AEZ Chapter History - Fall 1997
At the beginning of the Fall 1997 semester, UTD staff member Roger Stearns set out to establish a chapter of Alpha Phi Omega on the UT-Dallas campus. Roger was quickly introduced to Luci Wong, the first interested student, by Section 41 Chair Kari Logan. From this point, the two began actively recruiting students to begin an Alpha Phi Omega chapter on the UTD campus.
Roger moved to Dallas in August 1997 to work for the UTD Police Department. Originally from Illinois, Roger spent 8 years with APO in Fayetteville, Arkansas. While in Fayetteville he, along with seven other Eagle Scouts, re-established the Beta Rho Chapter of Alpha Phi Omega in Spring 1990. He graduated from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor's degree in communications and worked for the University of Arkansas Police Department.
Luci's first contact with Alpha Phi Omega had been earlier that spring. She was introduced to APO by Amy DeLisse, a high school friend from Richardson, Texas who was a brother with the Beta Rho Chapter at the University of Arkansas. Luci attended the Section 41 conference with Amy that semester, and decided she would endeavor to get the fraternity chartered on the UTD campus when she returned to school after the summer break.
Roger and Luci posted flyers on campus, set up an information table, and held information meetings to recruit more students interested in LEADERSHIP, FRIENDSHIP, and SERVICE. The group officially became an Interest Group on November 13, 1998. Alpha Omicron Chapter at Southern Methodist University (SMU) was assigned to be our sponsoring chapter. By the end of the Fall semester the group had recruited 16 students and 6 advisors.
The students were: Daisy Blake, Valerie Britton, Jay Cordaro, Somchai Paiboonfungfuang, Nicole Johnson (Sigma Nu Chapter Alumni), Robyn Jordan, Huan Le, Jason Mercer (Eagle Scout), Daniel Rathburn, Kelly Severns, Christine Shek, Terry Serna (Beta Sigma Chapter Alumni), Christian Sparks, Minh Hai Tran, Steve Westdyk (Eagle Scout), and Luci Wong. The Fall 97 Officers and Advisors were:
President
Luci Wong
VP Membership
Terry Serna
VP Service
Christian Sparks
Secretary/Treasurer
Steve Westdyk
University Advisor (Student Activities Office)
Patty Atchley
Fraternity Advisor (SMU AO Chapter Alumni)
Michael Hayes
Scouting Advisor (GSUSA Representative)
Amanda Owens
University Advisor (University Police Chief)
Colleen Ridge
Advisory Chair (University Police and BP Chapter Alumni)
Roger Stearns
Methodist Minister and BP Chapter Alumni
Jeff Warrick
The group also participated in a handful of service projects the first semester. These projects included helping Habitat for Humanity remodel a house, picking up trash around campus, running the homecoming king and queen elections, and a joint "Trick or Treat for Canned Goods" food drive with Alpha Omicron.
In October of 1997, the group participated in its first regional conference, which was held at Texas A & M University. The three members attending were Luci Wong, Christian Sparks, and Steve Westdyk.