Sigma Phi Epsilon - University of Illinois

3 THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE ILLINOIS ALPHA FOUNDATION Brian and Elyse Gilbert Diane Gottheil Rebecca Hill Diana Hoke In memory of Chuck Vinci '83 Illinois Alpha Alumni Corporation In memory of James C. Jangarathis '54 and John C. Weinman '61 Conrad W. Hewitt '58 Gordon M. Johns '58 Arthur W. Murray '58 Gerald Peterson '58 Richard A. Kurz '59 Truman G. Hix '62 Peter S. Blidy '66 Frank Lindberg '67 James R. McGreevy '69 Thomas R. Tassio '69 Duane K. Massie '71 William J. Follis '72 Allen Iverson '74 Charles J. Valerio '72 Kenneth A. Naatz '74 John E. Vercellino '75 George P. Pappas '78 Frank I. Powers '85 Brian M. O'Rourke '86 Michael A. Vinci '86 Keith T. Bruce '87 J. Christopher Dineen '87 Steven E. Gorski '87 Jeffrey A. Hurt '87 David L. McCammon '87 Norene and Frank Vinci '87 Matthew Harmon '88 Bradley A. Paulsen '88 Charles O. Shallat '89 John P. Calzaretta '90 Thomas E. Pearl '90 Anthony R. Ebbole '91 Eric Stroud '01 Chip Jorstad '02 Christopher Dillion '03 Steven Halle '04 Mathew A. Kessler '04 Chad M. Mair '04 Zachary Pastko '04 Joseph M. Pecoraro '05 Joel B. Macholan '07 W e would like to give a big thank-you to everyone who has generously donated to the Illinois Alpha Foundation since it was established in 2015. Listed below are those who pitched in to raise $14,275 since January 2018. By supporting the Illinois Alpha Foundation, you are funding undergraduate scholarship programs and continued maintenance and impartments to our facility. The undergraduate brothers are grateful for and proud of the support they receive from their alumni. Fundraising for Illinois Alpha Foundation, Vinci/Miller Scholarship Fund Trends Upward T he Illinois Alpha Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that was formed in 2015 to advance the Illinois Alpha Residential Learning Community (RLC) of Sigma Phi Epsilon. The Illinois Alpha Foundation has been created to engage, celebrate, and support our important mission. Fundraising efforts to date have grossed nearly $65,000. Those proceeds are dedicated to undergraduate scholarship programs and facility improvements. Approximately one year ago, 100 donors (including many Illinois Alpha brothers from the 1980s) and friends of SigEp came together to create the Vinci/Miller Scholarship Fund. The Vinci/Miller scholarships honor the memory of Chuck Vinci '83 and Jeff Miller '87, both influential brothers deeply committed to SigEp. This unprecedented fundraising campaign has now grossed $41,250. As we look to the future, endowing the scholarships in perpetuity is within reach with continued financial support. Donations to the Illinois Alpha Foundation can be made to P.O. Box 42, Elmhurst, Illinois 60126 or online at www.illinoisalpha.com. Michael Manning '21 Lives "Get It Done" Lifestyle of Chuck Vinci '83 I n reading about Chuck Vinci '83, I saw a lot of characteristics that I would also attribute to myself. Chuck was a leader inside and out of the Illinois Alpha Chapter house among his brothers and everyone on campus. I read that Chuck served multiple terms on the executive board of our Fraternity at a pivotal time in the house when help was necessary. I am serving as the chaplain this semester, also at a pivotal time in our Fraternity with a dry house movement soon approaching. I am excited to lead and bring new ideas to the table. I am also very intrigued to help guide Illinois Alpha so that the chapter is sustainable and is an option for many students for many years to come. I also read that Chuck was a "get it done" type of person who was loyal to his friends and brothers. At the University of Illinois, I am studying electrical engineering. The coursework is very time consuming and difficult, but this has yet to stop me in my college career. Already, there have been many classes where I have struggled and felt behind in certain areas. However, I have never used this as an excuse. I would say that I also have a "get it done" attitude. I know that when I am at school, it is my full-time job. For nearly every STEM class I am enrolled in, I go beyond the minimum required work to assure my good standing in the class. I attend office hours and tutoring on a regular basis for any classes that prove to be difficult for me because I know that I need to "get it done" in the classroom. By attending this many office hours and tutoring sessions, I have gotten to know many subjects very well. Another quality which Chuck most definitely had was his work ethic in helping brothers and his dedication and perseverance. This semester I most definitely demonstrated these qualities which were present in Chuck. A great deal of engineering students in the house were taking Calculus III last semester. I put a great deal of hours into the class and it began to come easy to me. However, it was still a very difficult class and was especially difficult for many brothers living in the house. In knowing that I was fortunate enough to understand the difficult material, I took it upon myself to be a Calculus III tutor to any brothers who needed help. When midterm season came around, I would study by myself for a while and then meet up with my brothers to teach them what I had learned and everything they wanted and needed to know in order to be successful in the class. I was truly dedicated to making sure that my SigEp brothers succeeded in a class that I was good at. This is something I will continue to do in the future for any classes that I can help with. I help other brothers nearly every day with their other STEM classes. I know that I am fortunate enough to understand some difficult material and that implies to me that I should share my talents and gifts with others. I am truly honored and proud to receive this scholarship. The reason I applied was because I admired the work of Chuck Vinci. In reading and hearing about him, I was very surprised because I heard a lot of characteristics which I had that were very similar to Chuck. From what I understand, Chuck was a great man. I will continue to do my best to ensure the academic betterment of all Illinois Alpha brothers. Fraternally, Michael Manning '21

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