Alumni Newsletter - January 2015

ALPHA PHI OMEGA | RHO PI

ALUMNI newsletter

A RECAP OF FALL 2014 + ALPHA UPSILON PLEDGE CLASS january 2015

*A NOTE FROM ALUMNI SEC As the new year and new quarter approaches, it is always a good idea to reflect upon recent experiences. This fall quarter, the chapter has spent a lot of time working towards continuing with what works and enhancing what can be better. From expanding Operation Santa to increasing our chapter's presence at IC events, to our sponsorship for our International Child, our involvement has improved across the board. Moving into 2015, we have some exciting new projects including creating WAPI,s, water-pasteurization devices that we will assemble to send abroad to developing countries. I hope you're all as excited as I am to see all the positive change that our chapter is involved in. So if any one of you ever needs to shoot me a question or suggestion, don't hesitate to message me. Best wishes for 2015!

Ciao, Jessica Lo

Photo on cover: Alpha Delta Formals, Kingsley Ramos Photography

*Winter Recruitment 2015 It's always an exciting time when our chapter recruits new members. From eating to giving back, the events these next two weeks will be full of fun and memories. As always, Alumni are welcome to attend, so mark your calendars!

Images by Publicity Chair, Wendy Huang

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*Service Recap During our impressive 2,600 hours of service from fall quarter, we've done a lot.

From feeding the homeless to tutoring underprivileged children, it's been really easy to have fun giving back through APO. However, out of all our service projects, there were two that we're most proud of – our National Service Week project and our letters from our International Child from Peru, Flor Maria.

For National Service Week with the national theme “Respect for Others”, we chose to focus on anti-bullying. At Boys and Girls Club, we were able to educate grade school kids about different types of bullying and how to stop/prevent it.

These are the letters that we've received from Flor Maria and her mother. We occasionally pass around a jar during GBM to collect loose change to help sponsor her. It's a truly a great thing to be able to touch someone's heart with our little actions, even if they are from another country.

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*Fellowship Recap

Photo: Sunset Cliffs Fellowship, Adrian Kong Photography Fellowship continued to bring out the fun and friendship during fall quarter with events that bonded brothers and created fond memories to keep in our minds long after college. From a very scenic sunset hike to the Cliffs (pictured to the right) at the beginning of the quarter, to the Silent Library tradition during finals week, Team Fellowship was able to create social events like these for us to really let go and get to know each other. One of the most popular fellowships was the Haunted Gingerbread House event- a twist on the classic holiday gingerbread house.

The Alumni Picnic at Nobel Park was a fellowship that especially garnered a large turnout. For all of you alumni who took time out of the day to show up at the event, we appreciate your continual dedication to this organization. ♼

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*Membership Recap Fall Quarter was very eventful, focusing on fostering spirit through events such as Clue's Day, Sib Reveal, Retreat, etc. as well as, on professionalism in regards to anything related to requirements. Due to Team Membership's hard work and efficient teamwork, events were organized and successful..

Membership has been hard at work planning out activities for active retreat this weekend which will take place at a beautiful house in Palm Springs.

*Interchapter Recap There have been quite a few improvements these past few months with interchapter relations. The pledge class had their first pledge IC Chair whose role was to plan one IC event on his/her own. In addition, interchapter interaction has significantly increased this quarter with IC events with brothers from USC and even up in NorCal. Our IC Chair, Melanie, along with Webmaster Brandon Tay and PT Jerry Chung, recently visted Chicago to attend Nationals.

(Left): Riverside's Annual Festival of Lights: Our most successful IC Event at which around 30-35 bros from Chi (UCLA) and ADT (UC Riverside) were able to come out,. We had created the event for both chapters .along with ours.

(Right): The first-ever Pledge IC Event. Alpha Upsilon Class met with Alpha Delta for a fun scavenger hunt around the UC San Diego campus.

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*Operation Santa Recap Hope you had wonderful holiday season! Thanks to the dedication and diligence of this year's OpSanta Chairs Alan Pon, May Ling Tay, Mindy Xu, and Elaine Lam, over 150 families in need were also able to celebrate the Christmas season as well. Thanks to our partnership with UCSD's Panhellenic sororities and IFC Fraternities, we were able provide more gifts and engage more of the campus to support our cause. OpSanta chairs promoted the program on local tv stations and local news stations, attracting sponsors unaffiliated with Alpha Phi Omega and increasing our involvement with the rest of the local community.

Photo: Operation Santa Chairs at the KUSI San Diego News Station

Click here to listen to Operation Santa's Appearance at San diego's local radio station, KSON

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*The Alpha Upsilon Class The Alpha Upsilon Class of Fall 2014 was the largest class that we've had in a while, with a total of 60 people. Led by Pledge Trainer Jerry Chung and Pledge Secretaries Ethan Older and Sara Kove (also Old Woman), they all worked diligently throughout the entire quarter. Their fundraisers made thousands of dollars and the first-ever Pledge IC Chair did a great job.

It will be a sight to see when all the friendly and dedicated members of this pledge class cross this Saturday, January 11th, at activation. Alumni are, of course, welcome to visit activation - hope to see you there!

The entire Alpha Upsilon Pledge Class sung, danced, and performed their hearts out (& into our hearts) during their sensational Disney-themed showcase on Nov. 23rd.

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Alpha Upsilon also included a special member, Roenz Aberin, a brother from UC Santa Cruz who just transferred to UC San Diego.

Although Roenz did not go through the pledging process (since he is already a member), he still participated with the class in many pledge events and was considered a member of the Alpha Upsilon Class.

Photo: Roenz (left) with his twin, Leslie (right) and Big, Andrea during Pie Auction

Photo: Fall 2014 Sib Reveal at La Jolla Shores

Whether or not there's a new Alpha Upsilon in your line this quarter, you're welcome to come out to events to see old faces & meet new ones too!

“We should remember that just as a positive

outlook on life can promote good health, so can everyday acts of kindness. “ – HILARY CLINTON, ALPHA BETA MU CHAPTER (another notable alumni such as yourself)

♥ tl; Dr too long; didn't read The past quarter was amazing and, if you're in the area, you should join us sometime!

Also come to this quarter's rush events