Tau Kappa Epsilon has been recognized as the top chapter in the nation.
The fraternity officially started two years ago at the University and beat out 279 other chapters throughout the Unites States in order to earn the position as the top in the nation.
Pedro Petribu, president of TKE, said it’s rare for the fraternity chapter to have been recognized for the top in the nation because of how new it is, it usually consists of an older chapter. TKE has worked in key areas such as recruiting new members, keeping a consistent 3.0 GPA, having each member do community service and building philanthropy, all of which have earned the chapter top in the nation, he said.
“It’s easier to run and be part of something when you have a set goal to strive for,” Petribu said. “We worked so hard that we got it.”
Vice President and founding member of TKE Austin Zachrich said their chapter was the first in the nation to reach 100 percent in the key areas, which included dedication and hard work. It was a defining piece that we were deserving for getting what was expected out of a fraternity for being so new, he said.
“I truly believe each one of our guys in the fraternity has that dedication and strive to become better,” Zachrich said. “We push them and make sure they are reaching potential and we make sure we recruit the best people, but at the same time you create a culture where you encourage people to get better.”
Four members of the chapter will travel to Washington D.C. in August to accept the award at Conclave, where TKE’s from around the world get together for three days to build friendships and vote on regulations and changes.
Zachrich said it’s an honor being able to accept the award and recognition in front of all of the chapters in the nation because it just proves how much time and effort went into everything that it took to get there.
“It’s not just a win for us but for the college too to have a Greek chapter that is the top of all of its Greek organizations,” Zachrich said. “The honor of being able to call yourself the top TKE chapter in the nation goes to show that all of the countless hours working and time has paid off.”
Senior Seth Cain has been a member of the fraternity for a few years and said the chapter went through some hardships to get to where it is now and things haven’t been so easy to be the top in the nation.
“It’s nice to see that hard work and determination has earned us some recognition,” Cain said. “Our chapter still has a lot of accomplishments to achieve and I think we will do well to achieve them.”
Zachrich said just because the chapter has this type of recognition doesn’t mean the fraternity brothers aren’t going to be striving to do better things. He said they are going to set higher goals and will work hard to achieve them.
“We just have to go above and beyond,” Zachrich said. “Now that we’re here we just have to raise up our game.”
