Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, is the largest historically Black fraternity in the nation, yet senior marketing major Jaden Hatcher is the sole member on App State’s campus.

President, secretary, treasurer, recruitment chair and more are all roles members of Greek organizations can choose to step into. Hatcher became all of those positions for the Pi Nu chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, following his crossing on March 26, 2024.

“Being a solo in my chapter is hard, because you feel isolated, especially at a PWI too, and in Boone as well,” Hatcher said. “You just keep getting more and more isolated by category and section.”

Tyler Allen, an Alpha who graduated from App State in Spring 2024, said the reason Hatcher is a solo is because he was the only interest at the time.

Growing up, Hatcher was familiar with Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated and other Divine Nine organizations, as his father is a member of the fraternity and his mother is a part of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. His twin sister and his older sister are also a part of Alpha Kappa Alpha. 

“Everything was surrounded with black and gold and pink and green,” Hatcher said. 

His parents never forced him to join the fraternity. Instead, he said they opened doors for him.

“Alpha was always the main choice,” Hatcher said.

Through his research, he resonated with many of the fraternity’s areas of focus in academic excellence and community service. He said he dreams of opening a soup kitchen for the less fortunate, and Alpha Phi Alpha aligns with those goals.

Allen said one quality he sees in Hatcher that reflects the fraternity is his drive to help others, especially minorities and “those who look like him,” as well as those who are in need.

“That’s what we always look for in brothers, in people and also young men who have outstanding academic qualities,” Allen said. “And those who could be a role model.”

Hatcher said as a minority at a predominantly white institution, one can stand out, which is why it is important to “put yourself in a position to succeed, and a lot of that is done through your academics.”

Alpha Phi Alpha, he said, also pushes forth the standard of supporting one another to become the best versions of oneself.

“I put forth my best foot forward and show that I am smart, I am intelligent, I am capable just like anybody else, and just because I look different than you shouldn’t demean my qualities like that,” Hatcher said. 

In just two years since transferring from North Carolina A&T University, a historically Black university in Greensboro, Hatcher has been heavily involved on App State’s campus and in serving the community.

He serves as the chief of staff for Black Student Association, director of academic affairs for the Student Government Association, vice president of administration and finance for the National Pan-Hellenic Council and he works at a construction company based in Raleigh. 

“I love seeing that in another young Black man putting in effort into building the community,” Allen said.

As the sole member for Alpha Phi Alpha, he is responsible for completing duties for his chapter such as attending meetings, planning events, recruiting and spreading awareness about the organization.

 He said his fraternity brothers, who are all alumni, trained him on how to do certain tasks, who to contact for help if needed and offered their guidance every step of the way. He reaches out to them often. 

“Yes, they’re not here, but they’re also a phone call away,” Hatcher said. “So I’ve learned to call like six to five times a week.”

Representing the chapter is also a big part of his duties. Allen said brothers from around the state try to come to Boone as much as they can to represent the organization, but at the end of the day Allen said Hatcher has to hold the name high and be the sole figure “which is a lot of responsibility.” 

Hatcher said it was “very hard at first” navigating the newness of running the chapter, but once he found his support system in his brotherhood, it got easier.

“When I tried to do it myself I got burnt out quick,” Hatcher said. “I realized I had to rely on others. You can’t be a solo chapter and succeed no matter how hard you try.”

Outside of his brothers, he acknowledges others for keeping him going and supporting him, such as the rest of the NPHC, his friends, Fraternity/Sorority Life directors Richard Huffman and Shaleeah Smith, members of Chi Omega and members of Student Affairs.

Director of the Center for Student Success and Community Lamont Sellers wrote in an email to The Appalachian that Hatcher is positive, upbeat and someone “who is not afraid to take on the hard things.”

“I have seen him find ways to accomplish his goals despite any challenges in front of him,” Sellers wrote. “Whether it’s planning for an event for Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. or assisting the Black Student Association with various tasks, Jaden has a ‘can do’ attitude and is a great student to work with.”

Aside from being the largest among historically Black fraternities, Alpha Phi Alpha is also the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity according to its website. It was founded on Dec. 4, 1906, at Cornell University, making it the oldest among the Divine Nine. Being a part of something with so much history and impact is something Hatcher is proud of.

“Being able to be the start, a founder of that, it’s just so empowering, because at the end of the day, we did this not only for ourselves but also for those who can add to us too,” Hatcher said. “We wanted to build a bond stronger than what we were allowed to during those times, so just seeing that come to life.”

The fraternity recently celebrated its 118th anniversary, which Hatcher described as 118 years of “fraternal bonds, family, academic success and Black excellence.”

Although the fraternity was originally Black-centered, Hatcher said it is not Black-exclusive, meaning anyone can join and the fraternity is inclusive to anyone. The fraternity has been interracial since 1945. 

“Character, your work ethic and your desire to help people and see them grow along with yourself — I think that’s the real message we always try to push,” Hatcher said. 

Hatcher will graduate in the fall of 2025. His goal for the fraternity before he leaves? Expansion. He wishes to see the chapter have the same number of members, if not more, from when it was in what he calls its “glory days, back when it had six, eight members at a time.”

“That’s what I do want to hope and see,” Hatcher said. “Hope I can help. Well, I’m going to have to if I want to see it happen.”

He also hopes to get more people interested in learning about him and the fraternity as a whole and to increase the size of the chapter lines, or a group of new members.

“No more of these one-line chapters, two-line, but like, ‘They got a line of eight,’ and then next fall they have another line of eight,” Hatcher said.

Finally, he wants his chapter to be seen on campus and have a positive campus impact.

“I don’t want people to be like ‘Oh they’re still here?’ but I want people to be like ‘Oh yeah, the Alphas helped me out with that one day’ or ‘I saw a few of the brothers over there on Sanford Mall just giving T-shirts,’ kind of stuff,” Hatcher said. “That’s what I want to see: chapter wellness and being more inclusive and interacting with campus as well.”