Zeta Alpha Fall 2014 Newsletter

Saturday, October 18th, 2014

Volume 1, Issue 1

Pi Kappa Phi Zeta Alpha Important Dates This Semester

ZA News

“The Alumni Edition”

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Saturday Oct 11th, Parents Weekend, Louisville vs Clemson

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Saturday Oct 25th, Alumni Tailgate, Homecoming, Syracuse vs Clemson

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Saturday Nov 22nd, Georgia State vs Clemson

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Saturday Nov 29th, South Carolina vs Clemson

Zeta Alpha is Back!

Last spring we were extremely privileged to have Trae and Keenan make their way down to Clemson, South Carolina and attempt to restart one of the greatest fraternities in the nation, Pi Kappa Phi. They worked tirelessly to find the individuals on campus that would continue to work towards a future where every Pi Kappa Phi member embraces

his role as a leader, puts service before self, and improves the world around him. In the Spring 0f 2014, 66 men accepted an invitation to help refound the Zeta Alpha chapter. These men started working immediately to be ready for the potential recharting date of March 6th, 2015.

One of the main projects was getting ready for formal recruitment in the fall. Thanks to gener-

ous donations from alumni for a tent and other resources, rush went outstandingly well. At the end of it all, 22 new associate members accepted the challenge of rebuilding one of the greatest fraternities to be established at Clemson. The current total of associate members is 88 strong, and we are ready to do everything in our power to uphold the standards of Pi Kappa Phi.

The Ability Experience The Ability Experience, formerly Push America, is a nonprofit organization that serves people with disabilities. The Ability Experience was founded in 1977 as the national philanthropy of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity with the purpose of instilling lifelong service in its members and enhancing the quality of life for people with disabilities. Although the organization is still fulfilling the purpose for which it was intended, The Ability Experience has grown into a nationally recognized nonprofit with numerous programs educating undergraduates, alumni and communities about the capabilities of people with disabilities. Since coming back onto campus last year, Pi Kappa Phi’s Zeta Alpha chapter (Clemson University) has jumped right into involvement with The Ability Experience. Over the summer, we had

one of our brothers, Kevin Quan, ride for Journey of Hope. During his trip, along with the other riders, he visited a camp or event for kids with disabilities almost every day and sometimes even multiple times a day. In late July, Kevin and the other riders made their visit to Clemson University where they were properly welcomed and fed by our brothers of Zeta Alpha. Our brothers are very proud to call Kevin a Zeta Alpha brother and thank him for his time and dedication to the philanthropy. Throughout this year Zeta Alpha will be working closely with Clemson Life to raise money and support their events.

We are honored to have such a great organization working with us to start traditions and events for the kids of Clemson.

Page 2

Alumni Foc us

“Pi Kappa Phi has given me a lifetime of experiences that I am truly grateful for.”

Over the course of the recharteringthat has taken place at the Zeta Alpha Chapter, one individual has really stood out and gone above and beyond to help us take the correct steps in making this fraternity great. Scott Gasparini has been involved with Pi Kappa Phi here at Clemson since the beginning and now he is helping tremendously years later. Following is a short word from Scott and his story of being a Brother of Pi Kappa Phi It is August 14, 1985, my first day at Clemson University as a student. I think to myself “this New York kid is so far from home and I do not know a soul on campus.” I walk into Bradley Hall (the original home of Pi Kappa Phi) and meet my roommate, Papu Tafao. We became fast friends and decided we wanted a Greek experience to enhance our college career. Papu and I quickly realized the current Greek scene was not for us and thankfully we happened upon Steve Harris (Pi Kapp brother from Lander College) and the rest of the local Fraternity group Phi Alpha Psi. They shared with us that they had petitioned Pi Kappa Phi National Fraternity to be accepted as an Associate Chapter of our Great Fraternity. We had the opportunity to become Founding Fathers of Zeta Alpha Chapter at Clemson University. The rest is truly history. I am blessed to say I am a brother of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity and an active volunteer. I attribute my business success to the many experiences I encountered during my 4 year undergraduate education at Clemson, my 2 years on staff, and the last 25 years of volunteerism. When I became Archon of our chapter I felt that if I ran the chapter effectively, practiced financial responsibility, made good decisions, and delegated properly that I would help make our chapter successful. I also knew that the chapter’s success would give me the confidence needed to run my own company one day. When I graduated Clemson in 1989 I went to work for our National staff for almost 2 years and learned meeting planning, recruitment, coaching and counseling, and many, many more skills. As a restaurateur, I already possessed many of the skills needed to effectively run a restaurant from my fraternal experiences.

When I finished my restaurant days I moved into Management Recruiting and all the skills I had learned with Pi Kappa Phi served me well. I later moved into Human Resources where my problem solving skills, coaching and counseling that I learned from our Fraternity came into play. Now, as a Senior Vice President with my current company, I still look back and apply the experiences I learned from our chapter and our Great Fraternity. I owe a lot to Pi Kappa Phi. I want to leave you with this. It has been said if we have a great fraternal experience in college that at every great moment of our lives a fraternity brother will be present. Thus far this statement holds true. I have had Pi Kappa Phi brothers present at my college graduation, my first professional job, my wedding to my beloved wife, Gina, the birth of my son, Andrew, endless birthdays and anniversaries, and some day when I join the chapter eternal.

PI KAPPA PHI has given me a lifetime of experiences for which I am truly forever grateful.

Yours in Pi Kappa Phi, Scott Gasparini

Tent Donations Since the chapter has started its refounding efforts, a tent has been necessary for various reasons including smokers. We are looking to raise $1,200 through donations in order to pay the balance of the tent off. If you would like to donate please contact Scott Gasparini at : sgasparini@buckheadbeef.com Or his cell:

678-618-4039