Wearing a sweatshirt with the Greek letters “Alpha Phi Alpha” across his chest, Aaron Beasley proudly represents his fraternity — the first African-American, Intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity — in which he is the assistant executive director for the District of Illinois.

But beneath these three letters, Beasley’s friends and coworkers see a man of academic distinction, philanthropic dedication and humble spirit.

Beasley is a member of the Tau chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha at the University and is heavily involved with his chapter at the national level. According to Olabode Oladeinde, member of Alpha Phi Alpha and junior in LAS, his critical thinking skills help “to ensure that our chapter implements laws and policies from the district of Illinois leadership for our fraternity.”

Beasley, a senior in LAS, spearheaded the fraternity’s first “Iced-OWT” picnic, a social barbecue presented by Alpha Phi Alpha and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated, on Labor Day. This event was so successful that it was added to their annual event list, Oladeinde said.

“His work starts, but it does not end, on this campus,” Oladeinde said. “Aaron embodies what an Alpha man should be. Alpha prepares its members for life, and Aaron takes complete advantage of that.”

According to the fraternity’s official website, the purpose of Alpha Phi Alpha is to promote brotherhood and academic excellence, while providing service and advocacy for its communities.

“Being an Alpha is a privilege within itself. It is something that has to be earned. With these letters, I am able to do a great deal of things,” Beasley said.

Besides being an active member of his fraternity, in his spare time, Beasley volunteers at the Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club, located 201 E. Park St. in Champaign.

Charles Burton, one of the The Boys and Girls Club directors and also Beasley’s fraternity brother, put him in contact with a mother from the community who was looking for a young man to help mentor her son, Demarco.

“That spoke to me because my father was there (for me), but he was not involved in my life,” Beasley said. “So, I saw the opportunity to help Demarco, and I took advantage of that.”

Despite the fact that Beasley has been mentoring Demarco only since the beginning of the semester, he is on a continuous journey to establish and maintain a friendship.

“I’m working on doing small activities with Demarco so that I can become a positive male presence in his life,” Beasley said. “I want to show him that I was a lot like him when I was growing up and (that) making it to college is a possibility.”

As well as being involved in the community, Beasley has made an effort to be active on campus. As the Illini Union Board’s director of special events, Beasley said he wants to offer students fun activities and keep them updated on the latest groups that come to campus.

Last year on Unofficial, Beasley and the rest of the board wanted to provide students with an activity that did not involve alcohol. They booked “Mission IMPROVable,” an all-male comedy Improv group.

While Beasley said the event didn’t attract a huge audience, he was satisfied with the amount of students who did attend. Even if students chose to drink on Unofficial, Beasley said he helped to ensure they would be able to take a break from drinking and enjoy themselves at the Union.

“We provided students with things like Gatorade and popcorn so that people could make sure that they were eating something,” Beasley said. “This way they were not just going out and heavily drinking and, the next thing they know, they are in the hospital.”

Beasley also assists the LIFT College Access Mentoring Program, an organization dedicated to helping underrepresented high school students in the Champaign-Urbana community. He helps Elissia Franklin, director of the program and junior in LAS, with administrative duties.

According to Franklin, the purpose of LIFT is to address the life issues that affect the access of young adults to attend college. It aims to combine friendship, service and mentoring within the University and community. This program is a way to expand attendance and retention of African-Americans at a University level.

Franklin said Beasley is a “true philanthropist,” one who is “always giving and does not only give when it comes to his fraternity.”

“He tries to get others to be the greatest they can and live up to their potential,” she said. “He gives his time with no thought of wanting anything in return and it’s hard to find people like that.”

Teryn can be reached at [email protected].

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article stated that Beasley is a junior in LAS. Beasley is a senior in LAS. The Daily Illini regrets the error.