Alpha Gamma Rho - Penn State University

4 TAU TIMES TAU TIMES Staying Poised Staying Poised for Progress for Progress NOBLE RULER ARMEND BERISHA '23 (Γ1947) I am a third-year mechanical engineering major from Pittstown, New Jersey. As I'm nearing the end of my term as noble ruler, I reflect on the last year and the work my executive board and I have put into reforming and rebuilding the house. It's now a full year from the chaos of suspension to brotherhood reviews and member expulsions at the end of last fall. And though the chapter looks slightly different now than it did then, I'm confident in the group of people we have here and that our new spring leadership will continue with the foundation we have laid. We have finished all our Plaid sessions, and I cannot thank Chris Woods and the rest of the people involved in our program enough. I truly believe it left the chapter with a better understanding of how we work together and can function at our best within an organization. As far as the rest of the semester, we have slowly returned to hosting different events from our various philanthropic efforts, like our THON barbecue, to a Dad's Day, where we welcomed the fathers of our brothers to watch football and enjoy each other's company. All in all, we've worked hard to find different ways to have social activities and get involved that fall in line with the rules listed in our AGR HQ's action plan. Looking ahead to the rest of the semester and into the new year, I'm excited to put in the time and effort to prepare the next group of brothers running Gamma Chapter. It's certainly a lot of work but has been extremely rewarding, and I am confident in the group of men that are getting ready to take on these roles. This past year and the people who have been putting in the work alongside me have truly made me a better person, and it has been an honor serving as noble ruler for Gamma Chapter. foCuSinG on aCaDemiC SuCCeSS VNR Scholarship Dylan Cornett '22 (Γ1927) I am a senior majoring in geobiology. This year, I served as the VNR scholarship and have actively changed the academic culture of our house. By subtly encouraging my fellow brothers, I have created a space where young men are comfortable sharing their academic endeavors for praise or help. My first semester, I successfully improved house study areas to prepare for this academic year. This semester, I boosted our house GPA and met frequently with our newest members to tutor, discuss scheduling, and develop professional skills like résumé writing. Overall, my time on the executive board has been a time of steady improvement to the culture of Gamma Chapter. Maintaining Our Home VNR Maintenance and Operations John Myers '23 (Γ1951) T hroughout the past year, my goal has been to encourage members to respect and maintain our house and property. I aim to create an environment where members spend time cleaning the house so it meet the standards of our chapter or encouraging members to find ways to get together and improve spaces such as renovating the volleyball court, cleaning up Rhomate, and turning the attic into a study area so these spaces can once again be used. Through the Plaid training, we have been able to educate our members on what National's standards of excellence are for our chapter house. Communicating this to members has instilled a sense of responsibility within our chapter, and we have found new ways to be able to hold our members accountable. This year, after completing projects and minimizing damage to the house, we are on pace to halve repair expenses, which will help improve our budget for the future executive board. These goals are just the start. I want to continue improving the culture of the house and leave it in good shape for the next executive board so they can continue to build on the culture we have started to establish. Utilizing AGR Resources VNR ALUMNI RELATIONS BRENDEN BATTAVIO '23 (Γ1938) I am a junior studying labor and human resources. This fall, we have been finishing up what we consider a "rebuilding phase," where we have worked closely with alumni and Nationals because of our conduct case last year. As we have finished up our internal programs, we have learned what our goals are as an organization and how we can best utilize our resources, like our alumni network, to best succeed as a chapter. As an executive board, we are very proud of our progress since the beginning of our term and are just as excited to finish the time we have left on a high note so we can make a smooth transition to Gamma Chapter's next group of leaders.

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