This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Trinity chapter.
Today, I had the wonderful opportunity to speak personally with the president of the Beta Beta chapter of Psi Upsilon, Cameron Rawanduzy. This Friday, the brothers of Psi Upsilon have collaborated with the Mill and will be hosting their 36th concert at the “Psi U Beach House.” Coming into the interview with enthusiasm and humility, Cameron was more than happy to be this weeks Campus Celeb and discuss the charity behind this fun event. A fraternity that is known for their great charitable work, blood deep patriotism, and valiant efforts to give back to the community, it comes to no surprise that their very own president—with the help of the SGA—has started up a Veterans Club in Hartford.
Name: Cameron Rawanduzy
Hometown: Scarsdale, N.Y.
Major: Economics
Involvement: Psi Upsilon, Club Lacrosse Officer and Co-founder of the Trinity College Book Club
Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with HerCampus, are you and your fellow brethren of Psi Upsilon looking forward to your 36th concert?
“Yes, we are very excited to be keeping up the tradition of our concert at the Psi U Beach House. It is our 36th concert, the 35th was two years ago during my sophomore year, so I know all the seniors are especially ecstatic to host the event one last time before we graduate. A lot of our recent alumni come back so it is also a nice reunion weekend.”
Psi U does a lot to give back to the community, can you elaborate on this specific charity?
“I worked with the SGA this summer to start up a Veterans Club because I felt it was something important to get Psi U and the college more involved with. There are already clubs on campus, like Project Bantam, working to support our armed forces but this club, the Trinity College Club for Veterans of the USA, is more focused on supporting the Veterans who are right here in Hartford. A lot of brothers are involved and I’m hoping next semester to get more students involved who are outside of Psi U. This year, we are donating our proceeds from the concert to the Veterans Home in Newington, CT. Every dollar counts and the brothers were really into the idea and have been actively working to sell out all our tickets so we can maximize our donation. It’s a small start to what we can do for the Vets, and we are hoping to get some guys to volunteer at the home in Newington at some point this semester.”
This all sounds incredibly charitable, how do these proceeds help the Veterans?
“By providing the Home with these donations, we are helping to improve their facilities. These donations are going towards supplies and medical care for the Vets. It is an increase in their funds and expansion of their budget and they are very appreciative that we decided to promote the Home with our concert. It will also work indirectly towards opening the eyes of the Trinity students towards different ways we can get involved in Hartford.”
You sound really devoted to the Vets! Have you done other charitable events in the past?
“In the past we’ve hosted a Veteran’s dinner in the Spring semester. College Veterans and alumni who have served come back and we make a big event out of it.”
Why do you feel it is important to be involved with the Veterans in Hartford?
“I know there are clubs at a lot of colleges that support our Veterans on a national level, but there is a lot of good we can do here at home, at Trinity, a few miles from school. In High School, I worked with some of my friends on a project called Operation Cornerstone and we put together care packages and wrote letters then sent them to troops in Afghanistan so my idea to help the Veterans stems a bit from there. Psi U is involved with a lot of other charities, like our blood drive with the Red Cross and Relay for Life with the American Cancer Society, but I felt helping the Veterans is something that sometimes goes unnoticed. We always hang an American Flag outside our house to show our patriotism and while being a patriot is something we are all prideful of, getting involved with charities surrounding the men and women who have served this country is a big step further to show our support.”
Is there any personal reasoning behind this incredible passion towards our brave Veterans?
“My roommate last year, housemate this year, and one of the officers of our house, Camden Smith, has completed the Marine commissioning program. All of us have so much respect and admiration towards him for his commitment to serve and he is another reason I wanted to start the Veterans club. I have mutual friends and friends with family members who have served, or who are serving currently, but when one of your closest friends completes such an honorable program it changes your whole perspective. Not all of us will choose to volunteer our service but we can always support our country and the men and women who serve in a multitude of different ways.”
This Club sounds like a wonderful opportunity for students to get involved, how do you recommend they do that?
“We are just getting on our feet and have been going through registration and the usual protocol to affirm our legitimacy and be recognized by the SGA. Next semester we will be tabling at Mather during the usual club/activities fair, but in the meantime feel free to contact me by Trinity Webmail or on Facebook. I would be more than happy to get any and all students involved.”