Phi Kappa Psi - University of Michigan

Brothers celebrate a 7-6 victory over Theta Chi in the 85th annual Michigan Mudbowl. Michigan SucceedS in claSSrooM, coMMunity, and athleticS and Airborne Systems in El Segundo, California, where he worked full-time as a designer in electro-optical infrared camera systems and was the product line manager for their cryocooler technology (fancy name for space refrigerator). After finishing his MBA in 2013, Michael had a calling for something more entrepreneurial and ended up in a program management position for a small tech company specializing in electronics, something he knew very little about the time. As the space electronics business lead, he grew their revenue in space by an order of magnitude, doubling the size of the company, and the revenue on the space side grew by an order of magnitude. Michael recalls, "The successes and wins were just enough to keep me thirsting for something bigger and better. I wanted to make a larger impact on the world and I didn't feel like I was going to be able to do that one small contract at a time." In 2015 Michael left that company and became a mission manager at SpaceX. At SpaceX he leads and manages the U.S. government satellite launches. His team was responsible for the first competitive launch contract in over a decade, resulting in the successful launch of the first GPS III satellite in 2018. The progress made in his time at SpaceX has significantly reduced the U.S. government's (and taxpayers) cost to access space. At SpaceX, Michael enjoys the fast-paced culture and continuous drive to push boundaries and technology for the security of the United States and a viable future for mankind. "Next stop…Mars." Michael and his wife, Megan, live in Hawthorne, California, with their two daughters, Emma (4) and Paige (2). In his spare time, he stays active with sports, hiking, or anything outdoors. You can connect with Michael via email at ellis. michaelj@gmail.com. MICHIGAN ALPHA - FRIENDSHIPS AND SPACEX F ollowing the regional officer training in January, Academic Chairman Carter Dunaway '17 implemented several changes and programs. He reports he is "receiving lots of great feedback from brothers collecting points and working hard to improve upon their GPAs from last year. The scholarship incentive for good performance has lit a fire under the belly of the brotherhood and everyone is trying hard to relieve some of the financial burden of dues and college life." On the philanthropic side of things, the chapter once again had a successful fall, raising upwards of $900, mostly from the annual Hot Diggity Dog Hot Dog eating competition event that took place during Parent's Weekend and resulted in the fall 2016 PC team of Aidan Birnbaum '16, Teddy Joaquin '16, Connor Mulliken '16, and Christopher Schwarzenegger '16 bringing home their third consecutive win. The winter semester has featured several philanthropic events from a 50/50 bracket challenge to a night at Scorekeeper's Bar & Grill during Mom's Weekend and even a 5K. All these events have raised over $4,000 for Charley's Fund, a charity started by the family of Sam Seckler '17 with a mission to accelerate the development of life-saving treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare genetic disorder that affects Sam's younger brother, Charley. From the park to the gridiron, Phi Psis pursued a wide variety of athletic competitions throughout the fall, none more noteworthy than the 7-6 victory over Theta Chi in the 85th annual Mudbowl played in front of a few thousand on the first Saturday of November. The win was the first in the mud for Michigan Alpha since 2014 and featured players from all four grades led by senior quarterback Tyler Tick '16 and head coach Greg Schwartz '17. The Phi Psi hockey team continued their athletic success on the ice the weekend of April 5-7 in the annual Freeze the Puck game against FIJI. The second semester was sprinkled with unique events like Mom's Weekend, Formal in Chicago, Dad's Weekend, and the ever- growing tradition of a brotherhood pig roast. Overall, it has been a great year for Michigan Alpha. Despite challenges on the housing front and the constant pressures from the university and the outside world, the chapter has persevered and once again found success in the community, the classroom, and the athletic fields. Most importantly, the brotherhood has grown and learned together. New leadership has taken an initiative to improve many of the areas (including alumni relations) in which the Michigan Alpha Chapter has fallen off in recent years. We hope you enjoy the refresh in this Sophon and be on the lookout for our new-and-improved website. Fraternally, Eli Snyder '17 President, Michigan Alpha (Continued from page 1) Page 2 the sophon Spring 2019

• Cover