NC State Pi Alpha

The North Carolina Pi Alpha Chapter was formally installed on March 27, 1942, by National President H. E. Degler, with nineteen charter members. Since that time the chapter has become an integral part of the life of the department.

ANNUAL SUMMARY REPORTS

2021-2022, Lauren Warner, President

The 2021-2022 school year was very interesting as classes and activities began to be held in person yet again and we were able to interact face-to-face, although wearing masks now. We were able to begin to return to some degree of normalcy as we began seeing our members in a classroom instead of over Zoom. With two returning officers, we moved forwards, trying to create the best community possible as we navigated new and interesting parts of running an organization. With our chapter being the largest in years, we were excited to continue activities from before the pandemic as well as start some new traditions to foster a community within our members. The goal of our chapter throughout the 2021-2022 school year was to maintain membership engagement and Pi Tau Sigma traditions to the fullest extent possible, and build a community within our chapter.

With 28 members inducted the previous year, our member count had grown significantly over the pandemic. Another 16 members were inducted this year, continuing that growth. Interest meetings and induction ceremonies returned to in-person with the induction held at a local restaurant, as had been done in the past. We were glad to return to the traditions we had upheld previously and look forward to continuing them into the future.  Engagement outside of monthly general body meetings was high with many members attending the roadside cleanups and engaging in service as a group. Additionally, members benefited from social events held throughout the year as well as contributed to further service through tutoring.

Tutoring was continuously offered throughout the 2021-2022 school year, returning to an in-person drop-in format and advertised to the mechanical engineering student body. We hope to continue to encourage the use of this resource moving into the future and increase turnout overall. 

Roadside cleanups, which are traditionally an integral part of our chapter giving back to the local community around NC State, were restarted this year with three held throughout the year. Due to low interest and weather issues, the fourth was canceled, but we hope to ramp up to 4 per year and maintain our commitment next year. We look forward to being able to give back to the community once again through our involvement with Adopt a Highway in the upcoming semesters.

Two initiations were held this semester and shown in pictures below. The first initiated 11 new undergraduate members, while the second initiated five. The other officers and myself are extremely proud of the continued growth in membership from our chapter, especially as we return to normalcy and in-person events and meetings.

We look forward to continued growth and interest in our organization and are very glad to return to an in-person format for our organization while maintaining the safety of others. Moving forward, we hope to continue the return to normalcy, increasing social events and continuing to foster growth for our organization and for the culture within.

November 22nd, 2021 - 11 Undergraduate Initiates with President, Lauren Warner, and Treasurer, Walt Washburn.

April 29th, 2022 - 5 Undergraduate Initiates with President, Lauren Warner, and Vice President, Grayson Browder.

 

2020-2021, Grayson Browder, President

The 2021-2021 school year was likely one of the most difficult in history, not only for Pi Tau Sigma but also for NC State University and other schools around the world. From the beginning, we dealt with setbacks caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Along with this there was an officer transition which brought two new officers into our chapter under the secretary and treasurer roles. Luckily, the vice president and myself were returning officers who had shared both of these roles in previous semesters and were able to answer pertinent questions and provide advice as needed. The goal of our chapter throughout the 2020-2021 school year was to maintain membership engagement and Pi Tau Sigma traditions to the fullest extent possible under less than ideal circumstances.

As a testament to the success of this goal, a total of 28 new members were inducted virtually during the pandemic. Interest meetings and induction ceremonies were modified to fit a Zoom format, and typically in-person traditions such as bent shining had to be postponed. These time-honored traditions will be experienced fully by each of these new members once the university returns to in-person operations this upcoming fall. Engagement outside of monthly general body meetings held via Zoom was facilitated through virtual events such as virtual movie nights, where members voted on movies they wanted to watch and then joined via Teleparty, an application that links multiple streaming accounts together for watching movies simultaneously while apart.

Tutoring was continuously offered throughout the 2020-2021 school year virtually through Zoom. First, it was by sign-up only. However, as experience with the new format increased it was opened up to the more traditional format of multiple time slots per week that anyone taking MAE classes could join. Tutoring sessions were manned by members to maintain their active status and to gain participation points.

Roadside cleanups, which are traditionally an integral part of our chapter giving back to the local community around NC State, were postponed due to university regulations. However, new signage for our chapter was put up by the state of North Carolina DOT to reflect our renewed commitment to a clean and beautiful city. We look forward to being able to give back to the community once again through our involvement with Adopt a Highway in the upcoming semesters.

Two initiations were held this semester and shown in pictures below. The first initiated 18 new undergraduate members, while the second initiated 10 more. The other officers and myself are extremely proud of the significant uptick in initiations from our chapter, especially during a pandemic.

Last but not least, one of my most proud accomplishments as president has been to work with a CPA to get all club tax filing information from past years up to date and to get our organization reinstated as a non-profit organization. This certification had lapsed from a failure of past leadership to properly file taxes and now our chapter is on track.

November 16th, 2020 - 18 Undergraduate Initiates

May 7th, 2021 - 10 Undergraduate Initiates

2019-2020, Hunter Rollins, President

Throughout the 2019-2020 school year, the emphasis for the Pi Alpha Chapter was on increasing branding and awareness of PTS at NC State. While continuing the efforts put forth in the 2018-2019 school year of increasing engagement from active members, we became aware that we had a problem with getting new members stemming from a lack of awareness of who we were and what we did. We have started to remedy this by purchasing banners, flyers, and shirts to be sold to members with the NC State PTS logo on them. We took our banner to all events we did, and hung up a large signicade outside of classrooms while we did tutorings and peer advisings so that everyone would be aware of who was putting on the events.

Member engagement stayed high due to the continued use of the point system to judge standing in the organization, and a new type of event was introduced in order to boost networking. These “social events” were held once a month off-campus at places such as bowling alleys and sports-bars for trivia night, and were very successful in helping new and old members get to know each other better. 

Tutoring sessions continue to be successful and were held twice a week, tutoring from all lower-level ME classes as well as some higher level ones on request. We continue to be a vital part of the NCSU MAE community as students try to learn. We also continued to help with peer advising, where we help our often overwhelmed advisors by giving advice to students trying to create their class schedules for the next semester. 

This year we submitted the forms necessary to renew our Adopt-a-Highway status, which had lapsed at some point in the past. We completed two cleanups, with plans to do more before the semester was cut short by COVID. As with last year, current members were invited to help with the potential inductees which gave everyone the chance to get to know each other a little before the actual induction ceremony. 

This year the 2019-2020 officers had the opportunity to travel to Rochester, NY to attend the annual PTS conference. This was a big opportunity for us to restart the tradition of attending these conferences, because as far as we were able to tell, NC Pi Alpha had not been in attendance in quite a long time. 

Two initiations were held this semester, the first with 9 new members and the second with 8 new members. In a first for NC Pi Alpha, the spring semester initiations were held virtually due to the COVID-19 lock down that made us leave campus past March. Initiation was done via Zoom, and the rollbook was filled out virtually and will be glued into the actual rollbook when we are able to go back onto campus in the Fall.

November 20th, 2019 - 9 Undergraduate Initiates

April 23, 2020 - 8 Undergraduate Initiates

 

2018-2019 Erin Beaton, President

The overall goal for the year was to engage members and grow awareness of Pi Tau Sigma
around campus.
The 2018-2019 school year was a time for change for the NC State Pi Alpha Chapter. While
continuing many traditions that have worked well in the past, the leadership worked to establish
new and unique ways to give back to our community in the Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering (MAE) Department and in the greater Raleigh, NC area.
The establishment of a member engagement program showed wildly successful results. Members
were asked to participate in various events throughout the year and were incentivized with the
sale of PTS regalia. Each event was given a "point" value, and members were required to reach a
minimum "point" threshold. This system ran smoothly with the help of a new and updated
member list that helped leadership stay in touch with the members and keep track of
engagement. Leadership saw better turn-out at service events and was better able to keep in
touch with members who were inactive for various reasons (internships, co-ops, personal
reasons, etc.).
The NC State Pi Alpha Chapter is well known in the department for weekly mechanical
engineering tutoring sessions. This year, leadership worked with the MAE Department to
advertise this service to the student body and reserve a time and place. The service was offered
one per week in the Fall semester and twice per week in the Spring semester due to
overwhelming requests from the student body and the PTS membership. Members wanted more
opportunities to engage and earn "points." This is considered one of the best results of the
implemented member engagement program.
While working with the MAE Department, leadership opened a line of communication with the
MAE advisor. The MAE Department at NC State is one of the largest departments at the
university but only employs one advisor. This results in a work overload for the advisor during
registration periods. The president of the NC State Pi Alpha chapter worked to establish a Peer
Advising program where members of PTS could give advice and help underclassmen and fellow
peers to create schedules that prepare students for future success.
A long time ago, the NC State Pi Alpha chapter adopted a road near campus. As a part of the
induction process, leadership takes inductees out to the road to pick up trash and give back to the
community. This year, leadership reached out to the Department of Transportation for help with
supplies and learned that the adoption hadn't been valid for years. Future work for the chapter
will involve working to re-establish this connection. Until then, the induction process tradition
has continued. This year, leadership invited all members in addition to the inductees to the
roadside cleanup event. This was done to encourage member engagement and develop a
relationship between inductees and current members. This was a successful change that has
shown a greater sense of community within the chapter.
This year has been a great time for the chapter. Leadership has been better able to engage with
members, new inductees, and the community. Leadership has trained the incoming leadership
class and hopes the progress can continue in the future.

2017-2018

During the Great Recession, the NC State Pi Alpha chapter declined severely in membership. Like many honor societies, the cost and time commitment were not worthwhile for financially struggling students. This period also included the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department’s move from its original home on Main Campus to a new building on the vibrant Centennial Campus. The department was given the ability to bring in more students to new and modern workspaces. However, the historic Pi Tau Sigma plaque outside Broughton Hall and several other points of interest remained on Main Campus. Since those years, our chapter has slowly rebuilt. This process has taken several initiate classes and changes to the constitution. In 2018, a new executive board was elected with the goal to restore the chapter to is previous prestige. A revitalized chapter with younger membership will allow us to make changes to our structure over the following years with continuous momentum and dedication. Our goal is to create a seamless transition of power in the future such that we maintain successes from previous years.

The 2017-2018 school year laid the ground for upcoming change. Changes were made to the executive structure and to the initiation process that allowed for expansion and growth. The chapter expanded free tutoring for undergraduates in the Mechanical Engineering program. We rebuilt existing structure as to how each individual member contributes to working with our fellow students. Tutoring sessions were held on a weekly basis in Engineering Building 3 and were open to all walk-ins. Pi Tau Sigma members were required to work tutoring sessions multiple times per semester, and students could seek assistance with any mechanical engineering course. Attendance at these tutoring sessions varied throughout the semester, with expected peaks coming in concurrence with large classes’ exams and the lead up to final examinations.

Meetings occurred on a monthly basis between members and executives. All active members were invited to attend meetings which were led by the President and Vice President. Each meeting had an agenda and a planned discussion. Discussions included deliberations on plans for tutoring and initiations. Snacks were often provided during these meetings. Meetings were generally successful, although attendance is something to be improved upon in the coming year. New rules for members and membership requirements are being brainstormed by the new executive committee. These rules will include guidelines for sustaining active membership, in order to benefit both the chapter and support future membership. Meetings will continue to take place on a monthly basis, and will be intended to engage members and encourage members to partake in the additional events planned for next school year. New events will increase the presence of the chapter on campus and elevate the status of the chapter as an honor society.

The chapter had its largest initiate class in years in the Spring of 2018. We are proud of the recruitment over the last year and intend to strengthen our numbers moving forward. We consider this our biggest accomplishment over the last school year. With this new class comes new challenges. There are plans to begin facilitating larger events with intent to garner name recognition on campus. During the Great Recession, the NC State Pi Alpha chapter declined severely in membership. Like many honor societies, the cost and time commitment were not worthwhile for financially struggling students. This period also included the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department’s move from its original home on Main Campus to a new building on the vibrant Centennial Campus. The department was given the ability to bring in more students to new and modern workspaces. However, the historic Pi Tau Sigma plaque outside Broughton Hall and several other points of interest remained on Main Campus. Since those years, our chapter has slowly rebuilt. This process has taken several initiate classes and changes to the constitution. In 2018, a new executive board was elected with the goal to restore the chapter to is previous prestige. A revitalized chapter with younger membership will allow us to make changes to our structure over the following years with continuous momentum and dedication. Our goal is to create a seamless transition of power in the future such that we maintain successes from previous years.

The 2017-2018 school year laid the ground for upcoming change. Changes were made to the executive structure and to the initiation process that allowed for expansion and growth. The chapter expanded free tutoring for undergraduates in the Mechanical Engineering program. We rebuilt existing structure as to how each individual member contributes to working with our fellow students. Tutoring sessions were held on a weekly basis in Engineering Building 3 and were open to all walk-ins. Pi Tau Sigma members were required to work tutoring sessions multiple times per semester, and students could seek assistance with any mechanical engineering course. Attendance at these tutoring sessions varied throughout the semester, with expected peaks coming in concurrence with large classes’ exams and the lead up to final examinations.

Meetings occurred on a monthly basis between members and executives. All active members were invited to attend meetings which were led by the President and Vice President. Each meeting had an agenda and a planned discussion. Discussions included deliberations on plans for tutoring and initiations. Snacks were often provided during these meetings. Meetings were generally successful, although attendance is something to be improved upon in the coming year. New rules for members and membership requirements are being brainstormed by the new executive committee. These rules will include guidelines for sustaining active membership, in order to benefit both the chapter and support future membership. Meetings will continue to take place on a monthly basis, and will be intended to engage members and encourage members to partake in the additional events planned for next school year. New events will increase the presence of the chapter on campus and elevate the status of the chapter as an honor society.

The chapter had its largest initiate class in years in the Spring of 2018. We are proud of the recruitment over the last year and intend to strengthen our numbers moving forward. We consider this our biggest accomplishment over the last school year. With this new class comes new challenges. There are plans to begin facilitating larger events with intent to garner name recognition on campus.