Alpha Gamma Rho - Penn State University

2 Gamma Crescent G rowing up in upper-central bucks county was the perfect environment to match where Gamma Chapter finds itself culturally today. Buckingham, Pennsylvania, finds itself nestled between the state's great farmland and the fast-paced life of Philadelphia. There, I was able to find love for both ways of life, and I love to see Gamma Chapter benefitting from that same perspective. I came to Penn State in the summer of 2015, and that semester I was lucky enough to get an early taste of state college life as well as ΑΓΡ, because the house had been kept open for the summer. I knew after one July night in Great Hall that I had found a group of like-minded people, with whom I would find my footing in young adulthood. As you all know well, time spent at 322 Fraternity Row passes much faster than it did back home with mom and dad. Before I knew it, I was standing at the last fire again, and this time I wasn't throwing anything in it. In the four years I spent as a brother of ΑΓΡ, what stands out the most is how much everyone changed together in that house. We learned how to become better men, both to each other and to our community. We also put together an encyclopedia of stories that all seem to start with, "I remember when…." Nowadays, you can find me working my tail off as a young CPA on the audit side, but when my eyes aren't glued to a balance sheet, they're looking for the next getaway back into the great outdoors. As for what's next… well, that's the great question facing every man in his mid-20s. Please consider adding me on LinkedIn if you'd like. Fraternally, Rob McLaren '15 (Γ1701) robert.s.mclaren@gmail.com (267) 997-5876 Rob McLaren '15 Shares What He Learned from (and Brought to) Gamma Chapter E ntering a new year with a new executive board, Gamma Chapter has stayed strong and full of excitement. With everyone being more accustomed to the abnormalities of a virtual semester, brothers adapted to the pandemic and still managed to go above and beyond. This year, we had the privilege of welcoming a third THON child into our THON family. Even with a virtual THON, with dancers in apartments watching the livestream, we still broke our chapter record with our partnered sorority, Phi Sigma Sigma, by raising $108,047 and placing ninth among all Greek organizations! An extra reward for the brothers raising over $100,000 for the second year in a row was to bring back an old tradition: I agreed to be poled if we achieved this goal. Despite recruitment being virtual and pushed back almost a full month, we still had great success in welcoming a class of 24 enthusiastic new members into our brotherhood. Once again, our brotherhood had an outstanding academic semester last fall, with a chapter GPA of 3.5 and 55 brothers on the Dean's List. As a junior and Noble Ruler for my third semester, I have seen so much progress and improvement in all aspects of our fraternity. I would like to say that since I have been a part of Alpha Gamma Rho these past three years, brotherhood accountability has been at an all-time high this semester. The chapter house remains in great shape with more emphasis on respecting it, as well as more brothers holding each other responsible—not just the execs. With all brothers understanding the reality of the many difficulties that all of Greek life has been facing, as well as the additional issues brought about by COVID-19, both financially and socially, Gamma Chapter recognizes that now, more than ever, we have to stick together, support each other, and focus on what we can control while celebrating the positives. Fraternally, Patrick Fitzsimmons '19 (Γ1817) Noble Ruler patrickfitz26@gmail.com | (862) 268-0938 Gamma SprinGS toward SuCCeSS Chapter Breaks Record in THON Fundraising A s everyone is aware, COVID-19 has severely affected recruitment. It had to be done through Zoom like last semester, which was a great challenge. The difference this semester was having many more potential new members. With the help of all brothers—especially my recruitment committee, composed of Ryan Ackerman '20, Nick Galulo '20, Nick Whitman '20, and Andrew DiSanto '20—we successfully ran a recruitment process that allowed all the brothers to meet the potential new members (PNMs) in the best way possible. On "Zone Day," about 260 people showed up to our Zoom. Thankfully, we had a plan to make it as smooth as possible. I created five different breakout rooms that had about three active brothers with the PNMs at all times. Nick Whitman, other brothers, and I were in the main Zoom room talking to the recruits as they filtered in, as well as getting their information through a Google doc. Once we talked to them in the main room, we sent them to breakout rooms to talk to different brothers. Overall, Zone Day was the most hectic event out of all them. We managed to filter the recruits to about 150. We then held different activities through Zoom, such as trivia and other online games. As we reached the end of the recruitment process, we narrowed it down 34 PNMs and had 24 to accept their bids. Fraternally, Jack Fascowich (Γ1845) VNR Recruitment RECRUITMENT REPORT

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