On November 24th, 2014 the Cal Epsilon chapter stormed the University Wood Shop by surprise. During the three hour alotted time span, the new member class of Fall 2014 was able to construct their new member Alpha Zeta paddles (keys) all by hand. The new members enjoyed creating their own paddles in the shop. Each one was tailored just right to fit the personality of the beholder. Way to go, Cal Epsilon Fall 14's. You make us proud! 

On November 20th, our Organization held our annual Christmas party in which we had a secret santa exchange, played Christmas games, ate wonderful snacks, and had an ugly sweater contest. This wasn't all we did during this meeting, along with this we also decorated Christmas trees for families in need in Stillwater, Oklahoma, collected cans for our local food pantry, and collected money for Angel Tree. We raised $304 that was able to be spent on one little girl and one little boy in the Stillwater area so that they could have a magical Christmas. Our shopping trip was on December 9th and we bought legos, kitchen sets, gift cards, stuffed animals, clothes, and much more. It was truly a moving night and it is so amazing seeing a group of such amazing members and pledges wanting to change the world and help those in need around them. It was such a wonderful evening.

On November 6th, 2014 our chapter invited 5 distinguished professionals in their fields to come and speak to our members about professional programs in the agriculture industry. It was a wonderful evening that inspired many of our members to pursue professional careers in the agriculture industry. Of the 5 speakers, 3 were Alpha Zeta alumni. Our speakers included a veterinary pathologist, agriculture lawyer and economist, meat scientist, distinguished cattle producer, animal nutritionist and environmentalist focused on research, and a crop scientist. It was an inspiring evening and we look forward to putting on this event again in the near future! 

The Florida Chapter’s final service event of the semester occurred on Saturday, December 6^th with Habitat for Humanity.  To build homes for families in need, Alachua Habitat relies on the generosity of community members in the form of donations and volunteer labor.  For our service event, we spent the day on a Habitat for Humanity build site helping complete various construction tasks for a house in progress.  Knowing that our efforts of the day contributed to helping provide for a family in our community was very rewarding and well worth the sweat!  

 

At our chapter meeting the week before Thanksgiving, the Florida Chapter held a donation drive to benefit the St. Francis House.  St. Francis House offers aid to those in our community who are less fortunate or without homes, whether it be through their soup kitchen, transitional housing program, or job placement services.  In just one chapter meeting, our brothers donated almost 100 canned goods and non-perishable food items, which we were able to deliver to the St. Francis House just in time for Thanksgiving!

The road that the Florida Chapter adopted through Gainesville’s Adopt-A-Street program got quite a few visits from us this semester, and we plan to continue that routine in the new year!  Our last road clean up was held on November 13^th, and we had a great time getting to know each other better while helping to keep the road and shoulder clean and safer for pedestrians.

The Florida Chapter volunteered at the Alachua County Humane Society twice more this semester, once in October and once in November.  Just as our first trip to the Humane Society this semester, brothers had a great time playing with the animals while doing some cleaning and housekeeping.  The Humane Society loves the extra help, and we are always more than happy to do what we can!  Olivia, one of our brothers, put it best when she said, “So glad to have been able to spend the morning with my brothers and so many special little critters.  I’m so glad that Alpha Zeta took me in and that we get to do such amazing things within our community.”

At the end this fall semester, our members got together for a night of fun and dancing. Our Winter Formal, organized by our hard-working social chair, was held at the Ithaca Country Club. After we all arrived at the venue, we gathered for tons of pictures before sitting down to enjoy our delicious meal. Soon after we were done eating, we were ready to dance all night! It was a wonderful night that will hold plenty of great memories for all our chapter. 

Throughout this fall semester, Alpha Zeta Cornell was represented in the co-recreational intramural volleyball games. Our team had a successful season this year, making it the playoffs! We were very happy to do better than last year. It sure helps that one of our AZ sisters is on the club women's volleyball team. Though, everyone played great and in the end, it was all about having a lot of fun together. We are excited for the next intramural sports season!

On December 1^st, after the period of the pledge process, finally the pledges were initiated to the fraternity. The activity was carried out on the Salón Tarzan on the UPR-Mayaguez Campus from 7:00 pm onward. We enjoyed delicious food, traditional to the upcoming Christmas in Puerto Rico. The directive and guests gave beautiful speeches and presented our new brothers and sisters. Afterwards, the pledges went through the initiation ceremony and officially became our new members.