Meet the NEC: President

Meet our new National President for 2021-2023, Charles “Chuck” Szekacs. Chuck is an alumnus of the Phalam Stutter chapter, located at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, LA, where the fraternity is colloquially spelled as Phi Buda ruda. In 2015, Chuck was a member of Phalam Stutter’s Gamma class. While at LA Tech, he played snare drum on the Band of Pride drumline and participated in the percussion studio’s ensemble.

To get to know him a little better, here’s a short Q&A. Feel free to comment below if you have any further questions and your question could be featured in next month's roota Report newsletter.

Why did you join Phi Boota roota?

“I joined PBr because it was full of the coolest people I’d met since going to college. The focus on percussion, which had been a huge part of my life, was a close second.”

What is your favorite memory you’ve made as a brother of PBr?

“My favorite memory I’ve made as a brother was probably ending every percussion ensemble concert surrounded by some of my best friends who were all there to support us. The late trips to Applebee’s with our percussion director punctuated it quite nicely.”

What is your favorite percussion instrument?

“My favorite percussion instrument is probably the vibraslap. It’s a very silly instrument and a simple introduction to how weird percussion can get.”

What is your favorite percussion ensemble piece? “Not Far From Here by Blake Tyson is a piece that I’ll call my favorite because of the message from the composer and how much playing it meant to me after losing a close friend my Freshman year.”

What is your favorite 90s song to jam to?

“My favorite 90s song to jam to would probably be “Carry the Zero” by Built to Spill or literally anything from Modest Mouse.”

What would the name of your debut album be?

“My debut album will be titled Whoops…”

Hopefully you know Chuck a little bit better now. Again, feel free to leave further questions below and have a chance to be featured in this month’s roota Report.