By Callum Walmsley
Emily Derupo ’24, who earned her bachelor's degree in business administration, is now pursuing a career in media and entertainment. But when she first arrived at Adelphi as a first-year, she didn’t have any idea how to make that happen until she joined Delta Sigma Pi (DSP).
“Before joining Delta Sigma Pi, I had no professional experience, a fear of public speaking, and no idea that I had any ability to be a leader,” she said. “The business fraternity allowed me to gain confidence in public speaking, interviewing, professionalism, leadership, communication and more.”
DSP is a professional business fraternity for both men and women that was first introduced to Adelphi University in 1982. Since then, DSP has prepared business majors and minors for successful careers by teaching professional skills, leadership and networking in order to bridge the gap between business students and the commercial world.
Derupo, who is now working for GroupM’s Wavemaker agency as an investment associate, said, “DSP allowed me to have a network of peers around me who could lift me up, become friends and teach me valuable lessons. I even got my full-time job through a brother. Delta Sigma Pi creates a sense of community for college while also allowing one to gain essential skills in the business world.”
Jaydin Nowak, vice president of new member development, said that what sets the fraternity apart is that there isn’t just the social aspect. They are also doing the business side of things really well.
“We do a lot of professional events, which is really neat,” Nowak said. “Not just with companies, but also with guest speakers and entrepreneurs. Last semester, for example, we visited a marketing firm in New York City, and that provided one of our members with an opportunity to network, to the point that they are now working with that firm.”
Nowak, a senior pursuing a degree in business management, added that they don’t just focus on business. “Just recently, we had a fun girls night with charcuterie boards and some of the guys are doing a ‘bros giving’ for Thanksgiving this year which I think is pretty cool.”
But Nowak acknowledged that DSP has faced their share of challenges. “The biggest one was growing our members. Back in Covid, we only had eight members left in the fraternity, and there were serious discussions about having to close. That’s when we had to really push our marketing out there, and former president Tanya Sarin was instrumental in turning things around, to the point that we doubled our fraternity size in one semester.”
The future looks bright for DSP, and Nowak recognized the importance of continuing to
expand.
“Many of our members will be graduating this year, so continuing to evolve beyond the graduating class will be an exciting stage in our recruitment process, as we will definitely be looking for underclassmen to push our program forward into the future,” she said.
DSP participates in interfraternity council (IFC) recruitment periods along with other fraternities and sororities on campus, and these take place at the beginning of every fall and spring semester. In order to be eligible to become a DSP member, students must be majoring or minoring in a business program with a minimum GPA of 3.0. This will grant access to professional events and insider access to internships and potential job opportunities.
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