Take Off That Toga and Throw On a Suit
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Professional frats offer opportunities for students in specific fields
February 29, 2008 - 12:00amAt first glance, 214 Thurston Avenue seems no different than its Greek-system neighbors: the building is home to Alpha Zeta, one of the many fraternities whose houses dot North Campus. Unlike most Cornell fraternities, though, Alpha Zeta is one of the University’s few professional fraternities whose members share similar professional interests and aspirations.
Founded in 1901, Alpha Zeta is a co-ed fraternal society that offers membership to students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Says Fahran Robb grad, chancellor of the fraternity: “Alpha Zeta has ceremonies, traditions, pledging, formals and social activities like any other fraternity on campus; however, our fraternity offers more than the typical Greek fraternities here at Cornell in a few ways.”
These differences include the requirements for members — registration in CALS and scholastic standing in the top 40% of their class — and a focus on professional and philanthropic development. Alpha Zeta hosts professional events like resume building and mock interview workshops, and funds scholarships for current members and incoming CALS freshmen.
Scott Tucker ’10, Alpha Zeta Censor, otherwise known as a vice-chairman, said, “After meeting the members [of Alpha Zeta], I realized I wanted to be a part of such a dedicated and motivated group of students. Alpha Zeta offered so much that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”
Miraculous chemicals: Aaron Bloomfield ’08 puts on a pyrotechnic display on the porch of Alpha Chi Sigma, Cornell’s professional chemistry fraternity.
The interests represented by the professional fraternities are a diverse mix, ranging from chemistry to business. Among the latter is Delta Sigma Pi, one of Cornell’s three professional business fraternities.
Delta Sigma Pi offers membership to Cornell students in one of the five “business” majors: AEM, PAM, Economics, ILR, and Hotel Administration. Formed in May 2004, Chancellor Vidya Gunasekaran ’08 says that the fraternity has seen “exponential growth in terms of interest… we’re relatively new, but we have a lot of momentum behind us.”
Delta Sigma Pi Senior Vice President Elyse Feldman ’09 reels off an impressive list of past fraternity events.
“[We] host etiquette dinners, interview and resume workshops [and] professional events with recruiters from top companies in a variety of industries,” she said. “We also have financial planning seminars and take tours of companies in New York City and in the Ithaca area.”
The business fraternities hold rush during the second week of classes. Delta Sigma Pi holds two information sessions, followed by a series of professional and social events and an interview.
Says Gunasekaran: “a lot of our incoming freshmen end up pledging both kinds [of fraternities] — social and Delta Sigma Pi.”
Reflecting on her decision to join Delta Sigma Pi, fraternity Treasurer Kerry Motelson ’09, who pledged during her freshman year, said, “Not only did I underestimate how close I would grow to many of the brothers, but I also had no idea how influential being exposed to corporate presentations, invite-only luncheons and professional development workshops would be in directing my own career.”
Alpha Kappa Psi, another Cornell business fraternity, is set to celebrate its ten-year anniversary this summer.
“[We are] the oldest business fraternity at Cornell,” says President Laura Temel ’09. “With that comes a broader and more long-standing alumni network, which is a very critical aspect of our organization.”
Membership in Alpha Kappa Psi is open to students of all majors with an interest in business and, Temel says, this year’s rush saw the fraternity’s highest numbers ever.
“Over 160 students came out for Alpha Kappa Psi this semester,” she said.
Aiming to “put on events that benefit not only the immediate membership, but the community at large,” Alpha Kappa Psi’s recent philanthropic efforts include a fundraiser that took in over 3,000 dollars for AIDS research and plans to organize a 5K run this semester.
“[Alpha Kappa Psi has a] deep-seated commitment to professional growth,” said Temel, “but there is a lot of importance attached to building trust and developing relationships with people in the organization.”
Lauren Messina ’08 also emphasizes the importance of developing relationships within a professional fraternity. As president of Alpha Chi Sigma, a professional chemistry fraternity, Messina says that members are both “brothers and very good friends.”
Messina describes the Alpha Chi Sigma experience as very diverse.
“We have social events like formals and parties at our house, but we also do more chemistry-related things, like demonstrations at local schools,” she said.
Alex Lumjuco ’08, a member of Alpha Chi Sigma, says that the fraternity has allowed him to do things we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to do at Cornell
“I had dinner with the guy who just won the Nobel Prize,” Lumjuco boasted. “We also do chem day at the mall. We go to the mall and do demonstrations for the kids, and we go to the schools and teach fourth graders.”
Dana Easton ’09’s decision to join a professional fraternity came from a desire to get ahead professionally and find “a smaller network on Cornell’s campus to relate to.” With plans to pursue a career in veterinary medicine, Easton joined Sigma Alpha sorority her freshman year.
Sigma Alpha touts itself as Cornell University’s only agricultural professional sorority, but it is also involved with a number of philanthropic organizations, including Heifer International. Last year, a Sigma Alpha date auction raised 1,000 dollars for the charity, and Sigma Alpha has also helped judge local school agriculture contests. Differing interests aside, all of Cornell’s professional fraternal societies are focused on providing a combination of professional and social events for their members. While decidedly smaller than the social fraternity system, the professional fraternities are intent on increasing their presence at Cornell.
“My belief is that as a professional business fraternity, it’s our responsibility to promote professional development for ourselves and others. I think there’s lots of room for growth in the future,” said Temel.
Alpha Zeta’s Tucker agreed, saying: “I would like to see Alpha Zeta expand and reach out to make itself more prominent on Cornell’s campus.”