President's Note

Welcome to Phi Gamma Delta! First and foremost, I would like to congratulate you on deciding to rush, we are glad you have taken the opportunity to see what Greek Life is about. Second, I would like to thank you for considering FIJI. Our philosophy of “work hard, play hard” is something we take very seriously, usually placing first or second out of eight fraternities in grades, and winning the Voltmer trophy a majority of the time since our chapter was founded in 1994. Our brothers are also very active on campus in leadership positions including Student Body Vice President, PMACs, Student Ambassadors, Orientation Counselors, IFC members and student athletes to name just a few.

One of the great advantages of being a FIJI is the pledge semester we offer. It is unique because it is a full semester long. This full semester gives our active brothers a chance to get to know you as well as a semester for you to get to know your pledge class, our faculty advisor (Dean of the School of Accounting and Business Law Professor Lou Ann Simpson), our extensive list of graduates at our annual alumni events, and the active brothers in our house. Our 52 current brothers will encourage and help you during your pledge semester to set up philanthropy, social, and brotherhood events as well as a house improvement project.

Lastly I would like to mention our brotherhood. We have brothers in all academic arenas, with a large range of majors and academic concentrations which allows for our brothers to help each other academically if you would like aid or guidance. We also have plenty of philanthropy opportunities that focus on our charity, the American Heart Association, as well as many other charities. With all of these opportunities plus weekly social and brotherhood events, our brothers really get an opportunity to meet and get to know all of their brothers. We pride ourselves on being large enough to always lend a helping hand in any situation, but also small enough to get know all your brothers, create a brotherhood that will last a lifetime and legacies that will last forever. If you have any questions, please do not be afraid ask me or another FIJI brother.

Sincerely,

Kyle Stolarz
President

Rush

Congratulations on your decision to go through the recruitment process at Drake University. My name is Jake Anderson, and I am the Recruitment Chair for Phi Gamma Delta, or as some of you may better know us as FIJI. I hope you will take full advantage of the recruitment process and what it has to offer to you.

You will find that in the next couple of days the amount of people you will meet will probably overload your brain. Recruitment can also be a fairly difficult time in terms of getting to know people. I hope that in this process you will do nothing but have fun, relax, and be yourself. At FIJI we will ask nothing more of you than that. We want to get to know you, and let you have the opportunity to meet as many people, and make as many friends as possible.

I can remember back 2 years ago when I made the choice to go through recruitment. I was never set on joining a fraternity, in fact I knew very little about what Greek Life had to offer, much less on what types of Fraternities were on campus and what they were striving to achieve. It was essentially a last minute decision for myself because I had some friends going through, and you didn’t have to eat Hubble for a couple of days, which in my opinion, is quite a relief. I had no idea that the next couple of days would have one of the largest impacts on my life. The connections I made with the guys at the FIJI house were unbelievable.

There is no FIJI “mold” of guys. We are spread out across the board in regards to majors, interests, athletics, etc. However we do all have one thing in common, and that is the 5 values of our fraternity, which are; Friendship, Knowledge, Service, Morality, and Excellence. We strive to live by these values to improve our lives not just as fraternity brothers, but as Drake students as well. Good luck, and if you have any questions, feel free to contact me throughout the week!

Fraternally yours,

Franklin Peitz and Benjamin Shoff
Recruitment Chairs

Scholarship

First of all, I would like to welcome you to our fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta. We are extremely excited that you are showing interest in joining a fraternity that is rich in history, tradition, and excellence.

Phi Gamma Delta has always been considered an academic fraternity at Drake. The reputation that FIJI has earned has come from countless hours spent in the library, tutoring other brothers, and fully devoting one’s time and efforts to achieving academic success. This has led to us being above the All Men’s average and in the top 2 fraternities in grades 7 of the past 8 years.

As a member of Phi Gamma Delta, many doors will be open to you to help you not only grow as a member of this fraternity, but to help achieving good grades a little easier. With a house the size of FIJI, there are always brothers with similar majors that make studying and preparing for classes much easier. Brothers are always excited and anxious to help someone achieve academic success. As a member of Phi Gamma Delta, we will make sure that you are living the values of scholarship and excellence every day.

I hope that this has given you a small preview of the beliefs of Phi Gamma Delta in terms of scholarship. Once again, we thank you for your interest in Phi Gamma Delta and wish you all the best in your academic endeavors.

Sincerely,

Samual Shanahan
Scholarship Chairman

Social

Welcome to Phi Gamma Delta! We are excited that you are going through rush. I just want to inform you of a few functions that we FIJI’s have each year when we are not busy being leaders on campus, achieving academic success and striving to be men of service. We at Phi Gamma Delta to attain and maintain our successes, but we also know how to have a great time while rewarding ourselves for our efforts. This is where the motto “Work Hard, Play Hard” comes full circle. The FIJI social calendar is always full and this semester is no different.

We have a variety of social functions. Each year we plan exchanges, latenights, crush parties, date parties, brotherhood events, and formals that always are well attended and well received. If you don’t what a certain function is don’t be afraid to ask us and the details. We have events with each sororities on campus as well. In additions to exchanges, our house host one of Drake’s largest social events called FIJI Island. FIJI Island has about 2000 attendees with that being said I will let you use your imagination.

I hope that this letter gives you a brief insight into the social life that the brothers of Phi Gamma Delta enjoy. At FIJI, you will never be saying, “There’s nothing to do.” Please feel free to ask more questions about our social calendar and the events of rush. I look forward to meeting you.

Sincerely,

Neel Patel
Social Chairman

Community Service

The brothers of Phi Gamma Delta, Delta Iota chapter have been making tremendous strides in the arena of community service. For our work with the Student Volunteer Coordinator, as well as the Coordinator for Habitat for Humanity, we have received public recognition for our contributions to those foundations. Throughout this coming semester, we will continue to work with these groups, as well as add many more to our list of already growing organizations. We share the excitement with these volunteer establishments to work for a better community for FIJI, Drake, and Des Moines.

Additionally, to help with this effort, we are advancing several steps in hopes that our service to others will catch on with other members of Greek life and students of Drake University. In addition to instituting a recycling program (which has never previously existed for this chapter), increasing individual hours for community service by 30%, and providing increased opportunities to volunteer as a house, we are committed to other organizations in furthering their causes by increased financial donations and contributions, such as to the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross. Only three weeks into the semester, we have already held a successful fundraising opportunity for the AHA; one of many to come.

Furthermore, we will continue efforts this semester to work with the organization AED Access for All in an attempt to get portable electronic defibrillators on Drake’s campus, in an effort to reduce the potential for fatalities caused by sudden, expected cardiac complications. Already, we have set the process in motion, moving to a point where we begin to figure out the specifics of implementation. We hope to have this completed by either the end of the Spring 2009 semester, or the beginning of Fall 2009. Either way, we are excited to be part of such an important effort that will be recognized not only at Drake or in the Des Moines community, but nationally as well.

In summation, our standards of community service are alive and well, and we will continue to hold the value of Service as an important an integral part to how this fraternity operates.

Rix Thorsell
Community Service Chair

Intramurals

Gentlemen,

If you are interested in intense athletics or casual competition, FIJI intramurals offers what you are looking for. FIJI has produced the most dominant A-level intramural teams at Drake University. Also, and just as importantly, FIJI offers an ample amount of people who are looking to participate in B-level competition, which separates us from a lot of other houses. You will never have a problem finding brothers to play a sport with you in this house, which I have come to value a lot during my time in FIJI.

We have had quite a large amount of success in intramurals. We won Voltmer championships in the golf tournament, flag football, triples volleyball, team volleyball, broomball, and basketball last season. This means our teams finished in first place among all other fraternity teams in these sports. We won All-U championships in the golf tournament, triples volleyball, team volleyball, and broomball. All-U is when the fraternity champion plays the independent champion. Our recent titles include; nine of the last ten Voltmer championships, eight of the last ten All-U championships, and attaining the highest single season point total ever achieved in Voltmer championship standings.

We, as a fraternity, are very proud of our intramural legacy and would love for you to be a part of it. Thanks for your time and enjoy the rest of your rush.

Gui Marsiglia
Intramural Chair

Graduate Relations

Welcome to FIJI! My name’s Victor Cedeno and I am the Graduate Relations Chairman. I’d like to take a little time to introduce you to our program, what we have been doing recently, and how it can help you as an undergraduate. Our graduate relations program is growing incredibly large in our house.

Phi Gamma Delta does various events throughout the year to give back to graduates that have made a contribution to our house. Each fall we hold a Pig Dinner where 50+ alumni come back for a weekend to reunite and live old times. Last spring we held an alumni BBQ during Drake Relays in which we had upwards of 50 graduates come over to the house to enjoy some food with the undergrads in the house. We also do various other events throughout the year for graduate brothers to get a chance to know the active brothers in the house today.

Not only does a graduate relations program benefit graduates, but it also benefits undergrads as well. The biggest thing a good graduate relations program can do is help you network. As chairman I receive emails from graduates with intern or full-time job opportunities that they ask me to forward onto the house. They want to work with quality men and they know the best way to find that is amongst the FIJI undergrads.

Our graduate relations will continue to grow and expand into the future. Becoming a FIJI offers many opportunities to network with successful businessmen that were once in your very shoes.

Fraternally Yours,

Victor Cedeno
Graduate Relations