Spring 2006

Chapter Check-In

First year students
at Happy Hour

Our 8th Annual Luau
at Nikki Beach

Dr. Hupp (our Deputy Councilor) hanging out with D3's
at the Ale House

Sigma Chi initiation 2006

New members of Sigma Chi
at the Initiation After-Party

Sigma Chi's Founders Awards
for Community Service

Zeta Kappa's Psi O Chalet

Zeta Kappa's President,
Ryan Dunlavey
at the grill

Chowing down at the Rush BBQ

Students of Zeta Chapter along with Deputy Councilor,
Dr. Steinberg (middle right)
and Mrs. Steinberg (front left)

Nu Sigma -
NOVA

The 2004-2005 year was very successful for our fraternity. In the beginning of the year, we focused on academics for the first year dental students and offered them tutoring and helpful hints in operative dentistry. Then came some fun in February at our annual Super Bowl party at Beyond Billiards, where the Patriots defeated the Eagles.

In April, we bid the seniors farewell with their senior dinner at Capriccio's Italian Restaurant. Twenty-one seniors were honored for their help and support throughout dental school and three seniors were especially awarded for their academic and fraternal achievements.

In May, elections were held and the new officers were appointed their duties. The new officers include: Jared Slovan, President; Jincy Kuruvilla, VP; Talia Puma, Secretary; Tom Purcell, Treasurer. Our new chairmen include: Jennifer Boyajian, Academic Chair; Heidi Mason and Lauren Triana, Rush Chairs; Darren Pike, Social Chair. The new team did not waste any time and held two bake sales in July to raise money for the new school year, raising over $300.

In August, we started off the school year by welcoming the new first year dental students with a happy hour at Davie Ale House with 78 first year students attending! We also had our 8th annual Luau at Nikki Beach in South Beach. We had buses that transported 225 people to the event, sponsored by Heineken! As always, it was a huge event with a lot of fun!

Our rush ended in October with 26 new Psi Omega members and currently we have 72 members in total. The new D-1 members have enjoyed a number of supporting academic programs we offer, including: Mock Anterior Tooth ID Practical, Mock Posterior Tooth ID Practical, numerous anatomy tutoring sessions, Lunch and Learn on How to Get into a Post Grad Program, and an Oral B Lunch and Learn Presentation on Bleaching, where all participants were given bleaching kits and Sonic toothbrushes, compliments of Oral B.

D-2 members have also enjoyed our supporting academic programs, including: access to the Psi Omega Tooth Bank for their upcoming Endo practicals and projects, as well as tutoring available in any of the clinical courses. In October, 21 members enjoyed the First Annual Beverage Ball Kickball Tournament in the rain and mud. After the consensus of rave reviews, we have decided to make this an annual event. This upcoming year will have continued success with many more events including community service, a canoe trip, bowling rivalry against Alpha Omega, and an incredible Super Bowl party at the Davie Ale House with an open buffet and open bar all game long. Thank you to all members and officers for your continued success in making our fraternity the best!

Talia Puma ('05), Secretary

Sigma Chi -
Medical University of South Carolina

On behalf of the Sigma Chi Chapter at the Medical University of South Carolina, we would like to wish our fellow Psi O members a Happy and a Healthy New Year. Our chapter kicked off the Summer with several fantastic rush events. We started off by hosting two Post-Gross parties set against picturesque views of the Charleston Harbor. Our annual Freshmen Welcome BBQ gave members the opportunity to meet and greet first year dental students. Soon thereafter, a Dental Morphology Spotting Practice Practical and a Psi O breakfast got everyone back in the classroom state- of- mind.

As a result of our chapter's efforts we are pleased to announce our newest class of 20 outstanding members, for a total of more than 80 active members.

There was no better way to introduce our newest affiliates to the fraternity than by hosting our Annual Casino Night on October 15th. Thanks to our very generous Sigma Chi alumni, community support, ticket sales, and our new Raffle/Silent Auction, we raised $2200, from which we donated a large portion to our philanthropies, three free local dental clinics.

To honor our new members, we held an initiation ceremony at our historic campus chapel. Following this traditional affair, we celebrated with good food and beverages at Charleston Beer Works, a campus favorite.

Things are already set into motion to make 2006 even better than 2005. In February, several of our constituents will volunteer at the Special Smiles pavilion at the Special Olympics, teaching the importance of oral hygiene and proper technique. February is also Children's Dental Health Month and many Sigma Chis will donate their time at local elementary schools and at Give Kids a Smile Day. In addition, many of our members continue to serve the community by volunteering at several "after hour" free dental clinics. Over the past year, Sigma Chi has collectively contributed more than two thousand hours to the Charleston area and surrounding communities.

We are especially excited about our newest fundraising campaigns that are currently being planned; for instance, our first ever Psi O Olympics complete with kickball, paintball, and wiffleball, a fishing/party barge, and our unique campus-wide Psi O sponsored 5k run.

The passing of another year means we will have to say goodbye to our tremendous senior members. To show our gratitude for all their efforts, we will honor them with a Senior Banquet in the spring. We all wish them the best in their post-graduation endeavors.

On behalf of the entire Sigma Chi Chapter, we want to thank Dr. Albenesius for his kindness and support and the Executive Board for their dedication and hard work. We look forward to an event filled 2006.

Jennifer Hirsch Doobrow, ('07), President

Zeta Kappa -
University of Minnesota

We bring frozen but warm greetings from the Psi Omegas of the Zeta Kappa Chapter of the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry!

We have had a great Fall with a successful Rush with a whole week of activities that included a BBQ with the alumni, a breakfast presentation, lunch at the house, and to cap off the week, our traditional Rush Party. Our new Psi O members enjoyed our initiation, as well as our monthly chapter meetings and social events, including the Halloween Party and the Christmas Party. Coming up, many Zeta Kappas will be attending our school's "G.Y. Black Tie Dance"!

We have new signage for our Psi Omega Chalet (a.k.a. chapter house) Check out the pictures! Visit our website at www.umn.edu/~psiomega. We hope your new year in dentistry has been "full-filling"! So long for now from the Zeta Kappas of Minne-Psio-ta!

Zeta – University of Pennsylvania

Zeta Chapter welcomed Psi Omega Nationals and Alumni to Philadelphia! In October, Zeta was fortunate to be located in the same city as the ADA National Convention in Philadelphia. We kicked off the Convention by having an Alumni Dinner, in honor of Dr. Grosse's retirement, at the Restaurant School. Many distinguished guests were present. The next morning the members of Zeta waited anxiously as members of Nationals and Zeta Alumni inspected the repairs made to the Zeta House. The members of Nationals were clearly happy with the results and gave the group inspiration to keep up the good work. That evening a cocktail hour was held and many other Chapters were present and recognized for their hard work.

Even before Nationals had arrived, the year had begun in full force. Many Rush activities occurred, including the "Surviving and even Excelling the First Year of Dental School" presentation by Ellie Baker '07, Mitz-Ann Alexis '07, and Kianna Simmons '07. Rush week culminated with the annual "Welcome Back" party at the Zeta Fraternity House. The annual party was again a huge hit! Soon everyone settled down to work and tutoring began. Zeta Chapter sponsored the annual Mock Histology and Osteology exams with Alpha Omega. In addition, tutoring for General Restorative Dentistry (GRD) II began for the Second Year Students. Parking was streamlined and organized; thanks to the efforts of Jeff Robinson '08, Hemant Dhawan '07, and Jay Kansal ’07 the parking lot is very full!

The members of Zeta Chapter have been working hard to get their house and chapter organized and debt-free. No matter how hard we worked, we could never settle our dispute with Philadelphia Gas Works. Special thanks go to Dr. Stavrides for his lobbying efforts on behalf of Zeta; we are finally free of our gas obligations!

As the semester progressed we continued our efforts in and out of the classroom. The annual holiday party was held at the Chapter House. Thank you to everyone who made the party possible. After returning from a short break, Zeta held another successful party and the annual Super Bowl party. Members continue to receive free tutoring with a focus on GRD and Pathology. We continue to work on the Chapter House and, in the near future, hope to implement a community service program. As this article is being written, the first Alumni Newsletter is being finalized. Thank you to everyone who contributed and special thanks to Amber Sabitus '07 for organizing the newsletter.

Ellie Baker (’07), Vice-President

Psi Omega Fraternity
1040 Savannah Highway
Charleston, SC 29407

Telephone: (843) 556-0573
Fax: (843) 556-6311
E-mail: psiomega@bellsouth.net