THE COMET FIJI Phi Gamma Delta at The University of Texas-Dallas | Est. 2010 Issue: Winter 2014 Chapter President Will Moorman (2017) Treasurer Josh Manning (2017) Recording Secretary Jason Ngyuen (2016) Corresponding Secretary Robert Walker V (2016) Historian Dalton Moore (2015) utdfiji.com @utdfiji utdfiji.alumni @gmail.com Brothers and pledges brave the cold weather to decorate their 2014 Homecoming parade cart. 5 YEARS OF COMET FIJI The Spring and Fall 2014 semesters have come to a close, and it is with great honor that we present in our 5th year of existence the very 1st edition of the official Comet Fiji graduate newsletter. In this biannual set of newsletters, the Tau Delta chapter of Phi Gamma Delta will update our graduates, friends, and parents of the happenings, successes, and stories of both our active members and our graduate brothers across the country in their endeavors. Along with these major publications each year, there will be monthly calendar updates with all of our events that will be emailed to everyone on our mailing list each month. If you would like to have your event added to the calendar, please email us at utdfiji.alumni@gmail.com with all of the details for the event. \r\nTHE COMET FIJI Phi Gamma Delta at The University of Texas-Dallas | Est. 2010 Issue: Winter 2014 Tau Delta BCA Khris Harris (Texas -Arlington 2003) Aaron Maestas (Texas-Arlington 2005) Charlie Barker (Emory 1967) Dave Harben (Ball State 2004) Rhett Hicks III (Texas-Dallas 2013) Jai Sondhi (TexasDallas 2011) Mitch Miller (Texas -Dallas 2011) utdfiji.com @utdfiji utdfiji.alumni @gmail.com Iota PC ‘14 pledges stick around for a class photo after a Pledge Education session. Recruitment was a big success for the Tau Delta chapter as the efforts of our recruitment chair Jason Ngyuen (2016) and his committee pulled together the largest IFC pledge class at UTD for the second-straight year. Included in the class are brilliant scholars, athletes, leaders, and legacies. The old habit of our chapter having recruiting troubles appears to be behind us, as our training in the fundamentals of 365-recruiting and what we learned from Phired Up sessions has doubled the size of our chapter less than one year after we had many of our active brothers graduate. Retention seemed to improve over last year’s numbers, as 19 of the 22 pledges remained at the end of Pledge Education, and 18 of them were initiated at the Phi Tau chapter house at Texas-Arlington. Brothers who attended Tau Delta’s initiation included the cabinet of Phi Tau as well as their Board of Trustees and many of our own graduates. The next page lists our 19 newest members. \r\nTHE COMET FIJI Phi Gamma Delta at The University of Texas-Dallas | Est. 2010 Issue: Winter 2014 COMET FIJI: “IOTA” PC ‘14 Joe Badgen | Houston, TX | Memorial Jonathan Baker | Dallas, TX | MacArthur utdfiji.com @utdfiji utdfiji.alumni @gmail.com Upcoming Events: -Graduate Meetups: Monthly (Place/ Date TBA) Blake Bambico | Jacksonville, TX | McKinney Boyd Luiz Blumm | Brazil | University of Brasilia Anthony Brigante | Lucas, TX | Lovejoy Connor Christina * | Dallas, TX | Jesuit Christian de Lara | Keller, TX | Keller-Central Brandon Gardere | Allen, TX | Plano East Trevor Gunn | Austin, TX | Westwood -Spring Break (March 16-21) Hadyn Lewis | Cypress, TX | Cypress Woods Kyle Lo | Allen, TX | Lovejoy -Fiji Humvee PUSH: April 10, UTD Campus -2nd Annual Frank Norris Pig Dinner (April 18, 6pm). Page 6 -May 1: Founders Day Clark Oney | Austin, TX | Westwood Tyler Ortega | Frisco, TX | Centennial Erick Parra | McKinney, TX | McKinney North Joseph Paul | Austin, TX | Westwood Nick Reina * | Plano, TX | Plano Senior Sanjay Umamahesh | Plano, TX | Plano Senior Andrew Uriarte | Boise, ID | Boise State Robert Wilson | Fort Worth, TX | Oklahoma State * Fiji Legacy \r\nTHE COMET FIJI Phi Gamma Delta at The University of Texas-Dallas | Est. 2010 Issue: Winter 2014 COMET FIJI AT 166TH EKKLESIA Chapter President Will Moorman (2017) Treasurer Josh Manning (2017) Recording Secretary Jason Ngyuen (2016) Corresponding Secretary Robert Walker V (2016) Historian Dalton Moore (2015) utdfiji.com @utdfiji utdfiji.alumni @gmail.com The 166th Ekklesia was held at Indianapolis, IN from July 24-27 and the memories and experiences that were had will last a lifetime. Brothers Josh Manning (2017), Andrew Sockwell (2015), Victor Ron (2017), and former Purple Legionnaire Dave Harben (Ball State 2004), all attended the festivities in celebrating our fraternity’s history as well as furthering our mission with many other chapters from across the US and Canada. While brother Harben’s Ball State chapter seemingly swept practically all of the fraternity awards in mind boggling fashion, Comet Fiji walked away with 3 total awards as follows: Academic Achievement Award (3rd-straight), John Templeton McCarty Proficiency Award, and Dave Harben earned Honorable Mention for the Durrance Award, given to the fraternity’s most outstanding Purple Legionnaire. Congrats go out to all of our brothers for ensuring we take home the hardware every year. While we did win awards, work was also to be done, and our brothers carried out their duties. Victor Ron contributed to the heated debate in the business sessions over the international bylaws on the standards of our membership, while Andrew Sockwell wrote the fraternity’s strong stance on hazing in Phi Gamma Delta’s public resolutions. Pictured above: Brothers Manning, Sockwell, and Ron with Dave Harben (Ball State 2004) and his Honorable Mention for the Durrance Award. \r\nTHE COMET FIJI Phi Gamma Delta at The University of Texas-Dallas | Est. 2010 Issue: Winter 2014 SCHOLARSHIP & ATHLETICS Chapter President Will Moorman (2017) Treasurer Josh Manning (2017) Recording Secretary Jason Ngyuen (2016) Corresponding Secretary Robert Walker V (2016) Historian Dalton Moore (2015) utdfiji.com @utdfiji utdfiji.alumni @gmail.com The following brothers achieved a perfect or near-perfect 4.0 GPA for the Fall ‘14 semester: James Holliday (2013, MS 2015), Lewis Warne (2015), Tue Tran (2015), and Tanner Landry (2015). Congrats on your achievements brothers! The 2013-14 school year also saw Tau Delta win the following awards at 2014 Greek Week: 1st place Greek Week, Most Improved GPA (IFC), Highest Active Member GPA (IFC), 1st place IFC GPA, Active Member of the Year (Jeep Kulsirimongkol, 2014) for the 3rd year in a row, FSL 4-Pillars Leadership Award (Vince Popham, 2014). A round of applause to the brothers who helped us reach our academic successes every year. The Tau Delta brothers also saw success on the field in athletics during the ‘13-14 terms. Fiji placed 2nd in Alpha Gamma Delta’s FratsAt-Bat philanthropy benefiting JDRF Diabetes Research. The 5 brothers and 5 AGD’s paired together on our team came close to winning it all thanks to the power behind our bats and the accuracy behind our throws, but fell just short by 1 run in the final. No matter, because we know we’re still better than the others. \r\nTHE COMET FIJI Phi Gamma Delta at The University of Texas-Dallas | Est. 2010 Chapter President Issue: Winter 2014 2nd ANNUAL FRANK NORRIS PIG DINNER Will Moorman (2017) Treasurer Josh Manning (2017) Recording Secretary Jason Ngyuen (2016) Corresponding Secretary Robert Walker V (2016) Historian Dalton Moore (2015) utdfiji.com @utdfiji utdfiji.alumni @gmail.com The Tau Delta chapter is excited to announce its second annual Frank Norris Pig Dinner and would like to invite our fellow graduate brothers and friends to join in our celebration! Since our colonization in March 2010, the Tau Delta chapter has journeyed a long way to its current position and we look forward to sharing five years of memories with our fellow graduate brothers. During the celebration of our fifth year at the University of Texas-Dallas, the Tau Delta chapter also hopes to share its vision of the bright future ahead of our beloved chapter! Our 5th Anniversary will also unveil the Tau Delta Capital Campaign! When: April 18th, 2015 Where: 1001 W President George Bush Hwy, Richardson, TX 75080 Time: 6pm-Midnight Dress code: Black Tie Cost: $75. Brothers and guests must purchase a ticket to attend. All of the proceeds from the event will benefit our White Star Scholarship and the Capital Campaign. Please RSVP and purchase your ticket by going to utdfiji.com/events \r\nTHE COMET FIJI Phi Gamma Delta at The University of Texas-Dallas | Est. 2010 Issue: Winter 2014-15 WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Chapter President Will Moorman (2017) Treasurer Josh Manning (2017) Recording Secretary Jason Ngyuen (2016) Corresponding Secretary Robert Walker V (2016) Historian Dalton Moore (2015) utdfiji.com @utdfiji utdfiji.alumni @gmail.com Our monthly emails will include updates and stories of our graduate brothers who are in the work force or traveling, but we need your help! If you would like your story to be featured in The Comet Fiji, send us an email at utdfiji.alumni@gmail.com and we will contact you. For the brothers we have not heard from in a while or don’t have contact information for, please let us know if you hear anything about them! DONATE TODAY! Your generous contribution to the Tau Delta chapter will be greatly appreciated, as having financial security ensures our operations continue without a hitch. Donations to Fiji will go towards the White Star Scholarship and the Capital Campaign, as well as help us in our recruitment efforts. Visit Legfi.com/phigammadeltautd to make your donation to the Tau Delta chapter today. Every penny counts! RUSH RECOMMENDATIONS If you happen to know any senior high school or current UTD students who you think would make a great fit for Phi Gamma Delta, please send our Recruitment committee a recommendation. We recruit 365, and we only recruit the best! Rush Fiji-tough! Utdfiji.recruitment@gmail.com