Pi Kappa Alpha - University of Texas

INSIDE: Welcome, New Members • 2-3 Alumnus Spotlight • 3-4 Thank You, Loyal Brothers • 6 Alumni Update • 7 PI KAPPA ALPHA • UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS • FALL 2015 Beta Mu Review the BETA MU CHAPTER FULLY ENGAGED IN AN ACTIVE FALL 2015 SEMESTER T he fall semester is underway and Beta Mu Chapter is fully engaged with a new member class of 27 men, a busy philanthropic calendar and an action-packed social agenda featuring the traditional Swamp party, football tailgates and parent and alumni weekends. A SUCCESSFUL RUSH The lifeblood of the fraternity is rush, and thanks to well-executed summer rush plans, a solid pledge class of young men from across Texas and the country chose Pike. The new members are introduced more fully in this issue of The Beta Mu Review. A big thanks to rush co-chairmen, Colby Lewis '12, Ryan Merkley '13, J.D. Swancoat '12 and Ryan Thompson '13, who were joined by Houston rush captains, Eric Cruz '14, Kris Kubin '14 and Justin Smith '14. Favored Pike rush outings included Top Golf, lake trips, river float trips and Astros and Rangers games. MAINTAINING HIGH ACADEMICS Pike continues to perform well academically and will maintain high standards in the semester ahead. The spring 2015 semester fraternity grades released by the Dean of Students placed Pikes' overall GPA average at 3.2, ranking sixth of the 27 IFC fraternities. The Pike spring 2015 pledge class placed fourth in GPA of the 21 fraternities with spring pledges. AWARDS FOR BETA MU The chapter received a number of prestigious awards at The Academy, a national Pike leadership meeting held in August in Memphis. It is affirming to know that Beta Mu Chapter is operating at the highest levels of fraternity excellence as measured by our national leadership. UPCOMING EVENTS Pike Parents Weekend was September 25-27, and alumni are encouraged to visit Austin during fall Alumni Weekend on October 23-25. And, of course, Pike families, alumni and friends are welcome to join the chapter at all home football tailgates at the usual spot in the parking lot bordered by MLK Boulevard (19th Street) and North Congress Avenue, just east of the Bullock State History Museum. THANK YOU, ALUMNI The chapter is grateful for alumni support in rush efforts this summer, an informative energy sector career advisory session led by three Houston alumni in August, and the modernized and re-launched TexasPikes.com website, which is funded and maintained by The Alumni Fund. The refreshed website, along with Twitter and Facebook management, is fantastic and helps share Pike successes with students, families and alumni. B eta Mu Chapter received a number of awards at The Academy, the bi-annual leadership conference for Pike undergraduates held August 1-3 in Memphis. For the second successive year, Beta Mu received the Raymond L. Orians Chapter Excellence Award. This is the second- highest level awarded in Pike national's evaluation of all 220 chapters. The Orians Award is given to only 20 chapters. The men also received the Scholarship Award (for all-chapter GPA average over 3.0), the 100 Man Chapter Award, the Rush Recruitment Award, and an award for commitment to Pike University. The Beta Mu Alumni Advisory Board was also selected for the second year running as one of the top 20 operating boards in the fraternity. Beta Mu External Vice President J.D. Swancoat '12 led the Beta Mu delegation to Memphis. J.D. said, "It's terrific to receive recognition for our efforts ranging from scholarship to rush excellence to financial responsibility. This year I was joined by three younger, future chapter leaders who were exposed to other Pike chapters and learned best practices from our national fraternity staff. We are grateful to The Alumni Fund for providing a travel stipend for Beta Mu undergraduates to attend Pike University leadership conferences and gain additional perspective on the larger fraternity." Texas Pikes visited Pi Kappa Alpha Memorial Headquarters in Memphis during The Academy: Deryk Camazine '14, sophomore from Henderson, Texas; Kris Kubin '14, sophomore, Houston; J.D. Swancoat '12, senior, Tustin, Calif.; and Brad Swanson '14, sophomore, Dallas. Beta Mu Chapter earned a number of awards at The Academy in August in Memphis. Beta Mu's High Performance Recognized by National Fraternity

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