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Planting seeds of knowledge, one student at a time, since 2006.

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Tomás Rivera Educational

Empowerment Conference​​​​​​​​

 

Omega Delta Phi at The University of Oklahoma

WHAT IS TREE CONFERENCE?

​TREE Conference is an acronym for the Tomás Rivera Educational Empowerment Conference and was launched in the Fall of 2006. Dr. Thomas Rivera was a migrant worker who worked alongside his family in the fields before graduating from the University of Oklahoma. Several years after his graduation from OU, Dr. Rivera was named the Chancellor of the University of California at Riverside making him the first minority ever to reach the position.


TREE Conference, hosted by the Omega Delta Phi fraternity, is the largest Latino high school educational empowerment conference in the state of Oklahoma. This conference was created to inform Latino High School Students of the numerous resources available to them as they begin their pursuit of higher education. Students spend the day at the University of Oklahoma’s campus where they attend informative seminars, a college fair, and end the day with a scholarship banquet.


The conference has been a tremendous success and keeps exceeding previous expectations every year for the past 17 conferences. In the Fall of 2023, the Historic TREE Conference hosted hundreds of Latino and marginalized high school students and was able to award over $49,500 in scholarships to High School Seniors. We are extremely proud to say that several of the students who attend TREE Conference later become a part of the OU family.


The 18th Annual TREE Conference will be held on Thursday, November 21st, 2024 at the University of Oklahoma...

About
About Omega

Omega Delta Phi Fraternity Inc.

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Omega Delta Phi Fraternity, Inc. is a service and social fraternity that was founded on November 25, 1987 at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Although originally Hispanic-founded, the fraternity has grown in diversity and has adopted a “One Culture, Any Race” mentality that has been crucial to the success of our organization nationwide. Xi Chapter at the University of Oklahoma was established on November 23, 1996 as the first multicultural Greek organization on campus. Ever since our local inception, we have strived to give back not only to our campus, but to our surrounding communities. At OU, Omega Delta Phi is best recognized for our efforts in hosting the TREE Conference.

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Omega Delta Phi exists with two primary goals: to graduate our brothers and to serve our communities. At Xi Chapter, we have a 98% graduation rate—much higher than the university average. Academics are a priority for all of our brothers and it is demonstrated by the continued success of our brothers as alumni. Apart from academics, the brothers are also known for our service and volunteerism to the community. Every semester, brothers total approximately 400-500 community service hours and are continually recognized on campus for our exceptional volunteerism.

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At Xi Chapter, we decided to combine both of our goals as an organization to create the TREE Conference. Our hope is to not only promote higher education while giving back to our community, but to create a network among our TREE scholars. We see this as a real possibility, as every year our TREE scholars become a part of the conference themselves and are crucial in volunteer efforts before and the day of the conference. Our TREE Conference has impacted the lives of many students, some so deeply they joined our brotherhood with the same strong beliefs in our goals and visions as an organization. As we continue to grow, we continue to make a difference.

Student Seminars

The goal of T.R.E.E. conference every year is to engage students in a meaningful way. To accomplish this goal we cater a variety of seminars and workshops to conference attendees. Organizations hosting seminars will present information about higher education in a way where students can apply what they learned into their daily lives. Each and every year there is new and innovative seminars that students are able to attend. Below are some of the traditional seminars that T.R.E.E Conference hosts each year.

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College Admissions & Financial Aid
Sponsored by OU Diversity Enrichment Programs

Hosted by the University of Oklahoma’s Diversity Enrichment Programs, this seminar is instrumental in discussing the necessary steps needed to ensure a successful transition from high school into college. Topics such as the application process and the financial aid / scholarship processes will be discussed. Although the conference is hosted on the OU campus, we are aware that some students may have desires to attend other universities, which is why the topics can apply to any university.

Seminars

2023 TREE Scholars

The TREE Conference Committee is proud to announce that over $500,000 in scholarships have been awarded since the first conference in 2006. In the Fall of 2023 alone $49,500 in total scholarship money was awarded to 32 scholars. Our scholars are chosen based on academic excellence, community involvement, extracurricular activities, and financial need. Scholars are not obligated to attend the University of Oklahoma in order to redeem their scholarships, but rather they are encouraged to attend the university of their choice.


The number of scholarships and exact amounts awarded vary based on sponsor support. If awarded a scholarship, you will be required to provide proof of full-time enrollment at a post-secondary institution upon the start of your first semester.

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Sponsoring the 2024 TREE Conference

The TREE Conference Committee realizes that none of this would be possible without our generous sponsors. We are grateful to everyone who has sponsored the conference and helped us work towards our goal of equipping students who are lacking resources and opportunities for success. The TREE Conference committee works year round on planning the conference and seeking sponsors to secure funding for each annual TREE Conference. With the conference approaching this November 21st, 2024, we are dedicated to making this year’s conference as impactful as possible.


Please consider sponsoring a scholarship or general conference expenses to help equip the students of today with the resources they will need to succeed tomorrow. If you would like more information regarding sponsorship or scholarship please contact our 2024 Sponsorship Coordinator, Luis Rivera Gonzalez to receive this year's sponsorship/scholarship packet at sponsorship@treeconference.org 
Checks can be may payable to Omega Delta Phi/TREE Conference and mailed to Student Life, 900 Asp Avenue, Suite 428 Norman, OK 73019

Sponsors

2024 TREE Conference Executive Board

If you have any questions regarding participation, registration, scholarships, sponsorship or volunteer opportunities please email the respective coordinator and they will be happy to reply.

 

If you have any other questions regarding topics not mentioned, please contact the our 2024 TREE Chairman, Jared Zavala at chairman@treeconference.org