CHAPTER NEWS – DISTRICT VI
10 CHAPTERS | 1 COLONY
Arizona Beta – ASU
Submitted By: Seth Vaswani ’23
Arizona Beta is proud to share highlights from an incredible semester, including our recruitment success, service initiatives, and member achievements. This fall, we welcomed a record-breaking new member class that initiated 38 new members, exceeding our previous recruitment goal of 35! These individuals bring diverse talents, strong leadership potential, and a commitment to upholding Phi Kappa Psi’s values. Over the course of the semester, the chapter competed in three sorority philanthropy events and raised almost $8,000 for the JED Foundation, Ryan House, and CASA children’s charities. The Brothers also led and participated in Tempe Town Lake cleanups, food packing at Feed my Starving Children-Mesa, and volunteer work for Tempe Sister Cities benefiting the beautification of the town we call home. In addition to this, the brothers recently elected their spring executive board, with President Seth Vaswani and Treasurer Tanner Kaiden ’22 returning for their second and final terms. Spring semester, we plan to host a philanthropy week to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
California Beta – Stanford
Submitted By: Sam Shors ’23
Spirits are high at Cal Beta! We added 29 members during our spring recruitment process, and we currently have 74 active members in total. Our new pledge class is awesome, recently leading our quarterly Cophi House (an event for live music performed by students and free coffee for the whole Stanford campus), continuing our partnership with Lauren’s House (a nearby after school tutoring program for youth), leading several other fun events, and overall making for a great spring and fall quarter. Hoping to continue this momentum and have a great 2025!
California Gamma – UC Berkeley
Submitted By: Bowman Novey ’23
We have had a great fall semester! We initiated our Alpha Zeta pledge class of 15 fine young men. We have also been very active with philanthropy. First, we had a band event for Camp Kesem that supports kids whose parents have been affected by cancer. We raised over $3,000! Next, we hosted another band event with the Surfrider Club at UC Berkeley. We were able to raise $5,000! Throughout this semester, we have found great joy through volunteering and philanthropy events. We would also like to give a shout-out to Brother Ryan Ezhari ’23 for getting into law school! Amici and go, Bears!
California Epsilon – UCLA
Submitted By: Nick Bailey ’22
California Epsilon is pleased to report a very successful fall 2024 recruitment, with 36 new initiates. We are proud of our Recruitment Chairs, Colin Geisen ’23 and Luca Barbacioru ’23, as well as the house for giving it their all to produce these results. More recently, Corresponding Secretary Jacob Borda ’22 organized the first-ever Parents’ Weekend banquet at our chapter house. Parents were welcomed by a professional event setup, food and drink, and words from our housing corporation president, chapter president, and Brother Borda. The event was a major success, advocating to parents the importance of living in the house as well as highlighting what our chapter has to offer to their boys.
California Eta – Cal Poly
Submitted By: Jackson Keller ’24
The Brothers of Cal Eta hosted their annual Fight for Life philanthropy event at the Madonna Inn, raising funds
for Jack’s Helping Hand, a nonprofit that supports children with special needs. The event brought multiple fraternities on campus together, competing against each other in boxing matches to support the cause. Thanks to the involvement of the Greek community and over 1,000 in attendance, Fight for Life raised $12,000 to aid Jack’s Helping Hand in their efforts. The night was filled with camaraderie, competition, and a shared commitment to making a positive impact. Phi Kappa Psi is proud to continue its tradition of giving back through Fight for Life, uniting Cal Poly students in the spirit of philanthropy and service.
California Theta – CSUN
Submitted By: Christian Reyes ’20
This semester we are proud to announce that we have initiated 10 new members bringing the Cal Theta Chapter to have more active members than it has had since our recharter. Going into spring we hope to replicate those numbers and continue to grow. Our semester philanthropy event is on track to make more than we have made in previous semesters. Our annual Brotherhood Retreat ends the semester.
California Kappa – UC Irvine
Submitted By: Tyler Pena ’21
California Kappa continues to become a formidable organization within the UC Irvine Greek system after falling to just 12 members two years ago. The chapter’s 13-man pledge class marks one of the three largest at UC Irvine for fall 2024, and a precursor to even more successful recruitment cycles to come. This is in large part due to the support of our alumni who met with chapter leaders at GAC and locally over summer to show what made previous Rushes so successful. With an invigorated base, Cal Kappa has established a firm commitment to hosting its philanthropy week in January. The strong relationship with UC Irvine’s Pi Beta Phi and Kappa Alpha Theta has encouraged Cal Kappa to raise over $3,000 for various causes. Cal Kappa would also like to shine a strong light on two members who have dedicated the last three years to strengthening our band, namely Jack Manalo ’22 and Scott Kalaf ’22. After serving on the executive board, strengthening chapter correspondence, and serving as pledge educators, Jack and Scott continue to serve the chapter as they prepare to graduate.
Oregon Alpha – Oregon
Submitted By: Sam Costello ’22
Oregon Alpha started our second year back in our chapter house. We are excited to be initiating our new class of members at the end of the term.
Oregon Beta – Oregon State
Submitted By: Dylan Varden ’23
This semester, the Oregon Beta Chapter of Phi Kappa Psi initiated 35 new members and plan to achieve the highest recruitment class at Oregon State this spring. We hosted Phi Psi Fashion this fall with participation from every housed sorority at our school, raising over $2,500 to aid with hurricane relief. We have participated in multiple philanthropies this term including Delta Gamma’s, Alpha Chi Omega’s, Kappa Kappa Gamma’s, and Alpha Gamma Delta’s. We have also done park clean-ups and participated in a food drive and blood drive with other chapters to support our community. Along with that, we hosted an alumni golf event to show appreciation to our alumni brothers. Our chapter maintained a high average GPA and received Oregon State Gold Excellence status over the past year, and we plan on repeating both this year. Three members we would like to highlight for outstanding achievements at Oregon State this year are Jack Akin ’21 for serving as the IFC VP of Risk Management, Grant Koons ’21 for becoming the Vice President of our Order of Omega, and Javier Garcia Ramirez ’21 for winning Scholar of the Year.
University of California, Santa Barbara Colony
Submitted By: Preston Cardoza-Schreck
This new year our colony has seen a significant amount of growth. We’ve proudly welcomed 15 new members into our brotherhood, bringing our total to 32 members. Our recruitment is still ongoing, and we’re excited to continue expanding in the winter. We’ve made significant strides with our new chapter house, acquired this year in the heart of Isla Vista, close to the rest of Greek life. This new space is not merely a residence; it also represents the foundation of our growing community and is a testament to the hard work and unity of our members. In our commitment to mental well-being, we’ve initiated weekly mental wellness checks. These sessions ensure that our members have a supportive environment to discuss their challenges and achievements. We’ve also established weekly goals and progress reports to keep us focused and accountable. One of our standout members, Erik Jonas Hedberg, has made waves in the music scene as a DJ, recently opening for the renowned Steve Aoki. His success is a source of pride and inspiration for all of us, showcasing the diverse talents within our Fraternity. Our dedication to community service remains strong with upcoming philanthropy events. We volunteered at a retirement home in Isla Vista, providing support and companionship to the elderly. Additionally, we assisted at the local animal shelter in Goleta, contributing to the well-being of animals in need. To cap off our philanthropic efforts, we are hosting a car wash to raise funds for our chapter, combining fun with purpose. Here’s to more growth and success ahead!
Washington Alpha – Washington
Submitted By: Lance Broderhausen ’22
The Washington Alpha Chapter and some friends won the Co-Ed Intramural 7v7 Soccer Championship at UW last August.