Bradley’s Delta Upsilon chapter was recently recognized on a national level at the Leadership Institute, an annual DU fraternity convention involving chapters from around the country.
At the convention this year, Bradley was one of seven chapters nominated for the Sweepstakes Trophy, the highest honor awarded to DU chapters.
“This award really does mean a lot to us because over that past couple of years, we have been working hard to keep improving our chapter,” Mark LaHood, senior mechanical engineering major, said. “To receive this award really shows how much work we have put in and being nationally recognized for it feels great.”
The winner of the 2016 Sweepstakes Trophy was Kansas State University. In the past, Bradley has won the Sweepstakes Trophy three times and has been nominated a total of eight times.
At the convention this year – which took place in Indianapolis – members of Bradley’s chapter were also able to learn about the history of their organization, as well as take part in leadership training workshops.
“This was my first time attending the Leadership Institute,” LaHood, the current president of DU, said. “[It] provides an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of a brotherhood.”
In addition to the chapter being recognized as a finalist for the Sweepstakes Trophy, Bradley member Zachary Roake, who served as president of Bradley’s DU chapter prior to LaHood, was awarded the President’s Award.
“It was very special to be recognized with such a unique reward for the time and effort I put in [when I served as president last year], but by no means was it just my own efforts that allowed me to receive this award,” Roake, a senior manufacturing engineering technology major, said.
Since 2010, the President’s Award has been awarded annually to one DU member across the nation who exemplifies the fraternity’s values. Roake is the first Bradley student to receive this award.
However, Roake doesn’t take sole credit for receiving the President’s Award – he attributes his success largely to his fraternity brothers.
“Without the help of my chapter there is no way we could have been as successful as we were,” he said. “I am feeling very optimistic for the upcoming year for our chapter.”
According to LaHood, he doesn’t expect his chapter to stop working hard following the nomination but expectations remain high.
“Coming back from the Leadership Institute, we have a lot of momentum going forward,” LaHood said. “It definitely gives us some incentive to keep striving to be better, as I can see so much potential in all of our members.”
