Alpha Kappa Psi is offering Marshall University students a chance to sharpen their professionalism and business skills this semester.

The fraternity held its first recruitment meetings of the semester Tuesday and Thursday.

Keely Hennessy, senior member and former fundraising chair and vice president of membership, kicked off the event with a slideshow presentation to give possible recruits a sense of what the fraternity is all about. The meeting then continued with games that allowed current members and possible recruits to mingle and interact with each other.

AKPsi is the oldest and largest business fraternity with nearly 240,000 members that specifically focuses on professionalism training and experience for its members. The goal of the fraternity is to help prepare its members for the real world and to help them gain real experience they can apply to earning and succeeding in professional careers. These events include workshops for email etiquette and resume building.

One of the key components of AKPsi is the inclusivity, allowing co-ed membership and students of any major to join.

“Our main focus is professionalism, but that is brought into any major,” Hennessy said. “Any job you apply for you will need to interview for, so it’s not just business majors who need interview skills and good resumes, it’s everyone.”

The fraternity organizes various social and business events for the members to both be able to socialize and enjoy their experience and build skills. In addition to the events for members, AKPsi also participates in community service and fundraising, working every semester with organizations such as the Ronald McDonald House, which provides housing to parents of children currently receiving extended medical care.

In addition to helping organizations such as the Ronald McDonald House, AKPsi organized a suicide awareness event in the Memorial Student Center last fall, where they planted yellow flags to represent the number of college suicides and handed out notes of encouragement to students.

“Not only do we focus on professional development, but community service and giving back, as well as socials, to allow the members to get together and create that strong foundation with each other,” President of AKPsi Alyce Crist said. “I think all of those things together is what really makes us great.”

Ryan Murphy can be contacted at [email protected].