CHAPTER NEWS – DISTRICT III

Illinois State University Colony

Submitted By: Jaxon Lynch

We are thrilled to share our recent triumphs: clinching the Most Improved Chapter Award and securing the Advisor of the Year title. These achievements are the fruit of our collective labor, dedication, and resilience. Through hard work and collaboration, we’ve transformed challenges into opportunities, elevating our chapter to new heights.

Illinois Delta – Illinois  

Submitted By: William Skiles ’22

Our chapter has initiated eight new members this semester. With the efforts of our recruitment chairs, new member educator, and extended members of our executive board and house, we managed to run one of the most successful and expansive recruitments on campus. Our best recruitment tool was using social media, especially Instagram and Facebook. We posted updates on Rush event times and encouraged potential new members to fill out a Google Form to be placed on our Rush list. This approach got a lot of attention and helped us connect with many new people. For next semester, we want to focus on building connections with potential new members over the summer. We plan to further prioritize casual get-togethers and social events where we can talk more with those interested in joining. This will give us a great opportunity to meet potential members, share what our Fraternity is about, and learn more about them too. These interactions will help us strengthen our recruitment efforts and attract more new members.

Illinois Zeta – DePaul  

Submitted By: Tim Halley ’21

For the third time, Illinois Zeta held its annual Professional Development Workshop. The workshop, which consisted of resume/portfolio building, job search strategies, developing budget-friendly/healthy eating habits, and interview practice, proved once again to be a success. Active members and alumni could network and connect while sharpening professional skills. A huge thanks to Steve Hall ’19 (Illinois State ’86), Mike Cotton ’12, Carsen Casica ’22, Edwin Agular ’17, Milosz Gawlik ’17, Will Karabel ’18, Alex McDonald ’19, and Tyler Jacknick ’18 for organizing and facilitating the workshop.

Illinois Eta – SIUE  

Submitted By: Alejandro Garza-Elosua ’23

The brothers of Illinois Eta have had an eventful semester. As part of our chapter’s community service, we went to Treehouse Wildlife Center, a place dedicated to animal rehabilitation and environmental conservation, and helped around the grounds. We worked concessions at Busch Stadium, ensuring that the chapter has the funds for various events. Also, we have been planning an alumni event for the next semester to keep our alumni involved with the chapter. We saw much success this semester, and we look forward to continuing that in the future.

Illinois Iota – Northern Illinois  

Submitted By: Billy Freund ’22

During the spring semester, IFC hosted our annual tugs competition, which is similar to tug of war. Seven guys from Illinois Iota tugged against seven guys from another chapter on campus in a best of three tournament style, trying to bring home the trophy. This year we had a great showing and received third place! Between entry fees and team fees, the IFC raised over $10,000 and donated it to a local charity here in DeKalb!

Illinois Theta – UIC  

Submitted By: Felix Celestino ’21

Brother Felix T. Celestino ’21 was awarded the prestigious Parker F. Enright Scholarship ($750) from the Order of Omega, a leadership honor society for undergraduate members of fraternity and sorority organizations. The Parker F. Enright Scholarship was created to recognize academic achievements, participation, leadership in campus organization, citizenship and service to the campus community. Brother Celestino is the first and only award recipient from the Lambda Beta Chapter of the Order of Omega (University of Illinois — Chicago). During his four years at UIC, Brother Celestino has been a prominent leader and advocate within the community. Apart from his leadership in the Illinois Theta Chapter, Brother Celestino has served as a Resident Assistant, Director of Campus Life for the Undergraduate Student Government and Ambassador for the Gender & Sexuality Center. Brother Celestino plans to use the Parker F. Enright Scholarship to further his academic career as an aspiring public interest attorney at UIC Law School this fall.

Indiana Alpha – DePauw  

Submitted By: Ethan Webster ’22

It has been a busy and exciting semester at The Rockpile. We had a successful year for recruitment, initiating 21 new members following spring Rush, one of our biggest classes in several years and the second largest on campus. These new members have joined the continually strong efforts of the house toward sporting and philanthropic achievements, with multiple conference championships and all-conference awards being earned by our athletes this year. Also, close to $4,000 was raised for the National Scleroderma Foundation in honor of the late father of one of our brothers.

Indiana Beta – Indiana  

Submitted By: Matthew Brock-Utne ’23

Congratulations to our very own Leo Warner ’22 and the Indiana University hockey team on winning the 2024 National Championship. Leo is from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and his hard work and fearlessness on the ice is one of the many ways in which he positively represents our chapter. 

Indiana Gamma – Wabash  

Submitted By: Derek Miller ’20

After three years of new member classes with only six to 11 members, we stepped up our recruiting process and achieved 20 acceptances. Our average over the past 10 years has been 17, but we lacked heavily in our commitment to getting numbers. With the threat of losing our chapter to the school and becoming an independent dorm, we have made a massive culture switch to be able to preserve our chapter.

Indiana Delta – Purdue  

Submitted By: Declan Sears ’23

This was the first year in three years that Indiana Delta was completely off social probation, and the house has grown immensely.

Here are some stats related to our house:

Active Members: 109
New Member Class: 15
In-House Members: 58 
Committee Count: 23 (three-12 members each) 

Spring semester, our house saw a lot of revision regarding the roles of committees and executive positions. New committees were created, including Health and Wellness, Grievance, and Brotherhood. In addition, the executive positions were adjusted to roles that resemble what is written in the national bylaws. The president and vice president now choose the committee heads, which helps promote brother inclusion, and the correct brother would oversee the committees. The chapter held their annual philanthropy car wash on April 14, 2024, in support of the Hunter’s Fund. Around 50% of active brothers and nearly 75% of in-house brothers participated in the event. Smiles were abundant as 94 cars were washed, raising $470.

Indiana Epsilon – Valpo  

Submitted By: Aidan Wucherer ’22

We successfully reorganized our chapter’s Chili Cook-Off philanthropy event into the new Phi Psi Bake-Off. We had almost every fraternity and sorority chapter and a few clubs in attendance either as competitors or to simply enjoy some treats. Throughout the event people could donate a dollar to vote on which team they felt had the best dish and could vote multiple times. We raised $550, half of which went to the local Boys & Girls Club and the other half to the winning organization’s charity.

Indiana Zeta – Butler 

Submitted By: Brady Stinson ’23

The 2023-2024 school year has been superb for Indiana Zeta! We have recruited 12 brothers this year, setting a record for the best academic year for recruiting since being rechartered. In the spring, we once again broke our philanthropy week fundraising record and continue to make strides to strengthen the chapter. We are excited for what the future holds for the 2024-2025 school year and wish to continue to break their recruitment and philanthropy records!

Indiana Eta – Indiana State  

Submitted By: Aiden Askins ’22

The brothers of Indiana Eta had our annual Hunter’s Pledge against distracted driving week. It went very well as we raised over $1,000, which was almost $400 more than we raised last year!

Indiana Iota – Ball State  

Submitted By: Quinton Hossli ’22

Our semester started out strong, welcoming six new members . We wasted no time giving back to our community with our annual Phi Kappa Soccer Tournament. We raised over $4,500 for Habitat for Humanity, thanks to student donations, alumni donations and a partnership with our local State Farm Insurance agency. Our chapter also brought home some hardware at Ball State’s GAC, winning awards in leadership and new member excellence. Most notably brother Cameron Willson ’21 winning President of the Year, and Chapter Advisor Dustin Meeks ’14. 

Michigan Beta – Michigan State  

Submitted By: Lukasz Strzelczyk ’22

This past semester, Phi Psi Michigan Beta has partnered with the Greater Lansing Food Bank and the Olivet Baptist Church to distribute food to the Lansing locals. At every event, about 20 brothers assisted handing out food and directing traffic. Daniel Qin ’23 helped organize this event through Michigan State’s community service team.

Ohio Beta – Wittenberg  

Submitted By: Justin Norris ’23

This semester we have welcomed 15 new members. Out of our different outreach attempts, we found our most successful — with the potential new members and active brothers — was dodgeball. This event was a great way to get the brothers active together but also led to bonding and teamwork with the new guys. This really helped us lay a strong foundation with the potential new members and establish a connection from day one. Our goals for next semester are to approach the recruitment season with even more tenacity and hold more events like this one to help get everyone involved and interacting with one another.

Ohio Eta – Toledo 

Submitted By: Josh Lewis ’23

During spring semester, the brothers of Ohio Eta held our semiannual philanthropy dinner, Quesadilla Night, in April. For the event, brothers cooked and served quesadillas to the campus and community. With full chapter participation, we had a great turnout selling over 200 tickets. Along with selling T-shirts promoting the dinner, we raised $1,100 for The Boys & Girls Clubs of America. We are excited to continue this tradition of our chapter.

Miami University Colony  

Submitted By: Gavin Gibson

The Ohio Lambda colony has had a busy year. We celebrated our first year in our newly renovated house, along with the recruitment of 11 new members to boost our numbers to 34. We worked hard to submit our chartering petition document for the spring Executive Council meeting.

Note: The Miami University Colony was approved in April 2024 by the Executive Council to charter in the fall of 2024.

Ohio Mu – Dayton  

Submitted By: Ryan Boehmer ’22

Adding 14 new members this semester has been a significant milestone for our chapter. We integrated these new members into our brotherhood through events like an outdoor game night, a cookout and basketball watch party, and an event with Raising Cane’s chicken. Through these events, we created opportunities for our new members to connect with brothers. We are proud to announce that these individuals have completed their initiation process and are now official brothers of Phi Kappa Psi. Their dedication to our Fraternity’s values and their enthusiasm for contributing to our community makes us excited for the future of our chapter. We hope that with their help, we can continue to bring in even more new members with a shared enthusiasm for the Fraternity in the following semesters.

Wisconsin Gamma - Beloit  

Submitted By: Christopher Andaya ’23

Wisconsin Gamma followed in the footsteps of our alumni and joined intramural volleyball for the first time in a while. It was a hard-fought season, with our team ultimately placing third. We played well, and our chapter is ready to take first place next year. The team is excited to see what comes next for Wisconsin Gamma’s intramural career.