December 2009

Volume 3, Issue 1

Arizona State

University

You meet people from all walks

of life in this job. On any given

day you meet a new person

upwards of every 2-3 hours. You

learn so much just by listening.

T: The things I call "job duties I

perform that are not in my job

description like relationship

counseling, a car jacking, alumni

trashing houses, and when stu-

dents call “just to talk.” Most of

all, I will remember the relation-

ships that were formed with

students, alumni, volunteers, and

fellow staff members.

- See ―LC‖ page 2

Alumni Spotlight: A Q&A with Nick Brady and

Tyler Quinn, Leadership Consultants

Corwin named to Fraternity’s National Council

What led you to the LC

position?

N: I can honestly say it was a

combination of advice from

specific individuals and my ex-

perience serving as Warden. I

draw on my experience at ASU

daily.

T: In order: 1) A random e-mail

from Brandon Belote asking me

to "accept the challenge." What

Quinn would not accept the

challenge? 2) I found out Brady

was applying. 3) A desire to help

preserve the fraternity experi-

ence for undergraduates on a

larger scale. 4) Speaking with

past consultants like Joe

Costello. 5) A need to fill a year

of my life with something mean-

ingful before dental school. 6)

Commitment. 7) A long drive

with Brother Bill Harden!

What is a new fact you

learned about Pi Kappa Phi

since becoming a LC?

N: I learned that Randolph Hall

in Charleston is the same build-

ing from the movie The Patriot,

specifically the scene where

Heath Ledger enlists.

T: The Alpha Xi chapter was

assimilated from a local frater-

nity. That group of men was the

only group to be initiated as a

group.

What is something you wish you

could tell a PNM about Pi Kapp

during Rush Week in the spring?

N: When considering joining a

fraternity there is bound to be

some hesitation. It is easy to live

in your comfort zone, but think

of everything you have to gain.

T: The same thing I told most of

you. Pi Kappa Phi is a well-

balanced organization with an

emphasis on leadership, service,

and social; a balance that will

change your life.

What will you remember most

about being a PKP LC?

N: The people, without a doubt.

rep for all PKP undergrads in the

entire country,” said Corwin.

“It’s amazing to think that.”

Two months into the jour-

ney, Corwin attended his first

National Council meeting in

Charlotte. He sat in on several

closed-door meetings for just

the nine National Council mem-

bers in which top level business

of the fraternity was discussed.

In September, Theta Xi

Archon Robert Corwin was

named Chair of the Council of

Archons and the Student Repre-

sentative on the National Coun-

cil of Pi Kappa Phi.

Corwin received an unex-

pected call one afternoon and

on the line was National CEO

Mark Timmes (AE-Florida).

Timmes called to tell Corwin he

was chosen for nominee for the

position, and pending his accep-

tance, he name would be taken

to the National Council for ap-

proval.

Surprised by the call,

Corwin accepted the position.

Timmes warned that the posi-

tion would be a tough and chal-

lenging experience, and he’d

need to be ready to stand up and

speak his mind.

“The position is to be the

Inside this issue:

Alumni Spotlight: Nick

Brady and Tyler Quinn

1

Corwin serves on the

National Council

1

Letter from the Archon

and the new Execs

2

Family Weekend

and War of the Roses

3

Pi Kappa Phi around

Arizona State

4

Accessibility Project and

Miss Push America

5

Remember when… 6

Theta Xi Herald

By: Brent Alex

Theta Xi Alum and LC’s Nick Brady (L) and Tyler Quinn (R) get in a quick

hike up Camelback Mountain in October before it’s back on the road.

Thanks for the Memories

Fall 09 grads pose at White

Diamond Ball. From left to

right, Greg Lindsey, Corey

Hinkel, Robert Corwin, and

Parker Young

LC, Cont. never dictate. 3) Just let the

chapter talk and the consultant

should simply listen and provide

appropriate feedback.

What’s next for you?

N: I will be heading home to San

Francisco. I am going on five

years away from home and it is

time to go back. I will miss Ari-

zona, but I know plenty of my

brothers from Theta Xi will visit

the bay soon enough! I am so

proud of our chapter. In 2006 I

could not have imagined that

Theta Xi would become what it

is. With that, do not become

complacent. Continue to recruit

men that are better than you and

treat others with respect. Do

not wait for somebody else to

lead the way, pick up a project

and make it happen

T: I am currently in the applica-

tion process for dental school. If

that does not work out, we will

see what life brings.

What is the best way to be-

come a LC?

N: If you want to become a LC,

the best advice I could give you

is to speak with people involved

in Greek Life. You can always

give me a shout and you know I

will give you my honest advice.

T: 1) Speak with your LC, Justin,

and express interest. He will

outline the process. 2) Speak

with those who have been LCs

and ask them pointed questions

about the job; ask for straight

and honest answers. 3) Make the

decision on your own.

What is one chapter you want

to work with but haven’t got-

ten the chance to?

N: THETA XI! That should be

obvious!

T: Alpha Chi - Miami

What have you learned about

yourself that you didn’t know

before becoming a LC?

N: I did not know how much I

enjoy traveling. There are so

many people to meet, places to

see, foods to eat, it is ridiculous.

The only drawback to traveling,

is the lack of exercise time.

T: I always thought I wanted to

move out of Arizona, but the

more I am away I realize how

great living in Arizona is.

How can a LC best influence a

chapter of Pi Kappa Phi?

N: Being an LC is not about

influencing a chapter, but rather

influencing the individuals who

lead the chapter. We can moti-

vate, consult, and set goals all

day, but at the end of the day,

the LC leaves. The day to day

decisions are up to the chapter

and the men who lead it.

T: 1) Build relationships with the

students like you would with

friends. 2) Suggest ideas and

Page 2 Theta Xi Herald

2010 Executive Council

Archon

Brice Kohara (808) 937-5456

Vice Archon—Internal

Brian Smith (909) 649-5146

Vice Archon—External

Alex Kirk (480) 452-5919

Treasurer

Sam Michalove (262) 903-9225

Secretary

Joey Denoncourt (315) 323-0459

Warden

Matt Glynn (480) 495-4104

Historian

David Jude (512) 587-5259

Chaplain

Kyle Buscho (602) 373-4980

Push America

Ben Smith (602) 214-1745

These last four

years have been the best of

my life and I have you all to

thank for that. Pi Kappa Phi

has given so much to me and

I have been honored to

serve you.

As the Archon of

the Theta Xi chapter of Pi

Kappa Phi there are certain

pressures that come with

the position. To lead a chap-

ter that truly strives to be

the ideal chapter is not easy,

but it is extremely reward-

ing. I have shared a great

deal of memories with the

men of this fraternity and I

will cherish those memories

forever. I have enjoyed get-

ting to know these men and

having the privilege to call

them Brothers.

Now I leave this

chapter as an undergraduate

and transition into my con-

tinued role as an alumnus,

and I challenge the men of

this chapter to continue to

be lights on this campus and

community.

Strive to be the

best and redefine fraternity.

Strive to make the founders

of our Brotherhood proud.

It will not be easy to do the

hard thing- the right thing,

but I promise, it will be

worth it. I would like to also

thank God, my family and

Kristi for giving me the

strength to always do the

right thing and to stand by

my beliefs. May God con-

tinue to bless Pi Kappa Phi.

By the Star and Lamp,

Robert Corwin

Archon

Theta Xi – 4

Letter from

the 2009

Archon:

Get to know the Grand Canyon Region!

-Theta Xi (ASU), Beta Theta (UofA), Eta Omega (New Mexico State),

Theta Upsilon (NAU) , and the Associate Chapter at Embory Riddle

Welcome to the Epsilon Class:

-Drew Richardson -Alex Kirk

-Ben Smith -Spencer Heintz

-Will Aja -Andrew McNichol

-Kent Rinker -Mark Ashjian

-Kevin Quinn -Matt Abbott

-Wayne Unger -Rich Bruckner

-Bret Laskey -Will Schutz

-Cylee Gutting -Will Greene

-Justin Salerno -Mario de Leon

-DJ Bruner -Alex Houston

-George Garcia

Chapter celebrates largest Family Weekend ever

War of the Roses 2009: a collage of memories

In October, Pi Kapp

hosted two huge events to

honor our families during ASU’s

Family Weekend. For the Friday

night event, we hosted a BBQ

dinner at Brother Kenny Mende-

zona’s uncle’s home in Scotts-

dale. His uncle, Bobby Barnes,

was gracious enough to offer up

his gorgeous home, food, and

drink all at no cost to our chap-

ter saving Pi Kapp thousands of

dollars.

Over 80 people at-

tended and socialized with fellow

brothers and families. A short

speaking program included Ar-

chon Robert Corwin, Historian

Brent Alex, Chapter Advisor

Kim Novak, and Push America

summer team members George

Stahle, Trevor Mernitz, and Cole

Atwell. After the speakers,

Brothers gave gifts of roses to

the moms and cigars to the dads

as a special thanks for coming.

The following day, Pi

Kapp hosted our annual pregame

football tailgate with the ladies of

Alpha Phi and their families.

Over 175 people attended the

tailgate which was held directly

outside Sun Devil Stadium in

Tempe. Even though it was 90+

degrees out, everyone enjoyed

the catering from Macayo’s

Mexican Restaurant and tailgate

games in the lot before the Sun

Devils’ game against University

of Washington.

Both days were a huge

success thanks to all the broth-

ers who worked hard to make

families feel welcomed to ASU.

Page 3 Volume 3, Issue 1

By: Joey Denoncourt

Finishing the Family Weekend Tailgate set-up at Lot 59 North

“I don't care how poor a man

is; if he has family, he's rich.”

- Unknown

Sorority Relations: One Brother’s road to

becoming a sweetheart

ASU chooses two Pi Kapps for Homecoming Court

tournament, dueling pianos night,

campus movie fest, Bald for

Bucks, and Lantern Walk.

On the Saturday, both rode

in the parade. Matt was driven in

a Mustang convertible, and Brent

and the queen rode in a horse-

drawn carriage. After, both were

announced in front of 60,000+

during the halftime show of the

ASU football game.

Congrats Brent and Matt for

this huge honor and representing

Pi Kapp well!

Our chapter was honored to

have two Brothers nominated

and put on the ASU Homecom-

ing Court for the first time in

our chapter’s history. Brent Alex

was crowned Homecoming King,

and Matt Brinkmoeller was on

Homecoming Court.

Over 110 men got nomi-

nated and turned in applications

to ASU’s Programming and Ac-

tivities Board (PAB) who coordi-

nated Homecoming. Out of 120,

only 10 men got interviews. The

interviews were held with a six-

person panel which represented

ASU colleges and administration.

Interviewers looked for campus

and community involvement,

leadership, and a positive atti-

tude toward ASU. Of the 10

interviewees, four were named

to Court and one to King. At the

Coronation, Brother Brendan

O’Kelly, USG President, an-

nounced the Court making it an

all-around Pi Kapp event!

Through Homecoming, Brent

and Matt participated in every

event including the Dodge ball

Page 4 Theta Xi Herald

Brent Alex (L) and Matt

Brinkmoeller (R) represented Pi

Kappa Phi at each event during the

week-long celebration of ASU’s

Homecoming in October.

By: Greg Lindsay

Parker and several ladies of Alpha Phi at their Red Dress Gala

By: Parker Young

My relationship with Alpha Phi started with Gillian

Coffinger, before she was voted as our rose. Gillian and I met

through the Alpha Phi philanthropy, and we became very

good friends. She introduced me to her sisters at any chance

she had.

Over the spring semester, I continued to meet more

Alpha Phi’s and talk with them about their sorority and the

fact that they didn't have a sweetheart. I went on vacation

with a group of them down to Mexico

and continued to socialize and hang out

with them in Greek Life and other

events. By the end of spring semester, I

was great friends with a majority of

them, and spent countless hours help-

ing their organization in any way I

could.

In October, I was thrilled when Pi

Kapp participated in a Halloween event

for kids with disabilities because I had

the chance to bring my Alpha Phi

friends and let them see the service our

chapter does. The ladies had a great

time interacting at the Special Olympics

event, and the event built stronger

relations between our chapters.

When Alpha Phi decided to create

a sweetheart position this semester, I

knew I wanted it. I stood up in front of

all the girls, nervously, and delivered my

speech. I think that they really saw my

excitement, and I ended up winning the title

of Mr. Ivy through an overwhelming major-

ity from their chapter.

During my acceptance speech, I

handed out ivy leaves to all the girls with

different things I would do for them includ-

ing going to lunch, being study buddy, or a

handyman, etc. The girls love the leaves,

and many have used them.

Mr. Ivy is supposed to be someone

who will always be there to help the soror-

ity: I am the head coach of all their intramu-

ral teams, and the MC for their large fall

fundraiser, the Red Dress Gala. I’m also

invited to all of their social events including

formals! Overall, I’m proud to be able to

represent Pi Kappa Phi with the ladies of

Alpha Phi. I think I’m extraordinarily lucky

to be able to have this title. This is an

honor I hope our brothers will receive this

honor in the future from Alpha Phi or an-

other sorority on campus!

Corwin, Cont. nationally.

In 2010, Corwin will be

attending Mid-Year and Supreme

Chapter representing the na-

tional fraternity as he starts to

represent Theta Xi as an alum.

Specifically, at Supreme Chapter,

Robert will have the honor to sit

at the front of the National

Council meeting amongst the

group and continue to fulfill his

role as the top Pi Kapp student

in the nation. Congrats Robert

on your success!

“Intense is an understate-

ment,” said Corwin. “I was privi-

leged enough to speak for every

undergrad on topics that many

are even aware of.”

Corwin also worked on the

budget for the national frater-

nity, including national member-

ship fees, and a potential new

member education program

Corwin (R) and Wayne Unger hang out at War of the Roses

Theta Xi’s first Accessibility Project

in Phoenix is a success

Chapter hosts inaugural Miss Push America Ambassadorial Contest

with friends, family, and ASU

sorority women watched as the

wheelchair ramp got its first use

by its proud new owner. Thanks

to the sorority women watched

as the wheelchair ramp got its

first use by its proud new owner.

Thanks to the help from ABIL’s

staff and the contractors along

with news coverage from CBS-

On Thursday Novem-

ber 12th the men of the Theta Xi

chapter began their first con-

struction project to build an

accessible wheelchair ramp for a

gentleman living with cerebral

palsy in Phoenix. Moe Abdalla,

the chapter Push America chair

was able to partner the chapter

with ABIL, an organization that

seeks out citizens in need of

such structures and amenities

like these and helps to supply the

funding and building supplies

required to build them. Pi Kappa

Phi brought forth close to

$1,300 and the manpower over

a span of three days to see the

project get done.

The men began on

Thursday morning bright and

early painting, cutting, and prep-

ping the lumber off site so it

could be hastily installed the

next day. After that was all set

and ready, the concrete work

began. A pathway with a slight

incline was dug out, and 23 feet

of concrete was poured and left

to set with “ΠΚΦ” carved care-

fully at the beginning of the walk-

way. The following day was the

installation and final touches.

With the help of local Phoenix

contractors the men of Pi Kappa

phi screwed, bolted, sawed and

sweat their way through the

morning into the afternoon until

the plans on paper turned

quickly into a real life structure.

A bit of final touches with sand-

ing, paint, and an obligatory pizza

break finalized all the hard work

and planning that went into this

amazing event an obligatory

pizza break finalized all the hard

work and planning that went into

this amazing event. To call Saturday a

special day for all Pi Kapps would

be an understatement. A group

of 40 men wearing Pi Kappa Phi

letters across their chest along

In January 2009, Push Chair

Moe Abdalla brainstormed ideas

to get the community interested

in Push America. The goal was

to engage ASU Greek Life with a

project that all chapters could

embrace and truly want to sup-

port Push America. From that,

the Miss Push America Ambassa-

dorial Competition was born.

Miss Push started with a

committee that selected sorority

women for the event based on

applications. After the contend-

ers were selected, there were

talent rehearsals, dance prac-

tices, and more interviews.

On the night of the event,

the contestants and committee

arrived at 5:00 p.m. and the

event began at 7:00. The back-

stage was bustling as 12 ladies

prepared their speeches, outfits,

and talents. In the dressing

room, the backstage coordinator

choreographed the logistics.

Special guest judges were promi-

nent females from the commu-

nity included an ASU Vice-

President, Miss Arizona 2008,

and Chapter Advisor Kim No-

vak. On stage, the hosts guided

the evening that concluded with

the audience vote and crowing

of Miss Push America. Victoria

Sharpe was awarded the title of

Miss Push America 2009. Since

then, Victoria and her sorority

have worked with Push America

in the ASU community.

At Pi Kapp College this past

summer, Theta Xi won the Inno-

vator’s Award for the creativity

of the Miss Push America con-

test. In less than a year, the idea

of Miss Push America has be-

come a cornerstone of the chap-

ter’s commitment to Push Amer-

ica, and plans are already under-

way for Miss Push 2010!

Page 5 Volume 3, Issue 1

Channel 5 from Phoenix and the

men of Pi Kappa Phi were proud

to have taken part in such a

tremendous event. A special

thank you to

all those who

participated!

By: Bill Harden

The ramp builders pose for a photo after completing the pro-

ject. Builders included Brian Smith, M. Abdalla, B. Kehoe, B.

Harden, K. Buscho, A. Houston, K. Rinker, and Ben Smith.

By: Brent Alex The Miss Push contestants prac-ticed their group dance in the Adel-phi I cluster. The competition was between 12 soror-ity women from nine different houses.

The contestants lined up for the crow-ing of Miss Push America. During the voting, they picked a Miss Congeniality who was also crowned with a tiara and sash. Each con-testant was given a rose.

Theta Xi Find us at:

Email: asupikappaphi@gmail.com

Youtube: PiKappaPhiASU

Look for a new

Theta Xi website

in Spring 2010!

Arizona State University

Remember When: As the saying goes, “All good things come to an end.” Theta Xi has

said good-bye to many Founding Fathers since Founder’s Day 08 (L). At Founder’s Day

09 (R), many new faces celebrated 12/10/1904 and the continued PKP legacy at ASU.

The Bridge Builder

An old man, going a lone highway, Came at the evening cold and gray,

To a chasm, vast and deep and wide, Through which was flowing a sullen tide. The old man crossed in the twilight dim- That sullen stream had no fears for him;

But he turned, when he reached the other side, And built a bridge to span the tide.

"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim near,

"You are wasting strength in building here. Your journey will end with the ending day;

You never again must pass this way. You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide, Why build you the bridge at the eventide?"

The builder lifted his old gray head.

"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said, "There followeth after me today

A youth whose feet must pass this way. This chasm that has been naught to me

To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be. He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;

Good friend, I am building the bridge for him."

-WILL ALLEN DROMGOOLE