Sigma Phi Epsilon - University of Florida

Page 2 SigEp Gator Heart I n June, Thomas Fridrich '25 and Ryan Feocco '25 had the incredible opportunity to attend the prestigious Frank J. Ruck Leadership Institute at SigEp headquarters in Richmond, Virginia. 2022 Florida Alpha Attendees With nearly 700 applicants each year, only 150 brothers are selected to attend; after completing the rigorous application process, Thomas and Ryan were honored to be accepted into the five-day program. Throughout the workshop, the brothers gathered in small groups with other SigEp members and various successful alumni to learn about the importance of teamwork, how to become a true leader, and how to establish relationships. The SigEps were vulnerable with each other, creating a close bond and helping each other grow. Our brothers left with new ideas on how to make an impact on Florida Alpha. "The opportunity to attend Ruck only comes once, and it is one of the best decisions I have made, not only as a SigEp, but also in my whole life," said Thomas. Made Possible by Alumni Like You The two brothers were able to attend the workshop through the funding of the Florida Alpha Harold Hodge Leadership Endowment, which was created for opportunities like this. John Barton, Florida State '82 created this fund to honor his uncle, Harold Hodge '52, one of only five Florida Alpha SigEps to receive the Order of the Golden Heart. This award is the Fraternity's highest honor, awarded every other year to alumni who, with great personal sacrifice, have given exceptional service to Sigma Phi Epsilon. We are proud to have used this endowment to send our brothers on a life- changing experience, and we can't wait to see how they shape the future of our Chapter. "While it may seem intimidating, the impact from the lessons I have learned through self-betterment from that week will last forever, and I cannot recommend this experience enough," said Ryan. Balanced Summer - See What Our Brothers Did During eir Break A Life-ChAnging experienCe Two Brothers Embrace Opportunity to Attend Ruck Leadership Institute Victor Polisetty '24 worked as a software development engineer intern for Amazon Web Services in Boston, Massachusettes, this summer. He worked on the FSx OpenZFS team, helping on a project to help customers manage their OpenZFS file systems hosted on Amazon's cloud servers. Brother Neal Shankar '25 and his younger brother, Jay, spent their summer backpacking across Europe, visiting Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Croatia, France, Barcelona, Lisbon, and the United Kingdom. They also visited family in Birmingham and France. Brothers Josh Jackson '24 and Luke Jackson '22 visited Brother Grant Mondejar '24 in Colorado Springs. While there, the Jacksons and Grant played a round of golf at Broadmoor, among various other activities throughout the week. This year, Parker Rossignol '24 spent his second summer in Washington, D.C., interning for the U.S. House of Representatives at the Capitol. Parker served as a congressional intern for the office of Congressman John Rutherford (FL-04) for three months as he continued to dive deeper into our country's political processes. As a congressional intern, Parker led constituent tours, drafted letters for Congressman Rutherford to be sent to constituents, and conducted general administrative duties. He also assisted legislative aides in policy research and attended various Congressional hearings and leadership seminars. We have high hopes for Parker, as he will surely continue to make his mark on our national government.

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