On Wednesday, November 18, the WSU Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life held their annual Arête Awards ceremony, a lasting tradition recognizing outstanding members within the Panhellenic, Fraternity, and Multicultural communities.

The awards given preceded both the 2019 fall and 2020 spring semesters.

Washington Alpha finished the night receiving four chapter awards: Highest Fall 2019 GPA, Highest Spring 2020 GPA, Highest New Member GPA of Spring 2020, and the Global Citizenship Award. The chapter also won two individual awards in Chapter President Jared Holstad receiving the Community Builder of the Year Award and Washington Alpha winning IFC Chapter of the Year for the fourth time in six year.

In winning both semesters’ highest chapter GPA Awards, WA Alpha achieved a chapter GPA for fall 2019 of 3.367, followed by a spring 2020 semester GPA of 3.596. The highest GPA award has been awarded to WA Alpha for semesters on end.

WA Alpha has maintained its focus on grades by implementing a system that recruits academically driven members and encourages older members to support their younger brothers academically. By placing grades at the forefront of priorities during recruitment, the chapter is able to achieve a high GPA.

Via this tactic, WA Alpha received the Arête Award of Highest New Member GPA for the spring 2020 semester.

In addition to academic awards, WA Alpha was also awarded the Global Citizenship Award, an award given to chapters who excel in community involvement and philanthropic efforts. Chapter service hours, money raised through philanthropies, and the creation of an environment that promotes social justice, difficult conversations, and talks on diversity and inclusion are weighed.

To receive this award, WA Alpha engaged in their SigEp quesadilla philanthropy, raising $1300 for the organization Big Brothers Big Sisters, which focuses on providing mentors for individuals ages 6-18 who need them. WA Alpha also raised $800 in their philanthropy for Hearts In Motion, helping to provide medical care for citizens in the U.S., and Central and South America. Finally, the chapter engaged in the Live Your Oath Movement in partnership with the Alpha Delta Pi sorority in an effort to stand up to domestic violence and promote discussions regarding the subject.

SigEp also received two individual awards in addition to the aforementioned four chapter awards. The first of these two included Chapter President Jared Holstad winning the Community Builder of the Year Award.

The Community Builder of the Year Award is given to an individual within Greek Life who promotes unity within the Greek community and Pullman at large.

To earn this award, Holstad focused on risk policies and community safety, such as working with IFC to instill ways to keep chapters safe with regards to covid-19, while simultaneously serving as WA Alpha’s Chapter President.

“This award means that as an organization, we’re headed in the right direction,” Holstad Said. “I think it serves as a springboard going into next semester with my Policy and Procedure position with IFC to improve the relationship between the Greek community and Pullman.”

Finally, SigEp was awarded the IFC Chapter of the Year Award. This award, given exclusively to one fraternity per year, is given to a chapter that exemplifies academic success, intellectual development, membership advancement, leadership development, chapter management, and positive relationships within the community.

In earning this award, WA Alpha focused primarily on academic success, while making improvements in their membership advancement process by tailoring their version of the Balanced Man Program to fit the personal growth needs of their members. Positive relationships with the community were also prioritized through community service and aforementioned engagements.

WA Alpha is humbled to have received the awards that they did and looks forward to working towards more awards in the future. They will maintain a focus on academics, community engagement, and being leaders in the Greek system while bettering themselves as a chapter and as individuals along the way.