Achievement Articles, News

Brother Publishes Orlando Food Lover’s Book

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January 3, 2013
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Brother Ricky Ly from the University of Central Florida Phi Chapter recently published his first Book!!! If you’re a super Foodie and want to visit some of the best restaurants in Orlando, FL, be sure to find Ricky’s book on Amazon.com HERE!

From the Back Cover

The local food culture is growing in Orlando. Because of its strong tourism industry, the city is often stereotyped as a place known for its many chain restaurants, but Orlando is a world-class destination that offers a diverse culinary landscape. Here it’s about the neighborhoods. From pockets of Vietnamese enclaves and a growing “Little Brazil” near International Drive to a huge food truck scene and an increasing number of farmers’ markets that feature local, farm fresh, all natural foods, Orlando is becoming more and more of a food lover’s delight. In Food Lovers’ Guide to Orlando, seasoned food writer Ricky Ly shares the inside scoop on the best places to find, enjoy, and celebrate these culinary treasures. A bounty of mouthwatering delights awaits you in this engagingly written guide.

With delectable recipes from the renowned kitchens of the city’s iconic eateries, diners, and elegant dining rooms, Food Lovers’ Guide to Orlandois the ultimate resource for food lovers to use and savor.

Inside You’ll Find:

Favorite restaurants and landmark eateries
Specialty food stores and markets
Farmers’ markets and farm stands
Food festivals and culinary events
Recipes from top Orlando chefs
The city’s best cafes, taverns, and food trucks
Local food lore and kitchen wisdom

About the Author

Ricky Ly is the food writer for Tasty Chomps!(http://tastychomps.com), a food and restaurant website dedicated to finding culinary adventures throughout Orlando as well as journeys and foodie discoveries overseas.

Born and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida, his passion for food and adventures began very early on, instilled by his Vietnamese and Chinese immigrant parents. His first memories were of pork belly and hard boiled egg dishes in the late afternoons and steaming dim sum plates of sweet and slurpy shrimp rice paste and dumplings on Saturday mornings. In 2003, he moved away to attend the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida where, among other things, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and wrote for the university’s student newspaper, the Central Florida Future.

He currently resides in Orlando, Florida working by day as a civil engineer and writing by night as he continues his lifelong quest to find great eats in all sorts of nooks and crannies of the world.
TastyChomps.com recently received awards from the Orlando Sentinel and is featured on Zagat’s Fork and Tell.

You can follow him online on twitter at @tastychomps and on Facebook at Facebook.com/tastychomps

Achievement Articles, News

Brother Featured in Mile-High APIA Magazine

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October 10, 2012
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Aaron ‘HAMMERDOWN’ Porras, a brother from UCB Colony (University of Colorado at Boulder) being featured in an article in Asian Avenue Magazine as a Rising Star!

The article features Aaron who finds his community within the brotherhood, speaks about his cultural identity, and the lack of APIA organizations on the high-school level.

Asian Avenue magazine is a publication founded to build bridges of awareness, knowledge and understanding between the diverse Asian Pacific American (APA) communities and the general public through cultural insights, pop culture, news and information. We are the only printed publication in Colorado focused on the APA community and culture. 

Check out the full article here!

*Note: Aaron served as President of UCB Colony last year. Raymond ‘Ness’ Auyeung is the current President.

Achievement Articles, News

2011-2012 Order of Omega Recipients

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July 31, 2012
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Congratulations to the following brothers for their selection in to the Order of Omega.
The Order of Omega is a leadership honor society for members of Greek organizations. Order of Omega recognizes juniors and seniors who have exemplified high standards in the areas of scholarship, leadership, involvement within their respective organization and within the Greek, campus, and local community. Members are selected from the top 3% of students at each institution.

  • Jonathan Browning – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Eric Chan – University of Central Florida
  • Scion Li – Rochester Institute of Technology
  • Tony Mai – Rochester Institute of Technology
  • Tho Nguyen – University of Florida
  • Dennis Ou – Carnegie Mellon University
  • Kenneth Tran – University of Florida
  • Toan Tran – University of Central Florida
  • Christopher Winardi – University of Florida
  • Jake Yap – University of Florida
Achievement Articles, Cultural Awareness Articles, News, Service Articles

Brothers Speak at APIA Presidential Town Hall

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July 23, 2012
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There has been only one sustained project involving direct collaboration between national Asian American fraternities and sororities. That project, born out of a partnership between advocacy group APIA (Asian Pacific Islander American) Vote and the National APIA PanhellenicAssociation (NAPA), is Project Five Percent.The project aims to highlight APIA issues in national politics by registering APIA youth to vote. The hope is that higher Asian American voter turnout would sway candidates to cater to the issues of our community.

Pi Delta Psi has consistently been at the forefront of this project, and youth civic engagement efforts in general. In 2008, Pi Delta Psi brothers held three of the eight positions in Project Five Percent’s National Planning Board, including that of Board Director. In July of 2012, four youth leaders representing the Asian American collegiate community spoke at the APIA Presidential Town hall in front of thousands of community leaders and members of Congress; of the four, two are Pi Delta Psi brothers. Brothers William Xu from the Rochester Institute of Technology represented NAPA, and Vigor Lam from Ohio State University represented the Midwest Asian American Student Union.

Such accomplishments are evidence of Pi Delta Psi’s unparalleled commitment to cultural excellence. Our organization recognizes that Asian American awareness must go beyond campus organizing, to community organizing. It also means educating brothers on issues like how Asian Americans are least likely of all minorities to vote, and to actively address such issues through the passion and commitment of the membership. It is through such efforts that our brothers develop organizational and leadership skills. It is with these initiatives that we create our identity as a brotherhood.

News, Service Articles

Team Parker Chen 2012!

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March 25, 2012
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Parker Edward Chen was born 2 1/2 months too soon. He spent 8 months at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital’s NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) and 2 months at their PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit). He spent close to 3 months at Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Jersey for rehabilitation. Parker finally came home on May 8th, 2009 at 13 months old. He will turn 4 years old on April 10th. He currently still has medical issues that need to be resolved.

There is a history of premature births in our family, but we never would have ever imagined having a child so early. Our pregnancy was perfect, no signs of distress or complications. It was not only a surprise having a child so early and so small (1300 grams, which is less than 3 lbs), but the complications that came after the birth felt so surreal. Parker was diagnosed with CHARGE Syndrome, a genetic abnormality that occurs in 1 out of 10,000 babies. At first it was devastating to us both as parents, because not only was Parker born premature, but we now have to prepare for a child with special needs. How will we guide this child throughout his life, how will we nurture him and educate him for his future? How will society perceive him? Will they accept him? Can we emotionally take on this responsibility? These are questions that we are still trying to answer.

We cannot thank Pi Delta Psi Fraternity, Inc enough for all their support, good thoughts and prayers throughout this journey. We would have never imagined, such an out pour of compassion, understanding and love from brothers, chapters and schools – some we have never even met. I crossed Sigma Psi Zeta in 1996 and Ed crossed Pi Delta Psi Fraternity in 1998. There is a saying in the greek-lettered community that when you have letters, you have them for the rest of your life – this is a true testament to the pride and gratitude that we have for everyone that has supported Team Parker Chen. Your donations and support in joining our team year after year, has not only helped our cause, but has raised awareness of premature births.  It has also renewed the spirit, pride, dedication, and solidarity of the letters that Ed holds so dear.

I encourage you to join our team! With the strength in numbers we can make a difference!

Let’s go Team Parker Chen 2012!

To join or donate to our team, please visit Ed’s personal page: http://bit.ly/GHgzE7

Through that link, you can also learn more about Team Parker Chen and how you can help our cause.

News, Service Articles

Baruch Colony hosts fundraiser for NYC Teachers

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February 20, 2012
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Baruch is hosting a fundraiser for NYC teachers in the Lower East Side. They are working with Trinity Church to fund-raise for school supplies. NYC budget cuts have affected the majority of the NYC school system, resulting in permanent school closings and larger class sizes. With the increase in class sizes, teachers are unable to supply adequate school supplies to their students. Help us provide these students with the tools they need to succeed! Donations will be accepted through March 1, 2012 and can be sent via paypal to xxnfsxx@hotmail.com.