Last semester, we picked up 9 pledges, and initiated 4 of them into our brotherhood this January. During one of our most successful Derby Days in recent years, we raised $4300 for the Hillsdale Manor, a local home for underprivileged children. In addition, a large group of us helped them repaint and fix-up numerous rooms in their house which was in desperate need of repair. Other philanthropic events included adopting and maintaining a 3 mile stretch of local highway, participating in an inter-fraternity council sponsored clothing and food drive for the Salvation Army, and providing a family with thanksgiving dinner.

During Fall Break, the majority of the fraternity spent the weekend at Hillsdale’s Rockwell Lake Lodge, in Luther Michigan (as seen above). There we participated in various team building and goal setting exercises that helped us re-focus on how we can make our chapter, our college, and our community a better place.

Christmas, as always, was a very cheerful time at Alpha Kappa. The Christmas Party was a great success, and every room in the house was decorated magnificently. As the semester came to a close, our ambitions became heavily centered on grades. The newly built tables in the Brother’s room allowed for a great study environment, and the company of each other only motivated us further to work hard.

Our goals for the next semester include maintaining our tradition of leadership on campus, reclaim the scholarship cup that has been taken from us for the past several years, find new and innovative philanthropies, and to recruit more outstanding men into our brotherhood.