NSU Pi Kappa Phi members selected for Ad Astra, top leadership honor

NATCHITOCHES - Zach Cooper of Winnsboro and Mitchell Mayfield of Denham Springs were selected for the Ad Astra Society, Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity's top award for student leaders. Both are members of NSU's Beta Omicron chapter of Pi Kappa Phi.

Derived from the Latin phrase meaning "to the stars," Pi Kappa Phi's Ad Astra Society recognizes the fraternity's top student leaders for their achievement and impact within Pi Kappa Phi, on their local campus and/or in the local community. Of hundreds of nominations and applications, only one percent of Pi Kappa Phi's student membership is recognized annually.

Cooper is a senior majoring in communications with a minor in history and a concentration in strategic communications. He has been part of the President's Leadership Program, Pi Kappa Phi, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, Student Government Association and Order of Omega and has served as a Demon VIP, 2023 Freshman Connector and student worker for the First Year Experience and Greek Life Office. In 2023, he was named Homecoming King and Greek Man of the Year.

"Pi Kappa Phi has given me a place to grow and become a version of myself that I never knew could exist," Cooper said. "It gave me opportunities to step into leadership positions and learn valuable skills that I will be able to take into the real world after graduation. It also gave me a place of support and encouragement to strive for higher achievements that I didn't think were within my reach."

Mayfield, a biology major, is past president of the Beta Omicron Chapter of Pi Phi Kappa Phi and currently serves as president of the NSU's Interfraternity Council. He has been a Presidential Ambassador for NSU Recruiting and a JOVE scholar in NSU's School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. He is currently training to participate in the 2025 Journey of Hope, in which he and fraternity brother Owen Stutzman will cycle across the U.S. to spread the message of disability awareness through Pi Kappa Phi's Philanthropy, the Ability Experience.

"Pi Kappa Phi has completely changed my life, as it has given me the opportunity to develop as a leader," Mayfield said. "Before attending NSU, I was not very involved in anything and had no direction on what I wanted to do with my life. Northwestern State University and Pi Kappa Phi have both supported and encouraged me to grow as a leader on campus and have given me opportunities I feel I would not have received anywhere else."

Only five previous members of Beta Omicron chapter have been inducted into the Ad Astra Society since it was created in 2017.