ROSE FIJI SUMMER 2008 a publication of the rho phi chapter of phi gamma delta rose-hulman institute of technology Letter From the HC President Brothers, Overall it has been a good year for the men of Rho Phi and the House Corporation. Last summer major renovations were completed on the basement and upper levels of the house. A new roof was installed, tile, paint, and the library was redone. The House looks great. A huge thank you to all of the brothers that spent many hours this summer cleaning, painting and all the other activities it takes to make a project like this successful. I am proud of the chapter and its accomplishments. Rush was a phenomenal success even with the odds stacked against the chapter by the IFC. The brothers banded together to overcome adversity and bring in the largest pledge class ever. Based on what I have seen so far, there was absolutely no settling for second best. The pledge class is very strong and will lead the chapter well into the future. The year has not been without hardship for Rose-Hulman and the Rho Phi Chapter. Our prayers continue to pour out to Brandon Couch’s family as well as Drew Christy and his family. The chapter has weathered both of these tragedies; they came together as a chapter to support each other through the toughest of times. It once again shows us the value that Phi Gamma Delta brings to each of us. Dealing with adversity brings a sense of togetherness and accomplishment in overcoming the hurdles that life puts in our way. It makes us stronger as we look to the future. Speaking of the future, I believe it to be very strong for Rho Phi. We continue to look into new housing opportunities on campus and have re-formed a committee to determine the best way to make this a reality. We have already received some strong graduate backing to help convince us to continue the project. This is a very complicated process and I would like to thank Chip Bradway and Ben Giant for leading this effort. If any of you have ideas or other methods to offer support please be sure to let us know. A letter from me wouldn’t seem complete without at least mentioning the strength of the House Corporation. Even through the turbulent economy, our financial stability continues to be strong. Of course we need to continue to grow in this area in order to maintain our leadership training, graduate relations, house maintenance and improvement projects. With the cost of a new house on the horizon, we must continue to solicit support from the graduate base in order to prepare the corporation for the future. Please keep us in mind. Thanks to all of you for your support and as always feel free to call on any of the House Corporation members if you have questions, concerns or ideas for the future. Sincerely, Todd Hubbell ’96 President Rho Phi House Corporation todd.hubbell@comcast.net -- Page 1 -- \r\nRho Phi Chap ter of Phi Gamma Delta House Corporation Officers President Todd Hubbell ’96 Todd.Hubbell@us.edress.com 317.881.2742 Treasurer Joe Weist ’87 jweist@gmail.com 812.229.0983 Secretary Chip Bradway ’97 CSBradway@sbcglobal.net 317.579.6896 House Corporation Directors Rob Bunch ’75 Andy Horton ’97 Cecil Whitaker ’73 Ryan Thompson ’04 Ben Giant ’03 Kurtis Muehlenkamp ’10 Shaun Quirk ’10 Board of Chapter Advisors Chairman Drew Lopshire ’07 dlopshire@rosefiji.com 812.870.5377 Graduate Website www.RhoPhiFIJI.org Undergraduate Website www.RoseFIJI.com Photograph Archive RoseFIJI.SmugMug.com Rho Phi House Corp. P.O. Box 3047 Terre Haute, IN 47803 E-mail: Info@RoseFIJI.com Brothers Helping Brothers Project As another school year comes to a close, we’re all reminded of the ritual of graduation and the tradition commencement brings. Some seek out to attain yet another degree through further study. Others take to the globe for a sabbatical of sorts, staving off “real life” for a while longer. Most, however, begin their professional life in the working world. The reality of working the rest of one’s life notwithstanding, finding that first job—the true inauguration of adulthood—can be one of the most daunting tasks facing our young undergraduate brothers. Taking into account the growing push and competition for summer internships and/or co-op arrangements for underclassmen, there stands a significant set of career paths, decisions, and unknowns for these young men. Never mind those graduate brothers wanting to change careers, jump industries, or simply move-on from a stagnant place of employment & not knowing where to start, it’s evident there is a need whereby the Rho Phi network can help. The ranks of Phi Gamma Delta Rho Phi has in its fold all walks of life-lawyers, physicians, businessmen, philanthropists, politicians, and of course, engineers of all disciplines. Within these varied industries is everyone from owners to managers to entry-level employees, each coming with his own levels of insight and advice. It is this vast, mostly-untapped Rho Phi resource—and the glaring need across the chapter (undergraduate and graduate both)—that lead to the inception of the Brothers Helping Brothers project. Brothers Helping Brothers is designed to bring together those that can, know, and want—professionally. There are several class years of graduate brothers that constantly inform one another of job openings (and sometimes go as far as helping set-up interviews) in their respective companies. Brothers Helping Brothers (BHB) takes that which is currently being done and expands the idea for the entire graduate/undergraduate base. BHB utilizes an on-line information exchange for not only employment opportunities and identifying potential Fiji hires (undergraduate and graduate), but it also is intended to be a place for brothers to go seeking advice on all business/ professional topics. Use the BHB web-site to list employment opportunities at your place of business. Whether you’re looking for your first job or looking to make a career move, upload your resume and career goals to the BHB web-site. Additionally, use the Q&A forum for advice & information on any item of the vocational sort. The web-site is a work in progress, but with your help, this could prove to be a great value to the chapter—graduate and undergraduate brothers alike. For more information, please visit Brothers Helping Brothers at the following URL: https://sites.google.com/a/rosefiji.com/brothers-helping-brothers/ Feel free to contact Ben Giant ’03 at giantbc@gmail.com if you would like to help with this initiative. -- Page 2 -- \r\nGraduate Updates Bruce A. Schmidt ’77 William Morphew ’99 Bruce was initiated in 1974. He and his wife, Virginia, Bill is a project engineer for Crown Iron Works. He is have three children, Jennifer (27), Geoff (22), and Mike now living in Andover, Minnesota with his wife, Kate, (20). Bruce is living in North Ridgeville, Ohio and works and their two children, Joseph (4) and Grace (2). for FirstEnergy as a sourcing specialist. ◊ E-mail: wcmorphew@yahoo.com ◊ Home: 440.327.6564 ◊ E-mail: bschmidt64@oh.rr.com Michael D. Hlavaty-LaPosa ’81 Mike is the director of advanced devices for AT&T. He is living in Redmond, Washington with his wife, Jan, and they have 6 children, Theresa (23) Marina (21), Olga (19), Luda (16), Alyona (14), and Elena (14). ◊ Home: 425.898.8970 ◊ E-mail: mlaposa@msn.com Peter R. Watson ’83 Pete was initiated in 1980. He is the senior manager of U.S. Outcomes Research for Eli Lilly & Company in Indianapolis, Indiana. Pete has two children, Gabriel (12) and Daniel (9), with his wife, Kay. ◊ Home 317.873.3816 ◊ E-mail: pete.watson@lilly.com Carl G. Cotter ’93 Carl was initiated in 1990. He is a sales manager for International Rectifier. Carl lives in Westfield, Indiana with his wife Dawn and two children, Cailey (11) and CJ (9). ◊ Home: 317.569.1911 ◊ E-mail: carlcotter@indy.rr.com Joseph T. Adam ’97 Joe is living in Noblesville, Indiana with his wife, Jennifer, and their two sons, Jacob (10) and Nathan (10). Joe is a maintenance manager for Exide Tecnologies. ◊ Home: 317.773.5806 ◊ E-mail: joe.adam@sbcglobal.net Brothers, It has been a couple years since I conducted a graduatewide survey to update your contact information. We have done a good job (thanks to many of you) of maintaining good address information. Our mailing list is about 97% up to date, with only a few of you “lost” at any given point. However I have found more often as someone emails me to ask for a cell phone number for a pledge brother or a wife’s name for a wedding invitation that I don’t have the information. Over the last few months I have begun cleaning up our data starting with email addresses. Thanks to all of you who responded. Fortunately we have about 620 good email addresses for all of you, but we still have about 190 of you who we cannot contact via email. Enclosed in this newsletter is a simple survey that will help us know we are up to date on your information. We would appreciate if you could fill it out and get it back to us. We promise we are not selling your information to Nigerian bankers or giving it to exgirlfriends. We just want to ensure that all of us can stay in contact with each other. If there is information which you don’t want to share, just leave that blank. I thank you in advance for your help with this project. Fraternally, Joe Weist ’87 Perge! -- Page 3 -- \r\nBrothers Brothers Remembered Remembered Brandon Dean Couch Words on a page could never do justice to a life as full of love and compassion and commi Brandon’s. He was an absolute monument to perseverance and the epitome of mental attitud I met Brandon at football camp the August before our freshman year at Rose. He was bas smallest lineman I’ve ever played with, and yet possessed the biggest heart I would come On the football field he gave everything he had and he played 6 inches taller and 50 pounds heavier than he actually was. Parents and Brothe Through countless scout team player of the week awards, and the only three-year straight recipient of the Spirit of Chauncey As you know, the Rose Mental Attitude Award, Brandon showed everyone what mailed out a letter type of attitude and mental fortitude it takes to truly play for the betterment of the team as a whole. He embodied this mindset for donations for th so much that the award has been renamed in his honor. were overwhelmed b Off of the field he was no different. He was a hard-working and dedicated student who I can vividly recall staying at home to study on countless nights that he had much more enjoyable things to do. He was also thoroughly committed to his fiancée, Mandy Ferrell, with whom he had a very loving and serious relationship from the first time they met in the library his sophomore year. I’ll never forget the enormous grin on his face junior year when he said he had something to show me. As I walked into his room, he unrolled a towel from a drawer to reveal a pair of wedding rings. After just a year and a half together, he and Mandy knew where they were headed. They knew that they would get married one day and so they didn’t see any harm in going ahead and getting rings for when they were both ready. At age 20, I was stunned, but it didn’t faze Brandon as he calmly rolled the towel back up and put it back in the drawer. He knew what was right and it was of no consequence what anyone else thought; he was steadfast. $17,000 from almos Additionally the cha sale of wristbands fo We would like to tak you for your generos Sincerely and Fratern Kevin Lollar and th He graduated from Rose with a Mechanical Engineering Degree and had begun his first job as an engineer working for Harrison Steel who supplies large castings to Caterpillar. After just 3 months of work he had received two raises and was on his way to a third based on his performance. This was no surprise to those of us w him; his genuine dedication could have moved mountains. To have touched so many lives in such a short amount time would have been impossible for most, but it was just a start for Bran high school football coach said it perfectly, “I was supposed to be his coach, but I was still his student.” Brandon showed us a w and trust and believe in the Lord that could have only come from the purest of hearts, and in that I know that we’ve all got an a brother. Fraternally and in Brandon Dean Couch’s Loving Honor, Clint Hammes Rho Phi 2007 \r\nitment as de. sically the to know. Drew Christy While Drew Christy remains in a coma following a serious automobile accident some two months ago, he is still fighting to hold on as is everyone else around him. Drew makes progress daily in different ways with the help of active treatment from specialists and nurses, the support from his friends and family, and the hundreds of prayers from countless individuals who care for him. The doctors and specialists are working hard to bring him back to consciousness, and he has made several physical voluntary responses including even saying “Mom” on several occasions. Drew is a great individual who is cared for greatly by his loving parents, his sister, his friends, and by his brothers in Phi Gamma Delta. ers, Rho Phi Graduate Association from parent Kevin Lollar asking he Christy and Couch families. We by the response. We collected about st 200 donors. apter raised another $3000 from the or Drew Christy. ke this opportunity to thank all of sity. nally, he Rho Phi Graduate Association who knew ndon. His way to live angel for Drew Christy is a unique individual in many different aspects of his life. The first thing you will notice about Drew is his genuine friendliness, his smile, and his sense of humor. Drew is one of those people that won’t hesitate to help anyone in need whether it’s homework, service, or anything else. He is blessed with many gifts, one being his intelligence that allows him to excel in the classroom. He was awarded the Eli Lilly Scholarship that allowed him to attend Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on a full academic ride in pursuit of a degree in Biomedical Engineering. At Rose-Hulman, Drew has continued to stand out because of his hard work and diligent study habits. This hardwork has rewarded him with a spot on the Dean’s List for all five quarters at RoseHulman. His tremendous leadership capabilities allowed him to be elected to the Rho Phi cabinet as a freshman to serve as a sophomore. Drew is also an exceptional athlete. After enjoying a high school career playing football, basketball, and track, Drew brought his football skills to play defensive back for the Rose-Hulman football team. Plagued with several injuries during the past two football seasons, Drew pushed through recovery and returned to the field where he was much needed. He has several other more laid back hobbies. He loves to take any chance to go outdoors and go fishing, hiking, or skiing. Drew is often found playing his beloved guitar and expressing his passion for music. Anyone who knows Drew knows that he is a man of very strong faith. He leads by example and is held in very high esteem by all those who know him. Drew Christy sets himself apart with his relentless work ethic in all aspects of his life, and we all know that this perseverance still continues on as he encounters his greatest challenge - to fight for his life. Many people ask the question “Why Drew?” There is no real rationalization for why this happened to Drew. The strength of his parents, Mark and Debbie, as well as his sister, Kaila, and her husband, John, has been most amazing throughout this entire chain of events. Their determination has been such a testament to their faith as a family. They are able to acknowledge this accident as an opportunity to observe support from hundreds of people who care about Drew. There is no question that Drew’s strength in all that he does comes from his family and their undying faith. As Drew Christy’s fight continues onward, he will surely have the support from God, his friends, family, teammates, and all of his brothers in Phi Gamma Delta. This devotion afforded him is, indeed, a testimony to the kind of man he is. \r\nParent’s Article A little over four years ago our son Nick Klaserner chose Rose-Hulman as his selection for college. Nick had many opportunities to attend other colleges offering more scholarship and financial assistance, and larger state colleges costing less. At the time, I asked him why he had selected Rose-Hulman and he stated that he wanted the opportunity to attend one of the best colleges in the country. During freshmen year, Nick committed himself to the difficult educational challenges at Rose-Hulman and embraced the opportunity to participate in athletics, football and wrestling, making an immediate impact for both teams. The fall Rush brought opportunity to learn about Greek life and the extended social aspect of college. Nick did not pledge in the fall of his freshman year because he felt he was too busy with other activities, but he developed close friendships with many members of the Rho Phi Chapter, and in the spring Nick pledged Phi Gamma Delta. Sophomore year Nick lived at the fraternity house, he was a member of the service committee and rush team, helping to organize events and participating in each activity. Living at the Fiji house brought deep sense of what fraternity is about. Nick developed close friendships, and realized he would be a committed member of the organization. Nick received an academic award and tuition assistance from Phi Gamma Delta during his sophomore year. We have extended our home in Cincinnati to several of Nick’s fraternity brothers during school breaks each year, and it is always a pleasure having these gentlemen at our home. A broken leg from playing softball in the summer sidelined Nick from football his junior year. Then when surgical complications required hospitalization in Terre Haute and the removal of the metal plate from his leg, the Fiji’s were there for Nick visiting him in the hospital and offering any assistance needed. Nick attended all football activities but was unable to play. During that fall, when the football team traveled to Hanover College, Nick had the opportunity to visit and spend the night at the Phi Gamma Delta chapter at Hanover. At the Christmas break Nick gave up a couple of his vacation days to attend the national Phi Gamma Delta leadership convention in St. Louis. After attending the convention Nick stated that it was one of the fulfilling opportunities he has had. This leadership convention inspired Nick to run for president of the fraternity and fortunately was elected. Thanks to the strong support from Joe Weist and Tim Harlan, senior year 2007-2008 brought a completely remodeled fraternity house, an excellent recruiting class, and a continuation of the traditions that Rho Phi Chapter has come to stand for. Nick was able to attend the leadership conference in St. Louis for a second year, and has accepted a nice job offer at home in Cincinnati. Unfortunately, two tragic highway accidents within four months have presented new challenges for the fraternity but the men of Rho Phi have demonstrated exemplary support and inner strength. Our prayers are with the families of these brothers. There are so many great stories to tell about the past four years that our son has been a member of Rho Phi that cannot be expressed in this limited space. I know that Nick’s involvement with this great organization has helped to make him a better person. Proud & Thankful Parents – Steve & Jenny Klaserner -- Page 6 -- \r\nSpring Pledges 2008 Steven Daniel Ricks, a freshmen at Rose, is from Pittsboro, IN. He is a mechanical engineering major and is a member of the basketball team at Rose. He enjoys going to Minnesota in the summer and fishing and water skiing. Steve is a legacy, the product of great-grandfather Henry (Hank) Coombs, a 1933 graduate of the Tau chapter at Hanover College. Steve’s pledge father is sophomore Evan Howe. Daniel Hoke Lowers, also a freshman and mechanical engineering major, is from Ellettsville, IN. He also plays basketball for Rose-Hulman. His hobbies include playing frisbee golf and pick-up basketball in the summer. Daniel’s pledge father is sophomore David Pope. Both Steve and Daniel rushed in the fall and chose to accept their bids this spring. The chapter is very proud and happy to have both men. -- Page 7 -- \r\nSave The Date! Homecoming 2008 October 3-4, 2008 Manchester vs. Rose-Hulman More details on Rho Phi specific events to come as event nears! Check out www.rose-hulman.edu/homecoming/ for the RHIT schedule of events. Rho Phi Chapter Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity c/o Fraternity Management Group 2660 N. 1st Avenue Tucson, AZ 85719 Address Service Requested Presorted STANDARD U.S. Postage PAID Permit #224 Tucson, AZ