Sigma Alpha Epsilon - University of Illinois

the lion tattler Brothers Stephen Vollmer '17, Zak Woods '17, Mitch Mohr '17, Okker Verhagen '17, and Chris Valvasorri '17 help out with Habitat for Humanity. Commitment to Service Strong I llinois Beta's focus on community service is off to a fast and exciting start this semester. Brothers served 100 hours in February, making a trip to the Wesley Food Pantry on the Parkland College campus. There, brothers assisted in setting up the pantry by organizing and moving boxes of food to begin distribution to the people in need. The young men who came out also received orientation on the distribution process and are well prepared to come and volunteer at the pantry again. We were also able to send gentlemen out to a Habitat for Humanity build where we were able to join in the construction of a home for a family in the community. The brothers felt they truly made a difference that day when the family moving in stopped by and thanked us for our hard work. Illinois Beta men were able to donate blood in the American Red Cross Blood Drive on Valentine's Day. In March we raised funds for the Illinois Dance Marathon, where proceeds go to the Children's Miracle Network and St. John's Children's Hospital in Springfield, Illinois. We will also volunteer at the local Daily Bread Soup Kitchen, serving dinner one night. We hope it will be the first of many nights volunteering there. Near the end of the semester, Paddy Murphy week and the national True Gentleman Day of Service will provide more community service opportunities. Paddy Murphy week will benefit the American Heart Association through three events. "Our events will consist of a hockey game, a volleyball game, and a concluding celebration at the end of the week. We have created a Paddy Murphy twitter and Facebook account and plan to roll out a donation website to increase involvement with the event," said Danny Cameron '15. If you have any comments or suggestions, you can contact Danny at dcameron315@gmail.com or (847) 337-7301. Our service efforts have been consistent and participation is high as we focus on attaining our goal of 1,000 chapter service hours by the end of the semester. Phi Alpha, Chris Valvassori '17 Service Chairman CHAPTER CREATES BALANCED EXPERIENCE T he brothers of the Illinois Beta Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon would like to extend our warmest welcomes to the alumni of SAE. This semester has been one of much change and planning as we continue to strive for success in becoming a holistic chapter. We have big plans for the current and upcoming semesters, headlined by our ongoing commitment to philanthropy and service. In addition, the chapter saw substantial growth in our academic endeavors this past fall semester. Recruitment Brings Engaged Class "Last semester, we recruited a phenomenal and involved pledge class that has transitioned well into the brotherhood of SAE. We are very excited to see what they can accomplish as the future of the Illinois Beta Chapter," said Vice President Danny Coombs '15. Scholarship Improvements The past semester was a great semester for Illinois Beta's overall academic achievement. David Lauschke '15 shared that with the help of our past Scholarship Chairman Ramin Amirsoltani '15, our chapter rose to 15th of 49 interfraternity council chapters, with an overall grade point average of 3.18, compared to the previous semester's average of 3.04. This compares to the interfraternity council average of 3.11, and the all-male undergraduate average of 3.07. Our new member class of 42, the second highest across the council, attained an average of 3.14 themselves, comparing to our active member average of 3.20. This semester we hope to continue this positive growth with a mentorship program designed to match struggling brothers with those who are doing well in the same or a similar field. Visiting 211 E. Daniel As always, the house at 211 E. Daniel is open to any alumnus who would like to visit the chapter house and see some of the renovations that took place last summer or just to visit some old memories. You can contact me by e-mail or phone if you would like to stop by the house or if you have any other questions, concerns, or suggestions. We appreciate your continued support for the chapter as we move forward and wish all brothers well this spring. Phi Alpha, Sean McDonald '16 President (312) 608-3874 | seandmcd@gmail.com Brothers Jake Pollack '17, Jeremy Kucik '17, Matt Langer '16, David Drews '17, Kevin Domagala '17, Tomide Olawobi '17, Johnny Kerstein '16, Chris Valvasorri '17, John Forsyth '15, and Andrew Sheppard '17 volunteer their time at the local food pantry.

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