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Greek community honors individuals and chapters for outstanding accomplishments.

By Adrienne S. Harris, Contributing Writer, Campus Life

As Emory University this year celebrates the 150th anniversary of fraternities and the 60th anniversary of sororities on campus, there is no shortage of examples of the positive contributions that Greek-letter organizations have made and continue to make to Emory and the larger community.`

At last month’s Sorority and Fraternity Life Eminence Awards Ceremony, sponsored by the Campus Life Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life (OSFL), 10 individuals and eight sorority and fraternity chapters were recognized for their outstanding accomplishments during the 2018 calendar year. For a complete list of awards and recipients honored at the event, which drew an audience of more than 120, see the website address below.


Delta Phi Lambda receives Academic Excellence AwardOSFL coordinator Hector Cuevas (center) with members of Delta Phi Lambda Sorority,
which received the Excellence in Academics award. Photo by Erin Oquindo.

All active chapters were encouraged to submit an application package documenting their performance. The submissions were reviewed and scored by a team of 30 evaluators comprised of Emory Campus Life professionals (excluding OSFL staff) and fraternity and sorority life professionals from other universities.

“We could not be prouder of these students,” said Nicole Jackson, associate director of Sorority and Fraternity Life. “For the past five years, OSFL has sponsored this event because we believe it is important to showcase the many ways sorority and fraternity members are upholding their organizations’ values and the university’s standards.”

The Sorority and Fraternity Life Eminence Awards for individuals recognize students who exemplify sorority and fraternity values and ideals.

Greek Woman of the Year Katie Kane
OSFL coordinator Mishalle Marszalek (left) and Greek Woman of the Year
Katie Kane, Gamma Phi Beta. Photo by Erin Oquindo.

Katie Kane, a member of Gamma Phi Beta, earned the Greek Woman of the Year award. A junior, Kane was on the Emory volleyball team for two years, holds a 3.9 GPA, and is graduating in December with a double major in business administration, with finance and consulting concentrations, and religion.

“I have been very involved in my chapter because I aspire to make an impact and pay back the sorority by being a role model like the women in my chapter, Emory alumni, and Gamma Phi Beta sisters across the country have been for me,” said Kane, who held several leadership roles before becoming chapter president. “Greek life at Emory is special. I wanted to continue that positive environment.”

Greek Man of the Year Lamar Greene
OSFL coordinator Kenneth Anthony (left) and Greek Man of the Year
Lamar Greene, Phi Beta Sigma. Photo by Erin Oquindo.

To Lamar Greene, a senior human health major, Greek life at Emory is so special that he didn’t mind being a one-man chapter for an entire year. He was the only person who pledged Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. in spring 2018 and the only member left after two others graduated. At the awards ceremony, he was named Greek Man of the Year.

“Even on my own, I was committed to improving the organization and tried to demonstrate that every day,” said Greene, who organized free HIV testing, mindfulness meditations, and health education events. “I had a lot of support from other chapters in metro Atlanta, as well as Emory alumni, so although I led the chapter by myself, I got a larger sense of brotherhood.”

The Sorority and Fraternity Life Eminence Awards for chapters honor those that make a meaningful difference on and off campus.

The highest chapter award is the Dean’s Cup, given to one fraternity and one sorority that excel in all seven chapter excellence categories: academics, leadership, membership education, community service, philanthropy, brotherhood or sisterhood, and risk management. This year’s honorees are Alpha Delta Pi and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.

Deans Cup Award recipient Alpha Delta Pi Sorority
Deans Cup recipient Alpha Delta Pi Sorority with OSFL's with Mishalle Marszalek (left)
and Marlon Gibson (far right). Photo by Erin Oquindo.

“Any recognition Alpha Delta Pi gets is a recognition for every member of the chapter,” said Elyse Thompson, a junior, quantitative science/pre-med major and president of the chapter. “All the women are so incredible.”

In addition to being actively involved in their academic pursuits and the sorority’s philanthropic work, almost 80 percent of Alpha Delta Pi’s members hold leadership positions in other student organizations. “We support women in all their endeavors,” said Thompson. “Our sorority values keep us focused on excellence – something each member wants for ourselves and for our sisters.”

Deans Cup recipient Alpha Phi Alpha FraternityDeans Cup Award recipient Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity with OSFL's Kenneth Anthony (left)
and Marlon Gibson (far right). Photo by Erin Oquindo.

David Freire, a senior, psychology and human health major and president of Alpha Phi Alpha, said that being awarded the Dean’s Cup was a “happy coincidence” resulting from his chapter’s commitment to the fraternity’s values.

“We do the best we can to have the most impact through meaningful events,” said Freire, a gay Latino man who led a historically black fraternity chapter and won an individual award for Fraternity President of the Year. “We see that as a way of maintaining our founders’ vision and values of excellence, scholarship, and community service.”

In her keynote address at the awards ceremony, Dr. Anjulet Tucker, director of programs and engagement in Emory’s Office of the President, told students that just as sorority and fraternity founders relied on values to address the challenges and unmet needs of their day, so must Greek-letter organizations today.

“We must find ways to stretch the grand vision of our founders – to be more inclusive and daring, challenge the status quo, and create spaces of belonging for future generations,” said Tucker, a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. “We have an obligation to be part of a legacy – to create a world beyond our founders’ wildest imaginations.”


Learn More

List of all award recipients
http://campuslife.emory.edu/news/news/2019/20190507_2019_eminence_award_recipients.html

Download event photos free of charge
https://ecl.smugmug.com/2018-19-Events/2019-Greek-Awards/n-6TGnnh/

Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life
http://osfl.emory.edu/

List of current councils and chapters
http://osfl.emory.edu/current-members/index.html