Alpha Delta Phi - University of Washington

3 M oving from Boise, Idaho, made Tom Gonser '85 nervous to be at a huge university and know no one. Tom had originally tried to steer clear of Alpha Delta Phi, in rebellion since his father is an alumnus, but he finally gave into the connections he encountered at the Chapter House. "I felt a strong connection to my pledge class and the active Chapter made me feel like I had 80 friends." Tom was impressed with his brothers' mature focus on life, coupled with an ability to have fun. Tom feels a significant portion of his outlook on success was set into place by Alpha Delta Phi. He learned how to be part of a team, have compassion for others, and how to balance schoolwork along with having a good time. Now as a businessman, Tom recognizes how vital of a lesson work hard play hard was for him during college. As a national caliber swimmer, dedicating two hours/six days a week outside of high school sports, Tom had experience with what it took to achieve something difficult. "Through the Chapter, I met other men my age who had the same work ethic, and we naturally connected." As a founder of DocuSign, a webservice that allows you to sign documents from any device, Tom has used his "work hard play hard" view through the years. Tom shares that DocuSign was created for two reasons, "First, we knew it was inevitable that we would not be physically scribbling on paper and mailing forms to create agreements. Second, it was not being done right by the early companies who were trying to solve it with software. We turned the model inside out and used the web." Tom admits it hasn't always been easy to balance his work with his personal life. "When you embark on a journey to create something that has never existed, it takes all your energy for a long time. In the moment, you can't call that balance, but over time, you can create balance." Tom views his life as a series of sprints, in between focusing energy on family. "I think given all that was in play, I did a fair job. There were always trade-offs and having an understanding spouse and kids helped a lot over the years." Last year, the team had a chance to take DocuSign public. "I think there is reward in seeing it all come to fruition after a long and amazing experience." Tom is grateful to give back to the Chapter that helped him along his start in life. He urges brothers to consider how much of an impact the fraternity had on their current lives and success. "It just makes sense to contribute to the new Chapter House to enable the same atmosphere for other young men and for the satisfaction of contributing to something bigger than you are." Tom directs a few words of advice to undergraduates and young alumni starting off in their careers. "Aim high but do so with humility. My favorite saying is 'nothing succeeds like persistence.' In other words, your success is totally up to you. Keep going until you reach your goals." Recently moving back to the Seattle area, Tom and his wife are glad to be back to enjoy all the wonderful outdoor activities in the Pacific Northwest. "You can find us at most fall Husky games and at the dock on the MV Persistence as well." You can reach out to Tom via email at tgonser@gmail.com. Tom Gonser '85, Founder oF docusiGn Washington ΑΔΦ Values Provided My Foundation F or Juan Clavijo '11, joining a fraternity was a wonderful opportunity for him to become familiar with American culture. Originally from Colombia, Juan attended middle and high school in the U.S., but felt he had never really gotten a chance to get close to American culture. "I joined after witnessing the friendships and bonds I saw among the alumni who were running the process of reopening the Chapter. They exhibited a genuine connection and cared for each other and the fraternity. I wanted to learn where it all came from." Juan wanted to be involved with the brotherhood and was the first rushee to commit during the reopening of the Washington Chapter in 2008. He was fondly given the nickname of Numero Uno. Juan feels that in an individualistic society that often lacks genuine connections beyond family and close friends, the men of Washington Chapter were something worth exploring, living, and incorporating in his own life. Juan related that the time spent with his brothers at the Chapter House were some to the best years of his life—specifically a five-month backpacking trip through South America with Andrew White '12. The trip included hiking the Andes, exploring the Amazon, and enjoying the beaches in Rio. Some other fond memories include hanging out at the house, watching sports, serious talks, trips to the Alpha Delta Phi UBC Chapter in Canada, and getting to know his brothers over summer adventures. "I was told once that I brought culture to the Chapter and followed that up by organizing various events to show my brothers a little bit of my own culture." Juan began his career with foundations, nonprofits, and the public sector by focusing on international development and program evaluation in graduate school. Juan takes pride in his background and decided to move back to Latin American after finishing graduate school at UW with a MPA. "I spent almost a year working to provide access to higher education to indigenous youth in Cuzco, Peru." During that time, Juan met his wife, Carolina, in the middle of the Amazon rain forest. They were engaged after four days of knowing each other, and since she is also Colombian, they decided to move to Colombia and start their lives together. Back in Colombia, Juan landed an opportunity to work as a researcher and consultant. His work there involved studying public perceptions of social issues to inform public dialogues, leading him close to multicultural communities all over the country. Additionally, his work gave him the opportunity to manage a project to design Univision Network's (the leading Hispanic television network) election forecast model for the U.S. presidential election of 2016. From there, Juan wanted to return to Seattle and looked for opportunities to take his data and consulting skills to the next level, ultimately taking on the role as consultant with ORS Impact. ORS Impact is a Seattle-based consulting firm that serves as an evaluation and thought partner to social innovators to enable them to better fulfill their missions. "There are great people doing good in the world, and I work with them to improve and increase that positive impact." Juan and Carolina have lived in three countries in the past six years and have a wonderful boy, Matias, born in 2016. Juan is grateful for his fraternity experience and shares, "It set a foundation for me, as a true social network, where every interaction with a brother has genuine interest behind it." Beyond fond memories, his bond is a part of him he wants to keep alive continuously. "The philosophy behind the entire man spoke to me and provided a valuable framework to ensure balance and excellence in all aspects of life." You can connect with Juan via email at jclavijo@live.com. Rooted with washington ChapteR Juan Clavijo '11, A Man of Character Alumni Spotlights

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