Each year, Pi Sigma Epsilon, a professional sales, marketing and management coed fraternity, holds its Virtual National Convention, welcoming students from chapters across the country to compete in 19 competitions and be recognized for their chapter’s development, growth and successes.
At this year’s event, held March 31 to April 11, Michigan State’s PSE chapter, Eta Beta, ranked first among Amethyst-level chapters and earned the 2021 Lloyd L. Antle Top Amethyst Chapter for the second consecutive year.
Michael Anthony Valente, supply chain management junior and Eta Beta president, 2020–21
“As a young chapter on campus, we are always looking for ways to further establish ourselves and build a bigger name, and this award does all that and more for us,” Michael Anthony Valente, supply chain management junior and president of Eta Beta for 2020–21, said.
According to a press release from PSE, the Top Amethyst award is given to the chapter that excels in all levels of operations, such as programming, membership development and recruitment, while attaining the Amethyst level of the Chapter Operations Guide (27,000 points or more). Eta Beta proved itself by earning more than 28,000 COG points and holding a total of 35 events over the course of the year — not an easy feat amid a pandemic.
“Our chapter really puts an emphasis on community and brotherhood and that is what separates us from a lot of other organizations campus-wide and nationally, so the change really posed a problem for us,” Matis Butlevics, rising senior in supply chain management and current president of Eta Beta, said. “We did our best to continue our family-like culture and did a lot of activities virtually.”
Valente added, “As a chapter, we hold three main types of events: professional, philanthropy and social. With the switch to virtual learning this past year, we chose to focus mainly on our professional development events.”
Matis Butlevics, rising senior in supply chain management and current Eta Beta president
The chapter’s business mixer models a career fair with opportunities for conversations between student member and sponsors from companies. This year, Eta Beta added new features that helped participants gain more from the event.
“The biggest positive change we saw was allowing company representatives to schedule one-on-one meetings directly after the mixer,” he said. “This took our event to a greater level as members from our chapter were offered jobs and internships directly from it.”
Beyond the chapter’s recognition, Eta Beta member and vice president of public relations Julia Sauer was also honored with a PSE Future Leader award for her exceptional commitment to the chapter. Sauer is a rising junior in hospitality business and became a member her freshman year, when she immediately stepped up for a role on the executive board. For her, PSE has been the most rewarding part of her time as a Spartan so far.
“Since joining, I have been surrounded by nothing but positive, driven and inclusive individuals, and it’s an honor to be considered a leader among such a great group of people,” Sauer said.
Julia Sauer, hospitality business rising junior and Eta Beta vice president of public relations
“Julia is a fighter; she does not fit into anybody else’s mold, her will is unmovable and she always rises to the occasion,” Butlevics wrote in his nomination letter for Sauer. “She is everything PSE stands for and what PSE aspires to be.”
Sauer plans to run for her VP position again next year and hopes to achieve her goals that were shifted due to the pandemic. “In the end, my main goal is to have our members feel the sense of belonging, exposure to professional opportunities and development of lifelong friendships that I felt since my time as a member as well.”
Eta Beta’s legacy of national recognition is not only a victory for MSU but also a force that will help the chapter continue to grow and flourish.
“Moving forward, we will use these achievements as the foundation and framework for the Eta Beta chapter to do more on our campus, in our communities and in the real world,” Valente said.
