Congrats New Initiates!

Alpha Zeta welcomes the new class of Epsilon Beta!

Danny Corbin

Danny is from Bloomington, IN and is majoring in Criminal Justice. Danny plays trombone in the Marching Hundred and the Big Red Basketball Band. When asked "Why Psi?" Danny commented "I joined Psi because I wanted to give back to the bands that have given me so much throughout college" Danny is most excited about psi because "I can meet all sorts of different people and hang out with a great group of people."

Paul Reinhart

Paul is from Brownsburg, IN and is majoring in Speech and Hearing Sciences and classical civilization. Outside of Psi Paul throws a mean pizza and studies. He joined Psi to "maintain a high level engagement with the bands even as a nonmusic major." What makes Paul the most excited about Psi is "the camaraderie that can only be achieved through making music together and working towards a common goal."

Holly Sheffer

Holly is from Crown Point, Indiana, USA, Earth, Milky Way and is majoring in Secondary English Education. Her primary instrument is Tenor Sax. Outside of Psi Holly enjoys reading, studying, practicing spells, and Quiddich. When asked "Why Psi?" Holly commented "my 'sister' is a member of Gamma Pi and I've ehard about it for years. Then I came here and fell in love with the organization and the people." What makes Holly the most excited about Psi is "Helping the band programs and participating in brotherhood activities."

Brittany Tempest

Brittany is from North Vernon, IN and is majoring in Music Journalism. She plays piccolo in Marching Hundred and the Big Red Basketball Band. Brittany decided to join Psi because "I really liked the brotherhood and I like to help out the bands wherever I can." When asked what she was most excited about in Psi she commented "Stadium Clean-ups! (kidding) I'm just excited to help out."

Mike Villano

Mike grew up in Louisville, CO and currently lives in Granger, IN and is majoring in Music Education. His primary instrument is trombone. Outside of Psi Mike enjoys flying kites (not the kind from the dollar store!). Mike decided to join Psi because "Music/band has given me the world, so I want to do my part to pay it back." Mike is most excited about Psi because "Music/band has given me the world, so I want to do my part to pay it back."

Congrats Graduating Seniors!

Congratulations to our Spring 2010 graduating seniors and paddle recipients!

Sarah Emery, ΔΨ

Sarah is from Bloomington, IN. She graduated from IU with a major in history. At IU Sarah participated in the All Campus Band, the Marching Hundred, and the Big Red Basketball Band with her main instrument being the flute and piccolo. Outside of Kappa Kappa Psi Sarah is a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority. Inside of Psi Sarah's favorite memory was seeing her son become a brother and helping her along throughout the prospective member process. To future brothers of Psi Sarah advises to "Travel the District & Nation. You never know who you will meet!"

Jessi Reddick, ΔΦ

Jessi is from Glen Ellyn, IL. She graduated from IU with a major in history and minors in Near Eastern Languages and cultures and music. At IU Jessi participated in the All Campus Band, the Marching Hundred, and the Big Red Basketball Band with her main instruments being the Tenor sax and clarinet. Outside of Kappa Kappa Psi Jessi enjoys rock climbing and teaching boy scouts how to rock climb. Inside of Psi Jessi's favorite memories were the brotherhood pow wow she lead when she was historian her sophomore year that made everyone cry and hug each other and her semester with Epsilon Alpha and their initiation ("Epsilon Alpha Asseemmmbbllee!"). To future brothers of Psi Sarah advises to "Make sure that you enjoy time together both in and out of the fraternity. Take the time to get to know the people you may not know or that have different political/religious/etc beliefs than you. You may not have anything else besides band in common with 90% of the chapter, and you should spend time with that 90% to grow as a person."

Ryan Rottman, ΔΨ

Ryan is from Sylvania, IN. He graduated from IU with a major in biology. At IU Ryan participated in the All Campus Band and the Marching Hundred with his main instrument being the trombone. Outside of Kappa Kappa Psi Ryan is on the RHA J-board and the pre-optometry club. Inside of Psi Ryan's favorite memory was the Kappa Kappa rePSItal. To future brothers of Psi Ryan advises to "Never give up, Never Surrender..."

Hope Snodgrass, ΔΦ

Hope is from Baltimore, MD. She graduated from IU with a major in Telecommunications and television production. At IU Hope participated in the the Marching Hundred with her main instruments being the trumpet and baritone. Outside of Kappa Kappa Psi Hope is the videographer for the IU Women's Basketball team. Inside of Psi Hope's favorite memory were banquets (2006-2010). To future brothers of Psi Hope advises to "Have as much fun as possible and take lots of pictures!"

Terry Lewis, ΔΦ

Fundraising: A Zombie Apocalypse

by Caitlyn Kruer ΔΨ

Rule number one? Cardio. I have found that when you fundraise, much of your life is spent chasing people, not for their brains, but for their cash. (See Zombieland) I have served almost two years in the office of Sergeant at Arms, and it has proved to be one of the most frustrating and rewarding leadership positions I have ever held.

Money is, unfortunately, extremely necessary to run this organization, and when I came into the office our bank account wasn’t in the happiest place and there was no record of past activity. It has improved, but it could certainly be better. Through participating in stadium cleanups, selling sweatshirts, CDs, DVDs, hats, garment bags and holding fundraisers at restaurants, I’ve exhausted my ideas. That’s why now I’m looking to the past and asking you: What fundraising did the chapter benefit from when you were an active brother? How did you better advertise fundraisers to maximize the profits?

As you know, we do this for a purpose. Music and band have been so influential, certainly in my life, and I want to do my part to give back along with my brothers! My part might be chasing people down, begging for opportunities at every corner, and living around the many boxes that fill my dorm room, but in the end it’s worth it. Everything is for the bands and everything is for giving those the experiences we have already been so lucky to have.

New Initiate Leaders

by Jessica Zmierski ΕΑ

As Alpha Zeta finished its first year long Prospective Member process, new initiates to the brotherhood stepped up in various roles. From the office of Alumni Secretary to the office of Vice President, Epsilon Alpha has surely made its impact upon AZ.

In order to find more qualified members for recruitment, AZ decided to switch to a year long process, instead of two p.m. classes per academic year. As EA became adjusted to what and how AZ operated for the department of bands as a whole, two members particularly showed their desire to strive for the highest.

Sarah Wever and Dylan Suehiro stepped up and took on positions even though they didn’t necessarily have the knowledge initially to do so. In particular, Suehiro the office of V.P. and being the guiding spirit for Epsilon Beta. For an office that is reserved for elder members, a new initiate, took his first hand experiences, previous lesson plans, and guidance of fellow brothers to provide a unique experience to those seeking admittance. Suehiro took former V.P, Jessi Reddick’s guidance and taught the five new prospective members of EB the history of Kappa Kappa Psi, the importance of brotherhood, traditions of AZ, and how the lessons learned by being a brother of Psi can have a positive impact on oneself and be used in everyday occurrences.

By being an n.i. himself, Suehiro could offer the understanding of being a p.m. in a year long process, and having to deal with a process that still doesn’t have all the nuts and bolts worked out quite yet. For the time being, the p.m. process became a learning process for all those involved, and will continue to have to be tweaked to allow the chapter to strengthen.

Another n.i. that stepped up to an executive position within AZ was Sarah Wever. As Alumni Secretary, Wever took over the task of co-chairing the communications committee, and running the Alpha Zetan.

“It's been a lot of fun seeing the ‘behind the scenes’ to everything that was going on last year before we were initiated. I also feel like it's given me a good way to contribute especially during the spring since I'm not in ACB,” Wever said. Since Marching Hundred is associated with the fall semester, it becomes difficult to be involved with AZ during the spring. Being on the executive council gives brothers the opportunity to be involved specifically in at least one aspect (communications/brotherhood/fundraising/membership ed. etc...) of the fraternity.

As the year long process continues to develop and more brothers take the journey, n.i.’s will have the opportunity to form closer and more comfortable relationships within the chapter, and contribute their ideas and strong qualities to a diverse organization. Although n.i.’s don’t necessarily understand quite how the inner workings of AZ operate when they are sworn in, that doesn’t mean that they are any less qualified to offer suggestions and/or be a leader.

District Convention – Spring 2010

by Sarah Emery ΔΨ

District convention was hosted by the Nu chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi and the Lambda chapter of Tau Beta Sigma in Dearborn, Michigan. Seven brothers from Alpha Zeta attended the convention. Two of the brothers, Dylan Suehiro and Sarah Wever, played in the North Central District Intercollegiate Band. Brother Sarah Emery served as the delegate for Alpha Zeta, and as the Nominations Committee Chair for the district. Brothers Loren Clark, Daniel Corbin, Holly Sheffer and Brittany Tempest also attended the convention.

Alpha Zeta presented a bid to host the 2011 convention on Indiana University’s campus, but lost it to a bid presented by the Gamma Pi (Purdue) and Mu Delta (Western Michigan University) chapters of Kappa Kappa Psi and the Beta Sigma (Purdue) chapter of Tau Beta Sigma. Alpha Zeta is currently planning to rework and resubmit the bid next year for the 2012 convention.

The North Central District Intercollegiate Band was a huge success this year. Suehiro participated as the principal trombone for the ensemble, and Wever played the flute. They both have strongly recommended participating in the ensemble to brothers in the future.

Clark, Corbin, Sheffer and Tempest were able to attend some of the small group sessions. One session attended by Sheffer and Tempest discussed creative ways to serve the bands. One idea that they came up with was creating a jazz ensemble for non-music majors.

All of the brothers who attended this year’s North Central District Convention returned from it inspired to serve the bands better and to get to know more brothers from around the district. Since the district convention, our chapter has also made visits to Gamma Pi for third degree and the Theta Epsilon for the Great Southern Hospitality Cookout.

Convention Bid: A Love Note

by Biz Carson, EA

While getting handed the four bound editions of our convention bid to send in the mail, I felt several things all at once. The first was the desire to cough because I had bronchitis. The second was to pass out because I had pulled an all-nighter working on the budget. The third was a strong sense of pride and accomplishment in Alpha Zeta.

The initial work on the convention bid occurred before I even knew what KKPsi was. Cassey Crowell and her convention committee had worked to submit a bid the year before. Lacking the full support of the chapter, it never went beyond the initial planning stages

A year later, I held bound copies of 69 pages of plans, budgets, maps, restaurants, etc. Looking back on the experience of producing a convention bid, it was more than just compiling a list of restaurants and budgeting how much money would be spent on bagels for breakfast. The most rewarding part was looking and evaluating our own chapter.

We do a lot of service in Alpha Zeta – stand tightening, water bottle, uniforms, cleaning Hundred Hall, music filing, etc. It all blurs together in the time of a year, as service just becomes part of what you do. To prepare for the bid, we had to list everything and put it in a positive light. It was great to see how much we do, but also where we need to improve. We could easily identify our strengths and weaknesses. The bid became a self-evaluation, a presentation of our chapter, and a chance to reflect on our work.

The same evaluation happened with every aspect of our chapter: joint relations, sponsor relations, membership education, and finances. It was nice to take a step back and look at the chapter from an outside perspective. What would people think of our chapter as they flipped through our bid? Would they think we’re on the decline because of our low PM classes? Would they think we’re financially unstable since our budget isn’t in the tens of thousands?

Regardless of their answers, I’m proud of our bid. The feedback from the committee and our brothers was really good and beneficial. We’ll continue to rework the bid and submit it for convention 2012. Watch out North Central District.