Sigma Chi - University of Nebraska

Page 5 Pledges (front row) receive their pins during a night of formal pledging. N ear the end of the spring 2015 semester, the brothers at Alpha Epsilon elected a pair of underclassmen as co-chairmen of the rush program. Jack Glover '18, a freshman completing his first year of studies, and myself, Jake Kawamato '17, a sophomore, were short on experience, but up to the task in enthusiasm. Alpha Epsilon has grown so quickly over the last two years following our reorganization and a highly successful rush program. While a successful rush was great in terms of building up our membership, it also placed some strain on our capacity to train new members in the values of Sigma Chi. For the 2015-16 academic year, the Chapter and our advisors agreed that our recruitment needed to continue to focus on recruiting quality Jordan Standard men. In setting our goals, we agreed that we would prefer having 15-20 A+ men rather than 25-30 who merely met basic standards for membership. On a steep learning curve, Jack and I assimilated the finer details of recruiting and how to more fully engage the active Chapter in building our membership. But before long, with the help of former Recruitment Chairmen, including Ky Veney '17, we executed a formula that worked quite well for us. In the end, we have had a very successful rush program for our 2015-16 year, enlisting 21 new pledges in the fall term and another 12 in the spring. Of the 21 pledged in the fall, 18 were invited to participate in initiation. We are really excited about this new class of 2015-16. On the whole, recruitment this summer and throughout the Chairman and Vice President at FarmHouse, which also provided our very first Alpha Epsilon House Dad, Jack Ehrke, Farmhouse '12, who was also a member of FarmHouse. Beyond FarmHouse, Isaac was very involved with The Navigators, a non -denominational Christian campus ministry, and upon graduation, he was offered a full-time job with the organization. Isaac has always been strong in his faith, and has built a life surrounding it. After a year's experience with The Navigators, he was given the opportunity be our house dad. Upon consulting his great-uncle, Dennis Moore '68, and his parents, he decided, "You know, why not? I'm already working with Greeks with The Navigators as a mentor. I love the Greek system, so why not take my experience and understanding up a notch?" In the active Chapter, you'll find uniform admiration of Isaac. An energetic guy, he brings in great speakers for Monday night dinners, he looks over our resumes, and he helps find our strengths thorough Gallup's StrengthsFinder, just to name a few innovations he has brought to his position. If you asked any undergraduate what Isaac's role in the house is, I think they would say "support." He's our extra set of eyes… if there are any problems with the inner workings of the Chapter, he'll know about it. If you ever find troubles within your own coming of age, you can talk to him. That's quite an endorsement for our house dad. In Hoc, Mikey True '17 Chapter Editor Fall and Spring Rush Efforts Yield 33 New AE Pledges school year was very successful, and we achieved our goals of recruiting high-quality young men while surpassing our original quantitative goals as well. First, let us congratulate our 18 new initiates from the fall class. We are proud to call each of them brother, and to have them wear the White Cross. AJ Abrevaya / Chalfont, Pa. Alec Alvarez / Omaha, Neb. Scott Ayers / Denver, Colo. Alex Christen / Omaha, Neb. Alex Darrington / Brandon, S.D. Parker Durham / Lincoln, Neb. Riley Hays / Omaha, Neb. Riley Herchenbach / Omaha, Neb. Tony Holleran / South Bend, Neb. Tyler Jennings / Imperial, Neb. Zach Kohut / Grosse Pointe Park, Mich. Cosmo Konrad / Los Angeles, Calif. Ryan Konrad / Los Angeles, Calif. Brendan Larsen / Omaha, Neb. Treyton Merwick / Lincoln, Neb. Matt Taylor / Omaha, Neb. Tyler Thille / Wahoo, Neb. Brandon Thomas / Lubbock, Texas During the fall semester, and into the early parts of the spring semester, we rushed young men to be in the spring 2016 pledge class. We did not have a limit on the size, nor a numerical goal given the strength of our fall class. Again, the focus was on recruiting quality young men who would contribute to and thrive in our brotherhood. The result was outstanding as more good young men pledged Sigma Chi. These nine newly initiated brothers make up the spring 2016 pledge class: Mark Anderson / Dunlap, Ill. Kyle Bauer / Crete, Neb. Austin Dell / St. Charles, Ill. Ty Khubchandani / Gurnee, Ill. Connor Mellick / Sioux Falls, S.D. Blake Rich / Parker, Colo. John Schmitt / Omaha, Neb. Billy Seeger / Gurnee, Ill. Trevor Wood / Bellview, Neb. Overall, we feel that recruitment went very well this year. We gained 18 new Sigma Chi initiates from our fall class—and another nine from the spring class. We are clearly growing in numbers as well as stature. Partly as a result of the 2015-16 rush effort, we are in a great position as a Chapter, and see the benefits of all the hard work, alumni support, and tremendous amount of passion that has gone into Alpha Epsilon over the last few years. It has all paid off in helping to make us an influential Chapter on campus and in the community, and a place where the best and brightest young men in years to come will aim to join. In Hoc, Jake Kawamoto '17 Rush Chairman

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