On October 15th, Ellen Drennan was elected Alpha Phi Omega – Theta Alpha’s 2018 Chapter President, with elections for other members of the executive board set for the coming weeks. Since joining APO in the fall 2015 semester, Drennan has been very involved with the organization, serving as this year’s Secretary and as Sergeant-at-Arms of her new member class. As President, Drennan plans on working to improve the chapter’s retention of members and sustainability, as well as increase visibility and collaboration with other campus organizations.
APO is a national organization that formed in 1925 upon the principles of the Boy Scouts of America, and now consists of more than 350 chapters. The Theta Alpha chapter at Stevens was chartered in 1949 and recommissioned in 2000 after a period of inactivity starting in the 1960’s. Though termed a fraternity, APO is a coed organization. Currently, the Theta Alpha chapter has over 150 brothers and new members, who work together to successfully host or assist with many events.
Like always, APO has been involved with volunteering at several events in Hoboken this semester. This includes the Hoboken Harvest Festival which took place this past weekend, as well as the hurricane victim clothing sorting event which took place at The Church of Our Lady of Grace. Additionally, APO has been volunteering at events outside of Hoboken, such as the Cub Scout Activity Day at Alpine Scout Camp earlier this month. There has been a particular focus this semester on APO’s National Service Week theme of “Preventing Suicide on Campus”. APO cohosted Stigma Free Week earlier this month and will be hosting a multitude of events through the middle of November to raise suicide prevention awareness, including leadership workshops, de-stressing events, and care package sales, the proceeds from which will be donated to suicide prevention charities.
“I’m looking forward to leading our chapter to continue to thrive and pursue excellence,” says Drennan, who also noted that much of what she will work on as President will be centered around APO’s values as a fraternity. “APO is committed to the three cardinal principles of leadership, friendship, and service, which are central to all of our actions on and off campus.”
When asked what specific goals she has for improving APO during her tenure as President, Drennan said “I plan on working to improve our chapter’s retention and sustainability by evaluating how to best fit our programs to our members’ needs and wants.” When asked what else she would work on, Drennan added “I also hope to utilize my connections to leaders in other organizations on campus to increase APO’s participation and visibility”, something essential for an organization which assists several other campus organizations with their events and service initiatives.
Anyone interested in reaching out to APO’s executive board can do so via apo@stevens.edu. Drennan also hopes to continue APO’s successful recruitment efforts, and anyone interested in learning about APO’s recruitment process can reach out to apotarecruitment@gmail.com.
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