Fall 2019 Alumni Newsletter
Sam Silverman
Georgetown Sig Ep Alumni Newsletter
Fall 2019
Brothers,
I hope this email finds you well. As Homecoming rolls around, we here on campus have been reflecting on the contributions of those who have come before us. As a result, the members of this year's Executive Board thought it would be valuable to send out a brief update regarding our on-campus activities, successes, and opportunities for growth. We know that our great fraternity would not exist in its current capacity without the efforts of you—the alumni—and we hope to continue your great work.
Recruitment:
SigEp took 16 new Sigmas this semester (12 freshmen, 4 sophomores), our highest number since the Fall of 2015. Our newest brothers come from all over, and include a pair of Manhattanites, a hoser from Toronto, two brothers of current SigEps, and even a few kids from someplace called "Boston". We're all incredibly pumped to have them, and will continue to send updates as they are matched with Bigs and placed into families.
In other exciting news, we recently concluded our most successful Cura Personalis Scholarship to date. Thanks to generous donations from our alumni, we were able to triple the size of our financial awards since last year, dispersing $1500 total to 4 incredible incoming freshmen. A brief biography for each of our recipients is listed below:
Vanesa Carillo (El Paso, TX): While in high school, Vanesa interned for Congressman Beto O'Rourke, advocated on behalf of minorities while on the College Board Student Board of Directors, and assisted in Ph.D. research on gun violence. She was one of our two first-place winners and will use the money to offset travel costs.
Nyasha Gandawa (Harare, Zimbabwe): Nyasha, our other first-place recipient, began his education in Zimbabwe and finished in Armenia before coming to Georgetown. He is an award-winning debater and worked to facilitate Armenian Diaspora entrepreneurial startups. He plans on using the money to purchase a laptop.
Eugenie Ishwime (West Fargo, ND): Eugenie founded an ACT prep club, served in leadership for her high school's Health Occupation Students of America, and worked at a grocery store to support her family in high school. She loves accounting and is looking forward to her upcoming business classes. She plans on using the money to fly home for breaks.
Kathy Martinez (Chicago, IL): In high school, Kathy captained the debate team, served as the President of her school's Girls Who Code chapter, and played in an orchestra as a concert violinist. She plans on using the money to pay for transportation home.
Each of these fantastic students represents the tangible difference we can make in the Georgetown community. We are incredibly thankful and proud of the generous contributions made by our alumni and the hard work, as well as the dedication of the brothers who worked to organize the disbursements and aim to grow the scholarship in the coming years.
Philanthropy:
This spring, SigEp was proud to celebrate another successful Relay for Life effort. Through individual fundraising and multiple bar events, the chapter raised over $27,000 for the American Cancer Society—good for first place on campus for the third consecutive year. We hope to keep that energy going into the fall, with the Halloween 5k Against Domestic Violence, benefitting Doorways for Women and Families, scheduled for Saturday, November 2.
In addition, the brothers of SigEp look forward to continuing volunteering for Campus Ministry's Hypothermia Outreach Team this winter, helping the neighborhood's most vulnerable residents stay safe when the temperature dips below freezing. On Monday, we will be taking advantage of the holiday to give back to the DC community by participating in the Shepherd Parkway cleanup in Southwest DC with our new class of Sigmas.
Programming:
This semester we have already had some great social events. SigEp Game Day was undoubtedly a highlight as Alec Dewar took home the trophy for most hotdogs eaten in 3 minutes (I believe he ate 14). Following Rush, we officially welcomed our new Sigmas at Oktoberfest with lederhosen, steins, and a great first weekend with our new brothers.
As this upcoming weekend is Homecoming I have included the tentative programming schedule below:
9:00am - 10:30am: Morning festivities at 1315
11:00am - 1:30pm: Mid-morning/early afternoon get-together on Vil A Rooftop
2:00pm - 6:00pm: Afternoon darty at 3336 Prospect, ft. a live performance from Back to Yours
I hope many of you can join us this weekend to catch up, meet the Sigmas, and enjoy a weekend full of celebration.
Member Development:
This semester we have worked to develop as men through our biannual retreat, Sound Mind and Body events, and the semester challenges for Sigmas, Phis, and Epsilons. Our retreat this semester took place near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and provided a nice change of scenery from campus. Dyadic, SigEp Circle, and the crowd-pleasing Goal Setting activities were, as always, on the agenda. Brothers enjoyed the free time during the weekend away, playing pickup football and going on hikes on nearby trails. Our IM teams are dominant. This past Monday, we picked up a big win over SAE in flag football, and we look forward to promising soccer and basketball seasons. In addition, brothers have begun organizing some new Sound Mind events, such as eating dinner with the Jesuits on Wednesday nights.
We are also thrilled to continue our weekly Manhood Discussions with Paul Billings, a chaplain with Georgetown Campus Ministry and huge supporter of our fraternity and our desire to become balanced men. Topics have included what it means to be a man in the 21st century and our roles as men at Georgetown. These talks have been incredibly productive thus far and we are eager to continue to expand Paul’s positive impact within the Chapter.
As always we appreciate you and your support. If you have questions, or just want to catch up with some of the guys, please do not hesitate to reach out. The contact information of the E-Board is below. Thank you for reading and I hope to see many of you this weekend.
HFF,
Jack Keeler
Vice President of Communications
E-Board Contacts:
President, Sam Silverman - ss3...@georgetown.edu
Vice President of Finance, George Ferridge - gl...@georgetown.edu
Vice President of Member Development, Keith Jarrett - kd...@georgetown.edu
Vice President of Standards, Bobby Kiernan - rjk...@georgetown.com
Vice President of Philanthropy, JB Cerulli - jb...@georgetown.edu
Vice President of Programming, Chris Pace - cc...@georgetown.edu
Vice President of Recruitment, Penn Conrad - po...@georgetown.edu
Vice President of Communications, Jack Keeler - mjk...@georgetown.edu