Alpha Phi Omega (APO), American University’s community service fraternity, inducted 40 new brothers into the fraternity on Feb. 1 after a week-long rush process.
“Between 50-60 potential pledges express interest in the organization,” said Jamie Tkach, the membership VP of APO. “However, we accept a maximum of 40 pledges in the spring. This is to make sure that the organization doesn’t grow too large,” she said.
APO is a national co-ed community service fraternity whose “brothers” focus on completing community service throughout the country and on local levels. American University’s Eta Phi chapter has just accepted its new pledge class, who after a pledging process will be the newest brothers in the fraternity.
Eta Phi’s spring semester pledge class, collectively named Plewa Epsilon, will be put through a pledging process lasting until mid-April. The pledges were chosen after five events held two weeks ago, said Tkach, and a mandatory meeting where applications were handed out. Potential pledges had two days to complete the applications. Fifteen-minute interviews were conducted last week, and finally on Saturday the new pledges were officially invited to pledge APO.
“I felt a sense if belonging with the brothers surrounding me and my fellow pledges,” said Kelsey Dornfeld, a freshman currently pledging APO. “I enjoyed the induction ceremony because everyone was so welcoming and it got me even more excited for being part of APO,” she said.
This year there was a lot of interest, said Tkach, who planned the rush week and is in charge of the pledging process along with Pledgemaster Lizzy Johnson. With 40 pledges chosen, on Saturday, APO held a induction ceremony officially welcoming these new pledges into the organization. This event is the kickoff to the pledging process, which includes various checkpoints, ceremonies and activities required by the pledges.
“The pledging process is anywhere between seven to ten weeks long, and pledges learn about the history, purpose and values of Alpha Phi Omega,” said Tkach. “Pledges perform 20 service hours in our 4 different service categories: service to nation, community, campus, and brotherhood. They also need to have 2 fellowships, where brothers can just hang out and get to know each other better,” she said.
Additionally, pledges are required to attend Pledge Ed, where they learn about the history of APO. These classes are held on Wednesday evenings, late at night to ensure that everyone is able to attend.
“I love community service but also want to be part of a close knit group of students,” said Dornfeld. “I am excited to be meeting new people in my pledge class, and throughout APO in general,” she said.
According to Tkach, the addition of the new pledges is an important aspect to APO. She says that the new pledges add excitement to the organization and help to bring the fraternity together.
“Getting the list of brand new pledges is always the most exciting moment,” said Tkach. “I can’t wait for them to become brothers,” she said.
Kendal (Gapinski) Kloiber 