Nice article on APO at PSU

[LionTamer]

Our own Blue GBI, who went through rush this fall at Penn State, joined APO this year.
-----

Non-social fraternities help students achieve


By Jen Winberry
Collegian Staff Writer
For students looking to expand their horizons at Penn State, involvement in a business or service fraternity may help them reach this goal.

When some think of greek organizations, images of overcrowded fraternity parties with sticky floors from beer come to mind, but there are dozens of nationally recognized fraternities on campus that provide an alternative to the typical fraternity.

<snip>

Alpha Phi Omega, a service fraternity and one of the nation's largest fraternities, has 77 active members at Penn State and a fall prospective member class of 44, the largest class the chapter has seen in years.

"Alpha Phi Omega is more than the sum of its parts," said fraternity president Dan Seals. "We are students here on campus that are dedicated to helping others whenever possible, by providing service to the nation, community, university and the fraternity. "

The recruitment process is very similar to that of Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council organizations. At the beginning of each semester, interested students gather information about the groups and decide if they want to participate.

"I wanted to join a service fraternity because I wanted to get involved," said Meghan Benya (sophomore-psychology), a prospective member of Alpha Phi Omega. "I wanted to get involved with the university, the community, and with my peers."

Last academic year, the Penn State chapter of Alpha Phi Omega completed more than 6,000 hours of service, Seals said.

This past weekend, Alpha Phi Omega sponsored a series of events on campus with Mercedes-Benz. Interested students could test drive the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class and catch a glimpse of the hottest trends at a fashion show, with all proceeds supporting the fraternity's annual projects.

"Everything went really well," Robyn Beerhalter (junior-public relations), Mercedes-Benz chair, said. "We received $3,000 for helping, which goes towards our service budget."

Alpha Phi Omega will put the money toward a fall festival, which they are having on Nov. 8 in conjunction with Big Brother/Big Sister and Second Mile, Beerhalter said.

<snip>
[URL=http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2003/10/10-31-03tdc/10-31-03dnews-03.asp]