Beta Alpha Chapter (Founded 30 September 1992) is located at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Chapter was founded when 104 members were inducted into the fraternity. Beta Alpha is a member of the Great Lakes Region and Beta Alpha's Regional Advisor is Sarah Alderman.

Beta Alpha Chapter, Winter 2010

Chapter History

Founding

Phi Sigma Pi came to the University of Michigan in 1992 when all students who were eligible for membership were sent letters and invited to a "Meet Phi Sigma Pi Night." At the next meeting, they wrote the constitution and on September 30, the Beta Alpha Chapter was formed when 104 people were initiated into the fraternity.

Early Years

In its first few years, the chapter was extremely successful. Some of the first year highlights were a toy run for Toys for Tots, a food drive, Habitat for Humanity, and a Founders Day dance with Alpha Phi at (Eastern Michigan University). The second term of the first year saw seven newly inducted members.

The second year Beta Alpha initiated thirteen people at fall rush and one person during winter rush. That year the chapter handed out its first chapter awards to the most dedicated, most enthusiastic, and most outstanding leaders. Some of the highlights from that year were BA's first formal at the Heidleberg, ushering for the Honors Convocation, Habitat for Humanity, children's parties at Motts Children's Hospital, reading for the blind, happy hour at Touchdown Cafe, Founders Day dance, chocolate rose sale for Valentine's Day, and intermural basketball. That year the Chapter was honored by receiving Project Serve's Service Organization Award.

The third year, 1994-1995, Beta Alpha initiated about twenty-five people at both Fall and Winter Rush. That year the Chapter continued its dedication to community service by volunteering at the Humane society and the American Cancer Society.

In 1995-1996, Beta Alpha initiated eight members. Some of its first semester highlights were a Bowl-A-Thon, weekly happy hours at area coffee shops, Nectarine night, comedy night, Habitat for Humanity, Humane Society, and Semi-Formal which was held in the Michigan Union. Second semester, Beta Alpha initiated about thirty new members.

Unfortunately, at the beginning of the 21st century, Beta Alpha headed downhill. Its membership decreased to a meager 10 members, and event planning slowed to a halt. The chapter was dangerously close to dying out completely. Fortunately, due to a great group of extremely motivated brothers (among those: Yuliya Polyachenko, Monica Magiera, Megan Eaton, Claire Montana and Sarah Roffman), the chapter gathered the energy and strength to keep itself alive. It went through a large restructuring effort, including a revamp of the initiation program, and a huge rush and PR effort,

The Active Chapter

The current chapter is doing extremely well. In the last two years, the chapter has shown a complete turn around and is now moving forward with renewed momentum, great ideas, and enthusiastic new members.

At the August 2007 National Convention in New Orleans, Beta Alpha received three National Awards: the Steven A. DiGuiseppe Administrative Award, the Sanders P. McComsey Most Improved Old Chapter Award, and the Top in Region Award for the Great Lakes Region.

Among the chapter's 2007-2008 events and accomplishments:

First year with both the Public Relations and Alumni Committees.
The Membership Development Committee converted to the Scholarship Committee.
First-ever Semi-Formal at the Michigan League.
Off-campus Formal at Reddeman Farms Country Club.
Participated in the second-ever campus-wide Professional Week, featuring fund-raisers, tournaments, a powderpuff game, and the Mr. Professional Pageant won by Phi Sigma Pi Brother.
Held a 5K Walk/Run at Gallup Park, benefiting the student organization UMStars, a contributor to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Raised funds by conducting Crisler Arena clean-ups.
Tailgates with Eastern Michigan's Alpha Phi and Michigan State's Beta Sigma Chapters.

As of Fall 2008, Beta Alpha Chapter had 33 active Brothers and 11 initiates on the way. Some highlights:

The Service and Social Committees, following Scholarship's lead last semester, have been re-termed the Leadership and Fellowship Committees, respectively.
Intramural Sports are now one method of further fostering fellowship, and the Chapter aims to play in as many Co-Recreational leagues as possible.
Two large-scale fundraisers have already been conducted, one being with Target and the other with Cedar Point.
The Scholarship Committee held an event in which Brothers learned how to best survive in the wild.

As of Fall 2009, Beta Alpha Chapter has 45 Brothers.

Executive Board

President - Sarah Feenstra
Vice-President -
External Secretary -
Internal Secretary -
Initiate Adviser -
Rush Adviser -
Treasurer -
Historian -
Parlimentarian -

Executive Council

Vice-President - Kelly Roy
Rush Adviser - Andy Cipa
Initiate Adviser - Sarina Khan
Scholarship Committee Chair - Arielle Mellen
Fellowship Committee Chair- Hannah Jacobson
Leadership Committee Chair- Neha Gupta
Public Relations Chair - Dominic Czarnota
Fundraising Chair - Sara Metzler
Philanthropy Chair - Christine Altermatt
Alumni Relations Chair - Kerith Asma

Affiliate Advisers-Alex Riordan and Kristin Boyer

Webmaster - Holly Stehlin

Past Chapter Executive-Boards

2010-2011: President - Josh Handell, Vice-President - Kelly Roy, External Secretary - Jason Jao, Internal Secretary - Sarah Feenstra, Initiate Adviser - Sarina Khan, Rush Adviser - Andy Cipa, Treasurer - Samantha Greenberg, Historian - Andrew Delikat, Parlimentarian - Hannah Hakala

2009-2010: President Zach Rable, Vice-President George Jensen, Rush Adviser Samantha Greenberg, Initiate Adviser Josh Handell, External Secretary Andrew Delikat, Internal Secretary Christine Belzyt, Parliamentarian Kelly Roy, Treasurer Jeff Kendall, Historian Sarah Frankel.

2008-2009: President Allie Davido, Vice-President Zach Rable, Rush Adviser Richard Fernandez/Samantha Greenberg, Initiate Adviser Justin Bonebrake, External Secretary Jen Hartsell, Internal Secretary Sara Stevenson, Parliamentarian Michele Wong, Treasurer Sarah Frankel/Jon Adams, Historian Dana Harlan/Andrew Delikat.

2007-2008: President Ian Spear, Vice-President Christina Spallina, Rush Adviser Hailey MacDonald/Katie Scheich, Initiate Adviser Allie Davido, External Secretary Jen Hartsell, Internal Secretary Sara Stevenson, Parliamentarian Tanya Nikam, Treasurer , Historian Kim Hack

Past Chapter Executive-Councils

2009-2010: Vice-President George Jensen, Rush Adviser Samantha Greenberg, Initiate Adviser Josh Handell, External Secretary Andrew Delikat, Scholarship Chair David Fuller, Fellowship Chair Matt Gray, Leadership Chair Christine Altermatt, Fund-Raising Chair Nathan Mathews, Public Relations Chair Hannah Hakala, Alumni Chair Tamar Shrikian, Philanthropy Co-Chairs Alice Liu and Rachel Fletcher.

2008-2009: Vice-President Zach Rable, Rush Adviser Richard Fernandez/Samantha Greenberg, Initiate Adviser Justin Bonebrake, External Secretary Jen Hartsell, Scholarship Chair David Fuller, Fellowship Chair George Jensen, Leadership Chair Nathan Mathews, Fund-Raising Chair SheShe He, Public Relations Chair Jamie O'Malley, Alumni Chair Tamar Shrikian, Philanthropy Co-Chairs Liz Kiefer and Alice Liu.

Past Chapter Committees

W10:

Rush/Initiation Committee Joshua (Josh) Handell-Initiate Adviser, Samantha (Sam) Greenberg-Rush Adviser, George Jensen, Kristin Boyer, Kimberly (Kim) Brisse, Alexander (Alex) Riordan

Scholarship Committee David Fuller-Chair, (SheShe) He Meiheng, Elise Woznicki, Christine Belzyt, Arielle Mellen, Melissa Shapiro

Leadership Committee Christine Altermatt-Chair, Richard (Rich) Fernandez, Michele Wong, Tamar Shrikian, Danielle Hayden, Kerith (Keri) Asma, Andrew (Andy) Cipa

Fellowship Committee Matthew (Matt) Gray-Chair, Mark Yang, Sarina Khan, Sara Metzler, Cole Miller

Fund-Raising Committee Nathan Mathews-Chair, Zachary (Zach) Rable, Kelly Roy, Neha Gupta, Tiffany Wen

Public Relations Committee Hannah Hakala-Chair, Sarah Frankel, Tamar Shrikian, Adam McFarland, Dominic Czarnota

ICAlum Committee Dana Harlan-Chair, Andrew Delikat-External Secretary, Jeffrey (Jeff) Kendall, Kerry Traub, Sarah Feenstra

Philanthropy Committee Alice Liu Co-Chair, Rachel Fletcher-Co-Chair, Hannah Jacobson, Nicole Smitka, (Jason) Pang Jao

F09:

Rush/Initiation Committee Joshua (Josh) Handell-Initiate Adviser, Samantha (Sam) Greenberg-Rush Adviser, Sarina Khan, Sarah Frankel, Dominic Czarnota, Hannah Hakala,

Scholarship Committee David Fuller-Chair, Kelly Roy, Dana Harlan, Richard (Rich) Fernandez, Dana Harlan, Sarina Khan

Leadership Committee Christine Altermatt-Chair, George Jensen, Elise Woznicki, Elizabeth (Liz) Kiefer, Tamar Shrikian, Adam McFarland

Fellowship Committee Matthew (Matt) Gray-Chair, Christine Belzyt, (SheShe) He Meiheng Kerry Traub Kristin Boyer Hannah Jacobson Arielle Mellen

Fund-Raising Committee Nathan Mathews-Chair, Jeffrey (Jeff) Kendall, Elizabeth (Liz) Kiefer, Michelle Morath

Public Relations Committee Hannah Hakala-Chair, Mark Yang, Jason Jao, Sara Metzler, Michele Wong

ICAlum Committee Dana Harlan-Chair, Andrew Delikat-External Secretary, Andrew (Andy) Cipa, Nicole Smitka, Neha Gupta

Philanthropy Committee Alice Liu Co-Chair, Rachel Fletcher-Co-Chair, Zachary (Zach) Rable, Danielle Hayden, Sarah Feenstra, Kerith (Keri) Asma

W09:

Rush/Initiation Committee Justin Bonebrake-Initiate Adviser, Samantha (Sam) Greenberg-Rush Adviser, Jillian (Jill) Isaacs-See, Andrew (Andy) Cipa

Scholarship Committee David Fuller-Chair, Matthew (Matt) Gray, Christine Belzyt, Hailey MacDonald

Leadership Committee Nathan Mathews-Chair, Joshua (Josh) Handell, Michelle Morath Madeleine (Mattie) Levin

Fellowship Committee George Jensen-Chair, Kelly Roy, Zachary (Zach) Rable, Scott Ambers, Ornella Dubaz

Fund-Raising Committee (SheShe) He Meiheng-Chair, Rachel Fletcher, Allison (Allie) Davido, Muyanwi (Lum) Fube, Jonathan (Jon) Adams

Public Relations Committee Jamie O'Malley-Chair, Kathryn (Kate) Gilliam, Michele Wong, Ayanna Gouch

ICAlum Committee Tamar Shrikian-Chair, Jen Hartsell-External Secretary, Andrew Delikat, Christine Altermatt

5K Committee Alice Liu Co-Chair, Elizabeth (Liz) Kiefer-Co-Chair, Christopher (Chris) Welch, Sara Stevenson, Adam McFarland

Initiate Classes

Main Article: List of Beta Alpha Chapter Initiate Classes

Big/Little Family Trees

Eaton Family
Megan Eaton
Sarah Roffman	Michelle Morath		Jessica Ordonez				Erin Pianelli
	Dana Harlan		Tristan Layfield (inactive)				Jamie O'Malley					Tanya Nikam
	Christine Altermatt		Jillian Isaacs-See				Richard Fernandez					Scott Ambers					Muyanwi Lum
	Rachel Fletcher	Neha Gupta	Kate Gilliam	Kerith Asma			Adam McFarland				Andrew Kaufman (inactive)	Elise Woznicki				Margaret Bauer (inactive)	Ayanna Gouch
	Alyssa Krentzel	Lindsay Bartz	Kristin Boyer	Adrian Quek (inactive)	Mark Boctor	Nina Cataldo	Sarah Feenstra			Paul Rink (inactive)		Hannah Hakala			Freya Lehmberg
	Gabrielle Carels		Hannah Heebner				Cassie Lama	Katie McGillis	Nick Majie	Elizabeth Deschaine		Casey Dye (inactive)	Melodie Hoke	Kelsie Holden
			Olivia Jones				Ravali Kondoju	Jackie Goldman		Ava Ranger			Rachel Morrison

O'Brien Family
Michelle O'Brien
Allie Davido
George Jensen							Matt Gray
Sarah Frankel				SheShe He	Danielle Hayden	Diana Basel	Yubo Wu
Christine Belzyt		Tiffany Wen	Rebecca Guerriero
Christina Machak (inactive)	Hope Peskin-Shepherd	Emily Sheppard

Masters Family
Jeni Masters
Melissa Wieman
Chris Welch	Jon Adams	Jennifer Hartsell
Nicole Smitka		Hailey Mcdonald									Justin Bonebrake (inactive)	Hannah Jacobson
Teague Simoncic		Mark Yang										Alex Melidis
		Tamar Shrikian			David Fuller
		Kelly Roy		Sara Mullan	Sam Greenberg				Sarina Khan	Chelsea Loji
		Sara Metzler	Laura Unaeze (inactive)		Josh Handell		Arielle Mellen	Nicole Gibson	Frankie Graziano (inactive)
		Melissa Shapiro			Dominic Czarnota		Mo O'Sullivan
		Steve Newcomer			Kim Brisse	Holly Stehlin
					Mike Sukenik

Montana Family
Claire Montana
Leigha Chang				Christina Spallina
Chantal Cotton				Zach Rable
Alice Liu				Jeff Kendall		Cole Miller	Michelle Wilensky
Kerry Traub	Andrew Delikat-Hinze			Jason Pang Jao	Zach Yancer	Mike Greskowiak
	Andy Cipa		Karen Fan (inactive)	Alex Riordan
	Brad Harlan	David Sinopoli		Joel Woznicki

Magiera Family
Monica Magiera
Emily Vogel
Kimberly Hack		Melanie Neumeyer
Sara Stevenson	Erika Branch

Other Families
Michelle McFadden	Ian Spear	Katie Scheich
Liz Keifer (inactive)	Nathan Mathews	Michelle Wong
		Arlene Go

Chapter Events & Activities

Founder's Weekend

Beta Alpha hosted its 1st Annual Founder's Weekend event on Sunday, February 15th, 2009. The event celebrated Big/Little family trees, and was called 'Family Olympics'. Families were broken up into teams, given team colors, and competed in a series of events, such as pie eating contests, relay races and team pride. Many alums of Beta Alpha attended as well. Check out the Family Olympics promotion video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip13TRwfl9k

The second annual Founder's Weekend event was held on Saturday, February 13th, 2010. The event celebrated chapter history with team building games and history based puzzles, and included a spaghetti lunch for all who attended.

'Easy as Pi' 5K Run/Walk

On Saturday, March 15th, 2008 Beta Alpha hosted its 4th Annual 5K ‘Easy as Pi’ Walk/Run! Over $2000 in proceeds from this event were donated to the Ann Arbor Make-A-Wish Foundation. At this event, not only did Beta Alpha recruit nearly 100 runners and walkers, but they also had almost 40 volunteers! Their 5th Annual 'Easy as Pi' Walk/Run occurred in Spring 2009 and was of equal success. The 6th Annual 5K 'Easy as Pi' Walk/Run was moved to the Fall of 2009 and occurred on October 25th. It was Halloween themed, and runners were invited to wear their Halloween costumes.

As this event is held annually, Beta Alpha wants to take this opportunity to invite you and everyone you know to this event. There will be snacks, refreshments, t-shirts, and prizes for first place runner and raffle winners. Of course, all proceeds will again be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Registration information is available on the Beta Alpha website. The $20 registration fee ($15 if you register and submit payment online prior to the event date) includes a t-shirt (as available) and your donation to Make-A-Wish. All participants who submit registration forms before race day are guaranteed t-shirts. All other shirts will go on a first come, first serve basis.

For those unable to attend this event, personal donations of any amount are greatly appreciated. Please visit the contacts section of the Beta Alpha website for more information. For a donation of $75 or more, your family will be listed as a sponsor on the official 5K t-shirt and on publicity materials!

Chapter Minutes

You can also find past minutes at the Category:Beta Alpha Minutes page.

Chapter Honors and Awards

National Awards

1997 Steven A. DiGuiseppe Administrative Award
2007 Steven A. DiGuiseppe Administrative Award
2007 Sanders P. McComsey Most Improved Old Chapter Award
2007 Top in Region Award
2009 C.H. McClure Single Service Award
2011 Top in Region Award, Great Lakes Region
2013 Top in Region Award

University Awards

Project Serve's Service Organization Award, 1994

Further Resources

In the News

Article Name

Beta Alpha Chapter
Founded September 30, 1992 • University of Michigan
Presidents	Ian Spear • Allie Davido • Zach Rable • Josh Handell • Sarah Feenstra
History	List of Beta Alpha Chapter Initiate Classes • List of Beta Alpha Family Lines
Chapter Service Keys	unknown
National Council Members	none
Torchias	none

Collegiate Chapters
Alpha • Beta • Gamma • Delta • Epsilon • Zeta • Eta • Theta • Iota • Kappa • Lambda • Mu • Nu • Xi • Omicron • Pi • Rho • Sigma • Tau • Upsilon • Phi • Omega • Alpha Alpha • Alpha Beta • Alpha Gamma • Alpha Delta • Alpha Epsilon • Alpha Zeta • Alpha Eta • Alpha Theta • Alpha Iota • Alpha Kappa • Alpha Lambda • Alpha Mu • Alpha Nu • Alpha Xi • Alpha Omicron • Alpha Pi • Alpha Rho • Alpha Sigma • Alpha Tau • Alpha Upsilon • Alpha Phi • Alpha Chi • Alpha Psi • Alpha Omega • Beta Alpha • Beta Beta • Beta Gamma • Beta Delta • Beta Epsilon • Beta Zeta • Beta Eta • Beta Theta • Beta Iota • Beta Kappa • Beta Lambda • Beta Mu • Beta Nu • Beta Xi • Beta Omicron • Beta Pi • Beta Rho • Beta Sigma • Beta Tau • Beta Upsilon • Beta Phi • Beta Chi • Beta Psi • Beta Omega • Gamma Alpha • Gamma Beta • Gamma Gamma • Gamma Delta • Gamma Epsilon • Gamma Zeta • Gamma Eta • Gamma Theta • Gamma Iota • Gamma Kappa • Gamma Lambda • Gamma Mu • Gamma Nu • Gamma Xi • Gamma Omicron • Gamma Pi • Gamma Rho • Gamma Sigma • Gamma Tau • Gamma Upsilon • Gamma Phi • Gamma Chi • Gamma Psi • Gamma Omega • Delta Alpha • Delta Beta • Delta Gamma • Delta Delta • Delta Epsilon • Delta Zeta • Delta Eta • Delta Theta • Delta Iota • Delta Kappa • Delta Lambda • Delta Mu • Delta Nu • Delta Xi • Delta Omicron • Delta Pi • Delta Rho • Delta Sigma • Delta Tau • Delta Upsilon • Delta Phi • Delta Chi • Delta Psi • Delta Omega • Epsilon Alpha • Epsilon Beta • Epsilon Gamma • Epsilon Delta • Epsilon Epsilon • Epsilon Zeta • Epsilon Eta • Epsilon Theta • Epsilon Iota • Epsilon Kappa • Epsilon Lambda • Epsilon Mu • Epsilon Nu • Epsilon Xi • Epsilon Omicron • Epsilon Pi • Epsilon Rho • Epsilon Sigma • Epsilon Tau • Epsilon Upsilon • Epsilon Phi • Epsilon Chi • Epsilon Psi • Epsilon Omega • Zeta Alpha • Zeta Beta • Zeta Gamma • Zeta Delta • Zeta Epsilon • Zeta Zeta • Zeta Eta • Zeta Theta • Zeta Iota • Zeta Kappa • Zeta Lambda • Zeta Mu • Zeta Nu • Zeta Xi • Zeta Omicron • Zeta Pi • Zeta Rho • Zeta Sigma • Zeta Tau • Zeta Upsilon • Zeta Phi • Zeta Chi • Zeta Psi • Zeta Omega • Eta Alpha • Eta Beta • Eta Gamma • Eta Delta • Eta Epsilon • Eta Zeta • Eta Theta • Eta Iota • Eta Kappa • Eta Mu • Eta Lambda • Eta Mu • Eta Nu • Eta Xi • Eta Omicron • Eta Pi • Eta Rho • Eta Sigma

Beta Alpha Chapter

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