September 2020 Newsletter
The Long-Awaited Initiation of Rho Class
On September 5th, 2020, the Kappa Sigma Fraternity Rho Omega Chapter initiated eight new members into the chapter. Following an unprecedented semester due to COVID-19, the Pledge Education team of Nick Lavigne (Spring ‘18) and Haren Ramani (Spring ‘17) adjusted to the changing landscape of colleges around America. Nick Lavigne explained that “even though we moved to online classes, we were able to educate and mentor our new members for a smooth transition into the chapter.”
A class highlighted by both sophomores and freshmen at Stevens, Rho-Omega continues to bring a diverse set of new members with various hobbies and interests. Interests such as band, tennis, crew, and basketball have allowed new members this year to hold vital positions in the chapter, such as Nathan Michener, a recent initiate who has been elected the External Relations Chair to further improve our relations with other clubs and Greek organizations on campus.
New members continue to become a priority of the chapter. Through these challenging times, we are proud that our brotherhood continues to expand and grow. We look forward to meeting virtually with our potential new members this semester and excited to further strengthen our brotherhood.
Supporting our Local First Responders
This year marked the 19th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on 9/11. In Hoboken, this date takes a particular significance to our first responders, as many of them were involved on the day of the attack – taking their call to action without a moment’s notice. Since 2016, Kappa Sigma has made a push to honor all first responders on the anniversary of that tragic day. We do our small part in thanking them by bringing donuts and coffee, and listening to their accounts. While we were not able to host our annual event this year, where first responders come to our campus to tell their stories to the younger generation, we were more than happy to thank them in this small way. Thank you to all first responders around the country for everything you do for us!
Zach George Alumni Spotlight
This month’s alumni spotlight features Zach George (Spring ‘15), who joined the chapter as part of the Eta class. Zach graduated Stevens with a Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2019 and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Software Engineering at Stevens as he works as a technical solution engineer for a small medical devices company where he is currently working on the company’s next generation of products. Zach also spends his time as the Alumni Advisor for the Pi-Nu chapter at Ramapo College of New Jersey. He is making big steps with this chapter towards establishing itself and developing a strong internal structure based on what he learned from Rho-Omega. Starting with only 4 initiates since being AA, Zach has helped the chapter initiate their most recent class (9/19), setting them on a good path to growing a stable and strong brotherhood. In his free time Zach enjoys running (#DeathByCardio), cooking, and has recently taken up beer brewing with his father. He has even taken his hand at brewing his own recipes including a lemon basil blonde ale.
Before coming to college, Zach was very involved in a youth group in his area, where he was able to help out his community as well as develop close relationships with others involved. He wanted to find somewhere with this same sense of family in college and looked to clubs for that in his first semester. He was ultimately let down by the clubs at Stevens and decided to give Greek Life a shot. Being impressed by the Kappa Sigma brotherhood he decided to rush and soon became a member of our tightly knit brotherhood, where he found the level of connection and empowerment he was hoping for. Through his years as an undergraduate he held a number of leadership positions within our chapter, starting off his first semester as a brother with the position of Assistant Grand Scribe. He then served as our A Greater Cause chair for two terms which was a perfect fit for him because of his passion for community service. He then served on our Executive Committee as Grand Scribe and finished out his time as an undergraduate as our Bylaws Chair.
Some of Zach’s fondest memories in the chapter come from service events we participated in like the Vendy Awards because of the event’s uniqueness and inherent fun. After volunteering, you could enjoy the event with fellow brothers including those that continued to be involved with the event even after graduation. The Leadership Conferences he attended also left an impact on him, especially his first one in 2016. It was nice meeting brothers from other chapters, as well as brothers from our own chapter who had graduated before he joined.
A piece of advice Zach has for us the undergraduates is to always find time for yourself and the people you love. It could be hard to get out of that work mentality, but that mentality can get draining. You should always find at least some time to do the things you enjoy.
Matt Gordon Undergraduate Spotlight
During what’s been the strangest stretch of time in my life, I was lucky enough to sit down and catch up with current Grand Procurator Matt Gordon (Spring ‘18) to discuss what’s been going on in his life and what his plans are for our chapter this semester. Much like many others I’m sure, Matt says a lot of his time in quarantine has been spent binging TV shows and movies and catching up with his girlfriend and other brothers via FaceTime. Since he lives in the suburbs of Fairlawn NJ, he’s been trying to get outside and visit some of the parks in his area as well. Another thing he’s been doing is growing out one of the best afros I’ve ever seen for the past 6 months (see before and after picture above).
Matt explained that this summer he was lucky enough to get a virtual internship at National Grid in the accounting department. One of his projects was determining how National Grid (an electricity and utility company) could create a charity to support their clients that were financially burdened by the COVID-19 Pandemic. It seemed like a great learning experience and he was happy to be able to make a positive impact on the community during his internship.
As the current GP, Matt has a unique opportunity during this strange semester, to change the scope of the Grand Procurator position. Without social events, Gordon’s role has morphed from keeping brothers/guests safe at parties to keeping the chapter healthy, informed, and as connected as possible. He has teamed up with the current Health and Wellness chair Joey Roselli (Fall ‘19) to send out consistent newsletters to the chapter about ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and how to stay mentally and physically healthy during this pandemic.
Even with the new restrictions that are in place for the upcoming semester, Matt is confident about being able to hold some virtual and in person events. As only about 35 brothers are living in the Hoboken area for the semester, he is excited to host a virtual family feud event sometime soon. Matt also wants to take advantage of Elysian park and plans to have an outdoor socially distant event sometime in the near future.
A E K Δ B
Not for a day, or an hour, or a college term only, but for life.
