Sophomores Samantha Zimmerman and Timothy Brandt have recently established a new, professional, business fraternity on campus. This Q&A offers the inside scoop on the past, present and future of this new addition to Saint Joe’s.
What is AKPsi and what made you choose it specifically?
Samantha Zimmerman: “I know that SJU strives to be an inclusive and diverse university, and I wanted to create an organization that exemplified that. Alpha Kappa Psi is the perfect fit because it is open to all majors and is a co-ed professional business fraternity. AKPsi is the oldest and largest professional business fraternity to date and is going to be a huge positive addition to SJU. In addition, AKPsi highlights the same values as our Jesuit University does, such as integrity, service, brotherhood, and unity.”
What were some of the steps you needed to do to establish the fraternity at SJU?
SZ: “In order to be able to start the AKPsi colony, it took a lot of effort and hard work. Tim and I brought the idea up to a Director here at SJU who then turned the idea down because they thought our school was not big enough to hold another business fraternity. This was not a good enough answer for us, so we went right to the Associate Dean of the Haub School of Business who then gave us permission to begin the fraternity. It was a long process just to be able to start it, but well worth it.”
What happens next?
SZ: “We are in the process of creating an official chapter. Last week we had an official colonization ceremony and now we are moving forward to become an established chapter and brotherhood. If all the colonists can give us their all, we will be able to be installed as a chapter as soon as possible.”
Did you expect to put in as much work as you have thus far?
Timothy Brandt: “Yes, going into this situation I think that Samantha and I definitely knew what we were getting ourselves into. Everything thus far has been challenging and we have been open and willing to embrace these challenges since the beginning.”
What is the overall attitude of the new colony members?
TB: “I would definitely say the overall attitude is motivated. After speaking to most of our 90 colonist, the common theme of attitude is their persistence of motivation to get this done. It seems that everyone is excited and looking forward to what the future entails of our AKPsi chapter.”
What do you think the future holds for AKPsi?
SZ: “The future for Alpha Kappa Psi looks quite promising to me. The effort, dedication, and potential I see in the colonists thus far is incredible. Everyone wants to work hard towards installation and that is exactly the kind of people I am looking forward to working with alongside myself. We are going to create an everlasting brotherhood with memorable social events, fun recruitment events, and networking opportunities that will help us build our futures.”
