Author: zachlansbury

“You can’t really know where you’re going until you know where you have been” – Maya Angelou

The past two years have been a period of amazing growth and revitalization for our brotherhood; but with growth comes challenges. Please take a minute to download and review this presentation of the active chapter’s progress over the past two years, including our steps forward.

The file is linked below.

Highlights:

• May ’22 | After having been off-campus for five years, James Fink, Zach Lansbury, and Joe Pisciotta accept first three bids
• Sep ’22 | 14 associate members go through the AM Ceremony conducted by an alumni Ritual Team at the University Club
• Nov ’22 | 27 brothers are initiated
• May ’23 | Outstanding Alumnus awarded by FSL
• Oct ’23 | Received ΛΧΑ Charter in 12 months
• Jan ’24 | Recognized for blood drive participation at the High Alpha / Neville Alumni College
• May ’24 | Awarded Emerging Fraternity of the Year by Fraternity and Sorority Life
• Aug ’24 | Placed second in the Lambda Chi Academy Gold Division and earned $1,000 from ΛΧΑ headquarters
• Aug ’24 | The chapter received the Warren A. Cole Recruitment Award
• Aug ’24 | Jack DiFilippo selected to join the 21 brother International Ritual Exemplification Team and acknowledged for his leadership by ΛΧΑ headquarters
• Aug ’24 | The chapter successfully nominated Tim McDermott as High Pi of the Year, and he was also inducted into the ΛΧΑ Order of Merit

With the fall semester underway and rush quickly approaching we would like to provide an update of the active chapter’s accomplishments in the past year and our upcoming plans. 

First and foremost we would like to announce that as of August 11th, 2023, the Grand High Zeta has approved our charter application! This means that on September 8th, 2023, one year after our first Associate Member Ceremony, the Sigma-Lambda Zeta will officially be chartered again and permitted use of 413 E. Roanoke St. for chapter functions. This is a momentous accomplishment and was achieved in record time. The brotherhood is extremely proud. 

We would like to highlight the strength of our brotherhood. This has been evident in every aspect of our operations, notably in our remarkable recruitment of 45 active brothers and our dedication to philanthropy. We made giving back a priority and were able to place first in Alpha Phi’s Cupid Heart Health Week as well as top three in multiple other sororities philanthropy weeks. Our brothers also volunteered with the Blacksburg Interfaith Food Pantry, raising a total of approximately $1,000 and 2,500 pounds of food. We are excited to continue our volunteering and philanthropy efforts, including hosting our annual pumpkin smash.

Internally, the chapter has seen incredible growth. After our first group of brothers were initiated by the Epsilon-Omicron Zeta (UTK), our High Phi, Jack DiFillipo ’25 ΣΛ837, instructed the first ritual team and led a flawless initiation for our second class of brothers. Our brotherhood and accountability contributed significantly toward this accomplishment. The High Iota, Bill Young ’24 ΣΛ853, has also done a phenomenal job and kept the chapter without incident. Even throughout all of this hard work the brothers remained focused on academics, resulting in a significant chapter GPA increase from 3.07 to 3.27, placing us in the top 10 IFC fraternities. Thanks to generous alumni contributions we were able to award four undergraduate brothers with academic scholarships. 

Our High Alpha, James Fink ’24 ΣΛ840, is back from a semester in Spain. The Interim-High Alpha, Braxton Duvall ’24 ΣΛ838, will be serving as Co-High Delta with Joe Ferguson ’25 ΣΛ839. New officer elections will be held at the end of the fall semester. We are planning a Chartering Banquet to be held on the 28th of October during our Homecoming and 65th Anniversary Weekend. We want to meet as many brothers as possible! More details will be posted soon.

It’s a great time for Lambda Chi and the Sigma-Lambda Zeta. If you have any questions or would like to contact the active chapter, please contact High Rho, Joe Pisciotta ΣΛ848, listed below. 

In ZAX, ΣΒ,

Zach Lansbury ’25 ΣΛ844, High Beta

Joe Pisciotta ’25 ΣΛ848, High Rho

(919) 437-5430

josephp21@vt.edu