LG FIJI ittle iant Psi of Phi Gamma Delta at Wabash College VOLUME 51 ISSUE 1 PHI GAMMA DELTA, WABASH COLLEGE, CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN QOL Events Build Bonds Among Phi Gams The brotherhood of Psi Chapter is further enhanced by weekly “Quality of Life” (QOL) events. The first weekend of the semester, we took our pledge class to a ropes climbing course down in Bloomington. If there wasn’t already a bond between guys, climbing a 55 foot vertical tower and repelling off the top via a zip line creates a sense of unity relatively quickly. Of the eight paths to get up the tower, none can be accomplished with fewer than six guys. It commands teamwork and cooperation. The following weekend, our chapter took a trip to Turkey Run State FALL 2009 Teamwork and brotherhood are a strong Park. We grilled out, played football, ultimate Frisbee, and hiked. As a brotherhood, focus of our chapter, and QOL events provide an opportunity to improve these we talked about what we want to accomplish in the coming semesters. In a relaxed things. -Cameron McDougal ‘12 environment such as Turkey Run, we were able to have a great discussion and introduce our pledge class to our way of managing our chapter. Furthermore, we all went on a five-mile canoe trip down Sugar Creek. This again, was a great scenario to learn more about the brotherhood at Psi Chapter. During a five-hour canoe trip, it was inevitable that the bonds between us would Freshmen proliferate. Andrew Charles Alexander Other scheduled QOL events inKyle Martin Bender clude: rifle shooting range, Indiana Pacer Trevor Richard Counceller games, driving range, IU football game, Brian Walter David snow ski trip, and other smaller events. Madison Reed Hepburn Regardless of what we do, QOL events Daniel Edward Lesch create an immediate sense of brotherhood. Yangnan Liu Our pledge class is very quickly included Haoyuan Su in the activities of our chapter, which creTyler James Wade ates a more involved and motivated class. Spring 2009 Dean’s List Sophomores Junior Gregg Schipp and Sophomore Cameron McDougal work as a team to conquer the challenging “Giants Ladder” at the ropes climbing course in Bloomington. Justin Derrick Allen Alexander Basil Avtgis David Ryan Birrer Jarod Arthur Brock William James Weber Juniors Kevin Matthew Andrews John A. Henry Gregory Mark Slisz Seniors Thomas Scott Bowman Bryan Wayne Carr Christopher William Hawes Timothy William Surber Andrew Stuart Todd Kevin L. Witt \r\nFIJI ‘13 Is An Accomplished Bunch ...2013 Homecoming Champions, Proud To Be Phi Gams The FIJI class of 2013 is a very diverse group of 21 young men who derive from many different backgrounds. Among the FIJI class of 2013, there is an individual who hails from the Ivory Coast of Africa and those who come from the very home of Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Also, many members of the freshman class have already become much immersed in the extracurricular opportunities offered at Wabash College. FIJI ’13 is represented by two members of the soccer team, two members of the track team, a member of the basketball team, a member of the wrestling team, a member of the baseball team, and a member of the football team. Also, Michael Carper of Indianapolis, Indiana, has taken on the role as a blogger for the Wabash College website and you can check out his exciting weekly blogs. The FIJI class of 2013 has also been able to accomplish something that none of the current FIJI classes can claim. FIJI ’13 was able to outshine all other living units to claim the Chapel Sing championship this past homecoming week. Also, with placing in other categories such as float, banner, and queen, the freshmen were awarded the crown as 2013 homecoming champions of Wabash College. This was an extremely proud moment for the class of 2013 and the entire FIJI brotherhood. We look forward to sharing the details of the homecoming week with you in an upcoming newsletter. As always, Psi Chapter is not for college days alone and we are extremely elated to say that the homecoming victory resonates in our hearts and makes us all proud to be Phi Gams. -Gregg Schipp ‘11 The class of 2013 takes part in the Wabash tradition of Chapel Sing. The FIJI class of 2013 rose to the occasion and claimed the 2013 Chapel Sing Championsip. The FIJI Class of 2013 Robert “Chet” Riddle Evansville, IN Michael W. Carper Indianapolis, IN Will Drews Lafayette, IN Patrick Alston Bronx, New York Sam Spoerle Carmel, IN Jordan Surenkamp Indianapolis, IN Benjamin David Klimek Fort Wayne, IN Trevor Robert Poe Floyds Knobs, IN Patrick Brady Neary Brookston, IN Ryan Wells Grove City, Ohio Rayyan Sami Fort Wayne, IN Romaric Amoa (Romeo) Ivory Coast, Africa Adam Soshnick Zionsville, Indiana Levi Wayne Noblitt Elkhart, IN Steven Chang Nashville, Tennessee Matt Kaczkowski Skokie, Illinois Rob Dyer Appleton, Wisconisn Noah Jeffries Whitehall, Michigan Jamen Suter-Donaldson South Bend, IN Derek R. Fritz New Haven, IN Nathaniel Carroll Borden Crawfordsville, IN \r\nPhi Gamma Delta Athletics ...The Pursuit of Excellence In And Out of The Classroom Psi Chapter continues the long-standing tradition of excellent student-athletes within the brotherhood. Junior Justin Allen (Hobart, IN) and sophomore Brian David (New Milford, NJ) are key contributors for the Little Giant Cross Country team this fall. The Red Pack is currently ranked 33rd in the nation, 4th in the Great Lakes region, and 2nd in the NCAC. Important upcoming meets include the NCAC championships at Ohio Wesleyan on Oct. 31 and the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 14 in Terre Haute. Freshmen Levi Noblitt (Elkhart, IN) and Nathaniel Borden (Crawfordsville, IN) are improving daily on an experienced Wabash soccer team. The team is currently 4-3-1, with a notable upset of #23 Wheaton College on Sep. 1 and a 2-2 tie with #21 DePauw on Sep. 16. Noblitt has seen significant playing time in the defensive backfield. As NCAC competition opens up, look for the Little Giants to make a run for the conference championship. The Wabash swim team has already begun fall workouts. Junior David Birrer (Brownsburg, IN) and sophomore Paul Buescher (Los Angeles, CA) return for a much anticipated 2009-10 season. Birrer just missed qualifying for nationals in the 100 Fly last season while Buescher is the defending Wabash Invitational 200 Breaststroke Champion. The team has goals to destroy DePauw in the regular season and compete with Kenyon for the NCAC championship. Junior David Birrer puts it all on the line for the Little Giant swim team. Freshman Chet Riddle (Evansville, IN) and Patrick Neary (Brookston, IN), along with long distance specialists Justin Allen and Brian David, will add depth to a strong track and field team. Riddle will compete in the 200- and 400meter dashes, while Neary looks to run the 100- and 200- meter dashes. Both freshmen expect to also contribute on various relay teams. Second-year coach Clyde Morgan has established a team motto: “Men of Wabash, Nothing Breaks Us!” Freshmen Ryan Wells (Columbus, OH) and Ben Klimek (Fort Wayne, IN) have each begun Join Psi Chapter as we cheer on the Little Giants in the Monon Bell Classic at DePauw University. November 14, 2009 fall workouts for their respective sports, wrestling and baseball. Wells, a highly sought recruit from the mats of Ohio, looks to contribute immediately for Little Giants wrestling program. Klimek, a lefthanded outfielder in high school, is making the transition to relief pitcher as the team only has three southpaws on staff for the upcoming season. Both young men are showing daily dedication as the workouts will continue throughout the fall and winter. -Kyle Bender ‘12 \r\nBrother Castilow Makes His Mark Abroad ...The Experience of a Lifetime The impact left by my study abroad experience resonates deeply. One of the most beneficial aspects of studying abroad is the absence of a familiar safety net. Where is my next meal coming from? How much money is in the bank? What needs to be done for class? The answer for all these questions depended on me and me alone. Learning to be self-sufficient has to be one of the most rewarding experiences of life. The realization alone builds confidence, self-esteem, and surprisingly gave me a sense of peace - a sense that everything was going to be all right. With those thoughts, the world opened up. I will never again be without a safety net. So how did this shape and give rise to my memories of Scotland? First, I set out to do something I had always wanted to do: learn how to box; and being frank, if there is a special place to learn to throw the leather, it would be Scotland. I needed a way to meet people and make my experience enjoyable, so after noticing a man wearing a sweatshirt advertising a boxing club, I proceeded to find the captain and join the team. The next thing I had in mind was to get involved in the community of Aberdeen. I visited a website dedicated to volunteering in Scotland and quickly found a role helping the blind at a little organization called the Grampian Society for the Blind. These two commitments would become some of my most regular activities. I had two more goals that would essentially complete my expectations for studying abroad: I wanted to do well in school and I wanted to do a lot of hiking. The work was satisfactory; I felt I was learning, yet I had the free time I often crave at Wabash. With this free time, I found myself catching up on a lot of leisure reading, especially books about the conceptual ideas of physics. Experiences such as these give deep insight into one's passion and character—when I had the freedom to do as I chose, I finally realized what I would choose to do. The remainder of my time was summed up hiking the terrain The beautiful landscape of Scotland left an unforgetable mark on brother Castilow’s life as a Wabash Man. of Scotland, most notably with a girl named Hannah. Hannah and I had the most natural platonic relationship I have ever experienced. To be honest, the rest of the group had somewhat ostracized her for eccentricity, but thinking this to be unfair, I gave hear a chance and found a companionship that would be most memorable. We spent weekends hiking up the local nature parks. We would climb rocks, hills, find starfish at low tide, find sea anemones in small holes, explore caves by the seaside, and climb the waterfalls that run abound in Scotland. I had never met such an adventurous girl, yet all the while the day was filled with jovial conversations about serious things, about annoyances, and everything in between. She would be my partner when during Easter Vacation, I decided to go remote, to go 14 hours into the North Sea to a small island group by the name of the Shetlands. The Shetlands would be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. We would wake and catch the bus as far as it might take us (until we became accustomed to hitchhiking) at which point we would necessarily be forced to hitchhike the rest of the way. We would hitchhike to the most beautiful sea cliffs and agree that we could both see how Native Americans could conjure the sea as the end of the world. We would have lunch on the edge of a cliff and be treated to seeing a pack of wild seals curiously snoop about the bay as we stopped for a break. Then, as we sought to return to our lodging, an abandon sail loft equipped only with cold running water or a local hostel, we would ride an emotional roller coaster of despair that no car would come to bring us home, facing the fact we might be forced to sleep on the side of the road only to be bestowed the great fortune of five cars, one after another, carrying us eight miles or so at a time back to our lodging. I must truly admit, there is so much left unsaid. I speak of my relationship with the people at Becycle or my Easter tour of Wales ending with a barbecue at a Welsh's farmhouse or about my journeys with the international student society to the Highlands and beyond. I simply cannot address all of it, yet I can safely say that had I not been able to give that different kid a chance, had I been scared to get hurt while climbing or boxing, or been afraid to ask someone for some needed help, then I would not have been rewarded so greatly by my trip to Scotland. -Jacob Castilow ‘10 Check us out on-line! You can find Psi Chapter on the web at www.wabash.edu/fraternity/fiji or at wabashfiji.com.