Sigma Frater Jonathan Solomon Named National Greek All-Star

It has been a whirlwind year for Langston University’s Jonathan Solomon since he first pledged to be a member of Phi Beta Sigma during the fall semester of 2010. A week after being accepted as a member, he was voted in as President. Then, the chapter was named the International Collegiate Model Chapter of the Year in the spring semester, and this fall Solomon himself was named a 2011 National Greek All-Star.

Solomon, who is president of the Beta Epsilon chapter of Phi Beta Sigma, said he was most proud of the award being a reflection of the work the entire chapter has done over the course of the past several months. He said he considered the latest accolade an extension of the honor named to the chapter earlier this year.

“I don’t see this is as a victory for me but as a win for the chapter,” Solomon said. “We weren’t doing so great a few years ago, and now we have come a long way in becoming one of the better chapters in the nation.”

Solomon was selected from millions of entries worldwide and was one of only 24 student Greek-letter organization members selected. The National Greek Fraternity and Sorority Awards is the national standard for academic, community service, positive organization involvement, performance prowess, and career excellence and achievement within the Greek fraternity and sorority world.

Community service was one of the main reasons Solomon said he believes he was selected for the honor. He pointed to the partnership the fraternity had with Omega Psi Phi and Collegiate Outreach in providing food to the homeless as just one of the many new initiatives the Greek organization has participated in to help in the community.

Another new initiative – Sigma Saturdays – is a partnership with Marcus Garvey Leadership Charter School in Oklahoma City in which members of Phi Beta Sigma help mentor kids at the K-8 school while building lifelong relationships.

“We really wanted to be able to do more in terms of working with the community and these initiatives were ways we could achieve growth as a chapter while also helping others,” Solomon said.

The personal achievement for Solomon followed the naming of the chapter as the International Collegiate Model Chapter of the Year at the Fraternity’s 97^th International Conclave. That distinction was awarded to the collegiate chapter that demonstrated the highest level of commitment to the organization’s cardinal principals – brotherhood, scholarship and service.

For Solomon, they all go hand-in-hand with the overall goals of the chapter. And for the Beta Epsilon Chapter that has been around since 1947, the awards are the start of what is expected to be a trend in making a difference.

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