Wednesday night’s Leadership and Engagement Achievements of Distinction (LEAD) recognized Cal Poly individuals and organizations making a difference in the San Luis Obispo community and beyond.
The awards recognized those representing Associated Student, Inc. (ASI) Club Services, the Center for Service in Action, the Center for Leadership and Service and the office of Fraternity and Sorority Life.
In the leadership category, Chi Omega took home the Innovation and New Member Education award. Lambda Chi Alpha won Outstanding Risk Management and Alpha Chi Omega won Outstanding Academic Achievement.
Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) was recognized for its philanthropy and community service efforts in the engagement category, winning Student Community Services Service Leadership and Excellence Award. Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT) was also recognized in this category for its collaboration with Jack’s Helping Hand.
Chapter Presidents of the Year from the three greek councils were recognized in the achievement category. The award describes these individuals as having been phenomenal in their positions and made aspiring achievements both in their chapter and in the greater San Luis Obispo community.
Interfraternity Council (IFC) awarded Lambda Chi Alpha president Tyler Molnar with Chapter President of the Year. Rene Velazquez of Gamma Zeta Alpha won from United Sorority and Fraternity Council and Mia Musso of Gamma Phi Beta won from Panhellenic.
Graphic communication junior Mia Musso said that during her presidency she worked hard to be a good communicator within her sorority and strived to be an approachable and understanding president.
“I think sometimes the leadership positions in a sorority can be intimidating to the girls or hard to work with,” Musso said. “I worked on making sure everyone was comfortable coming to me if they had any concerns and kind of being a go-to person for all members.”
In the final category, distinction, Lambda Sigma Gamma (LSG) was awarded Fraternity and Sorority Life Chapter of the Year. The sorority was recognized for its leadership, involvement and community service contributions. LSG had strong participation in PolyCultural Weekend and Orientation for United Raza, as well as in community service for K9 rescue shelters and homeless shelters.
LSG member and sociology junior Catelyn Agbayani said that this is a huge achievement for her sorority, especially since it is small in number, with only 19 members.
“It was so exciting,” Agbayani said. “The girls were so excited too. I think it just means that we put in so much work this year and we’re still going.”
Finally, Independent Student Organization of the Year was awarded to Sigma Pi. Nominees for this category came from ASI Club Services, the Center for Service in Action, the Center for Leadership and Service and the office of Fraternity and Sorority Life.
Sigma Pi was recognized for its chapter involvement in community service and philanthropy. One significant achievement for the fraternity was its first Suicide Awareness Week, which fundraised for the Amazing Day Foundation while also brought awareness to mental health issues on college campuses.
Sigma Pi president and business administration junior Jacob Robinson said the fraternity was also proud to have dedicated more than 12,000 community service hours throughout the year. Robinson said Sigma Pi has never received an award like this in the eight years the chapter has been at Cal Poly.
Sigma Pi member and biomedical engineering junior Conor Hedigan said that in part, the award represented Sigma Pi’s strength in brotherhood this year.
“A lot of new guys joined this year with a ton of energy and really good hearts,” Hedigan said. “They brought a totally new perspective to everything. We’re always thinking of how we can be better, and I think (the award) showed our hard work.”