January 29, 2012 RAM FIJI Volume 31 Phi Kappa Chapter Phi Gamma Delta Colorado State University Issue 2 \r\nJanuary 29, 2012 RAM FIJI JANURARY 29, 2012 ISSUE 2 VOLUME 31 A message from the President… Welcome to 2012 undergraduate brothers, graduate brothers, and parents. My name is Zane Mitchell Danielson, and I am the president of the Phi Kappa Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta for 2012. I am accompanied on cabinet by Steven Tzitzicas, Treasurer, Ian Ryan, Recording Secretary, Evan Lowe, Corresponding Secretary, and Michael Zeldin, Historian. As a cabinet, we have great ideas that we hope will be feasible to do within our term. We are enforcing the scholarship plan and, in just the first week, we had approximately 50% of brothers attend study hours, whether they were required to or not. Other ideas we are beginning to work on include leading a campus wide sexual harassment and assault awareness seminar, emphasizing the importance of campus presence, and having a memorable pig dinner. The old chapter house at 801 S. Shields accepted our offer and we hopefully will be moving in at the end of this summer. Chapter health is good, moral and energy are high, brotherhood has never been better since I have been in, and involvement has been great so far. I am looking forward to leading the Phi Kappa Chapter for 2012 and know that this will be the year we go from good to great. Perge! Contents of This Issue: Meet the Members of 2012 Cabinet 3 Update From Academy / Save the Date – Pig Dinner 8 Recruitment 9 Update from Recent Graduates 10 Notable Mentions 11 2 \r\nJanuary 29, 2012 RAM FIJI JANURARY 29, 2012 ISSUE 2 VOLUME 31 Meet the Members of the 2012 Cabinet Name: Zane Mitchell Danielson Major: Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE) Member Since: Spring 2010 Position: President Goals:  Host a campus wide sexual harassment awareness/prevention event  Have the chapter achieve a cumulative GPA of 2.8  Initiate 20 pledges  Fundraise $10,000 for the chapter  Donate $10,000 via a philanthropic event  Increase Public Relations Biography: Zane Mitchell Danielson was born and raised in Choctaw, Oklahoma. He visited Colorado State once and decided it was the best choice for him. He has been a CBE major his entire college career, and is currently a junior with a 2.995 GPA. He plans to graduate in the fall of 2013. Besides being President of FIJI, he is a member of the American Institute for Chemical Engineers Colorado State Chapter, and a student in the Honors College. 3 \r\nJanuary 29, 2012 RAM FIJI JANURARY 29, 2012 Name: Evan C. Lowe Major: Social Work Member Since: Spring 2011 Position: Corresponding Secretary ISSUE 2 VOLUME 31 Goals:  Maintain a 3.0 GPA  Put on a memorable Pig Dinner  Double the amount of community service  Increase public relations with students and parents Biography: Evan Lowe became a brother of FIJI the spring semester of 2011. He is from Aurora Colorado and is on track to graduate the year 2014. He is currently pursuing a degree in Social Work which he hopes to one day achieve a Masters degree in. With that, he hopes to open his own private practice for family social work, as well as open a community center in his home town for disadvantaged and less-fortunate youth. During his term on cabinet he hopes to accomplish a memorable pig dinner as well as continue to make the Phi Kappa chapter thrive at Colorado State University. 4 \r\nJanuary 29, 2012 RAM FIJI JANURARY 29, 2012 ISSUE 2 VOLUME 31 Name: Stephen W. Tzitzicas Major(s): Economics and Business Administration Member since: Fall 2008 Position: Treasurer/Vice President Goals:  Achieve a collective GPA of 2.8 (All men’s Avg. is 2.71)  Carry an 85% dues collection rate  Raise $10,000 from various fundraisers  Get a sponsorship from Red Bull, Monster or GoFast for the chapter  Win Greek week/Homecoming  Donate $10,000 to charity through Philanthropy  Obtain and initiate 20 pledges Biography: Stephen Tzitzicas pledged Phi Kappa in the fall of 2008, and was formally initiated in February of 2009. Born and raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Stephen was the first person in his family to attend college. He is currently majoring in both Economics and Business Administration, where he carries a 3.2 cumulative GPA. He will be graduating in December of 2012, and will attend law school shortly after graduating. 5 \r\nJanuary 29, 2012 RAM FIJI JANURARY 29, 2012 ISSUE 2 VOLUME 31 Name: Michael Zeldin Major(s): Hospitality Management and Psychology Member since: Fall 2009 Position: Historian Goals:       Educate the members of the history of Phi Gamma Delta Create a closer bond within the chapter Create a program which will help pledges transition into Greek Life Apply for as many awards as possible, both FIJI and CSU Ensure we get Seal of Approval Initiate at least 10 pledges in the spring and 20 in the fall Biography: Michael Zeldin pledged the Phi Kappa chapter of Phi Gamma Delta in his sophomore year. He was initiated in the fall of 2009. As a member in the fraternity he served as fundraising chair where he holds the record for most money raised for the chapter. Michael Zeldin also served as pledge educator. Currently Historian, Michael hopes after graduation he will be able to find a job in the resort sector of hospitality management preferably in Los Angles where he wishes to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. 6 \r\nJanuary 29, 2012 RAM FIJI JANURARY 29, 2012 ISSUE 2 Name: Ian Power Ryan Major: Health and Exercise Science Member Since: Fall 2010 Position: Recording Secretary VOLUME 31 Goals:  Leave the Phi Kappa chapter in a better position at the end of my term  Collective higher grades for the chapter  Have two solid recruiting semesters  Move into a larger chapter house Biography: Ian Power Ryan is a sophomore majoring in Health and Exercise Science. He is enrolled in the honors college and has a business minor. He is from Vail, Colorado and pledged FIJI Fall of 2010. His goals while on cabinet are to leave the Phi Kappa chapter in a better position for success. This includes higher grades, two great pledge classes and moving into a larger house. Once he graduates he is hoping to become an officer in the United States Coast Guard as well as a helicopter pilot. 7 \r\nJanuary 29, 2012 RAM FIJI JANURARY 29, 2012 ISSUE 2 VOLUME 31 Update from the 37th Annual Academy This past January, St. Louis and the Union Station Marriott played host to the 37th annual FIJI Academy. Brothers from various universities and colleges throughout the United States and Canada gathered to discuss/learn about leadership. This year’s FIJI Academy set a new attendance record with more the 650 brothers. Robert Unfug, Stephen Tzitzicas, Zane Danielson, and Brian Lenz of the Phi Kappa chapter made the journey to St. Louis. While there, the brothers took part in various seminars about leadership, as well as recruitment and managing finances. Phi Kappa brothers had the opportunity to listen to various inspirational leaders, including Jeff Fettig, CEO of Whirlpool. Phi Kappa established many relationships during the two day seminar with various other universities. They especially built a strong relationship with the brothers from the chapter at the University of Florida. They went to see the St. Louis Blues play the Colorado Avalanche, and even went out to the arch on the last day of the event, nearly missing their flight. It was one of the best experiences Phi Kappa brothers had taken part in. It is recommended that graduate and undergraduate brothers attend FIJI Academy at some point in their life. Academy will not only provide you with leadership tools and an opportunity to succeed, but it is downright the best experience you may ever have. August 1 - 5 of 2012, Phi Gamma Delta will hold Ekklessia in New Orleans, Louisiana. Please let Phi Kappa know if you would like to travel down to the bayou with the Gentlemen of FIJI. Forever, Perge! Save the Date – Pig Dinner 2012 For all of the brothers that came in attendance for the 2011 Norris Pig Dinner, thank you! For all who couldn’t make it, we missed you and cannot wait to see you this year! The date has been set and scheduled for April 14th, 2012. Our previous keynote speaker, David Neenan, who graduated from the University of Missouri in 1967, provided laughs for all during his speech. We also reinstated a tradition, which was to have a Sweetheart’s Dinner for the wives and girlfriends of brothers that came into town for the weekend. Once again, mark your calendars for April 14th, 2012 and we hope to see you at this year’s Pig Dinner! 8 \r\nJanuary 29, 2012 RAM FIJI JANURARY 29, 2012 ISSUE 2 VOLUME 31 Recruitment 2012 Hello Brothers from the Recruiting Team! It is our favorite time of the semester. We are excited and have a lot planned. To begin with we have our rush schedule solidified with the following events: Thursday February 2nd: Billiards at 5:30pm Friday February 3rd: Fort Fun at 5:00 pm Saturday February 4th: Broomball at 6:30pm Sunday February 5th: Super Bowl Sunday at 2:30pm Monday February 6th: Dinner at the house, courtesy of Raising Canes, at 5:00pm Tuesday February 7th: Root Beer Pong at Avogadro’s Number at 5:30pm Wednesday February 8th: Bowling at 6:00pm Thursday February 9th: Off Friday February 10th: Steak and Stogies at 5:30 PM at the house If you are in town for any of these events, we would love to see you come out and show your support, but please give us at least a days notice so we can account for you. This year we have brought back the recruitment task force to make it easier to effectively recruit, because trying to get the numbers we need, it takes more than just one person. We have been challenged by Mr. Unfug that if we can get 20 pledges, he will dye his mustache purple for Pig Dinner! So now we ask for a favor of you. If you know any college freshmen who are not in a fraternity, please send their information to the Recruitment chairman Brian Lenz at lenz@rams.colostate.edu or you can give him a call at 609-618-9090 with any questions. Let’s get a great pledge class to show off at Pig Dinner! The Recruitment Task Force, Perge! 9 \r\nJanuary 29, 2012 RAM FIJI JANURARY 29, 2012 ISSUE 2 VOLUME 31 An Update From Some of our Recent Graduates Bobby Magill Brother Robert Magill graduated Phi Kappa in May of 2011. Bobby currently resides in Chicago where he is a marketing specialist for Patterson Medical. At Patterson Medical, Magill does marketing for trade shows. He has interests in pursuing careers in either the medical equipment industry, as well as the beverage industry. He would like to focus on the sales and marketing aspects within both industries. Magill enjoys going to Chicago Cub’s games with friends and he is currently training for a half marathon with the intention to compete in the upcoming months. Magill has been leading a successful life after college, and he continues to pursue excellence in everything he does Stang Gappa In the Fall of 2011, the Phi Kappa chapter added one more name to the list of graduate brothers. From Parker, Colorado Stang Gappa has been a member since the Spring Semester of 2009 and recently graduated with a BA in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and Finance. Currently he is working with a private equity investment firm in the Tech Center that specializes in real estate and automobile brokerage services. Later on in the future Stang plans on pursuing a career as a musician in either Nashville or Austin. Currently he is recording an EP and is in the middle of developing a web presence. He also plans on doing some music touring this summer. One thing that Stang will take away from his experience with FIJI and CSU is the lasting friendships that helped him develop personally, and professionally. The networking he accomplished here helped him secure his current job. “I always had a solid support group and a great group of guys to spend some of the best times of my life with.” Stang gives credit to FIJI, saying that being a brother has helped him expand his interpersonal skills, learn how to manage people, develop time management, gain a forward-thinking perspective, improve his work ethic, and foster a great appreciation to serving the community. Along with these skills, Stang says that FIJI has developed the confidence he needed to pursue his passions without restraint. “One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching.” Do you have graduate news? Please contact us at grads@csufiji.org with your updates and photos and we will share them with the Phi Kappa Community. Find us on Facebook! Use the following link http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11516939985 and find out more about graduate updates! Also become a friend with the undergraduates to keep up with them at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001607377302. 10 \r\nJanuary 29, 2012 RAM FIJI JANURARY 29, 2012 ISSUE 2 VOLUME 31 Notable Mentions From the Chapter IFC Man of the Year Ian Power Ryan, a member and new Recording Secretary was rewarded the IFC Man of the year award. The Inter-fraternity Council (IFC) has recognized brother Ryan and his excellence both inside and outside the class room. Ian Ryan received multiple 4.0 grade point average semesters since he has been in school starting the fall of 2010. Being a member of the Junior Greek Council as well as his efforts to teach children how to ski and snowboard in his home town of Vail Colorado, IFC has recognized him as being a worthy recipient of being called man of the year. “I am very thankful to receive this award. It proves that hard work pays off. FIJI has taught me it’s always scholarship, fraternity, self, and I put that to heart.” Islander Recently the Phi Kappa chapter is starting to spark up old traditions, mainly the Spring FIJI Islander. After the initial re-charter in 2005, the Islander is making a comeback. The chapter hopes to return the Islander to its glory this spring 2012. We hope to revive old traditions during islander such as Queen of the Island, Leigh-A-Day, and a social gathering celebrating a successful Islander. 11 \r\nJanuary 29, 2012 RAM FIJI JANURARY 29, 2012 ISSUE 2 VOLUME 31 “The forces that have been the greatest in my life have been God, and the College Fraternity that molded me.” Thomas Riley Marshall, Member of Phi Gamma Delta and the Vice President of the United States Perge! 12