DKA, BACK IN ACTION! — Delta Kappa Alpha Rho Chapter

Written By Philip W. Popken

Hello readers, missed Cinajournal? It’s been a minute. I’m Philip W. Popken, Current visual media arts senior and Delta Kappa Alpha RHO member. As my time with DKA RHO chapter is coming to an end I thought it could be nice to take a look back at my experience. You may look at this as my DKA swan song if you’d like. So HIT IT!

Let’s take it from the start. I first heard about DKA on the set of Survivor Boston Season 6. Shout out to Lily Noyd / Quinn Chao for selling me on coming out for recruitment for the following semester. (After all recruitment is 24/7) With their encouragement, I went out and luckily received a bid. I joined DKA in Spring of 2020. (I bet you can see where this story’s going ;) Before the unforeseen lifechanging global event, my time with DKA was a positive switch that I needed to my experience at Emerson. Starting by creating a lot of great relationships with my fellow DeKA’s. Having met my best friend / (later down the line) Big (Lily Sexton) and becoming close with numerous members from my associate class (you know who you are). It’s funny looking back on that time since in reality it was only a month. However we made good use of that one month, as if we knew what was to become of the rest of that year. As an associate member we were weeks away from becoming active. Three days after returning from spring break we were all sent back home. My class was so close to our goal & yet so far away (literally all over the country). However through the pandemic my associate class was able to stay strong, connected and in good spirits. We all were able to complete the requirements in order to become actives. Though our celebratory zoom might had not been in my fantasy for us, it was a moment of it reflection. That even if we are apart we did it together.

Members of Spring 2020 New Class after a bonding experience. (February, 2020)

Haus of Shambles at Big / Little Reveal (February, 2020)

On a personal note in Fall of 2020 I decided to take a gap year. Since I had made this choice, I wasn’t allow to attend the official crossing ceremony for my class until I reenrolled. Making me a neophyte until I decided to return. Maybe another DeKA will write on that time period but sadly that will be the neophyte year in this story since I wasn’t an active member just yet and am un able to tell that tale.

I returned to Emerson in Fall of 2021, after a summer of moving back to Boston and being able to reconnect with some of my fellow DeKA’s. I was excited to finally get to reconnect with this community and collaborate in order to continue the greatness. In early September at our first in person chapter, (The first to happen in person since March 2020). It was finally time for me to have my crossing ceremony. The crossing ceremony was an event I was looking forward to back when I joined DKA. As the event is a celebration of a full class finally being official members of the chapter. Truly apart of the community before them. In all honesty, the community I had before me wasn’t one I fully recognized since I had been away for a year and things had changed. However that no longer mattered. Even though it wasn’t the moment I had fantasized, the feeling of community was still there. It wasn’t about the glory, it was about the experience as it is on itself. It was finally official, I was finally a full member and it didn’t need all the bells and whistles to feel special since it was special on its own. I was lucky. Not only to finally have been given my DKA letters but to have been the first to be crossed in person since 2019. Jokingly at the end of the chapter I was asked if I wanted a picture of myself since I’m “technically” in my own class. I opted out and instead insisted to get a group picture to celebrate that we are finally together again. Together and ready to get back in action!

The First Chapter Meeting of Fall 2021 / First meeting in person since Covid (September, 2021)

Now this semester hasn’t been a cakewalk. With a majority of us having to navigate the future of DKA back to how it ran before in a post pandemic Emerson. It’s been full of trial and error but it’s been one that none of us have given up on. As a community we have worked extremely hard this semester and I can only think that our hard work will continue in years to come. Here is a look back on the Fall 2021 Semester! Our Recruitment Team (George Long and I) ran a successful in person recruitment and welcomed twenty-one new members into our fraternity. Our Associate Education team (Tiana Oliveras, Thomas Coughlin, Dylan Scott & Kresha Sewani) guided each of them to greatness and to become active members. Chapter has been run smoothly thanks to our President, Vice President and Secretary (Ben Peterson, Neal Woodall & Karungi Tibbs) who continue to keep spirits high and DeKA in check of our goals! Our alumni relations chair (Daniel Agmon) lead great Q&A’s with past RHO chapter DeKA’s who are currently working on Film / Television sets. Marketing Chair (Michael Ngigi) ran our social media this semester and organized a new chapter photo! (See Below) Our sunshine chair (Tyler Campbell) lead a fall watch along of Over the Garden Wall. Our retreat chairs (Jaden Esse & Marc Fitch) planned a celebratory weekend welcoming our new class while getting to connect more with our current one. Ben Peterson also ran The Green Production Crash Course which focused on how to become more environmentally friendly while on film sets. While the cinematic affairs department (Madison Kennedy, Evariste Gindrey and I) created The DeKA Film Festival which showcased members short films and celebrated all the projects we have worked on. Finally our philanthropy chair (Cate Foy) planned a card making activity for children in hospitals and a candy drive were proceeds will be donated to SeriousFun Children’s Network. All of that plus many more happened this semester, thanks to all the hard work our community has put in! I’m excited to hear how we continue to make it happen! As elections just finished for our roles in Spring 2022 and we have every position filled, its truly telling on how this is only just the start of us coming back!

Celebrating our Fall 2021Bid Night in Style! (September, 2021)

Some members of the Spring 2020 Class at The Last Meeting of our Fall 2021 Semester (December, 2021)

As our most recent class are now official DeKAs and I look around at the remaining members, I know Delta Kappa Alpha future is going to be great. DKA RHO chapter is a new era, with a great team to lead us into it. This is the end of my time with this chapter (though membership is lifelong). As I am leaving the Boston campus for next semester, I’m excited to continue as DKA’s LA Culture Chair and Editor & Chief of CinaJournal, so don’t miss me too much cause you’ll be hearing from me soon again. However for Boston the sun is setting. While our time might have been short, I got exactly what I needed out of DKA and I’m so thankful for that. It was an experience (Listen to Janelle Monáe’s What an Experience to catch the vibe). One I’m very lucky to have had. Thank you to everyone who played a part in my time with Delta Kappa Alpha (There is too many of you to name drop, so just text me & I’ll confirm or deny if you did). I’m excited to continue our siblinghood outside of chapter. Pretty soon I’ll be traveling to LA with a number of my DKA Siblings. It just go to show that this one location isn’t where are stories end but just start. Tiana Oliveras wrote it perfectly in a note to me stating, “This is the end of a chapter and the start of a new one :)“

As for the DKA RHO chapter, We’re finally Back in Action!

Yours in Kappa,

Philip W. Popken

(PS. Shout out to Hugh Stoddard for letting me not pay dues! / Sorry to all future RHO DeKA’s that the award no longer exist because of me!)