The founders of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity created the group to raise the sights of black collegians. Its fundamental purpose is achievement for its members and to stimulate them to reach beyond what they think they can do.

This active and community-minded fraternity offers national and local scholarships for members as well as nonmembers who are highly motivated individuals.

Kappa Alpha Psi Scholarships

Members of the fraternity need a minimum 2.5 GPA to be considered for Kappa Alpha Psi scholarships. The financial reward can range from $500 to $5,000 or more. There are hundreds of scholarships from which to choose, including the Rainey Scholarship at Michigan State, the Mekhdjian Scholarship at San Jose State, the Vasquez Scholarship at Arizona State and the de Chavez Scholarship at Rutgers.

The Omega Psi Phi scholarships for high school seniors in 2019 is also available for students who are part of the National Pan-Hellenic Council. Both Kappa Alpha Psi and Omega Psi Phi are part of this larger fraternity organization committed to helping students get to college.

Leadership skills, involvement in one of the many programs sponsored by local or national Kappa Alpha Psi chapters and academic achievement will help you to obtain one of these lucrative college tuition funds.

Guide Right Program

In 1922, Leon Wop Stewart conceived the idea for the Guide Right program to assist collegiate hopefuls and young students in achieving their highest dreams. The Guide Right program has five national initiatives. These are:

  • Kappa League – Designed to help high school students to develop their leadership skills through a series of challenging and rewarding activities to enhance their lives

  • Jr. Kappa League

  • A-MAN Program

  • St. Jude Research Hospital

  • Kappa Kamp – Helps inner city children attend Kappa Alpha Psi camps around the country

Each chapter hosts black fraternity scholarships and programs to support young students as they work to attend college.

History of Kappa Alpha Psi

African-American students with plans to attend college in the early 20th century were not often given much opportunity much less encouragement to do so. It was the era of the Jim Crow Laws that were designed to enforce racial segregation. African-American students were largely isolated and prohibited from participating in or even attending student functions or sporting events.

On January 5, 1911, 10 students gathered to make a change in the status quo and form an organization that would be about advisement, achievement and academics. Elder Watson Diggs, Byron K. Armstrong and eight other students bonded together at Indiana University to officially form the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. It is the only Greek letter organization with its first chapter actually on the university’s sprawling campus.

The idea behind the fraternity caught on and quickly spread. Within two years, it had expanded to the University of Illinois, University of Iowa, Wilberforce University and Lincoln University. The Xi chapter was formed at Harvard University in 1920, and Morehouse College created the Pi chapter the following year.

Kappa Alpha Psi Today

There are more than 160,000 members in the fraternity. More than 700 undergraduate and alumni chapters exist at colleges across the country. There are also international chapters dotted at premier institutions of higher learning around the world, including:

  • United Kingdom
  • Nigeria
  • South Africa
  • South Korea
  • Germany
  • Japan
  • The Bahamas

The Workings of Kappa Alpha Psi

The Grand Polemarch is the president of the national fraternity, who also assigns a Province Polemarch for each of the 12 regions of the nation. The membership of the fraternity is predominately African American. However, it has never limited membership based on the color of an individual’s skin or creed or national origin.

Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation

The fraternity is highly involved in the community. The Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation sponsors programs that provide academic scholarships, promote social welfare and perform community services. They are members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council and the North American Interfraternity Conference.

The foundation supports quite a few philanthropic organizations, including:

  • United Negro College Fund
  • Habitat for Humanity

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