Summer Interns/Study Abroad 2014- Rachel Bowden

Rachel Bowden will be a 3^rd year history student as well as the VP of professional development this fall.

From May to July this summer, Rachel was interning in the education department at the Orange County Regional History Center in Downtown Orlando. Currently, Rachel is studying abroad in Cambridge, UK.

At the History Center, Rachel was responsible for the day to day operations of their summer camp administration as well as maintaining financial records for the program. She had the chance to meet many members of the Orange County government and learned how cultural programs fit into the government system. She said it was very interesting to learn all the work that went into making an exhibit which incorporated many departments such as sales, marketing, finance and collections.

Rachel is currently on a 4 week long research-based study abroad program focused on 19^th century European history. Rachel spent one week in Paris to kick start her research and is now spending three weeks at St. Edmund’s College in Cambridge to finish her research paper.

She loves being emerged in all of the history around her as well as being able to research the French colonization of Algeria during the 19^th century for her paper.

“The best part is that we are able to utilize the world-famous Cambridge University Library as a resource,” she said.

We are so proud that Rachel was able to grow professionally with her internship and study abroad program this summer, and cannot wait to see the great things she does as VP this fall!

Summer Interns 2014- Sarah Van Valkenburgh

Sarah Van Valkenburgh  is a 3^rd year industrial and systems engineering student who will serve as an AVP of professional development this fall. Sarah is interning in the Business Integration and Planning department of the Walt Disney Company this summer.

Sarah is currently analyzing repair data for the Journey to the Little Mermaid ride. This data will tell the engineers how they can improve the ride before any issues occur. This is to prevent as much downtime as possible. Sarah also works with inventory analysis for various stockrooms throughout the park that pertain to all of the buildings, lighting, decoration and maintenance.

Sarah’s internship allows her to work directly with the engineering managers while still managing her own projects.

“They assign us our own projects and are there to mentor and guide us, but we have a lot of freedom on how to get it done,” she said.

Sarah’s favorite part of her internship is working in Magic Kingdom where she gets to ride a few rides on lunch breaks as well as help improve guest experiences.

“You get to be with the guests and see what they’re experiencing, and experience what they’re experiencing, which helps me to do my job,” she said.

We are so proud of the work Sarah is doing at Disney, and look forward to hearing more about it soon!

Study Abroad 2014- Leila Jawad

Leila Jawad is a senior sociology student and will serve as head AVP of pledge development this fall. Leila went on the UF in Dominican Republic program for 6 weeks this summer. 

She took two courses: Service Learning and Dominican Culture and History. For Service Learning, she volunteered about nine hours per week at a local clinic where she learned the daily operations of a medical center, how to do sutures, administer injections, perform Pap smears and give patient care.

The clinic was in an extremely poor “barrio” which sometimes required them to make house calls. 

“House calls were one of my favorite parts because we got to see how our patients lived, though it was very sad,” she said.

For her Dominican Culture and History class, she stayed with a host family who only spoke Spanish.  She said it was one of the most challenging yet most rewarding parts of her trip because her Spanish improved so quickly.

We are so proud of the work Leila did in the Dominican Republic this summer!

The Greater Gator Alumni Chapter

Do you love being a brother of Alpha Kappa Psi? The Greater Gator Alumni Chapter was created on May 31^st, 2014 to share and perpetuate the love of brotherhood with all Alpha Phi chapter alumni.  The GAC was established with the help of 52 brothers covering over 60 years of alumni.

The GAC differs from other chapters in that it is not purely based on geographical location. But rather with the help of technology and a global network, the GAC will stay connected through professional development, community service and networking events that will be open to Alpha Phi alumni as well as all of Alpha Kappa Psi alumni. They plan on supporting the Alpha Phi chapter by interviewing pledges and planning events for the football and homecoming season. The GAC will meet at such fraternity events as convention and eventually host their own annual Alpha Phi alumni reunions.

Chapter members are only required to attend one business meeting a year, in person or virtually, and pay an annual due of $25. Currently, the chapter is working on launching their website and designing their first promotional T-shirt.

The alumni chapter will offer many great opportunities for Alpha Phi alumni as they make their transition from student to alumni member.

The entire Alpha Phi chapter is very excited about the launch of the GAC, and look forward to seeing all the great things our alumni do!

Like the Greater Gator Alumni Chapter on Facebook to stay updated with all events.

https://www.facebook.com/greatergatoralumnichapter

If anyone has any questions or feedback, feel free to contact the executive board!

Greg Cohen, Alpha Phi ’14-Life

President

Gcohen14@gmail.com

Stephen Smith, Alpha Phi ’86-Life

Vice President

sesmith@gol.com

Lylah Gold, Alpha Phi ‘13

Treasurer

lylahgold@me.com

Cara Bearison, Alpha Phi ‘14

Secretary

cabearison@gmail.com

Summer Interns 2014- Gretchen Fisk

Gretchen Fisk is a 3rd year telecommunications and political science student who will serve as AVP of recruitment this fall. 

She is a marketing and communications intern for peerFit this summer. Four University of Florida students created peerFit in 2011 with the vision of making group fitness easy and fun. Their main product is a SweatPass that gives its members access to fitness classes at different gyms and studios without having to pay the individual gym membership fees.

Gretchen controls the company’s Twitter and Instagram pages, formats the peerFit blog, and is learning how to network and gain prospective clients.

“I love the group atmosphere of the internship and getting to work with other like-minded people,” Gretchen said.

This summer is also Gretchen’s first semester working as the assistant editor at the UF Graduate Editorial Office. She will assist in the editing process of over 500 doctoral dissertations and master’s theses each semester. 

Her other responsibilities include working with publishing companies while cataloging and coding for the 2014-2015 Graduate School Academic Course Catalog. Also, Gretchen is trying to expand the reach of social media to current and prospective graduate students in the Graduate School.

We are very proud of the work Gretchen is doing this summer and look forward to seeing her future success!

If anyone is interested in learning more about peerFit and their internship opportunities, check out their website here!