The Eta Omicron chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha won its 17th consecutive Robert A. Smythe award for the top 10 percent of chapters at a convention held in Memphis, Tennessee this summer.

Wyatt Medlin, a senior management major and chapter president,  said he was proud of his chapter for being recognized.

“I really like knowing that we are one of the best chapters of the fraternity at a national level,” Medlin said.

The chapter tied the longest winning streak in the organization’s 147-year history. The ULM chapter has won 22 Smythe awards in its last 24 years.

The award requires excellence in 16 areas including academics, community service, campus involvement and more.

Tommy Walpole, executive director of auxiliary enterprises and the fraternity’s university relations adviser, joined Medlin and 10 other students at the four-day convention.

Walpole said, “We’re extremely proud of every award and the recognition earned by the fraternity as a whole and by each member individually.”

Pi Kappa Alpha also recognized the chapter’s financial program, new member education, athletics, public relations programs and alumni association. The convention praised the chapter for earning a 3.0 or higher GPA for the fifth consecutive year.

changes now to make it safer “before it comes back to bite us.”

At the conference, the students were able to sit in on a table discussion which discussed ISIS and the Middle East. Other students who presented were political science majors Adam Karaminis, Caleb Fenn and Josh Dean.