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161st Convention, Aug. 13-16
Only 54 days until the biggest Zete rally ever! If you want to be part of history, plan to be in Montreal - It is time to register if you have not yet done so. Go to www.zetapsi.org to register on-line.
The convention package is $390 for Attendees (except the Active and Elder Chapter Delegates). The convention and city are spouse or "significant other" friendly and there is a convention package of $325 for them. There is also a special rate of $250 for children, so elders can plan to make a family vacation of this trip. If you cannot attend the whole convention, plan to come for whatever you can as there is individual pricing for each event as well (details online).
Leadership Training (LTI) programs will occur during the day on Wednesday thru Friday and is free to all attendees, regardless of registration, so plan to attend as many as you can (hey, the price is right and the quality is excellent!). During the evening, experience some of the city's joie de vivre by participating in the following social functions:
Wednesday, August 13th: experience some of the 350+ year history of the city at historic Fort Stewart for a theme dinner.
Thursday, August 14th: bar-b-que and comedy night, hosted by comedian and Alpha Psi brother David John McCarthey, featuring some of the comedians who have performed in Montreal's annual comedy festival "Just for Laughs". Montrealers have developed a pretty good sense of humour, thanks to our tough winters and the wonderful politicians that run the city and the province, so plan to enjoy some comedy, Montreal-style.
Friday, August 15th: Did you know that Montreal is an island? Friday night will be a dinner boat cruise, to show off the beauty of the city sky-line at night.
Saturday, August 16th: The Grand Chapter Banquet (black tie option) promises to be the largest gathering of Zetes in history, so if there is one event to attend, this is it. The banquet will include for the first time the newly initiated brothers from the Iota Omicron Chapter at Oxford. A truly International event!
All events will, of course, be followed by free time in the city - not officially part of the convention but highly recommended.
Montreal is an expensive city so convention sponsors are still being accepted, which helps keep the cost down for our undergraduate members. For information on sponsorship opportunities please contact Barth Gillan (b.gillan@gmail.com or (514) 931-8792 x 205).
Although the city is a French city, you do not have to speak French to get around in Montreal, so don't let language slow you down. And it is a lot of fun practicing your French with the many attractive citizens who are more than willing to welcome you to town.
The women are beautiful, the food is excellent, the brotherhood cannot be surpassed - and the snow might actually be completely melted by August (as of mid-June, there are still piles of snow in the yards used by the city when clearing the streets this winter), so you have ample reasons for coming.
See you in Montreal. À la Montréal! |
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A Good Year For Zete!
As our West Coast schools end the semester I'd like to review the past year. In short, we had a good year. With the establishment of chapters at North Carolina State University and the University of Oxford in England, and the reactivation of the Iota Alpha at Texas, Zeta Psi is now at 45 active chapters in three countries. Our initiation numbers grew from 530 last year to 630 this year. At our convention in Montreal the Grand Chapter will vote to confer colony status on our interest groups at the University of California at Riverside and at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. We also have a fledgling interest at Brock University in Canada.
Zeta Psi experienced more good news on the risk management front with only one incident this past year - down from seven the year before. Though we need to get this number to zero, this reduction in incidents shows that members are working to reduce risky actions at their chapters. We need to continue this effort next year.
The Zeta Psi Educational Foundation issued $57,000 in scholarships and $56,000 in educational grants this past year. The Foundation also sponsored tem Leadership Training Institutes with over 40 percent of the active membership attending at least one.
We have an exciting convention coming up in Montreal in August that promises to be one of the most attended ever. Hopefully I'll see you there!
In Tau Kappa Phi, Dave Hunter, IA '80 (email me) |
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Summer 2008 Internship Updates
 Zeta Psi is the PREMIERE Fraternity in Internship Education, offering the most and widest array of Internship of any Fraternity! This Summer, several dozen Zetes are taking advantage of our premiere Internship programs - the Washington Scholars, Wall Street Scholars, Northwestern Mutual Program, and our newest Science & Engineering Leadership Fellows - SELF. Below is the first Intern report from Mike Taylor, Kappa/Tufts '09, one of the inaugural class of SELF interns. Proof once again of the enormous value Zeta Psi - and our Internship programs - offer our undergraduate brothers!
"I've had a nice kick-off to my summer's 11-week internship at SibTech, Inc. through Zeta Psi's Science & Engineering Leadership Fellows (SELF) program. The next 11 weeks I will spend with a fellow Tufts/Kappa Zete, T.J. Warren, in New Haven, CT. Upon first arriving to our apartment we decided to walk two blocks down the road to the Eta chapter house at Yale. Needless to say, living within walking distance of these guys is going to make New Haven that much more interesting. Anyways, back to the internship part!
As an undergrad at Tufts University, and having taken all eight grueling labs required for application to medical school, the opportunity to work in a "real" lab and perform actual experiments, as opposed to following out of book that was written fifty years ago, is an opportunity I would not have been given elsewhere. First off, SibTech, Inc. defines themselves as:
The focus of our company is optimization of biopharmaceutical proteins for multiple applications, such as targeted drug delivery, targeted imaging, and derivatization of biomedical surfaces.
For those who are unfamiliar with or have not taken any molecular biology classes this may seem like a mouthful. In lieu of having enough page space to explain what that means, it can be best described as "Actually doing what the 3,000 pages in my freshman Biology book talked about" with a focus protein function. It is incredible being able to actually perform groundbreaking experiments similar to those that were monotonously lectured about for a semester. Unfortunately for any of the younger Zetes or "to be" Zetes taking a Biology class in the coming years when T.J. an I are done with this summer you might have a couple more pages to read and another hour of lecture to attend; you can thank us for that, but if the summer continues going as it has been it will be well worth it." |
Are you a new Graduate?
If you've just graduated and/or moving to a new town, reach out and take advantage of the Zete Network!
Alumni clubs exist in Washington DC, New York, and more, and can smooth your transition while offering an invaluable social and professional networking base, and keeping you in touch with our Circle!
For those moving to Washington, DC - home of our premiere Regional alumni club - visit www.dcelders.org. For those moving elsewhere, CLICK HERE to get plugged in to the Zete network! | |
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Get LinkedIn with Zeta Psi
Join our Zeta Psi group on popular professional networking website LinkedIn!
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SURVEY RESULTS!
We'd like to thank the nearly 300 Brothers representing almost every Chapter and spanning over 70 years of Brotherhood who complete last month's first annual Alumni survey! The results - AVAILABLE ONLINE HERE - will help guide the decision making of the Grand Chapter at the coming Convention. Some highlights of the survey results:
55% have attended an Elder chapter social event, with 77% saying the Events are good or really good, and 19% saying they are OK. Less than 5% didn't enjoy their alumni events. Of those that didn't attend, nearly 60% lived too far away. Interestingly, 18.6% said their alumni don't have social events.
Only 18% have attended a Regional Alumni Club event - a small number we hope to grow. 96% of attendees liked the events. Of those who have not attended, about 20% each responded that there are none in their area, lived too far away, didn't have time to attend, or were not invited. Asked what would increase the likelihood of their attendance, 53% of all respondents wanted after work happy hours, and 52.6% would attend a sporting event/tailgate. This leads us to believe that more small alumni club events may be the way to go along with the larger big-city club events as in DC.
46% have attended a convention, with 37 being the most of any Zete (Phi Alpha Greg McElroy). Of suggested alumni events at convention, the most popular was Happy Hours, alumni-only social events, wine tastings, and Alumni LTI's on personal/professional skills. Of suggested locations major cities and those with no chapter but with solid entertainment options (like Las Vegas, Miami, or Dallas) were the very strong preference of respondents.
When it comes to programming, our long running undergraduate scholarships and Leadership Training programs are the best known and highest regarded. The Washington Scholars program comes in a close 3rd, and our other internship programs are generally well regarded but clearly not as well known yet. Similarly, new resources like the Job Bank and Career Mentors list had relatively low levels of recognition, but were well regarded by those who knew them. It seems pretty clear that more effort needs to be made to let everyone know about all our programs.
75% of you were willing to be Career Mentors - If that includes you, please CLICK HERE to sign up on our online Career Mentors List!
More than 45% of you would mentor an Intern, and nearly 40% would like to help with intern placements or finding a job. CLICK HERE for our online Job Bank!
One long running debate has been over the optimal allocation of Zeta Psi Educational funds between Internships vs. Scholarships. Broadly, 40.3% of respondents thought a better than 50/50 split was ideal, 21.3% favored a 50/50 split, 33.7% favored a less than 50/50 split, and 4.7% had 'other' responses. While the numbers are tight, it seems to indicate a stronger preference for Internship funding, and a continued commitment to Scholarships.
96% of you have an OK, good, or Really Good view of the UpZete - thanks! Based on your feedback, you can look forward to future UpZete's having shorter articles with more focus on individual active, elder, and chapter spotlights and ways to get involved in Zeta Psi. Another 90% of you had an OK good, or Really Good view of the last two issues of the Circle our Print Magazine - THANKS AGAIN! As next year marks our 'Circle Centennial', look for some exciting news on that front. 61.1% of you also prefer a physical copy of the Circle over a digital edition.
80% of you donated to your active chapter - THANK YOU. 50% donated to your elder board, 48.9% to the Zeta Psi Educational Foundation and 36.2% to Zeta Psi Fraternity. When it comes to what you look for, supporting your active chapter was #1, but long term value and financial accountability where major concerns, followed closely by supporting a broad range of services and supporting academics.
How would you rate your Zeta Psi experience? 15.5% rated it Really Good, 31.4% good, and 39.4% OK - a 'favorable' of 86.3%! What was the one thing you most valued from your membership? The Friendships. |
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Zeta Psi Active & Elder Services
Click below to learn more about each of these great Zete programs:
Career Mentors List. For Alumni, an easy way to offer Actives the inside scoop on your industry. For Actives, a great resource to help figure our what you want to do and how to do it!
Job Bank. Post or search resumes and jobs - Zetes helping Zetes!
Internships. Info on all our Internship Programs - the most in the Fraternity world.
Scholarships. $50,000+ each year in scholarships is given out by Zeta Psi to qualified undergraduates.
History of Zeta Psi. Now online - The 1928 Story of Zeta Psi, plus other historical information!
Shop Zete. Ties, T's, and more, plus our eMall where your online shopping generates donations for Zeta Psi!
Community Service. ZeteKidz, ZeteScout, StarPoints , and Zete Big Brothers give back to our community.
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Tales from the Road: Pat Kepp, Zete's Leadership Consultant
 My first six months as Zeta Psi's Leadership Consultant has been an amazing experience. I have been fortunate enough to visit about half of the chapters in the Northeast, almost all in the Midwest and South, UCLA and Texas, and possibly the highlight of my first months on the job, our new group at Oxford, Iota Omicron. Along the way I have met so many amazing Zetes who are making the Fraternity stronger than ever; I could not think of a better time to be involved in Zeta Psi. Aside from Oxford, our Beta Sigma at UGA, Sigma Zeta at UCLA, and the re-instated Iota Alpha at Texas are moving into or beginning the construction of houses; Our chapters have some of the highest initiation numbers in recent years, and more money is being raised for philanthropy. Zeta Psi continues to propel itself higher and higher to world domination.
As the traveling season winds down (only two trips left for conferences in Ohio and Indianapolis), I count down the days to Montreal for what will be my first Convention this August. I encourage everyone to attend, what reason could you have not to?? We already have over 100 undergrads registered already; that includes one US chapter who is driving 34 men up for the entire week! All in all, it is shaping up to be one of the most attended, most memorable, and overall best conventions in recent memory. I hope to see everyone there to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Alpha Psi at McGill, and Iota Omicron making Zeta Psi the First Intercontinental Fraternity, and the overall great state of our Zeta Psi.
In Tau Kappa Phi, Pat Kepp, pkepp@zetapsi.org
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Help build the Fraternity Endowment
Many brothers loyally supporter their own chapter but may never have donated to Zeta Psi's Annual Fund. If that's the case for you, please add your name to the Roll of Honor in the Circle with a small, simple step - CLICK HERE to donate a mere $25 to Zeta Psi's Fraternity Endowment. Your support promotes the very best programs in the Fraternity world for internships, career advancement, and personal, professional, and leadership development - and that helped us GO GLOBAL with our Oxford Chapter!
TKPhi, Dan Backer, YM '99, UpZete Editor. |
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 ZETE TIES!
CLICK HERE to buy your very own Zeta Psi neck tie - a snazzy wardrobe addition! With less than 90 left, buy yours TODAY!
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Phi Alpha's Message
