully this year will be even

better than the last.

Zeta Psi Iota Alpha

Newsletter

Spring 2013


2/10

Andrew would have never found Zeta Psi if it were not for his father. While

checking out the campus, his father who was an NYU Zete stopped by the Zete house

and asked the brothers to call on his son. Ironically, he did not mention Zeta Psi toAndrew until much later. So, it was not until his sophomore year that Andrew put

two and two together and joined Zeta Psi. While an undergraduate, Andrew was

served as social chair and chapter Phi. He played a part in acquiring 2806 Nueces

and was one of the first inhabitants of the Carriage House when it was a place where

respectable coeds could spend the night.

While an undergraduate, Andrew helped start the short-lived Tau Alpha

(Texas A&M) Chapter. This effort exposed him to the International and he was

recruited by IHQ to be a chapter consultant. He served in that role for 2

years. During that time, he met his future wife, Heather, who was a KKG at McGill

university. Needless to say, the Alpha Psi, got more than their fair share of visitsthose years. He then had the honor of succeeding the iconic Greg McElroy as

Executive Director of Zeta Psi. In doing so, he became only the second person to

hold that position in Zete history.

Nevertheless, he sincerely wanted to apply his archeology/art history major.

So, after just two years as Zete ED, he moved on to join three other Zete brothers to

help start a business management and accounting software consulting firm. A few

years later, Andrew learned to count (not a part of his liberal arts degree) and

opened the New York offices of that same company. After a long successful run,

Andrew left that firm a few years ago to join a new consulting partnership. He is

currently the COO/EVP-Sales for that company, SWK, which has offices throughoutthe United States. He is still working on his counting skills.

Andrew joined the Zeta Psi International Executive Board in 2002. He has

served as the Gamma Alpha and recent ascended to Phi Alpha of Zeta Psi for a two-

year term. He currently lives in Hudson Valley, New York with his wife, a dog and a

commercial-sized BBQ smoker that reminds him of home....

Iota Alpha ElderSpotlight

Andrew Nunez 94

Phi Alpha CXXXIV


3/10

First and foremost, let me say that it was truly an honor to serve as the Active

Phi for the past school year. Now comes the time where we move forward by

looking back and improving on both what we did well and what we struggled toaccomplish. Over the past year we have made massive strides forward in many

areas achieving many of the goals that we set out to. However, we realize that there

is a lot of room to improve and recognize that our new Executive Council must set

new goals in order to achieve these advances.

The success we had this year came primarily through alumni relations and

philanthropy. Much must be attributed to Brother Shermans efforts in taking our

alumni relations program to the next level. He took the database that previous Alpha

Sigmas had compiled, honed it, and put it to work. He improved our Alumni

Newsletters, organized phone banks, and put together a number of successful

alumni events. Altogether, Brother Sherman immensely improved our levels of

alumni outreach and involvement over to the past year.

Our second main focus for the past year was the development of our public

image in a positive manner. As a chapter, we decided to do this using a variety of

philanthropic endeavors to make a name for ourselves. In the pursuit of this goal we

raised the most money in the IFC for the Movember cause, collected more than any

other fraternity in a food drive, and assisted in organizing and funding a college and

career fair for lower income youths in South Austin. These accomplishments, in

addition to others greatly improved our public image on campus.

As we look to further improve the active chapter, it is important that we

improve upon these good things while also taking not and fixing the bad. Timelydues and rent payments are one of the main focuses going forward. Our Elder Phi

and Brother Dave Hunter have encouraged us to use collections agency, a policy

which will be implemented over the next year. This should see us have more

effective collections and will allow us to have greatly improved fiscal responsibility

in the future.

Outgoing Phi ReportDevon Diggs


4/10

Another focus going forward will be a focus on respect for our house.

Cleanliness, accountability for damage, and improved care for the house are all

themes that will be addressed as the new executive council goes to work over the

summer. We took steps towards these improving these aspects of our brotherhood

when we passed amendments towards the end of the spring semester and well look

to further incentivize a caring and responsible attitude towards the house. Theactives and elders alike share a desire for house improvement and an excitement for

Jay Maguires impending renovations. The active executive council understands that

it will have to foster and cultivate an improved attitude towards the house for this to

happen and are fully committed to this task.

Our final priority going forward will be to improve rush. During my time as

an active, I always believed in the slogan: Rush makes the world go round. This is

certainly true for our chapter. Over the next year, well see three young and

enthusiastic rush chairs take the reigns with goals of greatly improving the size of

our chapter. In doing so, they have already improved our rush program greatly.

They have attended university sponsored rush meetings that give us information onvarious rush policies and rush techniques. We will have a presence at the summer

orientation student organization fairs for the first time. We have plans to help with

freshman move in, in order to be the first name they see on campus, leaving a lasting

impression on both students and parents alike. With the goal of bringing in 30 new

initiates in the fall, I truly believe this group of Rush Chairs has what it takes to

change the face of our fraternity.

As my fellow Executive Council and I pass the torch, I feel that we are leaving

the chapter in very capable hands. All of our new Greek Letter officers have served

in officer positions before and come in with a strong desire to see positive change in

our chapter. Even better, they are coming in with a structure and with plans to

implement to achieve their goals. They are a step ahead of where our recent officers

have had to start and Im excited to see what they do with this advantage.

Id like to conclude with a congratulations to my fellow graduating seniors.

With the receipt of your first Alumni Newsletter, I hope that this reminds you to stay

involved in this chapter in whatever capacity you can. I truly believe that our alumni

form the backbone of our chapter. This can be seen with all of Zeta Psis best

chapters. Do not forget the time and energy that youve invested in this chapter and

take care to remember that even as an elder, it is possible to drop the flag.

TKPhi,

Devon Diggs


5/10

After two years of dedicated involvement with the Iota Alpha chapter, I'm

honored to have been entrusted with the responsibility of being Phi for the 2013-2014 term. Although we are still a young chapter relative to other fraternities at the

University of Texas, we are a member of one of the largest Greek communities in the

nation, and I see a bright future for our chapter as we continue to expand both in

size and in reputation across campus with the coming year.

As you may have read, we had perhaps our most successful year for

philanthropy since being re-chartered, ranking 1st in two IFC fundraising

competitions. I seek not only to surpass our success in these events next year, but to

expand our philanthropic involvement on campus and in the community. We are in

the process of adopting a street in the name of the Zeta Psi Fraternity, in addition to

planning volunteering events with female organizations, as we did with Forever

Texas this year.

In addition to expanding our name within the student body, I aim to reach

out to more alumni both in Austin and in neighboring cities so that they may stay

involved in their chapter and witness its growth. In planning alumni events this

year, we found that there is a huge network of enthusiastic Iota Alpha alumni that

have merely fallen out of contact with the active chapter. We hope to rectify this in

the fall by hosting more poker nights, barbecues and other events at the house, and I

invite you all to attend our tailgates once the Longhorn football season begins.

After serving as house manager for the past year and a half, I've also made it

my goal to finally make lasting improvements on our house. We're very fortunate to

be one of only two fraternities at UT housed in an Austin landmark, and it is time for

the active chapter to become proactive in improving what serves as not just our

living quarters, but also the face of our fraternity. We are currently working with

our Elder Phi Jay Maguire on plans to landscape the front yard and replace damaged

wood in the downstairs floor, among other cosmetic and safety-related issues,

Incoming Phi ReportMichael Wiggins


6/10

hopefully culminating with the construction of a sport court and patio area on the

side of the house. I'm truly excited for the year ahead, and I hope that you all willtake part in what will surely be a momentous year for the Iota Alpha chapter.


7/10

Gentlemen of Iota Alpha,

As Elder Phi, I want to congratulate our new graduates on completing their

undergraduate educations and welcome them to the new chapter in Zete life, that of

Elder Brother. I hope to speak to each of you in upcoming weeks to discuss your

plans for the future and how your brotherhood can assist you in your endeavors. I

hope you all remember that service is a part of our tradition. With the privilege of

education and the status it brings, even as it may be acquired through hard work

and financial sacrifice, comes a greater responsibility than just to ourselves.

This weekend President Obama addressed the ceremony at Morehouse College. As

out first African-American Phi, Devon Diggs, leaves office to pursue his own future, I

thought this excerpt would be of particular importance for this occasion,

"I know some of you came to Morehouse from communities where life was about

keeping your head down and looking out for yourself. Maybe you feel like you

escaped, and you can take your degree, get a fancy job and never look back. And

dont get me wrong with the heavy weight of student loans, with doors open to you

that your parents and grandparents could scarcely imagine, no one expects you to

take a vow of poverty. But I will say it betrays a poverty of ambition if all you think

about is what goods you can buy instead of what good you can do. So yes, go get that

law degree. But ask yourself if the only option is to defend the rich and powerful, or

if you can also find time to defend the powerless. Yes, go get your MBA, or start that

business. But ask yourself what broader purpose your business might serve, in

putting people to work, or transforming a neighborhood. The most successful CEOs I

know didnt start out intent on making money rather, they had a vision of how

their product or service would change things, and the money followed."

I couldn't attend the University of Texas graduation ceremonies this past weekend

and due to the press of legislative business have largely been absent this semester,

Elder Phi ReportJay Maguire


8/10

but that doesn't mean that our chapter has ever been far from my thoughts. We have

much to do and not much time to do it in. We need you, your time, your effort, your

financial backing, and your connection to the active chapter as recent graduates to

help take Iota Alpha to the standard of excellence we seek.

Our house remains in need to maintenance and repair. Simply put, shes an oldbroad and needs a facelift. Please keep an eye out for our capital campaign, due to

begin this summer, to start the process of developing a corpus of funds for the

purpose of bringing 2806 Nueces back to its former glory and keeping her there for

future generations of Zetes.

The good news is that we have a brand new crop of officers that IHQ and I are

looking forward to working with. Much thanks to all who served last year. The

upcoming school year is make-or-break for us, and we plan to set aggressive rush

goals for summer and fall.

Elders, please try to make one of our alumni events this summer or fallwe have afairly regular monthly poker game and a few happy hours in Houston and Austin in

the planning stage. Well post the dates on the Facebook group.

I hope all of you will take your experience at Iota Alpha and pay it forward--in

whatever pursuit you undertake, remember the Five Points of Zeta Psi and be proud

to be a Texas Zete.

In Tau Kappa Phi and with Warmest Congratulations,

Jay Maguire

Elder Phi, IA '92


9/10

New Brothers

Connor Kelly

Hometown: Austin, Texas

Year of Graduation: 2016

Major: Undeclared

Interests: Bass guitar, Longboarding

Why you joined Zeta Psi: I joined Zeta Psi because it represented an

experience beyond the typical fraternity. As someone who didn't see h

joining a frat, Zeta Psi had the right balance of genuine brotherhood an

structure without any of the gratuitous frat daddy lifestyle.

Eugene Pak

Hometown: Denton, Texas


Major: Biology Bachelor of Arts/Pre-Pharmacy

Interests: Playing Blues Guitar, Tennis, and Traveling

Why you joined Zeta Psi: I wanted to join a fraternity that encompass

positive values and provide friendships that can last a lifetime.

Adam Wigfall

Hometown: Dallas, Texas


Major: Radio-Television-Film

Interests: Writing scripts, Reading, Watching films

Why you joined Zeta Psi: To figure out exactly what I want to do and

life through my future experiences with my brothers.


10/10

Isaac Blanco

Hometown: El Paso, Texas


Major: Government

Interests: Basketball, Softball

Why you joined Zeta Psi: To be a part of something.

iota alpha chapter spring 2013 newsletter

Documents