Greetings, Epsilon alumni and friends!
It is a privilege and an honor to be a Chi Psi. As many of you have been involved and followed along over the past two years of the Epsilon Re-founding, it’s been my pleasure to be in the middle of it all working on the ground in Ann Arbor. Now that much of the project has been completed, I am extremely excited to fill the Lodge Director position for this upcoming fall, when our entire Re-founding Class will live in the Lodge, and wanted to quickly introduce myself to you all.
When I first moved to Ann Arbor nearly two years ago to the day, I had never been to Michigan, had very little knowledge about Alpha Epsilon, and had zero ideas about how this project would turn out – especially considering we were in the worst of the pandemic, a challenging Greek life environment on campus, and the highest of standards and expectations for what any future Alpha here would look like.
I graduated from Miami University, where my Chi Psi experience (coming from an Alpha that just celebrated our 15th anniversary and a Lodge that looks more like a retirement home than not) was very different than the history and culture one can find at 620 State St. At its core, however, I quickly realized that the best part of Chi Psi wasn’t what Lodge you lived at or how old your Alpha was – but instead in the strengths of friendships one could find in the Brotherhood between all.
The challenge to recruit and mold undergraduates to join a concept, rather than an established organization, was a struggle at first for obvious reasons. As the first year progressed, and our group slowly grew, it became abundantly clear that Alpha Epsilon could return not in a diminished, “shadow of the past” capacity, but as a show of force and that the idea of what a true fraternity could still exist as today. From reinstating Formal Dinners (my spooning count is low – for now!), evenings in the Fireplace Room with Alumni listening to stories of Epsilon old, and most importantly, countless hours talking with the young gentlemen interested in bringing Alpha Epsilon back, it was truly a remarkable two years that culminated in a powerful reinstatement to Alpha status this past month at the 181st Convention.
When the Epsilon Trustee Corporation offered this position to me for the fall, I saw this as a perfect opportunity to not only help with the upkeep of the Lodge, but also to truly finish the job I set out to do. The men who now form Alpha Epsilon are some of the best men I have met and would be fantastic additions to any Alpha, organization, or university. Thinking of how influential the Alpha Rho Delta Live-in Advisor, Chef Kim Rios, was to me as an undergraduate, and hearing about how influential Chef Jerry was here for many years, I can’t wait to help guide these men through their first few months in the Lodge, teach them the Chi Psi rituals and traditions, and firmly establish the culture of the group to ensure there is never a need for another Alpha Epsilon Re-founding ever again. These men have educated, discussed, and shouldered the burden of the dark days of this Alpha, and are committed to proving themselves worthy of the Epsilon designation in the years to come.
I look forward to meeting many of you all throughout the year and cannot thank you enough for welcoming the Re-founders and myself with open arms into Alpha Epsilon. As a proud Michigan bandwagon fan, Go BLUE!
Yours in the Bonds,
Aidin Montefisher PΔ ’20Chi Psi Central Office Extension Specialist – Alpha Epsilon 2020-2022
Alpha Rho Delta Alumni Board Chairman/President