New Colony established at Albany, NY
Albany, NY – On Saturday, September 8, 2018, Theta Chi established its newest colony at Albany, NY. This colony is working to become the 12th active chapter (and 14th overall) to be installed in the state of New York.
The interest group formed when Ryan Fitzpatrick and Cooper Mead were walking to class and talked about how fun it would be to start a fraternity. “We come from a very large group of close friends who are all involved elsewhere on campus,” stated Fitzpatrick. “We thought with such a great group of guys, we could offer a fraternity experience to our campus that no other group has.” From there, they began having small meetings in the library study area about gauging interest and looking into how fraternities typically start on college campuses and ultimately selected Theta Chi as the first fraternity to contact.
International Headquarters quickly responded and the group planned for a visit from Chief Operating Officer Ray Vanlanot. As they told their once skeptical friends that someone from an international fraternity headquarters was coming to meet with them, interest began to grow. By the end of their meeting with Vanlanot, the first members of the group were motivated to represent Theta Chi at Albany, NY.
Even though they just become a colony, the men have already started to raise money for a suicide prevention walk that all of the members will be attending. They are also working on plans to raise money for the USO and attending a breast cancer walk. They have contacted the Sexual Violence Advocacy Center and local police departments about hosting future events related to Theta Chi’s Sacred Purpose initiative.
After additional recruitment and attendance at the 162nd Anniversary Convention, the Grand Chapter approved the group as a colony and their official ceremony was held on September 8, 2018 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Albany, NY, with Ray Vanlanot, Chief Operating Officer, presiding. Other Theta Chi Official Family in attendance included Director of Recruitment and Expansion Taylor Dahlem.
The 21 Albany, NY colony members are: Carlos Aliaga, David Anes, Zachary Bruno, Jonathan Collins, John DiBernardi, Zachary Fisher, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Michael Gagliardi, Brian Hanley, William Heuwetter, Brandon Johnson, Conan Madigan, Cooper Mead, Tyler Mehm, Matthew Merten, Justin Mianemi, Theon Mims, Anthony Moran, Robert Nash, John Parks, and Richard Tymon.
Colony members are involved in many areas on campus including: 90.9 WCDB radio, American Marketing Association, Emerging Business Leaders, Investment Club, Residential Life, Ski and Snowboard Club, Toastmasters, campus theatre, various intramural sports, and Young Americans for Liberty.
"I am looking forward to being an example on our campus,” said Colony President Ryan Fitzpatrick. “Theta Chi holds its members to a very high standard and I am excited to assist my friends in being the best collegians that they can be."
Congratulations to our new colony members in Albany, NY!
Congratulatory notes may be sent via email to Ryan Fitzpatrick.
You can follow the progress of the Albany, NY Colony via their Instagram account.
Founded in 1856, Theta Chi Fraternity is a men’s collegiate fraternity with more than 191,000 initiated members and has established 239 chapters. Leadership development, personal development, and service to alma mater are fundamental to Theta Chi Fraternity’s mission.