Alpha Zeta Cornell’s Professional Development committee arranged a series of presentations for our weekly meeting on March 25^th. Featured members were Anna Smith ’13 and Danielle Sanok ’13. Anna, currently employed by Career Services at Cornell, gave a helpful seminar on resume building, which included a lecture with helpful tips and tools, and a breakout session in which members peer-reviewed each other’s resumes. Danielle, representative of AgCareers.com, gave members a tour of the website and demonstrated its relevance and ease of use to members...

A total of 16 members, old and new, participated in intramural sports on Cornell Chapter’s basketball and bowling teams. A couple of members played on both! In basketball, the team finished 0-6 but played a couple of close games. The 11-member team included a few people who had never played competitive basketball...

March 2nd was an exciting day for Alpha Zeta Cornell. We had 7 faculty and 4 alumni in attendance of our first ever Faculty and Alumni Happy Hour. It was so enjoyable that we plan to host another one later this semester. Although it officially lasted for an hour, people stayed later, taking advantage of the opportunity to network with alumni and faculty over snacks and beverages. Some alumni stayed to watch the Mr. Alpha Zeta Competition later that evening.

This evening the dining room tables were not for eating—they were a catwalk. All but two men participated in The First Annual Mr. Alpha Zeta Contest. The competition consisted of three components: Q&A, Redneck Formal Wear, and a talent show. A panel of alumni judges asked the brothers questions such as "what can YOU do for the future of agriculture?” Next, brothers showed off their looks with "I Heart AZ” tattoos and hilarious costumes. Finally, featured talents were firebreathing, acoustic guitar, impressions, and more. It was a great time for actives and alumni to hang out, laugh, and have a great time. After an audience-wide vote, Pledge Brendan Sanok ‘15 was crowned with the title of Mr. Alpha Zeta for embodying the most enthusiasm, while active Gianni Parente ’14 was awarded first runner-up. The cover charge of this event helped fund member’s trip to NALC.

During our first Thank-a-thon, actives called over 200 alumni of Alpha Zeta Cornell. Ten active members informed alumni of interesting recent events in the house and thanked them for their continuous support and interest. Local alumni were also invited to attend upcoming events such as the CALS Charitable Trust dinner, Faculty and Alumni Happy Hour, and the Mr. Alpha Zeta Competition. Members and alumni often extended their conversations into casual discussions about the house and exchanged favorite memories of their time as an active...

Five members from Alpha Zeta Cornell re-visited Food Bank of the Southern Tier in Elmira, NY at which they volunteered last semester. They took a tour of the new facility that is being used to store and redistribute food across southern NY, particularly areas recovering from hurricane damage from the fall. Actives helped pack bags for the food bank’s Backpack Program which gives food that can be easily packed into school lunches to families in need.

The first activity for our 10 new members was an outdoor excursion with Pledge Master Gianni Parente ’14 and Pledge Educator Amanda Forstater ’13. Together the group completed a ropes course through Cornell Outdoor Education and the pledges cooked their own dinner over a fire. The group played games like mafia and various ice breakers and thoroughly enjoyed them. Even the heated cabins were too cold to stay in during February, so the event culminated in a slumber party on the comfy convertible couches in the formal room at the house. Pledges enjoyed the opportunity to spend the whole day getting to know each other, and recommend that it be repeated in the future.

This November, members decided to put a new word--brothership--into action. Brothership refers to the tight bond shared between fraternity members--a feeling with which I am sure you all familiar. The week started off with Line Dancing. Both members and friends of the house participated in the "good old-fashioned entertainment." The next day was a Viking Dinner, which, for those unfamiliar with the term, was a utensil-free supper that culminated in a food fight. Vikings took extra care to protect the dining room's treasured murals. Foods sacrificed to the Viking Gods included meatloaf, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, cole slaw, ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, juice, and every possible combination of the foods listed above.

During rush week at the Cornell chapter, members and potential new members went on a road trip to Syracuse and the surrounding areas. We decided to take this opportunity to have quality guy/girl time. The men of AZ trekked to the nearest casino where some were rewarded for their poker faces, while others, though not as lucky, still had a blast. The guys concluded their trip with a belt-busting dinner at an all-you-can-eat Brazilian steakhouse. The Cornell ladies had other ideas. Some flocked to a local ice skating rink while others visited the zoo. We later met up at the carousel at Syracuse’s famous Carousel Mall and went on it for a few rides...

The Florida Chapter cleaned up our adopted road for the first time this spring. The members that participated in the clean up did not mind taking time out of their schedule on a Thursday evening to put the trash back where it belongs and off the street. Usually our road clean-ups take place on a weekend in the morning to avoid the heat of the day but our service chair, Jaclyn Irwin, planned the evening clean up to help add variation to the times of our events...