Sigma Phi Epsilon - University of Illinois

5 stephen KawasaKi '12 RecognizeD as guest speaKeR of ui's financial planning confeRence S tephen Kawasaki '12, CFA, CFP ® , CAIA recently spoke at the University of Illinois' Financial Planning Conference. Stephen reports, "I was asked to be the speaker at U of I's Financial Planning Conference on Friday, December 7. The conference was organized by the head of the Financial Planning program and is associated with the club I started/advised during my undergrad/post-grad days. The presentation was on the topic of a valuation-based approach as opposed to a market cap weighted approach (like Vanguard or iShares) to investing. It seemed to be well received and the director liked that it brought some intellectual rigor to the program." Stephen moved to Irvine, Calif., in 2016 and lives with his wife, Ashely Hall Kawasaki. He works for Aspirant, a wealth management firm, as a Senior Research Analyst. You can read more about Stephen's professional credentials at https://aspiriant.com/our-exceptional-people-bios/stephen-kawasaki/. WELCOME, NEW MEMBERS! Ben Daine '22 Vienna, Ill. Finance Nate Jensen '22 Glen Ellyn, Ill. Aerospace Engineering Chris Johnson '22 Naperville, Ill. Psychology Jake Klco '22 Bloomingdale, Ill. Engineering Bob Sampson '22 Itasca, Ill. Civil Engineering Jack Wilson '22 Monticello, Ill. Undeclared Undergraduates Team Up with LaunchPoint Consulting to Improve Recruitment Strategies T imes are changing with the upcoming implementation of being a substance-free facility. To prepare, the executive board is diligently enforcing Illinois Alpha's current bylaws, showing that we are ready to deal with issues such as our live-in requirement for all new members and addressing broken rules in the current alcohol policy. The past few semesters have shown a difficulty in recruiting new members and retaining them throughout their college career. To combat this trend, we have teamed up with a consulting company called LaunchPoint that specializes in recruiting college-aged men. We plan to utilize LaunchPoint director of coaching and consulting, Christina Witkowicki, to restructure the current strategy for on-campus recruitment, as well as to revamp the Balanced Man Scholarship. The executive board is testing a new strategy for goal-setting and implementation through a POD-based action method. It is something that was started at the strategy session hosted in downtown Chicago between the undergraduate executive board and Board of Advisors. Using this method, the executive team is split up into three subgroups, each of which focus on addressing certain problems the chapter is currently facing: Illinois Alpha Experience, Recruitment, and Substance-Free Facility. The relationship with the Resident Director (RD) has gone great so far and is predicted to continue. Upon learning about the RD position being created at Illinois Alpha last fall, there was a lot of concern with new Resident Director Chris Wallace moving into the house. People believed he would only hurt our experience, but the opposite has been proven this semester. He fits in well with the current membership and has proven himself resourceful for the executive board with his successful career in the Marines and variety of experiences. Fraternally, Ethan Burrus '21 Chapter President eburrus777@gmail.com T he Illinois Alpha undergraduate experience is changing at a rapid pace. When faced with fundamental change, an organization must create a new vision for its future. In January 2018, the Board of Advisors piloted the first-ever Illinois Alpha offsite strategy meeting. The programming for this event was designed by Cameron Blaydes '12 and Jamieson Gray '12 to give Illinois Alpha's undergraduate leadership equity in the Fraternity's long-term planning. Each semester thereafter, Illinois Alpha undergraduate executive teams have gathered in Chicago with their alumni mentors to learn the fundamentals of strategy. During the session, chapter leadership crafts a mission statement for Illinois Alpha, determines the table stakes, and generates an action plan that will move the organization closer to the fraternity they envision. During the strategy session in January 2019, the Board of Advisors hosted 11 undergraduates and eight alumni at the Hyatt Place. Strategy Sessions Give Great Vision for Illinois Alpha Jamieson Gray '12 leads a chapter strategy session in January at the Hyatt Place in Chicago. The Board of Advisors hosted 11 undergraduates and eight alumni.

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