With over 700 student-led organizations available to NC State students, many students overlook this plethora of opportunities to get involved on campus. Students searching for a sense of community within NC State often join fraternities and sororities organizations as a way to meet new people and be a part of something bigger than themselves.
However, traditional fraternity and sorority life is not everybody’s cup of tea. Many students who don’t feel their ideals or personalities align with traditional fraternity and sorority life have found alternative organizations that coincide with their ideals.
Kaley Cross, a third-year studying environmental science founded and acts as scouting vice president for NC State’s Chapter of APO, a national co-ed service fraternity, which she decided to join because of the organization’s strong focus on volunteering work.
“Alpha Phi Omega, or APO, is a national co-ed service fraternity that’s foundation is built on leadership, friendship and service, so we do a lot of service on campus and in the community of Raleigh as a group,” Cross said. “I really liked the service aspect of it; I don’t necessarily see traditional Greek life promoting that aspect of their organization as compared to other aspects.”
Cross also appreciates APO’s focus on inclusivity and diversity as a means of meeting different people who share her same love for service.
“We are very inclusive, so there is not a very selective process.” Cross said. “Anyone who completes the requirements of pledging and rushing APO are then voted into the fraternity, and I would say the majority of the time people are accepted. We definitely try to promote diversity and inclusivity into our organization. The nice thing about APO is there are people from all the different colleges, majors, backgrounds … I appreciate that a lot.”
APO services the local Raleigh area by participating in river cleanups and invasive species collection as well as partnering with the Brentwood Boys and Girls Club, the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and the Carolina Tiger Rescue.
Paige Swanson, a third-year studying science technology and applied nutrition and the leadership director of Omega Phi Alpha, a national service sorority, also sought a group friends who valued service as much as she did when she came to NC State.
“When I got to college, I had decided that I really wanted to make friends with people who really care about volunteering and school,” Swanson said. “I wanted to find a group of people that I can be friends with that do similar things as me.”
Omega Phi Alpha serves the community through various means, focusing their primary areas on service.
“We have five primary areas of service: the university community, community at large, members of the sorority, and the nations of the world,” Swanson said. “We have a 5K that we started, this is our third year…and it’s for mental health, and the proceeds go toward the National Alliance on Mental Illness, so that’s like our biggest project we do.”
Like APO, Omega Phi Alpha strives to be the most inclusive organizations they can be and are actively seeking ways to broaden their policy of inclusivity.
“We are trying to get safe chapter certified which is a certification that Greek organization can get where…students who identify as GLBT can know that it is a safe place to identify in that way. We have to have 60 or 70 percent of our chapter certified, and it has to be recertified every two years.”
Nolan Cambio, a third-year studying accounting and supply chain management and director of fraternal relations for NC State’s chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi, the national co-ed professional business fraternity joined Alpha Kappa Psi with the goal of improving his professional development.
“I was looking for a way to get involved on campus, and someone from AKPsi came into one of my business classes and told me about it, and I thought it was really interesting, so I decided to join,” Cambio said. “Before I joined, I did not have a resume, did not have a LinkedIn, did not own a suit, but since I’ve joined, my resume has improved a lot, because I’ve been able to get tips from people who have already been interviewing.”
While Alpha Kappa Psi is often referred to as the business fraternity on campus, you do not need to be majoring in business to rush.
“Any major can join, so you don’t have to be in business. You can be male or female,” Cambio said. “It’s mostly focused on finding a job, they give you tips just in general when you’re looking for a job.”
Cambio also enjoys the social aspect of his fraternity. Like traditional organizations, APO, Omega Phi Alpha, and AKPsi have participated in many events.
“We have formal, semi-formal, beach weekend, mountain weekend, alumni weekend, and we have fundraisers but those depend on the semester,” Cambio said. “We are a fairly new chapter. Other chapters have something called the Yellow Rose Gala, where you choose a charity and have a gala to raise money and donate. Next fall we are going to have one for the Jimmy V Foundation.”
If you are interested in joining an alternative fraternity or sorority, you can learn more about the organizations mentioned in this article by visiting their website.
