Washington, D.C. Professional Trip 2014- Part 1

This past weekend from the Nov. 21-23, a pack of 28 brothers braved the cold, windy streets of Washington, D.C.! The weekend was packed full of company tours, city tourist attractions and interchapter relations.

Friday, Nov. 21 we landed in D.C. around 8:30 a.m. We then scurried to the hotel to freshen ourselves up. We toured NPR at 12 noon and then Deloitte at 3 p.m.

NPR, National Public Radio, gave us a great tour! Our brothers had the opportunities to see the Tiny Desk, hold Emmys, see a real NPR studio and so much more.

Deloitte, one of the top accounting firms in the country, also provides a wide spectrum of financial services. Deloitte consulting gave us an interactive presentation about their consulting services. We listened to a great presentation on the overview of the company and then broke up into smaller groups to network and learn more about the company.

After Deloitte, most brothers headed over to American University to see their local Alpha Kappa Psi chapter's Honor Court. It was great seeing how another university handles their honor court and mingling with all of their brothers.

We had a busy day full of great activities! We would like to give a BIG thank you to brother Sarah Van Valkenburgh for organizing the trip and all the activities we attended on Friday.

Thanks for checking out a little about our pro trip! If you would like to see what the brothers did on Saturday and Sunday check out the blog in the coming days to see part 2!

10 Minute Mentor

Last week on Thursday, we had our semi-annual 10 Minute Mentor professional workshop!

The event was hosted like a game of musical chairs. Every speaker had 10 minutes to give a brief talk about their professional experiences and then answer questions from our brothers. After the 10 minutes were up, the brothers would switch tables to speak with a new professional.

Brothers listen intently to speaker Trevor Abbott.

Speakers included:

• Mark Freid, creator of Think Creative Inc.,Orlando, Florida
• Trevor Abbott, co-founder of SpinChill, Gainesville, Florida

Trevor Abbott and Blair Smith pose for a photo.

• Brett Lackey, Geographic Information Systems, Gainesville, Florida

Brett Lackey hydrates between groups.

• Dave Sullivan, Associate Director of Career and Leadership Programs at the University of Florida

Dave Sullivan does his signature move.

• Keith Herndon, Associate Director for Finance and Administration at the UF Emerging Pathogens Institute
• Jill Boylston Herndon, an associate professor for the UF College of Medicine

Our VP of Alumni, Jenna Radomsky, put on a fantastic event.

“This semester's event had an incredible turnout,” she said. “Our mentors were able to share their knowledge and experience with about 50 of our brothers and pledges—one of the largest turnouts we have had for this particular event.”

“I couldn't be happier with how successful this event was, and I look forward to seeing what future mentors share with our brotherhood,” Radomsky said.

A Weekend of Unity

This weekend was all about unity for the Alpha Phi chapter! Our VP of Brotherhood, Maggie Trychel, organized events at Universal Studio's Halloween Horror Nights on Friday and a brotherhood retreat at Ginnie Springs on Saturday.

A group of about 30 brothers and guests went to HHN.

The night was filled with laughter, screams and a few tears(for the ones who couldn't handle the men with chainsaws.)

While fear is a great way to bond, we like to get to know our brothers in more calm settings as well. Our brotherhood retreat at Ginnie Springs splashed a big wave of unity on our hearts. The retreat had activities where we learned about our brother's different backgrounds,  a game of Red Rover and lots of food.

Amy Walsh, the committee chair for brotherhood retreat, said she was really proud of the retreat because it was the first one she ever planned. She was really excited that event went well with lots of brotherhood participation.

"Everyone seemed to have fun and that's all that matters," she said.

After the bonding activities we all floated down the beautiful springs to end a great day.

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