The winner of the 2020 Roland Maxwell Trophy for an Outstanding Chapter is Delta Tau at Cal Poly-Pomona!
Last Tuesday, four members of the chapter presented to a panel of judges for the award – Konstantinos Lembesis, Cal Poly-Pomona ’18 (President 2019), Antoine Boado, Cal Poly-Pomona ‘18 (Vice President 2019), Joshua Hernandez, Cal Poly-Pomona ‘18 (Vice President of Alumni Relations 2019), and Steve Issakhanian, Cal Poly-Pomona ‘19 (Secretary 2019, President 2020)
“Here at the Delta Tau chapter, we build men into leaders who make a positive impact to those around them,” they said.
Delta Tau begins building a strong chapter with recruitment. “We look for outstanding individuals and nothing less,” they said in their Maxwell presentation. By only recruiting men who demonstrate a strong desire to become men of exemplary character, the chapter is built entirely of men committed to the values of Phi Kappa Tau.
Delta Tau prides itself on a lifelong commitment to Brotherhood. Within the chapter, they build friendships made to last through big events like trips to the mountains or beach, as well as events closer to campus like brotherhood events and little gestures, like making sure to celebrate everyone’s birthday. They host all-chapter retreats as well, which provide a rare opportunity for brothers to come together free of distraction and create a stronger bond.
This lifelong commitment to brotherhood goes hand in hand with a strong alumni outreach program. Alumni are invited to many events throughout the year, especially the annual Founders Day celebration. When the chapter celebrated its 62nd anniversary this past year, over 150 alumni and their families were in attendance, many of whom gave donations to the scholarship fund.
The undergraduate brothers foster personal relationships with alumni by texting or calling them individually and they maintain an active social media presence to keep all members informed. The biannual newsletter, The Kellogg Spirit, covers everything from chapter events, to trips, to weddings, to promotions.
At Cal Poly-Pomona, Delta Tau is the most diverse fraternity on campus both in ethnic backgrounds and fields of study. Every brother’s unique identity provides an opportunity for the brothers to learn and grow, and the variety of majors provides a chance for the chapter to help each other out with schoolwork. “What makes our Fraternity experience great beyond the Borradaile Challenge is our amazing sense of brotherhood, our respected chapter house, and our diversity,” they said. Unusual for a Fraternity house, the Delta Tau chapter house is completely paid off, which allows rent to be affordable and for the housing corporation to work on repairs and improvements every year.
The chapter places an emphasis on identifying personal strengths and focusing on individual growth and improvement. They encourage brothers to pursue their goals and challenge them to achieve bigger and better things. Part of this is encouraging brothers to take on leadership roles with the Executive Board and across campus. The chapter represents 15 different clubs and organizations at Cal Poly-Pomona. One of the most prominent areas of which is IFC, where Delta Tau holds six of the 14 leadership positions. By graduation of this year, 15% of brothers had professional internships and 80% had jobs secured. “Ethical leaderships begins in our board and stems out to our campus involvement and careers,” they said.
Delta Tau takes their ethical leadership seriously. In the past year, four brothers were full-time staffers at The Painted Turtle, the local SeriousFun camp, in addition to the chapter’s volunteers every summer. Their “Red and Gold Week” event raised over $6,000 for SeriousFun camps, a five-day event with activities to raise money like a car wash, flag football, and table mural paintings.
They also helped five Cal Poly-Pomona Sororities raise over $5,000 for their own philanthropic partnerships, including the Alzheimer’s Association, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Girl Scouts of America.
“The learning never stops in our chapter, as we adapt and overcome any failures we experience,” Delta Tau concluded in their Maxwell presentation. Congratulations to this Most Outstanding chapter on their first Maxwell win! Go Far!