highlights

Success at Cortland

by Matthew e. Muzza, Cortland ’08

On April 9, 2005, twenty-one young men made the half-hour trip from Cortland to Syracuse in Central New York with no idea of what they were about to encounter. Waiting in the lobby for what seemed like days, the group was comprised of mostly baby-faced freshmen with sweaty palms. This was the night they were to become Founding Fathers in the fraternity of a lifetime, Delta Chi. That night in Syracuse will never be forgotten by any of the newly initiated Cortland Colony brothers.

However, it was another night, just over two years later on April 21, 2007, that the same group of men, this time over fifty strong, made another half-hour drive to Syracuse that will truly go down in Colony history. This time however, the group had become a bit older and wiser; they were grown men; their suit coats were filled out; they walked with confidence and looked the “CC” and “DD” square in the eyes while giving them firmgripped handshakes; this was the night that the hard work had paid off. This was the night of their chartering banquet and the night they became a Chapter in high fashion. They shared the night with Ratheen Damle, “CC”; Tom Horowitz, “DD”; Duane Meyer, Regent (VII); Greg Hauser, past “AA” and former President of the NIC; David Weber, ABT President of Cornell; and Mike Tumolo, Vice-Regent (VII).

The banquet was great, one of the best nights of the brothers’ lives, but a funny thing happened the next morning; the new Chapter was not satisfied. The members were not complacent. Although a Charter Proclamation rested on the mantle and the Region VII Chapter of the Year award was on their table, it wasn’t good enough. There was still a drive to win an Award of Excellence and bring home a Buff division President’s Cup. The Chapter wants to raise more money for The V Foundation and spend more time doing community service. The members want to get alumni initiates. There are more ways to reach out to their alumni and improve the campus presence. The Chapter wants to have the best Alumni Board of Trustees around and to host a Regional Leadership Conference. That was a year ago, and now twelve months later there is more success. Since the chartering banquet, the Chapter moved into an eighteenperson chapter house and is proudly displaying the fraternity letters out front. Members have raised over $1,300 for The V Foundation and hosted the 2008 Region VII Regional Leadership Conference. Cortland brothers held both the President and VicePresident positions of the Cortland Inter-Greek Council and participated in a Crop Walk, a Halloween Fest, Cortland’s local Pumpkin Fest, and Relay for Life. Brothers won the Dragon Olympics at Homecoming and have established a new website (www.deltachicortland.com). Two brothers attended the Leadership College last summer and brought home many awards including: Outstanding Alumni Newsletter, Outstanding Campus Leadership, Outstanding Community Service Program, “E” Key Award – Matt Muzza ’08, Marge Lee “C” Award – David Bernacki ’08, and the Delta Chi Humanitarian Award – Ed Reiser ’09.

The young Chapter has also redeveloped its Alumni Board of Trustees, asking Mike Tumolo, current Vice-Regent, to sit as ABT President and David Weber, current Vice-Regent, to serve as well. Behind the leadership of Tumolo, the ABT has started the “Campaign for Cortland,” a $10,000 fundraising goal to be used through the Chapter Scholarship Account under the Delta Chi Educational Foundation. Scholarships will be given out to the undergraduate members at the discretion of the ABT to offset the costs of tuition, room and board and/or textbooks. To prove his sincerity and dedication to this project, ABT President Tumolo has personally pledged $2,500 to the “Campaign for Cortland.”

“These fine undergraduates make us all proud in so many ways. In two and one half years, the Brothers of Cortland have become a model for fraternity life on campus and continue to set the bar high. In short they have become a beacon of light for Delta Chi here in Upstate New York,” Tumolo recently said.

Through the recent success of the Chapter and the latest involvement of the Educational Foundation for our fundraising goal, the Chapter has received quite a bit of attention from some high-profile members of the Fraternity. During the fall semester brothers received visits to the chapter house from Steve Bossart, “AA”; Tom Horowitz, “DD”; Karl Grindel, Assistant Executive

Director; Fred Hammert, President of the Delta Chi Educational Foundation, past “AA”, past “CC” and Order of the White Carnation; Patrick Weber, Secretary of the Educational Foundation; and Mike Carroll, member of the Educational Foundation, past “AA”, past “CC”, past “DD” and Order of the White Carnation.

Not only did these dedicated men of Delta Chi stop by the small town of Cortland, but they also had great things to say about the Chapter and its new house. “We were all impressed with the pride they take in their house and their Chapter. Nothing is taken for granted; you worked hard for what you have accomplished and you have a right to be proud. What a great environment for young men to learn to accept responsibility,” said Carroll. Educational Foundation President Fred Hammert also extended the chapter praise, saying, “We were all very impressed with the chapter and the quality of its members and the chapter’s commitment to excellence.”

In conclusion, it was “AA” Steve Bossart who said it best of the fraternity men of Cortland, “You all should be proud of the presence you now have on the Cortland campus. The house is beautiful, and you all make Delta Chi proud. Please keep up the good work.” And that is just what the Delta Chi Chapter at Cortland will continue to do.

CorpuS ChriSti brother naMed national Collegiate honorS CounCil

2007 honorS Studentof theyear

The National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) selected Newman Chun-Wai Wong, a Founding Father of the Corpus Christi Colony, as Honors Student of the Year for 2007. In addition to his volunteer work, academic achievement, and leadership qualities, Newman was recognized for his contributions to the Honors Program at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC).

Newman is originally from Hong Kong, a former British colony and now a special administrative region of China. Influenced by both the Chinese and Western cultures, he is fluent in both English and Mandarin Chinese, other than his native tongue of Cantonese. Prior to pursuing his education in the United States, he developed a strong sense of service and achieved the Bronze Standard of Hong Kong Award for Young People in 2002.

Four and one half years ago, Newman attended high school as an exchange student in Harlingen, Texas. He was introduced to the Latino culture for the first time. At the same time, he was exposed to sociology. Fascinated by the perspectives offered by sociology, he chose it as his college major.

He moved to Corpus Christi after his first semester of high school. After graduating from Flour Bluff High School, he attended Del Mar College and worked as a peer tutor for the TRIO Program, in which he assisted first generation, low-income students in achieving their academic goals. In 2006, he received the Outstanding Sociology Student Award and graduated from the Honors Program with an Associate’s degree.

Continuing his studies at TAMUCC, Newman had the opportunity to get involved in research. He presented his papers at the annual conferences of the National Association of African American Studies and the National Association of Hispanic and Latino Studies. As a senior, his recent research studies the cultural climate at TAMUCC with student and faculty surveys. He is a member of Alpha Kappa Delta International Sociology Honor Society, Golden Key International Honor Society, and Alumni Association of Phi Theta Kappa, international honor society for junior colleges.

Newman is a recipient of numerous scholarships, including the Salvation Army/Cain Endowment Scholarship, Phi Theta Kappa Alumni, Kennedy Memorial, and Mano-A-Mano from the Corpus Christi Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He recalled his interview with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as an unforgettable experience. Newman honestly shared his feeling toward the community and told the scholarship committee that he loved Mexican food. He found Corpus Christi to be identical to his homeland, Hong Kong, which is by the ocean.

Besides receiving scholarships, Newman serves the community in different ways. Last year, he volunteered over 100 hours at Metro Ministries, a local non-profit organization, helping the poor and homeless. Helping in the cafeteria, shelter, and office, Newman was blessed to speak with the “unforgotten” group. He also volunteered with the American Heart Association and the Coastal Bend AIDS Foundation. Newman has also been invited to speak about diversity at various community events, such as the Del Mar College Annual Unity March and “the Diversity Panel” for Leadership Corpus Christi by the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce.

Last summer, Newman volunteered as a counselor for the National Student Leadership Congress by the Council for Opportunity in Education in Washington, D.C. He had the opportunity to interact with high school participants of TRIO Upward Bound/Talent Search Programs, federal grant programs helping first generation, low-income students get into college. He facilitated mock congress sessions and commuted with the student delegates around D.C. As a positive influence, he encouraged the students to actively pursue higher education. Some students and fellow counselors said that Newman could become a professional comedian, because he is friendly and has a great sense of humor.

On campus, Newman is involved with various organizations. He is a Senator for the College of Liberal Arts in Student Government, Student Representative to the Honors Council, President of Phi Theta Kappa Alumni Association, and founder of the South and East Asian Student Association. As an honors student, he established the peermentoring program to help new honors students have better academic transitions from high school to college and get involved in the Honors Program. Dr. Jan Haswell, TAMUCC Honors Program Director, described Newman as “one of our most accomplished and active honors students” and nominated him for Honors Student of the Year for 2007.

In fall 2007, Newman joined the Corpus Christi Colony, as he explained, “I don’t have any biological brothers, and I want to experience brotherhood.” Not long before initiation, Leadership Consultant Matt Presti expressed to Newman that he received a great award, while he (Newman) had no clue about it. Newman tried to verify the award with the Honors Program Director and found out that he was recognized as the Honors Student of the Year. Newman would like to thank Dr. Kenneth J. Sousa, the alumnus who brought up the news to headquarters, as he claimed, “I might never know about the award if I did not hear it from Delta Chi.” Currently, Newman is serving as Scholarship Committee Chair in the Colony.

After graduation with a B.A. this May, Newman will attend graduate school to further his studies in sociology. His goals are to become a sociology professor and ultimately work in the administration of the United Nations.

Newman working with students at the high school mock congress in Washington, D.C.