Denise Cavanagh
| Denise Cavanagh | |
 Denise | |
| Name | Denise Cavanagh |
| Chapter | Alpha Epsilon West Chester University of Pennsylvania |
| Date Inducted | Fall 2007 |
| Roll Number | ΑΕ 410 |
| Alumni Chapter/Assoc | |
| Honorary Member | |
| Major | Music Education |
| Birthdate | August 5, 1988 |
| Spouse | |
| Nicknames | |
| Awards | "Most Involved" |
Denise Cavanagh (born 5 August 1988) is an Active Member of Alpha Epsilon Chapter (ΑΕ 410) at West Chester University of Pennsylvania.
Contents
Early Fraternity Life and Career
Denise graduated from Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta, NJ June 2006 and began attending West Chester University in the fall. At the beginning of her sophomore year Denise received a letter stating she was eligible to rush Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity. She went to an information night and participated in the rush events and was offered a bid to join the Fall 2007 Alpha Omicron pledge class.
Denise took part in many events and got to know the fraternity and her pledge class more. The Alpha Omicron class ran a hot dog delivery fundraiser, a pirate-themed educational scavenger hunt and social, and worked to prove their unity. Denise completed all of her requirements and was inducted at the end of the Fall 2007 semester along with ten others in the Alpha Omicron class. She became a member of the Maria Theresa Wojick family line.
Collegiate Years at Alpha Epsilon Chapter
In Denise's first semester as a Brother she took on the leadership positions of Inter-Chapter Relations chair as well and Public Relations/Webmaster. As PR/Webmaster she helped successfully promote the fraternity's info nights and rush events, which brought a large turn-out. Denise also took on the task of completely re-doing Alpha Epsilon's website. She cleaned up all the outdated information, gave it a brand new layout and also set up its new domain name "wcuphisigmapi.org". Denise also regularly attended chapter events such as a scholarship trip to the Philadelphia Art Museum, fundraiser bake sales, a service project making dog toys for the ASPCA, intramural volleyball and a fellowship event of Capture the Flag.
In Summer 2008 Denise had the honor of representing Alpha Epsilon as their delegate for the 2008 Grand Chapter and National Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. For the fall 2008 semester Denise was elected Parliamentarian, Alumni Chair and Website Manager after getting Public Relations split into its own chair. She was also a Big Brother and took a Little in the Alpha Rho pledge class. In Spring 2009 Denise served as Alumni Relations chair for the Alpha Epsilon Chapter.
During January 2009 Denise took part in the second Phi Sigma Pi and Teach for America Alternative Break Project. Denise went with 12 other Brothers from around the country to the small town of Shelby, Mississippi to build an educational pond for Shelby Middle School. Also during the trip they had potluck dinners with the Shelby community and Teach for America teachers, helped the after school program with their project of creating a mural of Obama out of dominoes, and observed Teach for America teachers in their classrooms.
In the Fall 2009 semester, Denise was locally inactive in order to focus on student teaching, but still tried to remain as active as possible. Over winter break Denise again participated in the Phi Sigma Pi and Teach for America Alternative Break Project. This time the Corps traveled to College Park, Atlanta, Georgia where they made raised vegetable garden beds for Heritage Park Elementary School so students could learn about healthy eating and grow their own vegetables to take home and eat. They also planted flowers around the school property and picked up trash to help beautify the school grounds. For the Spring 2010 Denise was elected Inter-Chapter Relations chair and helped run the 2010 East Region Conference hosted by Alpha Epsilon February 26-28, 2010. She also helped at the info meeting and pinning of Zeta Beta Chapter at F&M. As ICR chair of her chapter she did the "ICR Flat Stanley Project". About 30 chapters participated and decorated Stanleys to describe their chapters.
Alumni Years to Present
Denise graduated in Spring 2010 from WCU and became an alumni of Phi Sigma Pi. She was elected alumni advisor of her chapter for the Fall 2010 semester.
National Involvement
- Alpha Beta Volleyball 2008
- National Convention 2008, 2009, 2010
- Grand Chapter 2008
- National Development Committee 2008-2009
- Alternative Break Project 2009, 2010
Bigs and Littles
- Family Tree: Maria Theresa Wojick
- Big Brother: Shannon Mikruk (Alumna)
- Little: Teric Skerrett
Further Resources
Other Interesting Facts
- Denise is a music education major with a concentration in voice.
- Denise is proud to be from northern New Jersey and is an enthusiastic fan of the Jets, Giants, and Devils.
- At WCU Denise was also involved in residence life as a Resident Assistant (RA), president of Cantari Donne - honors women's chorus, is a Certified Student Leader, and was part of the choir and an officer with the Newman Center.
- At formal as an initiate, Denise received the superlative award "Most Likely to Not Eat a Farm Animal" after the chapter found out she was a vegetarian (but she no longer is one).
