Sigma Phi Epsilon Balanced Man Fellowship to fund soccer field in Uganda | Columbia Daily Spectator

Sigma Phi Epsilon Balanced Man Fellowship to fund soccer field in Uganda | Columbia Daily Spectator:

By EMMA BOGLER 

Spectator Senior Staff Writer

March 31, 2014, 12:58am

Vivek Ramakrishnan, CC ’16, is the second Columbian to join a group of balanced men.

At a small ceremony held in Low Library on Saturday, Sigma Phi Epsilon—of which Ramakrishnan is not a member—awarded him a $3,500 Balanced Man Fellowship grant to build a soccer field in the town of Mpigi, Uganda.

BALANCING ACT | Mechanical engineering professor Mike Massimino 
was at Saturday's Balanced Man ceremony, where Sigma Phi Epsilon awarded 
Vivek Ramakrishnan, CC ’16, a $3,500 grant to build a soccer field in Uganda. 

“I’m really happy and I’m really relieved to have gotten this grant,” Ramakrishnan said, adding that the money will allow him to purchase the land for the soccer field right away. “The cost of land fluctuates a lot in that region, so if we had to buy the land a year from now it might cost twice as much.”

Ramakrishnan began collecting soccer equipment from around his hometown of Madison, Wis., in high school to donate to organizations that would distribute the equipment in Africa. He eventually started his own nonprofit, Pass It On Soccer, which collects and sends donated soccer equipment from the United States to Uganda.

Despite having to step back from running Pass It On Soccer since coming to Columbia, Ramakrishnan said he’s excited to continue his work in Uganda.

This is the second year that SigEp has awarded a $3,500 Balanced Man Fellowship after reforming the program in 2013. The fellowship uses alumni donations to help fund a student-organized philanthropic project each year. Last year’s winner, Josh Fram, CC ’16, used the money to purchase indoor rowing machines for a camp for mentally disabled athletes in his hometown of Lawrenceville, NJ.

Alex Carames, CC ’16 and SigEp’s vice president of philanthropy, said the fraternity received 11 applications for the grant this year.

“It was hard to choose between the finalists because we had so many great projects, but [Vivek’s] ultimately hit the closest to home in terms of our goals and values, and in terms of having the greatest impact on the most people,” he said at Saturday’s event.

“Every single person here tonight knows that these values encourage fraternity men to strive to make a difference in our community,” SigEp President Alexander Felsberg, CC ’15, said at the ceremony. “Every single person who has given this organization their time and effort has seen how it’s changed their lives.”

Felsberg added that he hoped the fellowship would help bridge the gap between the Greek community and the rest of campus.

“This grant is by far one of the greatest examples of the way Greek life has a positive impact on the Columbia campus,” Felsberg said.

This year’s grant is especially significant to the fraternity as it marks the 15th anniversary of SigEp’s chapter at Columbia.

“It really shows how the organization has grown substantially over time,” SigEp alumnus Tom Russell, CC ’09, said. “We give back more with each passing year.” 

“It’s important that frats get a chance to show their good side,” Russell added. “This really helps the fraternity give back to the community.”                         

“Part of the DNA of SigEp is to help others,” Sam Arora, CC ’03, said. “That’s why it’s both remarkable and yet not at all surprising to see such a significant investment going toward helping a community in need.”

Remembering SigEp Giant, Fred Turner, 1933-2013

Kevin Teets provided this outstanding tribute to Fred Turner. Thanks Kevin.

Remembering SigEp Giant, Fred Turner, 1933-2013 Fred Turner, Drake ’54, was no ordinary man. At the age of 35, Turner was elected president of the board of McDonald’s and later became the company’s chief executive officer. He has been called the architect behind McDonalds—introducing the world to the Chicken McNugget, the Egg McMuffin and the Happy Meal. Turner died on Monday in Glenview, Ill., at the age of 80. His life reflects that of a pioneer in the food and service industry, accomplishments which earned him a SigEp Citation, an award that recognizes those SigEp alumni with the highest of professional and personal accomplishments. Turner started his career with McDonald’s at age 23. In a meeting with Drake University SigEps in 2007, Turner shared that his career choice was one that happened by accident. Before flipping burgers at a newly formed McDonald’s in 1956, Turner was a driver for a cookie delivery company in Des Moines, Iowa. He told the students that he wrecked the delivery truck and was fired from his first job. It was then that he met McDonald’s pioneer, Ray Kroc. Turner was pointing out to those students that sometimes “failure” and “bad luck” open the biggest doors. He said, “If I didn’t wreck that cookie delivery truck, I may not be where I am today.” When Turner met Kroc, McDonald’s had only 14 restaurants. Turner’s mishap in cookie delivery brought him together with Kroc at the right place and the right time. His leadership and dedication built the present McDonald’s empire into more than 31,000 restaurants in over 120 countries. Turner will be known for giving back to the places he loved. In 2010, he gifted $1.3 million to Drake University to build the Fred and Patty Turner Jazz Center, a 4,600-square-foot facility that now adjoins the Harmon Fine Arts Center on Drake’s campus. The center includes a practice and performance studio, jazz gallery, piano alcove, recording studio and student lounge called “Patty’s Place,” named in honor of Fred’s wife, Patty Shurtleff, who passed away in 2000. The two kindled their relationship on Drake’s campus. Iowa Delta Alumni Board President Gary Ordway '64, said that Turner has also given generously to the chapter’s capital campaign. “Fred made life-long commitments to enhancing the lives of Drake students. He really enjoyed young people and valued giving them opportunities. We are all fortunate that Fred found time to visit the chapter and attend chapter and alumni meetings at the Drake Relays. In addition to his generosity, Turner will be remembered as someone who loved to enjoy life and have fun. “Rod Rhodes and I got the chance to attend Fred’s annual ‘Fred Party', in Chicago,” Ordway said. “What a blast it was to have fun with Fred. His life and legacy will live on.” In his 2007 Citation acceptance speech, Turner said that the most common character trait you will find in successful people is persistence. He encouraged undergraduates to be persistent in all that they do and told the alumni that the best thing that can be given to “our descendants” are “roots” and “wings.” During that same Conclave, Grand Chapter President Stephen Shanklin said in his speech, “We are all standing on the shoulders of giants.” Fred Turner will be remembered as one of those giants. Fraternally, Kevin Teets Tennessee-Martin '06

Opportunity at SigEpBlog - want to talk about it?

One of the most trite and self-serving of blog posts is the "I-have-not-posted-enough-lately-and-I-plan-to-do-better" post. Ok, so I am trite and self serving. Sue me.

A main objective of writing a blog is to convey opinions and elicit comments. That, along with an attempt at broadening the communication channel between chapters was the reason this blog was started in the first place. We have, I think, done a pretty fair job of gathering SigEp news from across the country and presenting it here. And we are always on the lookout for new ways to inform. The recent addition of Ed Jones' excellent entries with information about SigEps who have served in the armed forces is an example.

However, the posts lately have not been the type that get people fired up to contribute to the discussion. That is not the fault of the people who are posting, they do an oustanding job of scouring the web for SigEp related news. Rather it is the type of posts. The posts that inspire discussion are almost always the ones with a point of view and a strong opinion. Not surprisingly those are also the posts that increase readership. So lets see if we can do something about that...

Do you have an opinion? Want to challenge views of the what/why/how of a Greek system in the 21st century and in turn be challenged? Have a different viewpoint on the direction of the Fraternity? Think we are doing great and shold keep a steady course? Would you be willing to commit to posting your ideas on a regular basis (a bit tougher than it sounds, trust me)? I'd like to find one or two (or three) more people who will be willing to share their outlook on the achievements and challenges of SigEp today and tomorrow.

Let me be clear - gray hair is NOT required, fancy titles are NOT required, 'litmus test' opinions are NOT required. What is needed is an informed viewpoint on fraternities and sororities in general and SigEp in particular. We want to get people talking about how to improve, not shouting about who is right or wrong. Oh, and did I mention that this is a volunteer (read: unpaid) gig?

If you would like to be considered, send an email to wordjunky@gmail.com. Let me know who you are, where and when you are from (i.e. chapter and year), and include a short sample of the kind of writing you want to post. You should be willing to post on the order of once a week to once a month. I will select from the applications and show them to the rest of the blog team for input and then let you know what happens next. I look forward to hearing from you all.

...and yes, comments are encouraged on this post too.