Zeta Omicron Recolonized
Shippensburg, PA – Travis Mawhinney (Zeta Pi/Old Dominion 2019) transferred to Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania to be closer to his family. Upon arriving at a new school, he realized something was missing. “After being on campus for a couple of weeks and becoming more familiar with their Greek life, I noticed that Theta Chi didn’t exist here,” stated Mawhinney. “Given that I was initiated as a brother at Old Dominion, the only fraternity I was interested in possibly joining at Shippensburg would be Theta Chi.”
When Mawhinney learned that Theta Chi had been at Shippensburg before (Zeta Omicron Chapter), he reached out to chapter brother Terrell Mizell (Zeta Pi/Old Dominion 2015), who was working at the International Headquarters at the time, about trying to restart the chapter. Terrell put him in contact with former International Headquarters staff member JD Ford. Along with this Travis connected with some Zeta Omicron alumni who were interested in bringing their chapter back. JD and Taylor Dahlem, Director of Recruitment and Expansion, met with Travis and went over what was needed to have Zeta Omicron recolonize, one of which was to have at least ten members.
Given he was a group of one, Travis reached out to his friend Michael Ochoa, who was intrigued with the idea of starting a new fraternity. Michael and Travis decided the best way to recruit was by reaching out to fellow classmates and through the clubs they were a part of.
Through their hard work and dedication, the Zeta Omicron Chapter was recolonized with 16 men on February 4, 2017. The ceremony was presided over by past Norwich Housing Corporation President Jim Thompson (Beta/MIT 1979) and took place at the Shippen Place Hotel in Shippensburg, PA. Attendees included Taylor Dahlem, Field Executive Matt Lynch, and alumni from Zeta Omicron/Shippensburg and Iota Sigma/Towson.
The recolonization banquet that followed the ceremony was also held at the Shippen Place Hotel. Jim Thompson spoke to his collegian experience as a Theta Chi at MIT and the parallels he can see between that and the Zeta Omicron colony members. Joe Carothers (Zeta Omicron/Shippensburg 1976) talked about the hard work the men have put in is starting to pay off. Colony President Travis Mawhinney spoke about the men hold a current grade point of average of 3.2 (on a 4.0 scale) and are a part of clubs such as ROTC, Club Soccer, Public Administration Club, Computer Science Club, Boxing Club, Marching Band, and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.
The main goals of the Zeta Omicron Colony include having the highest GPA for all Greek organizations, raise the most money for philanthropy out of all Greek organizations, and to win the President’s Cup (awarded to organization who performs the best within intramural sports).
Located in southern Pennsylvania in Shippensburg, PA, Shippensburg University is one of the 14 state universities a part of the Pennsylvania State System for Higher Education (PASSHE). Originally founded in 1871 as the Cumberland Valley State Normal school it is home to more than 7,000 collegians. Shippensburg has been rated by U.S. News & World Report multiple times as one of the best public schools in the northern region. Known as the Raiders, Shippensburg is an NCAA Division II school that competes in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
