[RUSH] Top 5 Reasons To Join Delta Sigma Pi

1. A Network that permeates the highest echelons of enterprise and the deepest levels of friendship



2. Opportunities provided by an environment focused on excellence in the business world, instead of the business classroom.



3. The type of diverse membership that challenges you to consider and engage not only with different personalities and cultures but with different occupations; ranging from financial analyst to non-profit strategic planner and everything in the middle.



4. Social events rivaling any social fraternal organization. Delta Sigma Pi prides itself on our ability to have fun at events ranging from Hay Rides and Camping Trips to relaxed dinners and themed parties.



5. Opportunity to test yourself as a leader on a platform built by generations of professional success.
   
   Our Spring 2009 recruitment period is January 26-January 30. For more information about joining Delta Sigma Pi please visit our rush website at www.rushdeltasig.org

[SOCIAL] Camping at Lake Bartlett

Original Event Date: November 22nd, 2008

Social Chair: Jessica Blank

Delta Sigma Pi camping trips are a truly unique experience (so unique, in fact, that we can't post it here). Lake Bartlett is known for it's oasis beauty in the Arizona desert. At just shy of an hour away, it's a great week-end steal.

This trip, the first that newly initiated brothers (NIBs) could go on, was just one night but it packed in enough stories to last the rest of the year.

When you're moving at the speed of Deltasig, having a group of solid people you can count on to rock the night with is an underestimated plus.

[COMMUNITY] Project Dignity

Original Event Date: November 16th, 2008

VP Community Service: Alexa Patterson

In partnership with Stand Up For Kids (Phoenix branch), a homeless youth aid organization, Delta Sigma Pi sponsored a dignified thanksgiving dinner for Phoenix's homeless youth.

Almost 100 youth were served restaurant style with volunteers waiting the tables. Local restaurants provided meals for the children, some who can be as young as 8; Delta Sigma Pi sponsored all but one table.

"Projects like this one show these homeless children that someone cares about them, and helps them stabilize  and reach a point where they are capable of supporting themselves," said Neta Berger, a strategic planning volunteer for Stand Up For Kids. "We're really glad that Delta Sigma Pi shares our committment to homeless youth."

Stand Up For Kids is currently looking for volunteers, both at the field and managerial levels.

[PROFESSIONAL] Off Madison Ave on Network Marketing

Original Event Date: November 13th, 2008

VP Professional Development: Jacob Pfeiffer

Off Madison Ave, a marketing firm known for driving revolutions, told Deltasigs that in today's Web 2.0 environment, the customers are the marketers and the marketing firms simply manage public perception.

Mirorring Al and Laura Ries view in their landmark piece, The Fall of Advertising & The Rise of PR, Roger Hurni and David Anderson said that marketing today involves appealing to individual personas from a strategic perspective and then demonstrating that value to the world through tipping point customers. 

The firm has built a track record with firms such as Nike, Clearwire and Allied Waste for being able to seize the power of social networks to effectively convert buzz to sales. One of their methods to doing this is via getting individuals to identify with a firm, then broadcast that brand and positioning message to their peers.

Together, they asserted that the increased de-centralization of information dispersal has lead to a greater transparency in the marketplace, driving up competition and value in the process.

[PROFESSIONAL] Innovators' Challenge

Original Event Date: November 12th, 2008

Fall 2008 Pledge Class Event

The Innovators' Challenge was envisioned as student business plan competition. Competitors were tasked with envisioning a start-up and drafting a 2-page business plan. A slate of finalists were selected who made a 10-minute pitch to a panel of esteemed industry and faculty judges. The winners received a combined $500 in prizes and were published in venture capital blogs and journals.

The pilot event had almost 30 competitors out of which over 10 made finalists. Over 25 judges scored the written portion of the competition including venture capitalists from the Phoenix area and Silicon Valley. Presentations were judged by a panel including representatives from the Apollo Group, Northern Trust and Vangaurd.

"We have a number of students in the W.P. Carey School who are interested in starting their own business," said Kay Faris, associate dean of the business school, in a State Press article. "Often, however, students don't know if an idea is viable...this is a wonderful opportunity to get feedback for new ideas from people in the industry."

The Innovators' Challenge program has blossomed into a fully integrated entrepreneurial association that includes a symposium held in the Spring semester. The group's new mission, "to catalyze entrepreneurs by recognizing exceptional innovators, providing opportunities for visionaries to connect, and facilitating their lifelong learning experience" complements Delta Sigma Pi's entrepreneurial spirit.

Arnav Guleria, the program's founder and Delta Sigma Pi's VP Professional Development, said the Innovators' Challenge is a subsidiary of Delta Sigma Pi, but still operates as a sovereign entity, with its own management and budget.

[ALUMNI] Networking Mixer

Original Event Date: October 27th, 2008

VP Alumni Relations: Neta Berger

In the casual-professional ambiance of La Bocca, active Deltasigs, alumni and members of the Tempe Chamber of Commerce mingled, sparking business relationships and forging connections. 

Delta Sigma Pi is a member of the Tempe Chamber of Commerce, and thus has the privilege to attend all its events and mixers. In this event, the alumni mixer gave them an opportunity to connect with Delta Sigma Pi's vibrant alumni base. 

Also attending was the president of the local alumni chapter. After graduating, eligible Deltasigs may apply for membership at their alumni chapters.

Said Neta Berger, the event's coordinator, "We have so many valuable alumni members; it's really a great opportunity to have so many of them here together. You don't see these opportunities often."

The mixer was sponsored by an alumni business.

[COMMUNITY] Mini-Golf for Community Hospitals

Original Event Date: October 18th, 2008

VP Community Service: Alexa Patterson

In partnership with the American Marketing Association chapter at ASU, Delta Sigma Pi participated in a fundraising mini-golf tournament for the benefit of the John C. Lincoln Hospitals.

Aiming "to meet the basic needs of our most vulnerable community members and help them reach their full potential for health and self-sufficiency," the John C. Lincoln Hospitals network is an $8M non-profit organization with over 88 employees and 1,651 volunteers. They provide a comprehensive safety net of integrated social services to more than 12,000 families representing over 27,000 people from 71 zip codes. 

The philantropic event raised funds for the hospital network that will go towards supporting needy families. The winning team received tickets to the FBR Open, a highly acclaimed annual golf tournament held in Scottsdale.

[PROFESSIONAL] PriceWaterhouseCoopers Speaker & Alumni

Original Event Date: October 16th 2008

VP Professional Development: Jake Pfeiffer

Kate Craer, a PriceWaterhouseCoopers assurance associate and Delta Sigma Pi (Gamma Omega) alumni, walked students through an accountant's career, with added emphasis on PWC's recent battle over a major waste company deal, while demonstrating, in person, the benefits of Delta Sigma Pi association.

Craer walked Deltasigs through the advantages of an accounting career, such as plenty of travel and experience in a diverse swath of fields. 

Highlighting her experiences with auditing Allied Waste, a $6B waste management company being contested by KPMG and PWC, Craer showed the importance of accounting in the business decision-making process.

"Her specific examples of how auditing information lead to business decisions was really telling. You can't get that kind of relevance from a textbook" said Brett Reinhart. 

Equally significant to the pledges who attended the event was Craer's description of how Delta Sigma Pi's programs and connections put her years ahead of her competitors not only at ASU but across the United States. 

Craer is now a mentor for the Delta Sigma Pi mentoring program.

[SOCIAL] Hayride

Original Event Date: October 10th, 2008

Social Chair: Jessica Blank

A 5-hour retreat to an Arizona desert ranch, completed in part via a horse-drawn wagon ride, gave everyone (pledges included!) a chance to relax and connect with the chapter in a casual setting.

With a campfire, drinks and s'mores, it was a good time. The hayride is a chapter tradition that occurs near the beginning of every semester.

[PROFESSIONAL] Merrill-Lynch Dinner

Original Event Date: October 8th, 2008

Fall 2008 Pledge Class Event

Just days after Merrill-Lynch announced their acquisition by Bank of America, Delta Sigma Pi was treated to an hour with a senior analyst who advised the Brothers on their personal finances while discussing his career and the future of Merrill-Lynch.

The $44.3B acquisition of Merrill-Lynch, formerly a financial management and advisory firm, came as the 7th largest acquisition in American history and a vanguard of the recession to come. The analyst, who was not available to give his name for publishing, said that through the merger was difficult for upper management, it gave the firm stability against the coming economic downturn that "shadow banks" (banks without a depository arm, such as the pre-recession Goldman Sachs or J.P. Morgan) could not enjoy.

Recommending that graduates of ASU first try to purchase a house then work to establish 6 month liquidity, he advised against investing large amounts of capital, as a student, into stocks and bonds. Wealth management experts advise establishing oneself before pursuing growth strategies.

Neta Berger, the Spring 2009 Senior Vice President, learned "how to invest [her] assets in a way that matche[d her] goals both today as a student and tomorrow as a businessperson."

Delta Sigma Pi will continue its relationship with the financial advisory business in the spring via an investment strategy workshop. Dinner was provided by Uno's Pizzeria.

[COMMUNITY] Project CURE

Original Event Date: September 27th, 2008

VP Community Service: Alexa Patterson

Several Brothers collected in the early morning to assist Project CURE to envoy medical supplies and equipment to Nigeria.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, has lost over 3 milion lives to AIDS in the past decade with another 4 million infected today. Project CURE is aiding the Nigerian government in launching an unprecedented $150M anti-AIDS medical and educational campaign.

Delta Sigma Pi helped document, process, and load critical medical aid en route to Nigerian disaster zones. The work will help reduce the massive death toll that AIDS, as well as a host of preventable and treatable diseases, is wreaking on the nation's people and economy. 

We look forward to continuing to work with Project CURE to battle preventable deaths around the world. Thank-you to everyone who helped out!