November 2015 Volume 6 Issue 2 What’s Inside Atlanta Community Service Trip Homecoming page 2 Graduate Spotlight page 3 PURPLE run page 4 SHENANIGANS A Tribute to page 6 INTRAMURALS page 8 T wenty-seven Brothers caravanned to Atlanta for a three-day trip over WKU’s fall break. Brothers served in the eastern part of the city in Easton. Brothers spent the first day with a local church tutoring middle and high school students in reading and math and doing different campus beautification projects. That night brothers went to the Georgia Tech Fiji chapter house and spent the evening taking in the gorgeous house and friendly atmosphere. The second day brothers went to the Clarkston Community Center,where they helped clean up a soccer field and community garden. That evening the chapter went to an Atlanta Braves game and soaked in some fall baseball. On the final day, half the brothers went to a local school and helped repaint the hallway walls, bathrooms and doors, while the other half returned to the Community Center to shape up the grounds. Overall, it was a successful trip full of brotherhood and service. The Fall Break service trip has been a staple of Chi Eta’s history and continues on strong today. What’s Ahead Pig Dinner will be held April 30, 2016 in Bowling Green. Time and weekend events are TBA. Friendship. Knowledge. Service. Morality. Excellence. 1 1 \r\nHomecoming float #1 #2 overall banner #2 2 Friendship. Knowledge. Service. Morality. Excellence. \r\nGraduate Spotlight When you first entered college, why did you join Chi Eta? Nick Bratcher time and life. College guys must impress their peers to get friends, impress their professors to get good I attended the Honors Retreat, grades, and impress their future emH4, before my freshman year and ployers with the right organizations met several brothers there serving and internships to get the right job. as counselors who had just returned This can be very exhausting physifrom Fijis Across America (what cally, emotionally, and spiritually. would eventually become Bike4Alz). My job is to find and mentor these They were so driven, intelligent, and male students who are burnt out, exfriendly-- not at all what I imagined hausted, questioning, and skeptical. guys in fraternities to be. When they If I’m fortunate, God will use me to invited me to hang out with them at rescue these guys from “the tyranny their house, Ft. Armstrong, I jumped of the awesome.” at the opportunity. I couldn’t believe that guys like that wanted to befriend me, a freshman. I knew I could learn and grow a lot with them as mentors, so while skeptical, I took a leap and joined when offered a bid. I was not disappointed. Explain your internship a little bit, what are you doing now and how you came about this internship. I’m now an intern with a Christian campus ministry called Reformed University Fellowship at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. I was not really a Christian when I came to college, but RUF reached me with the good news of God’s grace to prideful, broken people. After placing my faith in Christ, I became heavily involved with the ministry. That is how I first heard about the job. As for what I do as an intern, college can be a very difficult transition into adulthood. Once a student steps foot on campus, they are surrounded with a culture that asks them to be awesome and begs them for their What are some short-term and long-term goals for yourself? I’ll be attending seminary next fall. I’m not sure where just yet, but I am leaning toward Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis or Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston. Upon graduation, I’m hoping to become ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America and obtain work as RUF campus minister or church planter. This will hinge a lot on an ability to raise funds for such a venture, but I’m optimistic that the Lord can provide just as he has for my internship. Ultimately, I’d like to earn a Ph. D. and write a book, but that’s certainly a long-term goal. What are some of your favorite memories from your undergraduate years? Two memories stand out as I look back on my undergraduate years. First, I remember beating KA in TUG my senior year. We barely practiced, scrambled to find our last tugger a minute before we pulled, and faced a KA team that was coached by KD. That win and the celebration that followed-- I distinctly remember embracing Clint Bacon and Jason White, yelling something that cannot be written here-- was one of the most adrenaline-filled, euphoric moments of my life. Second, I’ll never forget rushing the field my sophomore year when WKU football won its first home game as a Division I-A school. Ah, the days of WIllie Taggart and Bobby Rainey. It was a magical time. Friendship. Knowledge. Knowledge. Service. Service. Morality. Morality. Excellence. Excellence. Friendship. 3 \r\nPURPLE POWER Another successful philanthropy event A s Bowling Green awoke on the chilly morning of Sat., Oct. 24, dozens of Chi Eta Fijis and their friends flooded Spero Kereiakes Park. They adorned their bibs with nicknames while volunteers at three stations waited with paint powder. Soon enough, the runners were off the starting line and racing, or at least walking. Chi Eta’s fourth Purple Run was underway. Every dollar donated for the Purple Run, the chapter’s biggest philanthropy event directly benefited Alzheimers research. Over 100 runners and a handful sponsors contributed between $1,000 and $2,000 combined. “We are able to make a movement for a cure,” said philanthropy chair Tony Piedmonte (2017). Because of the many Americans suffering from Alzheimers, Piedmonte said it’s “amazing” to help. “I can’t imagine how hard it is to lose your memories,” he said. “Your whole life slips away from you.” Alec Brown (2017), who promoted the Bike4Alz trip at the Purple Run, said the disease affects not only patients but also their friends and family. One of the reasons XH chose Alzheimers research as its philanthropy was graduate brother Tyler Jury witnessing the disease’s impact on his grandfather. While creating awareness is important, raising money for research is the most crucial aspect of the Purple Run and Bike4Alz, said Brown. He said treatment for Alzheimers has not significantly changed since its discovery in the early 1900s. “150 years later, we can’t really do anything different,” said Brown. Piedmonte said the event went “really well” and brought the community, WKU Greeks and other organizations together. Photos by Thomas Deaton 4 Friendship. Knowledge. Service. Morality. Excellence. \r\nService & Philanthropy Dollars for Change Pursuing excellence in all parts of our lives has been a long-standing tradition in Chi Eta’s existence at WKU. When young men have an idea on how they can positively impact the world, the Chi Eta chapter has always rallied around them. Bike4Alz, Water4Life in Haiti, the 2013 Chili Cookoff for Africa, and the “Ugly-Suit” formal in 2015 have all started with an idea from a single person. They believed they could impact the world, and a Chi Eta senior is once again leading the charge to change the world. Brother Seth Haga (2016) has started an initiative that has immediately positively affected lives in the Bowling Green community, called “Dollars for Change”. This is a concept that Haga found in the book Jesus Prom he read this summer, and the idea in the book is that the church takes $1 for every person in attendance each Sunday and uses it to bless someone in the community going through financial hardship. He wanted to apply this idea to the fraternity and thought that “it would be a good way to serve the local community and express Jesus’ love to people which is really important to me”. Donations have been collected at the end of each meeting from spare change that brothers bring to meetings and put in a donation jar. Within the first three months of the semester, the chapter has been able to bless three different people with over $100 each. Each time, Haga takes a small group of brothers and they go to a restaurant or on-campus restaurant and give the money to a waiter or waitress or the cashier. He said the responses from those individuals have been incredible and have drawn tears of joy and thankfulness. The men of Chi Eta continue to serve the local community and make an impact in the lives of people around them. From biking across the country, to cooking chili, to giving money to people in need, Chi Eta has been leading on WKU’s campus and the Bowling Green community from colonization in 2008, to the close of 2015. 5 Friendship. Knowledge. Service. Morality. Excellence. \r\nSHENANIGANS A Tribute to S triding onto SKyPAC’s stage, Drake Riley (2016) stares at the roaring crowd with arms pinned at his sides. The lights are blinding, but his focus is clear. Riley hasn’t had many opportunities to perform for an audience since arriving at WKU. He cherishes these moments. Teamed with Alpha Omicron Pi sorority, Chi Eta won its third consecutive Shenanigans, Kappa Delta’s philanthropy dance competition, with help from Riley and 23 other brothers. Fiji and AOII’s dance had the theme “A Tribute to Alice in Wonderland” and followed the plot of Disney’s 1951 movie Alice in Wonderland. Winning meant more to coach and Jamie Harvener (2016) than merely beating the other fraternitysorority pairings; it meant the team’s hard work paid off. He was glad Chi Eta and AOII’s effort “meant something” to the judges. “That was an awesome feeling,” said Harvener. Friendship. Knowledge. Service. Morality. Excellence. 4 \r\nThis year was Riley’s third Shenanigans. “I loved every minute of it,” said Riley. He said he’s always enjoyed the event, but he decided to join late this year, after the practices had started. Riley didn’t dance his junior year because of his schedule. Knowing this was his last chance, he didn’t want to miss out. One of his favorite aspects of this year’s Shenanigans was getting know the pledge brothers during practices, as well as bonding with other brothers. Riley is off campus a lot, so practices were a great opportunity to spend time with his brothers. Josh Hicks (2017) was one of a handful of pledge brothers who participated in Shenanigans. Hicks decided to dance for the new experience. He enjoyed the practices and becoming closer to his brothers. Hicks said he excels at more functional movements, but the dancing steps were more artistic, which was a challenge. However, the coaches prepared him well and made him confident to go on stage. Riley said dance instructors Jamie Harvener and Kaitlyn Fink pushed this year’s group very hard and introduced many challenging moves. Harvener led Chi Etas Shenanigans team for the second consecutive year. He said he loves bonding with the team and gets more out of teaching his brothers and helping them grow than the actual dancing. “The dancing part is just an added bonus,” he said. If I had given the same steps to different people, said Harvener, it wouldn’t have turned out the same. After a week of preparation, the original theme of “A Tribute to Great Gatsby” fell through, and Harvener and Fink were scrambling for a few days. Then, they came up with “A Tribute to Alice in Wonderland.” To develop the soundtrack, Harvener found inspiration in the original Alice in Wonderland motion picture. Each character on stage was introduced with an audio clip from the 1951 film. They added contemporary pop music to give the dance 21st-century flare. Once Harvener and Fink selected the songs, they cut the four-tofive minute songs to 45-second clips. “It was time consuming but worth it,” said Harvener. “I wanted it to be the best that it could be.” From there, beginning the choreographic process was easy, said Harvener. Harvener and Fink examined talent as well as work ethic when choosing dancers. Each dancer had roughly the same number of dances. “We didn’t want anyone to feel left out,” said Harvener. Harvener said he will miss the two to three hours he spent with the Shenanigans group four nights per week. Because everyone gets used to being around each other, it’s an adjustment when you aren’t. “I love that two different Greek organizations can come together under a common goal,” said Harvener. Photos by Morgan Hornsby FRESH TAKE For two consecutive weeks, Daniel Aroh (2018) spent each of his 19 meal swipes at Fresh Food Co., WKU’s buffet-style restaurant. This is his story: How much weight did you gain? I gained about 6.5 lbs. What was your favorite meal? I had a pretty good Monday dinner with some ham and salami paninis followed by two plates of chicken parmesan and noodles. Then, I had a sausage sandwich. After, I had a spinach salad to balance things out a bit. I finished with five cookies. How did your experiment build brotherhood? Because I started a GroupMe called Fresh Foods Inc., I had a different brother to eat with me every meal, so I was able to become closer with my brothers, especially Alex Stackhouse, Drake Riley and Jacob Roy. It built community. We would have days where there were eight of us in there. I started to change my schedule to go when more brothers could make it. What was the hardest part? The hardest part was when no one responded. I looked at those six plates all by my lonesome and thought, ‘what am I doing with myself.’ What was the most essential part of each meal? Lucky Charms. I probably had 30 bowls of them during those two weeks. 7 Friendship. Knowledge. Service. Morality. Excellence. \r\nINTRAMURALS Co-Rec Volleyball Football RUNNER UP & RD PLACE Dodgeball CHAMPS 3 RUNNER #1 UP Futsol Ping Pong RUNNER RUNNER UP UP Men’s Volleyball Football CHAMPS #1 RUNNER UP Racquetball (Doubles) CHAMPS 2ND #1 3 RD PLACE & PLACE 8 Friendship. Knowledge. Service. Morality. Excellence. \r\nMen’s Volleyball CHAMPS #1 Men’s Racquetball SWEEP! #1 #2 & #3 Chi Eta By the Numbers 62 Undergraduate Brothers 1 Brother Abroad 19 Pledge Brothers 3 Bike4Alz Trips 102 Graduate Brothers 4 Purple Runs 2008 Chi Eta founded at WKU Friendship. Knowledge. Service. Morality. Excellence. 9 \r\nChi Eta Chapter Contacts 2015 -2016 Chi Eta Housing Corporation President- Zack Ryle (2012) Secretary- Corey Johnson (2013) House Inspector- Josh Amos (2013) Graduate Delegates- Ben Harper, Luke Gilliam (2011), Ryan DeMuth (2013) Parent Delegates: Nanette Wright, mother of Spencer (2014) and Skyler (2017). Scott Richards, father of Austin (2017). Quentin Hughes, father of Byron (2018). George Pennington, father of Erin (2013) and Evan (2015). 2015-2016 Board of Chapter Advisors Bob Anderegg (USC ‘71, WKU GA ‘10) Dr. Ray Blankenship (UK ‘84, WKU GA ‘10) Brian Campbell (2013) Brad Stephens (2013) Dylan Ward (2013) Zack Van Zant(2015) Chi Eta Purple Legionnaire- Brian Campbell 2016 Chi Eta Cabinet Taylor Leigh (2017) President Alex Turner (2018) Alec Brown (2017) Treasurer Recording Secretary Justin Hobbs (2018) Corresponding Secretary Peyton Rhea (2018) Historian 10 Friendship. Knowledge. Service. Morality. Excellence. \r\n2015 WKU Family of the Year Peyton Rhea (2018), Chi Eta graduate brother Charlie Rhea, and their parents, Hilltopper graduates Tim and Laura Rhea, and WKU president Gary Ransdell. Graduate News Nicholas Serroque (2011) and his wife Ashley Serroque are expecting their second child in April. Bo Armstrong (2013) is graduating from Old Dominion University with a master’s degree in Industrial-Organization Psychology. Jonathan Caron (2014) accepted a marketing specialist job with Cabela’s in Bowling Green. Will Garcia (2014) became engaged to Jenny Young. Jacob Hood (2014) became engaged to Kelsey Cone. Kent Jones (2014) became engaged to Allyson Alvey. Kent is also in graduate school at Auburn University. Jason White (2014) married Emily Gott on Oct. 10. Learn about the WKU Excellence Fund and how you can support Chi Eta at www.wkufiji.com/donate Current Supporters Bob Anderegg (USC `71, WKU GA `10) Jeff Baynham (WKU GI `10) Dr. Ray Blankenship (Kentucky `84, WKU GA `10) Brandon Bowman (WKU `10) Dr. Craig Cobane (WKU GI`10) Matt Edgar (British Columbia ‘07) George and Jane Pennington (Parents) Blaine Routt (WKU `11) Josh Wiseman (WKU `12) Brad Stephens (WKU’13) Jason is also now a real estate agent for the state of Tennessee affiliated with Parks Realty. Have any graduate news? Send an email to graduate@wkufiji.com! Friendship. Knowledge. Service. Morality. Excellence. 11