Beta Theta Pi - University of Minnesota

Beta Theta Pi Society of Minnesota Dinkytown Station-P.O. Box 13225 Minneapolis, MN 55414 Address Service Requested the betA Piper T his summer I traveled to Iceland, Denmark, and Norway to learn about sustainable engineering and renewable energy. For those of you who don't know, "studying abroad" is a University term for having fun in another country and occasionally taking classes. If you've ever been to Scandinavia, you can relate when I say that I want to go back, and if you haven't been there, you need to buy a ticket, pronto. Even with all the fun I had, I came back with a lot of knowledge about these countries and their commitment to being green. Iceland is on track to be 100% sustainable by 2030. Denmark's wind power provides for most of their energy source, and Norway banned putting biodegradable waste in landfills in 2009. Of course, the most important knowledge I gained were the stories told by the people I met. One night while staying at a technical university in Norway, we ran into a group of students on the beach who had finished their final exams. In Norway, your final exam counts for 100% of your grade, so the test was a doozy. We stayed up very late (which is easy to do since the sun doesn't really set in the summer) and exchanged experiences. I asked one of the students what he thought about Americans, and he stated, "Jersey Shore and McDonald's." I hope that I convinced him otherwise. He told me of a childhood with many experiences not too different from my own and others quite foreign. I left that evening wanting to move to Norway, which is probably one of the most difficult countries to emigrate to. That is just one fun summer story from one of 70 Betas. We're more than happy to share more when you stop by the house this fall! In _kai_, Ben Hacker '16 Stories from Abroad A Beta's Semester in Scandinavia Upcoming Alumni Events Wednesday, November 19 Alumni Happy Hour 5–7 p.m. at O'Gara's Pub | St. Paul, Minnesota Contact: Will Rumford at (202) 486-1833 or william.rumford@target.com Wednesday, December 17 Holiday Alumni Luncheon* 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Location TBD | downtown Minneapolis Contact: Amit Sawhney '13 at (314) 306-4861 or sawhn007@umn.edu *RSVP required CHAPTER OFFICERS President Nate Wong '15 Moorhead, Minn. (701) 212-7017 betapi1814@gmail.com Vice President Brotherhood Lucas Smith '15 Minneapolis, Minn. Vice President Risk Management Nahom Tsegaye '15 Minneapolis, Minn. Vice President Finance Michael Biskupski '16 Hastings, Minn. Vice President Recruitment Ryan Siewert '16 Fargo, N.D. (701) 412-7998 betapi1840@gmail.com Vice President Pledge Education David Rokke '16 Minneapolis, Minn. Vice President Member Development Mike Swenson '16 Lino Lakes, Minn. Vice President Programming Michael Klein '15 Hastings, Minn. Vice President Communication Alex Skoglund '16 Cambridge, Minn. Alumni Relations Chairman Ben Hacker '16 Wayzata, Minn.

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