Alpha Phi Continues to Pledge Excellence After 20 Years

Published: September 17, 2015 | Author: Emily Ronquillo | Read Time: 2 minutes

SUU's 2015 Alpha Phi pledge class

The annual Homecoming festivities of parades, football games and fireworks take on a new meaning for hundreds of past and current SUU students who will be rushing to Cedar City for the 20-year anniversary of Alpha Phi at Southern Utah University. In anticipation of the anniversary, Alpha Phi invites all former and current Greek brothers and sisters to the Homecoming events Friday, September 25 and Saturday, September 26.




On Friday, Alpha Phi will host the Friends of Phi BBQ at Main Street Park, starting at 4 p.m. Tickets are $18 and interested participants need to RSVP by Friday, Sept. 18. For anyone unable to attend the BBQ, there will be a section at Forever Red, that same day at 8 p.m., exclusively for Greeks and their families.

Alpha Phi and the other Greek organizations will be attending the usual Homecoming events on Saturday such as the parade, tailgate and the football game. On Saturday, Alpha Phi will also hold a special initiation, inviting members of Phi Alpha Beta to join Alpha Phi.

Bree Pitkin, Alpha Phi vice president of programming and education, said members of Alpha Phi wanted to extend the invitation to the Phi Alpha Beta sisters who were unable to join Alpha Phi 20 years ago as a special moment to bring the two organizations together.

“Alpha Phi wouldn’t be who we are or where we are without Phi Alpha Beta,” Pitkin said.

Phi Alpha Beta was established in 1923 making it the first Greek organization at SUU. The chapter left campus around the early 1970’s, but returned to SUU in October 1988. In 1995, Phi Alpha Beta officially became a chapter of Alpha Phi.

Heather Teerlink (‘95), the last Phi Alpha Beta president, said that becoming part of a national organization was something Phi Alpha Beta was planning for awhile. Teerlink credits Brooke Anderson Bischoff (‘97), the rush chair for Phi Alpha Beta, as the one who brought the most enthusiasm to becoming a national organization.

“Phi Alpha Beta was a great organization, but we were trying to make it better. With a national office supporting you, you have so many more resources,” Bischoff said.

SUU's founding Alpha Phi class

Keri Mecham (‘97), a charter member of the SUU chapter of Alpha Phi, said when researching national sororities, Phi Alpha Beta chose Alpha Phi because they had similar values and was a good fit for SUU. It is clear Phi Alpha Beta made the right choice as Alpha Phi has had 20 years of incredible growth and success at SUU.

For more information on Alpha Phi’s homecoming events visit their Facebook Page. Purchase tickets for the Friends of Phi BBQ by Sept. 18.

Photo credit: 1) SUU's Fall 2015 Alpha Phi pledge class. 2) The original group of SUU students who founded Alpha Phi in 1995 

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