Sigma Phi Epsilon - University of Florida

Page 5 Sigma Phi Epsilon T he Balanced Man Scholarship (BMS) awards banquet is the centerpiece of the SigEp recruitment process. Three $1,000 scholarships are made available to all male students at UF. This gives us the opportunity to promote these scholarships throughout the university. Students are invited to apply for one of the scholarships by submitting an application, the most promising of whom are selected for interviews and the strongest candidates receive membership invitations. We started promoting these scholarships in August, and by the cutoff on September 18, 256 applications had been received. Of those applicants, 200 were interviewed, 15 finalists were selected and invited to attend the awards banquet with their families on October 21, and three winners were awarded scholarships. Along the way, 21 membership invitations were extended and 14 new brothers have accepted. As of October 25, we still have 30 potential new members being considered. We believe this will yield another 20 new members for a total of about 75 truly outstanding new brothers as a result of the fall 2016 Balanced Man Scholarship process. In October, the our undergraduate brothers hosted the annual Balanced Man Scholarship banquet. This was the first BMS banquet organized and executed solely by the Chapter and it was a huge success. The turnout was great and all in attendance enjoyed an amazing dinner and speeches from notable SigEps and Florida Alpha alumni. They shared stories from their days as undergraduate brothers and encouraged us on our journey as we work to rebuild Florida Alpha at the University of Florida. Below are details on this year's three winners: Domenic Aluise • First-year electrical engineering major from Bradenton, Florida • CEO and founder of a successful engineering firm called Research and Development Manufacturing • Participated in SLIPSTREAM, the United States team that represented our country in Abu Dhabi for a competition called Formula 1 in Schools • Broke several records for his high school sports teams, including most goals scored in a season and the pole vaulting record Congratulations, Balanced Man Scholarship Winners Domenic Aluise, AJ Douglas, and Ryan Gonzalez were this year's Balanced Man Scholarship winners. Patrick Goodrich '18 was awarded the Florida Alpha Alumni Scholarship at the BMS banquet this fall. Check presented by Ken Leynse '80. Ryan Decker '19 was awarded one of Florida Alpha's Alumni Scholarships this fall at the BMS awards banquet. Check presented by Ken Leynse '80. AJ Douglas • First-year nuclear engineering major from Maitland, Florida • In high school he served as president of the Partners in Health Society, where he organized a fundraiser to raise money and awareness for the Ebola virus outbreak in Africa • After earning his rank as an Eagle Scout, he created his own mentorship program to help those younger than him reach the rank of Eagle Scout • Here at UF, he was just accepted into the prestigious Freshman Leadership Council and serves on their service committee Ryan Gonzalez • First-year biomedical engineering major from Miami, Florida • In high school, he served as president of his chapter of the National Honor Society and captain of the varsity cross-country team • He founded and served as president of F.A.S.T. (Future Athletic Students of Tomorrow) where he visited local elementary schools to educate younger students on childhood health (Continued on page 6)

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