Greek Week is officially underway here at the Hall. But Panhellenic and Interfraternity organizations are not the only ones on the lookout for new members. This week we interviewed Emma McEvoy and Christian Revolorio, who are brothers of Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed, service based fraternity here on campus, so we’ve asked them to talk about their experience being in a non-council organization.
Name: Emma McEvoy & Christian Revolorio
Year: Sophomore (McEvoy) & Senior (Revolorio)
Major: Secondary Special Education and Fine Art (McEvoy) & Social and Behavioral Sciences (Revolorio)
Hometown: Rochester, NY (McEvoy) & Dover, NJ (Revolorio)
Her Campus (HC): In your own words, how would you describe Alpha Phi Omega (APO)?
Emma McEvoy (EM): I feel like APO is a place you can always go to. There’s always something going on, there’s always a brother around on campus, there’s always a service or fellowship event you can go to – there’s always something to do with APO. And it’s something to look forward to, and it warms your heart being around these people whether you’re doing service and helping someone out or just hanging out with your brothers having a good time. There’s a love there that we all have for each other, everyone’s so positive and share’s this passion for service, it’s just a great positive environment to be in.
Christian Revolorio (CR): APO is definitely a place where everyone has a mutual respect for each other. Everyone is friendly, and we all pretty naturally get along with each other because we are very diverse. We have people coming from different places and experiences in life. I feel like everyone puts aside their differences when it comes to service because we’re all trying to help someone else and that builds friendship and we appreciate each other for it. So we have that bond with everyone that makes it comfortable and makes it feel like a family but it’s not something that feels forced.
HC: What about APO appealed to you that you didn’t find in other organizations?
EM: APO is the perfect combination of a social sorority or fraternity and a club, you have aspects of both. And it’s such a diverse place with diverse people that it’s easy to find someone that you click with and find that group of friends. And from the beginning I felt like a better person for being a part of it, because there is so much service and there’s this opportunity to really grow as a person.
CR: I felt like APO was more open whereas some other organizations are very focused on like one thing. Like fraternities have a mission of “making a better man” and sororities have their philanthropy but APO was culmination of both of those things, and it focused on being a servant leader. Just becoming a better person in general and doing what you can to help people and come together to form this bond with people.
HC: Friendship, Leadership and Service are the three cardinal principles of APO, how do you live those out in your life?
EM: I find that all three principles are intermingled. They’re not necessarily all separate things. Like if I go to a service event, I’m taking the initiative to go there and be a leader, and it’s easy for me to take that initiative because I’ve really grown to love doing service. And through doing service with other people, you make a friendship and create that bond that you might not otherwise make.
CR: In high school I always obtained leadership roles but coming to college I lost that, I wasn’t as involved as I had been in high school. APO helped me regain that in ways I hadn’t even realized until I looked back on it. Just being in it it’s amazing how much I’ve changed and have taken little steps to becoming a leader. And friendship is big, like I’m always looking to make someone’s day better if they’re down because all my brothers are important to me. I used to have to do service but now it’s something that is a part of me, and I’m constantly looking for more service opportunities.
HC: What is your favorite APO memory?
EM: I have a bunch! One is when we were going through our new member process, when we went to the Eastern State Penitentiary. First of all I don’t like scary things, at all, but someone had told me it was their favorite memory from the year before so I was like okay I have to go! It’ll be a bonding experience is what I told myself. And I got in the car and I only knew one other girl in the car with me. But we all ended up talking and singing all the way there. Going to this ended up being the scariest thing of my whole life, I was clenched between two people and it was nice that they were like holding my hand through this because my friends probably would’ve just laughed at me for being so scared. And we got Philly cheesesteaks after and it was just an exciting night. And by the end of the night I was friends with all these people.
CR: I have a few too. Mine was on Big/Little night during my new member process. At that point and my process was different we had to do interviews, so I had done a good amount of them but I didn’t remember everyone, but everyone remembered me. So as I was going through the stuff of Big/Little night they were all like “Hey how are you?” and I was just like “uhh hey?” *laughs* but it was great to realize that so many people have taken the time to remember who you were. It definitely made me feel like I belonged.
HC: What would you tell people who were interested in joining APO?
EM: I would say that APO has been a defining moment for me in college. Like before I had a group of friends but I wasn’t involved in anything, I focused all my attention on hanging out with my friends and doing my schoolwork. So finally I was like no I need to do something, I need to make more of my college experience. When I joined I didn’t know anybody, and now some of my closest friends are from APO. I feel like I’m doing something APO related every day and it really has just changed my life and I love it so much.
CR: Especially for me since I joined as a junior has definitely given me what I wanted out of my college experience. Like my two older sisters went to community college so they didn’t really have the experience that I was looking for. They went to class, took exams and came back. So like being on campus showed me that college experience I wanted but since I commute I didn’t really get it, so joining APO brought that back for me. It gave me an experience that definitely helped me grow in something as short as a year. So… join APO! *laughs*