Initiation Spring 2015

I could not be any more excited and proud to finally and formally call my sweet, adorable, and caring (second) little, Aviva S., a brother of Alpha Phi Omega, Xi Alpha chapter here at Muhlenberg. Last thursday night, nearly 40 pledges were officially initiated into our rapidly expanding chapter. The ceremony was very meaningful and joyful- there are only a handful of other occasions that evoke so much pride within me as not only being a brother of such a special service organization, but also as seeing the newest edition to my family become initiated. The symbolic moment where I handed Aviva her official brother pin was beyond exciting. Then, even more exciting for us both was when I gave her the Van Gogh family letters. The "Starry Night" themed letters look fabulous on her- she wears them perfectly! Although initiation occurs only once every semester, it is so special and dear to me and the brotherhood as a whole, especially due to the notion that the memories from the occassion are never forgotten. As the academic year comes to a close, it's time to say farewell to our beloved senior brothers, including my big, Lauren R., which is of course bittersweet. On the one hand the seniors are off to new adventures which is great, yet it's still hard to say goodbye, even if it's just for a short while. Nonetheless, this is one of the reasons why initiation is so important- it occurs right before we let our seniors begin new chapters in their lives, so we therefore gain additional members to fill their shoes. Welcome to the brotherhood to the newly initiated members of APO Xi Alpha!!!

In LFS,

Lauren Kostman