During the 2022-2023 school year we averaged a 3.17 GPA (3.18 and 3.16 in the fall and spring respectively), putting us at 3rd amongst fraternities on campus and above the all Greek average. We continue to show signs of progress from when I first joined and I am excited to see what we can do in the future.
We hosted our Quesadilla Feed, which continues to be a hit for all of campus. With it, we raised $2,500 for an annual total of $3,000 donated to the Global Service Initiative! Alongside raising this money for GSI, our chapter was able to send two members to Jamaica to participate in GSI.
On the local front, we accumulated over 1300 volunteer hours this school year, averaging out to roughly 46 hours per member. We were able to volunteer as large groups in various locations within our community: Northlands Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter in downtown Grand Forks, Circle of Friends animal shelter, and during the Big Event, a volunteer program run through the University of North Dakota. I really enjoy helping plan these opportunities for our members as it gives us a chance to bond in shared experiences and service.
Going into the fall semester without a physical chapter house has provided our chapter with a few challenges: maintaining brotherhood, normal chapter operations, and most importantly recruitment. We got to experience some of these hiccups during this past spring semester with most of the in-house residents moving out and signing leases in order to move into the new house when it is finished, and going forward we will be relying on off-campus events to maintain and grow brotherhood; with events like bowling, large-group volunteering, sporting events, and utilizing our brothers’ off-campus housing. Normal chapter operations should not be affected terribly as we have reserved our Memorial Union for chapter meetings throughout the school year. Initiation is usually held off-campus as well. It took place at the Gorecki Alumni Center this past Spring.
I believe next semester this will be the biggest challenge we face during our time as undergraduate members, but I believe we have the strength to overcome it and move into the new house on the right note. I really appreciate what my executive board and chapter has done to brainstorm and come up with ways to make this coming semester without a house as normal as possible. I also would like to recognize our Vice President of Recruitment, Ben Chalupsky ‘25, and the entire Rush Board, with the tremendous job they have done with implementing recruitment training and coming up with options for us during recruitment in the fall.