Organization Spotlight: Order of Omega
Missouri University of Science and Technology is known for many things. Obviously, the word “engineer” often comes to mind or possibly “St. Pat’s”; however, as unique as this university is for these things, it is always important to recognize a university’s ability to offer a variety of organizations for students to get involved in. Like many campuses, Missouri S&T also has a large Greek community. It is no secret that students in Greek life tend to emphasize campus involvement, so it is important that there is an organization that recognizes these individuals. This week’s organization spotlight focuses on an assembly that serves the large Greek community that encompasses one-fourth the community on campus: Order of Omega.
Order of Omega is a national Greek society that focuses on recognizing and honoring fraternal men and women that have shown academic excellence as well as excellence in interfraternity leadership. The goal of Missouri S&T’s Pi Kappa chapter is to attempt to encourage these students to continue to strive for excellence by taking the time to recognize them. Every month, they do this by recognizing a student of the month that is nominated by each house. While this is one great way to serve the Missouri S&T Greek community, members of Order of Omega also make it a priority to find unique ways to serve all Greek students. One of the ways they do this is by hosting their annual sunscreen table during Greek Week. Members work a table at the Greek games where they provide free sunscreen for all who are in attendance in an attempt to help prevent busy students from getting sunburnt. Another act of service that takes place later this semester is the snake pit cleanup station. Many students are aware of the fun festivities that happen during the week leading up to St. Patrick’s Day. The most infamous of these events is the snake pits. Anyone who has participated in snake pits knows that it can get quite messy. Order of Omega will be setting up a table near the snake pits this year where their newest members will be providing baby wipes, towels, water, and mouthwash for participants that would like to clean up after the experience.
While Order of Omega focuses on giving back to the Greek community, they also focus on paying it forward to the community of Rolla as a whole. Their philanthropy is The Rolla Mission. Here, students work to hold events or show small acts of kindness for The Mission each semester. Last semester, members spent time during one of their meetings making holiday cards with words of encouragement for people at The Mission. This semester, they plan on fundraising money to purchase items to make care baskets for individuals at the mission as well.
This Greek society has clearly made a positive impact by giving back to those around them, but members also enjoy meeting new fraternal men and women, and they are always looking to recruit potential new members. This is accomplished by hosting fun recruitment events throughout the beginning of each semester. One event that took place this month was trivia at The Locker Room. During the event, those interested in joining were welcomed to play trivia while eating free appetizers. They also plan on hosting a recruitment event where interested students are invited to bowl with current members. For anyone who is interested in joining or learning more about Order of Omega, they have a fun Instagram page @mst_oofo or t their recruitment chair Miranda Johnson can be contacted at mnjfb5@umsystem.edu.
