Scholars, leaders, athletes and gentlemen; these are the type of men that Jordan King and Hank Walden, professional consultants for Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, are looking to build the next installment of Greek life here at West Chester University.
With the booming growth of our student body here at West Chester, Greek life has gone on to see the same type of expansion. This fall, Pi Kappa Alpha, also known as PIKE, is here to look for men that not only want to better themselves, but also better their community.
PIKE was founded back in 1868 at the University of Virginia, in room 47 West Range, a small meeting room with the six original founders of the fraternity. From this humble beginning, PIKE went on to see outstanding success, now there are over 225 chapters in the U.S. and Canada. Within these chapters, there have been 260,000 lifetime members, and 85 percent of their chapters are in the top three overall ranking at their campuses.
Both King and Walden have a large amount of experience of involvement with Pi Kappa Alpha. King attended the University of Arizona and served the Gamma Delta Chapter as special events chairman, philanthropy chairman, member-at-large, and external vice president for two terms, as well as being a member of the recruitment committee. He was awarded PIKE University Gold Level Certification at the 2012 Convention. He was awarded Top New Member in the spring of 2010 and Committee Head of the Year in 2011. King also was the only Greek member from the state of Arizona to represent Greek Life nationally and lobby for pro-Greek legislation in Congress. Walden attended the University of Houston and served the Epsilon Eta Chapter as scholarship chairman, alumni relations chairman, community service chairman, sergeant-at-arms, new member educator, vice president and president, while also serving the university IFC as vice president of public relations and president. He attained PIKE University Gold Level Certification at the 2011 Dallas Leadership Summit.
As for PIKE’s plans for West Chester, Walden and King are excited to bring this vast and successful organization to West Chester’s campus. By becoming a member of PIKE now during the colonization process, you are presented with the chance of becoming a Founding Father. But what does it mean to be a Founding Father? Of the 260,000 lifetime members, less than one percent ever recieve this great opportunity. Over the next few weeks, King and Walden are both looking for young men that resemble what it truly means to be a PIKE. Men that understand the importance of a strong education for bettering themselves and those around them, strong individuals that have the traits to be the leaders of tomorrow that understand the importance of keeping themselves physically fit, and epitomize what it means to be a gentleman.
When reflecting on their own experiences as members of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, both Walden and King had different tales to tell, but each story shared similarities in terms of what they gained from their experience. “I wasn’t looking to be a part of a fraternity at first, but when I started looking around campus seeing men involved in athletics, participating in philanthropic events, and making a change in the community, I realized these were the men I aspired to be, and all of these men were PIKEs. PIKE was everything for me, college wouldn’t have been such a positive experience for me and everything I have now, I can attribute to being a PIKE,” said King when speaking on his own experience as a member of the fraternity.
“Being a brother of PIKE gives you a chance to be a part of something bigger than yourself, it gives you an opportunity to build something that you can come back in a few years and see the fruits of your labor. You’ll have the chance to have an impact on other young men and see them sharing the same great experience you had. This is something that will give you numerous benefits down the road, through doing charity for the community, adding to your resume, and also having a huge network of friends that you will be close with forever. PIKE isn’t something that’s for four years, it’s for life,” said Walden when saying what it will mean to be a PIKE at West Chester during this colonization process.
Pike’s colonization process will continue over the next couple of months. During this formation, Walden and King will continue to recruit men that embody what it means to be a PIKE, train members on ways to correctly operate a fraternity, and ensure that members will play a key role in charitable events both run by members of Greek life and those run by other organizations around campus. Any students interested about the potential of becoming a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity , contact Jordan King at Jking@pikes.org and Hank Walden at Hwalden@pikes.org.
Corey Fink is a third year student majoring in communication studies with a minor in journalism. He can be reached at CF794229@wcupa.edu.
Thu. Apr 25th, 2024
