The April 5 Moms Day was a huge success with daylong activities that started in the early afternoon arrival of the Pi Kapp 100 cycling team at the fraternity house and ended with an off-campus banquet.
Nearly 240 attended the evening banquet that featured a series of speakers from chapter leadership, a Pi Kapp mom and a keynote speaker. Moms learned about the successes of the chapter, how it compares to other fraternities on campus and the high standards for its members.
Chapter president Owen Hooper for 2025 told the banquet audience that 17.4% of the Purdue undergraduates belong to fraternities, sororities or cooperatives. In the Fall 2024 semester, the 38 campus fraternities averaged a 3.27 GPA among 96-men average organization size. Pi Kappa Phi had the most members, was No. 3 in philanthropic dollars raised ($16,562), No. 4 in service hours ($1,715, or 8.1 per member) and No. 11 in GPA (3.29). Six members had a 4.0 last fall, 40% earned academic honors while 91% had a 3.0 or higher GPA.
Justin Bonanno was recently named the John Wooden Leader of the Year for 2024 as the top student leader among his peers at Purdue. Furthermore, the chapter won three major Pi Kappa Phi national fraternity awards for 2024 including Founders Award (top fraternity in the 150+ members category) as well as Star of Hope (Ability Experience best overall programming among the 180 chapters nationwide) and Ability Experience Relationship of the Year (best local chapter volunteering for people with disabilities) awards.
Greg Gottlieb, the spring 2025 Ability Experience Chairman, talked about the numerous events the chapter does each year and fund-raising successes.
“The Ability Experience is our national philanthropy, which uses shared experiences to support people with disabilities,” he said. “We are able to do this though disability awareness, fund raising and volunteerism. This philanthropy is part of our identity and what truly sets us apart from other fraternities.”
He highlighted the four major events hosted throughout the school year – the David Feltner 72-Hour Memorial Bike-a-Thon, Arctoberfest, War of the Roses and Pi Kapp 100. Also, chapter members volunteer each week of the academic year with Life Has No Boundaries, a local non-profit assisting adults with disabilities in day programming events.
Gottlieb talked specifically about another event co-hosted by Best Buddies-Purdue, a student organization that also assists people with disabilities, as part of the War of the Roses week. He spoke of relationship building at an individual level that was as simple as asking a client to dance.
“For us, it’s nothing out of the ordinary,” he said, “but for individual clients it’s a memorable event. This spring, an extremely shy client danced with one of our guys. She was so shy, she had never danced before participated in any of the previous events. The staff shared that they couldn’t believe how far out of her shell she became and how she had the best night of her life and was glowing with happiness.”
Gottlieb cited another episode that was moving for him.
“At the same event, I asked a buddy if she wanted to get a picture with our guys and asked her to wear a sash that that said, ‘Prom Queen.’ She almost cried for the opportunity to wear the sash, wear a crown and be able to stand with her guys.”
Furthermore, Gottlieb said that two other clients came up to him to explain they didn’t have the opportunity to go to a high school prom.
“They confided in me that it was a dream come true for them,” he said. “We are making a real impact in the lives of others with each interaction, whether our brothers realize it or not, the same impact is true for us.”
Maria Gottlieb of Carmel, Indiana and mom of two undergraduate members – Greg and Grant – expressed pride in her sons’ growth and leadership roles and told of why she things the fraternity benefits Purdue students.
“I know as concerned mothers, when your boys told you there were joining Pi Kappa Phi you probably wondered if it was a good chapter, are they good boys, are they going to graduate?” she said. “I can tell you wholeheartedly, it is a good chapter; it’s a top chapter. The boys are quality boys; they are the best. And they will graduate. And if they don’t graduate that is a reflection of their own choices, not Pi Kappa Phi.”
She told moms that there are many “growth opportunities” for the members. Both of her sons held The Ability Experience chairmanships. In high school, both of them were involved in Best Buddies and Unified Sports.
“I saw Greg improve in his ability to handle stress” in various programs including War of the Roses, which saw a new record in fund-raising this semester.
“He managed his stress, he managed his time, he managed his peers, his organization skills improved, his confidence improved and most importantly I saw that he took pride in a job well done,” she said. “Greg’s success was built upon Pi Kapp’s tradition of excellence. What the AbEx chairmen do is nothing short of remarkable. I have witnessed others including Sam Bogner, Joe Barbara and Nick Reid. They, too, have had outstanding tenures as AbEx chairs. They brought recognition home for themselves and their chapter. These boys put service over self and what they did for people with disabilities in incredible.”
One other AbEx chairman was her other chapter son, Grant.
“Grant brought great honor to himself and to the chapter” as he was named Purdue’s and Pi Kappa Phi’s national Philanthropist of the Year.
“Pi Kappa Phi changed his life,” she said. “He is my hard-skilled, logical, left-brained guy who embraced the opportunity to tap into a soft-skill through holding offices and chairmanships. I saw him develop into a consistent, caring leader who puts the good of the fraternity as Priority 1.”
She turned her comments to the new moms in the crowd after talking about her sons.
“Moms, I hope that I adequately conveyed that Pi Kappa Phi offers structure and growth opportunities for your boys. If your boys have not yet gotten involved yet, that’s OK, too. Perhaps he is a brother who models the ability to agree to disagree – they have a lot of strong personalities in the fraternity. Perhaps he works on a project to improve the house, helps a brother struggling with a class, helps a brother who is sick or is suffering from a breakup. Maybe he shows kindness and empathy daily or improves the chapter GPA – all of them are impactful brothers.”
She left with advice to the fraternity members.
“I have no doubt in your capabilities,” she said. “Do not forget why you are here. Take care of business, set priorities with your academics first and do not be afraid to ask for help. If you get in trouble, reach out to a brother or the advisors. Be thankful for the opportunities that you have and take advantage of them. Strengthen your skillset and leave it a better place. Make a difference. You need to be an asset, not a liability.
“And, finally, be happy. I believe the happiness comes from the shared connections. I can drone on and on about the caliber of guys I met through Greg and Grant; they are top notch. They are future leaders.”
