As an Eagle Scout, Ryan Lotich had always been involved in the community.

Serving his second term as philanthropy chair of the social fraternity Phi Sigma Kappa, Lotich wanted to go above and beyond the required service hours for Phi Sigma Kappa Nationals. A total of 1,284 hours were confirmed as the amount of service hours the fraternity achieved last semester.

“We are a social fraternity, and I’ve always felt that philanthropy wasn’t taken seriously,” said Lotich.

Last semester, Lotich developed connections with the DeKalb community through two major events: Corn Fest and the Egyptian Theatre Haunted House. Phi Sigs continued their involvement with the Egyptian Theatre by building, acting in and deconstructing the Amenti Haunted House, and by putting together Santa’s Workshop in December. The Egyptian Theatre projects earned them an excess of 450 service hours alone.

“Almost every volunteer that walks through the theater’s doors soon realizes that there is something special about the theater and they keep coming back either as a volunteer or a patron,” said Alex Nirad, operations director of the Egyptian Theatre. “Ryan and the other members of Phi Sigma Kappa are no exception to this; They truly seem to appreciate the uniqueness of this jewel of DeKalb.”

There are many time-consuming projects at the theater simply because of the size of the building.

“Without their energy and huge time contribution, we would not have been able to pull off the haunted house to the degree that we did,” Nirad said.

Lotich makes a personal effort to make sure he is on-site with every project.

Every week, Phi Sig brothers volunteer at TAILS Humane Society, St. Mary’s Church and the Salvation Army.

Volunteering at TAILS Animal Shelter includes taking care of dogs and cats, walking the dogs and cleaning up the animals’ cages. At St. Mary’s Church food pantry and the Salvation Army food pantry, the brothers bag groceries and restock shelves.

“I prefer to organize group volunteer projects,” Lotich said. “Per event we like to have a minimum of five brothers. That way, it’s a lot more fun and worthwhile. I try to make a lot of community service events fulfilling and enjoyable.”

Lotich’s favorite event so far was working at St. Mary’s food pantry.

“You realize that you take your life for granted when you work with the people who come to the food pantry.”

As for future community involvement, Lotich plans to maintain the relationships he made last semester.

He also hopes to reach out to the Greek community, the NIU community and the DeKalb community.

“I look forward to the continued collaboration between the Egyptian Theatre and Phi Sigma Kappa this semester. They have indicated an interest to continue their volunteer efforts beyond this semester and we are extremely grateful for that,” Nirad Said.

“Phi Sigs can always do more community service,” Lotich said. “We’re better people when we volunteer and give up our time for others. I have the urge to excel and to set the bar even higher.”