Alpha Kappa Psi Newsletter

Over 90 Rush Signups After IBFC Night

IBFC Night was a huge success, with more than 90 prospective members signing up for Rush. Three incredible speakers, Kendall Williams, Adrian Rogowski, and Karsten Simmons, made a real impact and showed their love and care for AKPsi in the best way possible.

Credit also goes to Paige and Evan, our Fall '26 Co-Rush Chairs, who did an amazing job building the presentation and drawing in Potential New Members, both at IBFC Night and during the weeks of tabling leading up to it.

Alumni Panel Spotlight: Benji Prendergast

Benji Prendergast represented our chapter on the Alumni Panel at IBFC Night, sharing his story and experiences. Here are a few things he wanted to say back to the chapter and ISU.

What do you remember most about your AKPsi rush experience?
“What I remember most about my rush experience is the number of different personalities, perspectives, majors, backgrounds, and accomplishments all together in one place. It's one thing to be part of a club or sport in high school, where you grew up around the people in it, but it's a whole different ballpark rushing AKPsi in college. I'm so grateful for it”.

What is one thing you knew going into rush?
“One thing I knew going into rush is that the most important thing, at the end of the day, was to be myself. The most important person you have to win over is yourself. So why try to be someone you're not when you have all the answers, all the experience, and all the knowledge about yourself that nobody else has?

What was it like being back on campus and seeing ISU from an alumni perspective?
“It's always impressive to see the differences and hear stories of the current day compared to the past. Even though I've been gone from chapter for 3 years, chapter still carries the "work hard, play hard" mentality, and that's incredibly rewarding to see as an alum”.

Service/DEI Night

Alpha Kappa Psi welcomed Potential New Members for an evening focused on connection, community, and learning during its Service/DEI Night.

The event opened with brief presentations from Service Chair Alyssa Bartlett and DEI Chair Tyler Threat, who shared how service, diversity, equity, and inclusion are woven throughout the chapter.

Guest Speaker: Lifelong Access

Members and Potential New Members then heard from James Rivera of Lifelong Access in Bloomington, who spoke about the organization's mission and its work supporting people with disabilities in the community.

"The main goal of partnering with Lifelong Access was to bring awareness to some of the challenges that people with disabilities may experience in their day-to-day lives," Threat said. "I hoped members would leave with a better understanding of those experiences and how we can be more aware, inclusive, and supportive of the people around us."

Afterward, everyone rotated through interactive stations that encouraged conversation, reflection, and a little teamwork. The activities gave attendees a chance to think more deeply about accessibility and the everyday challenges people with disabilities may experience at school, in social situations, and within the community.

One station focused on nonverbal communication. Participants received a prompt and had to communicate it using only emojis, offering a small but meaningful look at how people may communicate without spoken words.

"We wanted to go beyond simply learning about different challenges and encourage our members to participate actively," Bartlett said. "We all communicate in different ways, and we must be patient and understanding."

Service/DEI Night was a meaningful way for Potential New Members to get to know Alpha Kappa Psi while seeing the chapter's values in action. The evening created space for learning, thoughtful conversations, and a shared reminder that small acts of awareness and inclusion can make a real difference.

Professional Night

Professional Night gave Potential New Members a real taste of the career development that Alpha Kappa Psi is known for, with the evening split across two floors.

Downstairs, Potential New Members rotated through interactive stations focused on mock interviews and networking. They practiced making introductions, answering interview questions, and building the kind of confidence that carries over into recruiting season.

Upstairs, Potential New Members prepared to compete in a case competition, working through the case and getting ready to present their ideas. TQL was on site and sat on the judge panel, giving teams the chance to present in front of real industry professionals.

Behind the Partnership: A Conversation with Our VP of External Affairs

(Maria Contreras)

How did the TQL partnership come about, and what made them a good fit for this night?
“TQL has partnered with us for Professional Night in the past, and the experience has been smooth and successful. Their recruiters are approachable, easy to communicate with, and always willing to engage with our members. TQL has a variety of case studies they are interested in incorporating into the event. These activities provide valuable feedback for both TQL and our organization, while allowing rushees to show how they collaborate, problem-solve, and work together to develop the best possible outcome”.

What do you hope the rushees took away from the night and the case competition?
“I hope this experience helped rushees learn how to work under pressure, collaborate with people they have not worked with before, and consider different perspectives when developing ideas as a team. It also gave them insight into how companies attract potential employees by showcasing the different elements that make a company and its culture unique”.

Social Night

For our final night of Rush, Social Night gave Potential New Members the chance to have fun and bond with actives through a variety of interactive stations.

At this station, participants debated common controversial topics like "Is cereal soup?" and "Is the earth round or flat?" Potential New Members had to sell a product to a panel of actives, building not only their public speaking skills but their powers of persuasion.

Behind the Scenes: A Conversation with Our Rush Chairs

Our Fall '26 Co-Rush Chairs, Paige Holmes and Evan Rybicki, share what the semester was really like.

What was the most challenging part of being Rush Chair? [Paige Holmes]
The most challenging part was coordinating planning around everyone's summer schedules. I had an internship and another job on top of wanting to enjoy my summer break, so balancing everything was definitely a challenge. My co-Rush Chair and I don't live near each other, so a lot of our communication happened through calls and messages. We stayed organized and communicated consistently, and everything worked out perfectly. The experience really helped me improve my time management and learn how to work through challenges as a team.

What was the most rewarding part of the position? [Evan Rybicki]
The most rewarding part was the communication skills I learned. Collaborating with multiple committees to create events is something I will never forget. It gave me real-world experience communicating between different positions, and I will carry what I learned into my future career.

What was your favorite memory from Rush? [Paige H.]
My favorite part was working with nearly every position holder in some way. It helped me develop my leadership and communication skills, and I grew closer with people and got to watch them grow as leaders while growing myself. One of my favorite moments was seeing everything come together while tabling. After putting so much time into planning and marketing, seeing everyone excited and ready for Rush Week made it all feel worth it.

What is one thing you knew before taking on this role? [Evan R.]
One thing I knew going in was how difficult the preparation would be. I thought you could book rooms and events with very little planning, but I learned that creating events takes months of work ahead of time. It also helped my time management, because being ahead of everything taught me to be early to everything and research adequately.

What advice would you give to next semester's Rush Chairs?

[Paige H] :Don't put anything off until the last minute, and be in CONSTANT communication with EVERYBODY. People love to feel involved, know what they're doing, and feel prepared going into Rush Week. There are so many moving parts, so staying organized and communicating deadlines and responsibilities early will make everything much easier. Marketing your Rush is HUGE, and I'm so glad we focused on it. Most importantly, trust your team and don't be afraid to delegate, because Rush is truly a group effort.

[Evan R]: Be patient. It can feel like a burden to have these events hanging over you all summer, but if you put in the work upfront and become proactive rather than reactive, it becomes the most rewarding mindset. Seeing the events and hard work come to life is truly the greatest thing ever. Practice hard, play harder.

Info Night

Info Night followed shortly after IBFC Night and went off without a hitch. Paige and Evan opened with an amazing presentation, sharing why they joined Alpha Kappa Psi and how it has benefited their lives.

We were also joined by three alumni, Tyler Bleau, Brandice Cole, and Calin Scimeca, who came out to tell Potential New Members about our chapter and what it has meant to them.

Alumni Spotlight

This September, we had the privilege of hearing from two AKPsi alumni, Trinity Kuehl and Sophie Shaw.

Trinity Kuehl

Trinity was a member of the Alpha Beta pledge class and graduated from ISU in 2025. She is now a campus recruiter for PNC Bank in their Chicago office.

Her advice to the chapter: Slow down a bit and give yourself some grace, but don't forget to work hard and play hard. Work as hard as you can, and things will work out for you.

Sophie Shaw

Sophie was also a member of the Alpha Beta pledge class and graduated in 2026. She is now working at Cintas in Madison, Wisconsin.

Her advice to the chapter: Enjoy college and make sure to have fun. Get super involved in AKPsi and go to everything, but don't forget to work hard. Work ahead, apply to jobs early, and especially go to those professional events.

September Recap and October Preview

AKPsi wrapped up September with a mix of service, fundraising, and professional development events. Members gave back through our Adopt-A-Street cleanup and Panda Express fundraiser, and connected with recruiters at the Career and Internship Fair.

Coming Up in October

We're kicking off the month with an AKPsi cycling class to get the blood flowing. Other key events include:

• Scavenger Hunt: A citywide hunt with all of the Inter Business Fraternity Council.

• AI Workshop: Led by our Professional Chair and VP of Finance.

• Shark Tank-Style Pitch Competition: An all-new event co-hosted with Women In Business.

AKPsi is gearing up for a busy month, and we can't wait to share what's next!