Beta Theta Pi - MIT

2 B R O T H E R H O O D B E Y O N D M I T Christian Hamer '94 Values Beta Connections in His Career and Personal Life Beta Upsilon Association Officers President Chris Briere '19 Vice President Mike Feinstein '82 Treasurer Frank Leibly '93 Secretary Colin Chaney '21 Chapter Financial Advisor Christian Hamer '94 Members at Large Herman Marshall '78 John Kerins '80 Zach Rolfness '22 B etA Upsilon Brothers impact one another in many ways from undergraduate experiences and career opportunities to alumni support and volunteer service. Christian Hamer '94 is fortunate to have all these intertwine in his life. F R O M P L E D G I N G T O P R E S I D E N C Y Between pledge class road trips and executive roles as treasurer and president, Christian made the most of his undergraduate Beta years. "[Trips] usually involved too many of us shoved into whatever giant SUV Dave Samuel '94 had at the time. Sometimes it was local, sometimes further, often with another Beta Chapter, with McGill being a favorite." While Christian's treasurer role showed him what it was like to handle vendors and employees, he credits Chapter presidency for teaching him how to become an effective leader. Through Christian's three jobs he's had since college (two with fellow Betas), his basis of Beta leadership has served him well for professional growth. A C A R E E R I N I N F O R M AT I O N S E C U R I T Y "Having planned to go to graduate school after graduation, it was a surprise to instead ultimately spend a decade at NFiC and its parent," Christian said. The company founded by Bob Ramstad '90, Andrew Heitner '92, Frank Leibly '93, and Jay Coulson '94 provided Christian his first step in an information security career that later took him to Harvard. For 13 years, including eight as chief information security officer, Christian pursued his information security passion at Harvard University before another Beta alumnus provided yet another career opportunity. "I had no plans whatsoever to leave when Brian DiVasta '95 lured me to ElevateBio," Christian added. Today, Christian serves as the company's vice president and head of information security. From coaching Harvard's Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition team to witnessing IBM's Deep Blue vs. Kasparov chess match, Christian has enjoyed unique opportunities stemming from his career. M A I N TA I N I N G B E TA B O N D S Christian urges undergraduates to make the most of their MIT experience, and he is glad to contribute to Beta Upsilon as the Chapter financial advisor. Despite a busy schedule, Christian values the chance to interact with alumni and enjoyed attending last year's Chapter reinstallation. While recent years have varied, Christian hopes pledge class Brothers can revive the in-person reunions they've held in years past. The Brothers had a virtual event during COVID, and next year's anniversary offers a great chance to reconnect. Christian enjoys spending time on the beach with his wife, Kate, and has two sons, Noah (19) and Jonah (17). Over the past 15 years, Christian has coached various sports for his children, including 24 seasons of soccer. Brother Javier Nazario '95 first introduced Christian to coaching when they coached the Wellesley water polo team in the '90s. Beta Upsilon is a shared experience, and Christian is proud to keep that experience ongoing with fraternal connections to this day. You can connect with him at christianhamer@gmail.com. "We were all in it together, going through a shared experience, and always there to help one another."

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