By Sam Stephenson

News Editor

The Phi Delta Theta fraternity set up the Gregory Sadler Memorial Scholarship that will give two incoming freshmen $200 each towards books in the spring semester. The scholarship is dedicated to Gregory Sadler, ‘13, a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity who passed away last April.

The idea to start the scholarship can’t be given to one specific member of the fraternity, according to Dan Miller, ’14, the current recruitment chair for Phi Delta Theta.

“It was really a consensus between everyone,” Miller said.

Sadler was the scholarship chair within the fraternity and was charged with keeping track of everyone’s grades.

“Greg put in so much effort into that position,” Miller said. “He came to chapter and gave us handouts and presentations with pie charts and really in depth analysis of everybody’s grades. He definitely went above and beyond expectations.”
The two students will be chosen by a board of fraternity members based on a variety of questions about the applicant’s passions and what they would like to do with those passions at Allegheny.

“What we’re looking for is someone who exudes that same excitement that Greg does. Someone who just really wants to get the most out of their time here. Someone who really is a leader, a role model, and really goes above and beyond the normal qualities that you would expect to see in a freshman.”

Before Sadler’s passing, Phi Delta Theta was in the middle of fundraising with their national chapter for ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Following Sadler’s death, the members of the fraternity turned their focus to Sadler’s family and gave donors the option to also donate to Sadler and his family.

If any one member of the fraternity, nationwide, donated $1,000 or more, they are forever known as an Iron Phi. The consensus within the fraternity was to get Sadler up to that mark. That goal was achieved.

When David Eddy, ‘14, Sadler’s roommate of three years, heard of the scholarship being set up in Sadler’s name, he was very excited to see it being put together.

“I was insanely happy,” Eddy said. “That was perfect. That just fits perfectly with him.”

Angela Cluchey, ‘15, another friend of Sadler’s, said Sadler was an extremely vibrant and passionate person.

“I always love the story of him making up his own alphabet,” Cluchey said, describing his senior comp.

“He was a computer science major, and basically he created his own algorithm, using his own alphabet. He took things to a different level,” added Eddy.

“But then there’s the other side of him, he’s just a jokester and loved playing jokes on people,” Cluchey continued. “He had so many different aspects to him. He was a very vibrant person, that’s a good way to explain him. And I knew that within the first couple seconds of meeting him.”

When asked about what first-years applying should know about Sadler, Eddy said that he was a very hard worker and worked for everything he had.

“Appreciate what you have, and don’t squander it,” Eddy said. “They’re being given an excellent opportunity to receive help.”

Outside of North Village II still stands “Gregory’s Corner,” the memorial that was created by friends of Sadler and other members of the Allegheny community. Portrayed on the mural are different memories friends had of Greg. There is a pickle, a yellow rubber duck, Phi Delta Theta’s blue and white crest, a portrait of Sadler himself in front of the United States flag, and another portrait of him surrounded by the quote, “I sense but I do not know,” a testament to his open mind and his ability to not jump to conclusions too quickly.

Though it is only the inaugural year of the scholarship, Miller expressed his excitement for the future the scholarship will have at Allegheny.

“I think that as a fraternity we have a lot of resources at our fingertips, be it alumni, connection within the school, and connections to businesses in the local area,” Miller said. “I think it would be really great to set up a trust or do whatever it is that you need to do to let it sustain itself for years to come.”

“I think Greg would be really happy to see that we’re doing this today,” Miller said.