Delta Sigma Pi celebrated the 20th anniversary of becoming the first and only professional business fraternity at St. Thomas this spring.

DSP, the Nu Tau chapter of the national fraternity, is a co-ed, student-run organization on campus created to foster the study of business at the university. The fraternity started with 27 members and has grown to more than 90, with 24 students currently pledging to join.

Senior Cam Sundin, president of DSP, said it’s an excellent opportunity for students to not only learn and grow professionally but to become part of a brotherhood of students with mutual interests.

“Delta Sigma Pi is a great way to meet people who are studying business,” Sundin said. “Walking to my classes, I run into like five people I’ve met through DSP. It’s nice to have friendly people in your classes and on campus that you’ve met along the way.”

One current pledge, freshman Vince Ternes, wanted to join to build a sense of professionalism.

“Coming to St. Thomas, I wanted to network and be able to develop professional skills,” Ternes said. “I also wanted to get a feel for what the business world was going to be like, and I think Delta Sigma Pi offers that.”

While there are similarities between DSP and other fraternities, Sundin said the professional aspect of DSP is what separates it from a social frat.

“I know there’s a certain stigma that goes along with frats and that idea, and that’s social fraternities,” Sundin said. “They have hazing, and it’s all about the brotherhood aspect.”

Sundin said DSP provides a strong sense of brotherhood, but it’s set apart by its professional opportunities.

“A lot of our events are focused around networking,” Sundin said. “We bring in speakers from different companies so we can give members some ideas on what they might like to do down the road. That helps us gauge our interests and network with people who have jobs similar to what we’re interested in.”

The professional events are part of the reason freshman Lauren Ennett, a current pledge, became interested in joining the fraternity.

“Being able to listen to professionals gives a lot of insight of my potential future in business,” Ennett said. “I’m eager to be able to become more familiar with the professional setting.”

Though different in some senses, DSP is similar to a social fraternity in that it has a thorough pledging process. Students who wish to become members spend eight weeks learning how the chapter operates, how it was founded, its values and the pillars it was built upon. The pledges also learn the responsibilities of each of the executive members and how to plan events for the organization.

“We also have weekly quizzes to learn about the origins of the fraternity,” Ennett said. “At the end of the pledge process, we have to answer all of them as a pledge class.”

The fraternity has grown over the last two decades to include a partnership with Junior Achievement. The organization pairs college students with elementary schools and allows them to inspire and prepare kids to be successful in the global economy while teaching them about business.

“As business majors, we have to do a certain amount of volunteer work,” Sundin said. “(Junior Achievement) is one of the organizations that students often get involved with. We established an executive member that serves as the bridge between St. Thomas and Junior Achievement, and it has definitely helped progressed our volunteer work as a chapter.”

Any St. Thomas student pursuing a degree in business is able to join DSP. Ternes said he thinks the fraternity could be beneficial to any student wanting to enter the field.

“Basically, you’re getting the professional development you can’t get anywhere else, even early on,” Ternes said. “I’ve learned so many cool things about business and what it will be like for me after college, so I would recommend it to anyone.”

Lauren Andrego can be reached at andr0090@stthomas.edu.