The 130th anniversary celebration of Pi Lambda Phi was a huge success!

The celebration of the 130th anniversary of the founding of Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity, held in Philadelphia, was packed with events and activities for alumni, undergrads, and family. It was an event to pay tribute to the proud history of our fraternity, its brothers, and our founders, who dared to dream of a world free of prejudice and led courageously by envisioning the first fraternity dedicated to its elimination.

Picnic at Fairmount Park was a family first

Undergrads joined more than 30 alumni and their families for our first family-friendly picnic at Belmont Grove, a private park in Fairmount Park. The group enjoyed a beautiful spring day in the park featuring music, mingling, frisbee, Cornhole, Kan Jam, and sampling Philly’s finest hoagies.

Golf outing – Bet you don’t know who won

Brothers returned to the Walnut Lane golf course for the 5th annual Pilam Open. Rumor has it that Penn State alumni were feeling a bit pumped after winning the 2024 outing, and started pitching lavish Al Czervik-like bets, wagering $10K against all challengers. After a hybrid team from Wisconsin and Cal Berkeley won the tourney, the former champions were uncharacteristically silent. 

Thank you to Pilam-owned Stable 12 Brewery in Phoenixville, PA for providing their support and refreshing malted beverages for the event.

Networking breakfast gave undergrads a chance to find their next meal ticket

There is nothing quite as nerve-wracking as transitioning from college to a professional career. To help connect undergrads with business contacts, we held our first networking breakfast. Nearly 40 alumni professionals joined a roomful of undergrads, eager to find a path to their dream job.

After an informal meet and greet, alumni stood and briefly introduced themselves and their professions. Alumni represented a wide variety of professions and industries, including: engineering, space industry, talent management, higher education, law, technology, education, finance, AI tech, consulting, insurance, healthcare, and others.

Pilam was fortunate to have Boris Manakhimov (Adelphi), Principal Talent Acquisition Partner at Dataminr, in attendance. He gave the undergrads some great networking advice and offered tips on questions to ask, and what they might want to say about themselves. Boris remarked, “As Pilam alumni, we all have a shared past. And now it’s up to us to also build a shared future.”

Ian Lowe said, “Boris basically challenged the students saying, ‘Look, you just heard what these guys are doing professionally. So if you want to go meet that guy across the room because he’s in the same space, get up and go shake his hand.’” 

Undergrad Jackson Batchellor (Temple) said of his experience, “I got to speak to alumni and make some great connections. I met Dan Roper, who graduated from Temple in 2017. He’s trying to get me in touch with people in my field of sports reporting.” 

Big Pi Panel – Award recipients “spill the tea” for inquiring minds

Our newest Big Pi recipients: Broadway producer Vivek Tiwary (U Penn), and French soccer team owner Vince Volpe, Jr. (Lehigh) were joined by 2001 Big Pi recipient historian Dr. John David Smith (Baldwin Wallace) to share their professional and fraternal experiences and field questions from undergrads. Also in attendance was 2016 Big Pi recipient Roger Orloff (RPI), who spoke with the students during their House of Delegates meeting about what it means to live our motto of Not Four Years, But a Lifetime.

IEC President, Joe Nascimento, who moderated the panel said of the experience, “It was a true honor and highlight of my fraternal experience to be in a room with four Big Pi winners, and to hear what Pilam meant to Vince and Vivek — two men who excelled in completely different industries, but are both grounded in the same values and similar experiences.” 

Reception and Banquet – The big show

The culmination of the 130th celebration was the reception and banquet attended by more than 150 alumni and undergrads. It was a combination of recognizing key alumni, undergrads, and an incredible milestone that marks the staying power of Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity.

View the 130th Anniversary Photo Album.

This year we found a unique Pilam personality to help us promote the event and spread some good humor with his award-winning celebrity impressions. John DiDomenico (East Stroudsburg) welcomed brothers to the celebration as Ben Franklin, Guy Fieri, Austin Powers, and Donald Trump. 

Exceptional performances recognized

During award presentations, chapters, individuals, and alumni were recognized for exemplary achievements. Brothers in attendance were presented with their awards during the ceremony. Thankfully, no one was played off by the orchestra.

Awards included:

• Big Pi
• Diamond Chip Council Key
• Council Key
• Alumni Certificates of Merit
• Young Alumnus Professional Achievement Awards
• Chapter Awards
• Undergrad Achievement Awards

See the full list of award recipients.

The event wrapped with a convocation, the off-key singing of fraternity songs, and finally some well-deserved cocktails at the hotel bar. 

“The 130th anniversary celebration was a reminder of how special it is to be a part of our fraternity. We saw college students getting the opportunity to network with successful alumni in their field of interest, listen to the stories and passion of Big Pi recipients, and get to socialize with and learn more about Pilam and our history from some of our lifelong volunteers. You had over 150 people in a room who all have one thing in common — a love for Pi Lambda Phi — and an energy you won’t find at any other type of conference.”

– Joe Nascimento, IEC President

Taking care of business

In addition to all of the social events, Pilam got some fraternity business done as well. The International Executive Council hosted a luncheon with some of our key volunteers to discuss the current state of the fraternity, and the development of the new strategic plan that the council is developing. Interested in learning more about strategic planning? Contact us.

The undergraduate House of Delegates met and voted on new “Greek” names for the newly created offices of VP of Housing, and VP of Alumni Relations. There must have been an influential Latin major in the group as they decided on “Domus” for the VP of Housing and “Legatus” for the VP of Alumni Relations.

Thank you!

A sincere round of snaps and thanks to all of our brothers, undergrads, and supporters who made this such a fantastic celebration of Pi Lambda Phi’s past, present, and future.