How our chapter at Arizona State transformed their new member experience for the better

Written by: Brendon Albert (Temple University, ‘13)

Phi Kappa Theta’s new member education is the cornerstone for any successful chapter. This past fall, Connor Leary, a sophomore education major from the Arizona Alpha Zeta Chapter at Arizona State University, was tasked with reconstructing the chapter’s new member education plan. With the chapter’s Performance Coach, Leary got to work, ensuring that new member experiences could be a potential model for other chapters and ensure it was sustainable and repeatable year after year. 

First, Leary made sure to update the chapter’s new member program to reflect CDC, University, and local guidelines to keep members safe during the COVID pandemic. Connor worked not just to update the chapter’s new member program but to ensure that the brothers utilize Phi Kappa Theta’s new e-learning modules. The modules, released last year, provide a unique curriculum designed to help members pursue the Five Areas of Development with greater clarity and purpose. The interactive content is mobile-friendly and includes downloadable workbooks for convenient reading and note-taking.

While adopting the Fraternity's latest curriculum, the chapter leadership was able to identify ways to incorporate some of their own ideas. Arizona Alpha Zeta’s new member program is not merely a generic lecture format; fostering leaders and new ideas are at the core of their new member experience. These two elements combine in a new initiative within the new member program. “Shark Tank” is a unique member experience where the new members are broken up into teams, tasked with developing an engagement opportunity for the whole chapter (for example, a philanthropic fundraising event or brotherhood retreat), and pitch their plans. When all teams have presented their pitches, each brother votes on which idea the group should execute. 

“I’m most excited about the new “Shark Tank” method of choosing pitches that our new members develop. I think it will lead to better and more creative ideas our brothers can engage in every year.”

— Connor Leary, New Member Educator (Arizona State University, '23)

Connor also received some inspiration thanks to the Washington Alpha Delta Chapter at Washington State University. Without hesitation, WA Alpha Delta shared their new member education plan with Connor. He soon discovered details that could improve AZ Alpha Zeta’s internal communication processes and camaraderie among new members. What jumped out to him was WA Alpha Delta's use of Member Evaluation Boards (MEBs), to which Leary applied small tweaks to fit his own chapter’s needs. MEBs are essentially evaluation meetings that serve as a welcoming and beneficial opportunity for each new member to privately express their thoughts and opinions on the new member education process in a secure, positive, and inclusive environment with chapter leaders. 

“I think it’s great to see AZ Alpha Zeta review our new member program to brainstorm. It just goes to show how we as brothers can rely on others outside of our own chapter to improve our programs…”

— Lane Harlan, Chapter President (Washington State University, ’23)

Together with the Chapter Performance Coach, Leary built a new member experience whose foundation is grounded in personal development and enhanced engagement with Phi Kappa Theta brothers. A critical aspect of this collaborative effort was constructive criticism. Being open to feedback, listening intently, asking important questions, and doing so with an open mind helped Connor put aside societal expectations of what joining a fraternity looks like and approach the new member experience through a Phi Kappa Theta mindset. Arizona Alpha Zeta is proud of its revised new member education program tailored to meet the chapter's needs.

A New Year Reflection from our National Chaplain Rev. Msgr. Glenn L. Nelson

Happy New Year 2021! I am sure these words are welcomed by most of you and if you are like me, 2021 can’t come soon enough! 2020 was a very trying year for most people not only in our nation but in our world. 

During our current pandemic, we have been reminded that throughout history, illnesses have always threatened mankind, but this threat has taken on a new danger of being more catastrophic by living within a very large global community. Luckily modern medicine and science have improved since medieval times, but we are always reminded that no matter how smart humankind becomes, we always face the inevitable END which “haunts” many an earthly mind: death. The pandemic of Covid-19 has been that “enemy lurking in the darkness” and many of us have either faced it ourselves or known someone close to us who has. For most of us, endings can be very scary or painful things and they often take many forms: loss of a job, death of a loved one, or a relationship break-up. 

However, as people of faith, we are reminded that endings are never really just that entirely, but serve as new beginnings. One of my favorite prayers during the Catholic Funeral Liturgy is the preface which states: “Lord, for your faithful people life is changed, not ended.  When the body of our earthly dwelling lies in death, we gain an everlasting dwelling place in heaven.” As Chaplain for Phi Kappa Theta, I wanted to share this message with you so that no matter what you have faced this past year of 2020, you may not lose hope.  

Last week we celebrated Christmas, and even though our secular society wants us to shift our focus to the next commercial celebration, the Catholic Church is still celebrating the Christmas season with great joy and reminds us to keep our eyes fixed on the Christ child, Our Savior, who came as the fulfillment of God’s promise given to us over centuries through the ancient prophets.  

Christmas is a reminder that despite all human failings which began with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when they ate of the fruit of the tree and rejected the wishes of God, that God never rejected us.  Christmas reminds us that God promised to save us from our sinful selves and ultimately from the consequence of sin, which is death, so that we may live eternally with Him in Heaven as He always intended.  God, in taking human flesh, humbled himself to share in our humanity so that it may be redeemed in Him!  That means we no longer have to live in fear and that God will always be with us, no matter what we face during our time on earth. 

As many of you probably noticed recently, our secular news outlets were filled with stories of the “Christmas Star” (alignment of the planets Saturn and Jupiter) which appeared on December 21, 2020. I was one of the unlucky people whose skies were clouded during the anticipated great conjunction and I was disappointed of not being able to participate in the hype of the “historical event.” However, the disappointment of not being able to see with my own eyes the astronomical phenomenon that comes once every 397 years was soon transformed into the excitement of being a witness with eyes of faith to one of God’s special gifts. This 2020 “Christmas Star” message revealed not only the celebration of the birth of Our Savior 2000 years ago in a manger in Bethlehem, but served as a divine call from above to lift our eyes up to the heavens to find the hope and relief we seek in the God who never abandons us.  What I find remarkable about the Christmas Star this year is not just the fact that it appeared, but the timing of its arrival.  

Today, in our current American culture, our eyes are often times looking at a computer or phone screen trying to keep up with the daily news and tasks that consume our everyday life.  This year, in particular, our heads have been bowed low from the burden of a year-long pandemic, political and ideological division, and the consequential heavy responsibilities which resulted and these have made us tired.  And yet, in the cycle of God’s astronomical providence, a convergence of planets which was set in motion when the universe was created, happened to come together on December 21, 2020… a coincidence some people may say, but I believe and know that our savior, Jesus Christ was born as promised and is still present among us today to raise us higher than we can raise ourselves! 

A Blessed Christmas and a Joyous New Year to you, my dear brothers of Phi Kappa Theta, and to your loved ones.  Remember that as we begin this New Year, no matter what 2021 brings, keep your eyes always fixed on the heavens whence comes our saving help!    

Rev. Msgr. Glenn L. Nelson (Northern Illinois University, ‘09)

+ Bio

The Reverend Monsignor Glenn L. Nelson, graduated from Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, IL with a Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education for the Hearing Impaired in 1987.

After teaching and interpreting for the Deaf in a public school for two years, he quit his job and entered St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, IL for studies to become a Catholic priest where he earned a Bachelor in Sacred Theology and a Masters of Divinity degree in 1993. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Rockford in Illinois and after serving in various priestly capacities, Msgr. Nelson then completed his Post-Graduate studies in 2000 at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he earned a Licentiate Degree in Canon Law.

Msgr. Nelson became a member of Phi Kappa Theta while serving as Pastor at Christ the Teacher Parish/Newman Catholic Student Center in DeKalb, IL. Msgr. Nelson currently serves as Vicar General/Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of Rockford as well as Director for the Deaf Apostolate. Msgr. Nelson also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Catholic Office for the Deaf and is honored to serve as National Chaplain for the Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity.

Holiday Greetings from National Fraternity President Doug Dilling

VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION:

Hello, and happy holiday greetings to you. I'm Doug Dilling here on Christmas Day Eve in Indianapolis, after celebrating a very different Christmas Day with my immediate family. And I'm sending you this high-tech Christmas greeting from the entire Phi Kappa Theta family. As we're all aware, this has been an extraordinary year in so many respects. The impact of the pandemic has manifested itself in a variety of ways, dramatically affecting lives, livelihoods, and communities of all shapes and sizes. The entire fraternity and sorority community as well as its educational partners have all experienced uncertainty and operational disruptions that have tested the very core of our organizations. And while there have been a few lost battles and unfortunate results here and there, I have been so impressed with the Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity leadership at all levels by our collegiate chapter leaders who've met the many twists and turns of the last ten months, and to forge new paths to keep our chapters alive by the many alumni corporate board volunteers who scrambled to sustain some semblance of financial stability for their housing corporations, to the chapter advisors who provided steady and caring guidance throughout this pandemic, and by the national leadership, the chapter coaches and the professional staff who have worked tirelessly to help adapt and create new achievable objectives for our service to our brotherhood. And a special thanks to the many of you who continue to support the Phi Kappa Theta National Foundation with your gifts. Knowing that your financial contributions are being carefully stewarded, and invested in our innovative programming that supports our mission of developing men who passionately serve Fraternity, Society, and God. So as we round the corner of this new year, we do so with the promise that our Creator has and will continue to provide the vision and perseverance we need to fulfill our individual and collective purpose. So whether you're celebrating Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, or just celebrating the promise of light at the end of this tunnel, I want to send you a joyous holiday greeting and a sincere wish for a very prosperous 2021. Thank you and God bless.

Phi Kap-owned or operated brands to shop from for last-minute holiday gifts…

If your loved ones are on the nice list this year, consider gifting them a product or service offered by a Phi Kap.

We've curated this list of brands on two conditions: it must be Phi Kap owned or operated and purchases can easily be made online.

• College Hill Custom Threads

  collegehillcustomthreads.com

  Tony Poston (Washington State, ‘07)

  What started as an idea for fraternity t-shirts in a one-bedroom apartment above a college bar in Pullman, Washington has grown into a business named one of the fastest-growing in America by Inc. 5000. Despite their rapid growth, the custom apparel and promotional products company has remained committed to supporting clients' philanthropic causes, having donated more than $200,000 to deeply inspiring causes across the nation.

  • Check out their endless virtual closet of custom apparel and products

• Hair Craft Co.

  haircraftco.com

  Leo Carillo (San Diego State, ‘16) and Alex Padua (San Diego State, ‘14)

  As a barber in college, Leo saw a need for high-quality hair products at a fair price. He and his best friend Alex eventually put their savings together to test a mix of premium ingredients from around the world. Since then, their products have been featured in GQ Magazine, Gadget Review, and Gear Hungry, and have become Amazon’s Choice in men’s hair care.

  • Head over to their website today for free shipping or 15% off your order (discount code: HC15)

• Kamiak Coffee Company

  kamiakcoffeeco.com

  Kyle O’Malley (Washington State, ‘17) and Grant Schoenlein (Washington State, ‘16)

  Kyle and Grant started their obsession with coffee in the early days of college. They asked themselves, “If we could do anything in life, what would we love to do?" The answer was simple: coffee. Why? They both had years of experience in the industry but were often disappointed in the coffee they found in the market. Today, they offer the world's finest coffee for wholesale partners and home consumers alike.

  • Today, enjoy holiday bundles and free shipping on orders $40+

• Kaps for Kids

  kaps4kids.com

  Nathan Rues (Missouri S&T, ‘02)

  In 2007, Nathan unveiled his first bottle cap artwork, a rendition of Van Gogh’s famous Starry Night painting. The mosaic was well received and he soon found himself with numerous requests for additional designs made from his beer cap collection. Today, Nathan continues constructing his whimsical mosaics with a mission to fund important children’s causes nationwide. Nathan served on the Fraternity Board for 12 years and was National President from 20011 to 2013.

  • Nathan currently offers free shipping on ALL orders

• Pura Vida Bracelets

  puravidabracelets.com

  Paul Goodman (San Diego State, ‘10)

  Paul and his high school friend Griffin were inspired by bracelet artisans while on a post-graduation surf trip in Costa Rica. What started out as helping sell just a few bracelets a week grew into a worldwide movement with millions of bracelets sold each year. Over the last few years, the lifestyle brand has partnered with more than 175 charities to donate nearly $2.8 million for causes around the world. In 2015, Paul was the recipient of the Phi Kappa Theta Foundation Outstanding Young Alumnus Award.

  • Right now, enjoy free shipping on orders $40+ or refer a friend to get $10

• Trust & Will

  trustandwill.com

  Cody Barbo (San Diego State, ‘12)

  Cody is an entrepreneur and three-time startup founder. In his role as co-founder and CEO of Trust & Will, Barbo has raised over $25 million in startup capital to modernize the $170B estate planning industry with an easy, fast, and secure way to set up estate plans online. He currently serves on the Phi Kappa Theta Foundation Board and in 2019 was the recipient of the Phi Kappa Theta Foundation Outstanding Young Alumnus Award.

  • Take their free quiz or visit their learning center to learn more

PHI KAPPA THETA FOUNDATION

If these options don't ring any bells and you're interested in supporting collegiate brothers… your gift to either our Annual Fund or a Chapter Endowment Fund of an active chapter will provide more educational development opportunities to brothers.

MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

Alternatively, our new mentorship program is an excellent way for alumni to give their time and talent to collegiate members seeking advice on personal and professional goals.

Do you know a Phi Kap with a business we can promote? Let us know!