“Facta Non Verba, Deeds Not Words” is the motto of Geneseo’s new medical fraternity, according to senior John Nagel. Nagel is the president of Phi Delta Epsilon, known as PhiDE. PhiDE inducted new members, making it New York Xi, an official chapter of the international fraternity.
Nagel, the chapter’s founder, explained that he began the process of establishing PhiDE in Geneseo after transferring here in Fall 2011.
“When I transferred to Geneseo I wanted to pull together the pre-med students … and so I contacted our international CEO,” Nagel said. Nagel was already a member of a chapter of the fraternity as SUNY Albany.
After contacting the CEO, the group elected an e-board, and a year later the school recognized PhiDE. In spring 2013 the colonization process began, and after meeting all requirements, PhiDE became a chapter this year.
As an official chapter, the fraternity is now shifting its focus.
“A lot of our efforts were just going into our new members coming in that are in the process, and our chartering, which we just had … Now that we are beyond those two things we can start doing fundraising and our big events,” Nagel said.
Despite the organization’s growth, the original dynamic of the fraternity remains.
“Being a member of Phi Delta Epsilon connects you with a really close knit group of like-minded individuals, who want to become physicians and really want to help people,” he said.
As Nagel is a senior, he will be stepping down from his position as PhiDE president and will be succeeded by junior Kate Brod.
Brod applied to become a member of the fraternity while it was still a colony, making her one of the founding members.
Brod noted that the organization does different kinds of events, such as educational, philanthropic and social events. In the past, the organization has held suturing workshops, using pigs’ feet to practice on. The fraternity also does fundraisers, such as raising money for the Children’s Miracle Network.
In the future, Brod hopes the fraternity can create an event that will help it stand out on the Geneseo campus. In terms of charity events, Brod said, “Relay for Life here is kind of like our really big fundraiser, but that’s done all over campus … because it’s so big we want to create our own fundraiser.”
The fraternity is still looking to grow. PhiDE has 37 members and took its first Alpha class of 20 members on March 1. The fraternity itself was created to help its members grow.
“We are very hands-on,” Brod said. “The goal is to shape doctors of integrity, people that are going to give back and be good, well-rounded doctors.”