Theta Zeta - Spring 2009

R E D E F I N I N G F R A T E R N I T Y

A S A L I F E L O N G B R O T H E R H O O D O F L E A D E R S

Mark Timmes and see how en-

thusiastic he was about the suc-

cess of our chapter. Despite a

shortage of time in DC and the

presence of a few other Pi Kapp

chapters in the area, the fact that

he and Brother Whalen visited

only Theta Zeta shows how

much we matter to the guys at

National Headquarters. It's great

to see the continuation of a

strong brotherhood in our chap-

ter.”

The Brothers of Theta Zeta were

proud to be able to show

Brother Timmes and Brother

Whalen the success of our chap-

ter first hand.

On Sunday April 19 Pi Kappa

Phi’s CEO Mark E Timmes (Alpha

Epsilon, Florida) and National

President J. Jeffery Whalen

(Alpha Epsilon, Florida) joined

the brothers of Theta Zeta for

brotherhood dinner at the house

on 23rd Street. Timmes and

Whalen were in DC representing

the North American Interfrater-

nity Conference meeting with

members of Congress on Capitol

Hill as well as meeting with the

leaders of other major national

fraternities.

Along with Brother Timmes and

Brother Whalen, Regional Gov-

ernor Ken Forti joined Theta

Zeta for a dinner catered by local

restaurant Boca. During this visit,

Brother Timmes and Brother

Whalen addressed the chapter

and praised Theta Zeta for its

efforts on campus and for em-

bodying the ideals of Pi Kappa

Phi. Brother Whalen told the

chapter that, “if [the National

Council] could clone the broth-

ers of Theta Zeta and place them

strategically in chapters around

the country, we would.”

Brother Wes Johnson and

Brother Adam Wallick repre-

sented the alumni of Theta Zeta

at the event. Adam said of the

event, “It was great to meet

CEO TIMMES AND NATIONAL PRESIDENT WHALEN VISIT THETA ZETA INS IDE TH IS

I S SUE :

Doug Mack

Alumni Initiated

2

Alumni to ride

on Journey of

Hope 2009

2

Alumni Spotlight:

Ravi Alfreds

3

Alumni Updates 4

Chapter Updates 6

Pictures from the

Past

6

Pictures from the

Present

7

A P U B L I C A T I O N O F T H E A P U B L I C A T I O N O F T H E A P U B L I C A T I O N O F T H E A P U B L I C A T I O N O F T H E

T H E T A Z E T A C H A P T E R T H E T A Z E T A C H A P T E R T H E T A Z E T A C H A P T E R T H E T A Z E T A C H A P T E R

O F P I K A P P A P H IO F P I K A P P A P H IO F P I K A P P A P H IO F P I K A P P A P H I

M A Y 2 0 0 9 P I K A P P A P H I | T H E T A Z E T A

The Eagle of Theta ZetaThe Eagle of Theta ZetaThe Eagle of Theta Zeta

DOUG MACK ALUMNI INITIATED BY THETA ZETA

P A G E 2 P I K A P P A P H I | T H E T A Z E T A

On April 18th, Douglas Paul

Mack (Theta Zeta, #189), was

initiated along with the Nu

Class of Associate Members.

Doug is the father of current

undergraduate Brother Adam

Mack (Theta Zeta, #145). In

all, on the 18th 13 new broth-

ers were initiated into the

chapter.

Doug Mack was born in

Oswego, NY on February

15th, 1962. He graduated with

a degree in Industrial Engineer-

ing from Clarkson University

in 1984 and began working for

General Electric and worked

with them until 1999. From

1999 to 2004, he worked with

the Swedish firm Munters.

From 2006-2008, he was the

owner of Mail Barcoding Sys-

tems until he took a job in

heading the American branch

of Diamond Automations; a

firm based out of Detroit. In

his spare time, he teaches a

high school-age devotional

class and plays for his company

softball team.

Congratulations Doug, we are

excited to welcome you into

our brotherhood and look for-

ward to your contributions to

the chapter, the national or-

ganization, and the promotion

of lifelong brotherhood of Pi

Kappa Phi.

TWO ALUMNI AND THREE ACTIVE BROTHERS OF THETA ZETA SET TO RIDE This summer there will be five brothers

from Theta Zeta embarking on the ad-

venture of their lives, taking part in Push

America’s most ambitious program, Jour-

ney of Hope. Alumni Brother Adam Wal-

lick (Theta Zeta, #66) and Brother Matt

Casale (Theta Zeta, #134) will be riding

the North Route and Alumni Todd Stacy

(Theta Zeta, #151—now of Kappa Chap-

ter, UNC Chapel Hill) and Brother Rich

Alexander (Theta Zeta, #153) will be

riding the South Route. Joining Brothers

Wallick and Casale on the North Route

will be Brother Ross Greenky (Theta

Zeta, #154) as a Crew Member. To view

their web pages or to donate please visit

the following links:

Adam Wallick: http://

secure.pushamerica.org/adamwallick

Matt Casale: http://

secure.pushamerica.org/mattcasale

Rich Alexander: http://

secure.pushamerica.org/richalexander

Todd Stacy: http://

secure.pushamerica.org/toddstacy

Ross Greenky: http://

secure.pushamerica.org/rossgreenky

All five brothers will be leaving from San

Francisco on June 14th and arriving in

Washington, DC on August 15th. If you

will be in DC on August 15th make sure

to stop by the Capitol for the arrival

ceremony.

Also, be sure to keep an eye out for

updates on the Journey of Hope 2010

team, one undergraduate brother of

Theta Zeta, Alex Crook (#182) is already

a member (view his web page at http://

secure.pushamerica.org/alexcrook).

Good luck to all of these Brothers in

carrying on a rich tradition of Theta Zeta

involvement in Journey of Hope!

Brother Rich Alexander riding at a bike-a-

thon at the Foggy Bottom Metro raising

money for his Journey of Hope.

Douglas Mack, alumni initiate.

Ravi Alfreds: a Pi Kapp in Asia


By Ravi Alfreds

You know the phrase “it’s never

easy to go home again”? I never quite

understood it until relatively recently. I

mean after spending just 6 years in Wash-

ington DC, how hard could it be to move

back to a city that I spent more than two

decades in prior? The people who coined

that phrase were just crazy!

Yup, those were the famous last

words of yours truly, just before I moved

back to the sunny island of Singapore. I

was thinking it would be the good life in an

area with great warm weather, so I could

finally retire my treasured Pi Kapp sweat-

shirt (with the best letters ever, right

Baca?) to a place of honour. Going home

was going to be a snap! But alas, fortune

did not smile on me. Moving back hasn’t

been easy. There have been a few issues

to deal with. First there was the matter of

getting readjusted to living at home with

my parents again (it’s a cultural thing),

then there was the problem of finding a

way to support myself and getting a job in

what was becoming a rapidly tanking econ-

omy, and last, but definitely not least was

finding a group of people that could be as

awesome as guys like Wes, Dean, Mikey

and Loucas have been the past six years. I

mean how many people do you know

would voluntarily jump into a river of

sludge, or light themselves on fire? (Dean

and Mikey respectively) And then there

were people like Hodes, who was just

funny to begin with, and Balot. I mean

come on, how could you not love Balot?

Looking back at how it has been

since July ’08, I must say it hasn’t been

easy. But there have been bright moments.

I mean first of all, the time difference al-

lows me to speak to many brothers while

they SHOULD be sleeping. You can only

imagine how many hilarious conversations

I’ve had with people like Marty, Rich and

Wax. Then again, I’m sure they’ve experi-

enced the same from me.

Getting the job that I moved

back home for has definitely been one of

the highlights. Since joining the Singapore

Foreign Service in September ’08, I’ve had

nothing but a great experience. I’ve trav-

elled around the region and have gotten to

meet people who I’ve long considered to

be “titans” and part of the pantheon. Plus,

having studied International Affairs for six

years in Washington, the best thing about

my job was finally getting the opportunity

to practice it. One piece of advice for any

International Affairs majors out there,

when you start working in the field, please

be ready to trash the models that Profes-

sors like Saodaro, Nau and Croatti force

you to learn. The real world is nothing like

the theory. Sure the theory helps, a little,

but there are always mitigating circum-

stances. No two incidents are alike, and

no two countries ever see the same inci-

dent in the same way.

I guess most people would like

to know how it was going from Pi Kapp to

the real world. I must admit in some ways

it was a natural progression. Being in the

chapter, you learn how to deal with many

different people. You learn to deal with

the brain-dead (other fraternities on cam-

pus), the self-important (intra-mural refe-

rees) and the confident if vacant people

(sorority girls). That’s a real asset in the

real world. Being able to deal with people,

and to be able to strike up a random con-

versation with anyone is an unenviable

talent and will gain you respect from Nan-

jing to New York. And then, there are

other talents, like picking up girls, though I

know that some of you know nothing

about that.

Pi Kapp also taught me to be a

leader, and taught me that not all leader-

ship has to come from the front. Some of

the most effective people in any organiza-

tion, and in the chapter are those who

were the silent workers. Hence, I guess

that’s where the infamous “backrow EC”

got coined, when KDiSab, Marmor and I

occupied the comfy couch in the back left

corner of the basement. Forget about

what the Apprentice teaches you about

management, because if you ask anyone

honestly, quiet and hard work often is the

key to being a good leader in the real

world. It also shows others that you are

prepared to work as hard as those that

work with you. Not only does that help

you win their trust, it helps you to win

their respect. Having people who would

want to go to hell and back with you is an

asset that is few and far between in to-

day’s world.

Pi Kapp has also taught me to

think on my feet. Living in the house with

23 of you sneaky asses, only teaches you

to be quicker, and more adept to a sudden

change in plan. That’s an amazing skill to

have, especially in the working world

when things can change at the drop of the

hat. Being able to think quickly and change

carefully made plans on the fly is some-

thing that you will find out to be a useful

skill, especially in a world where nothing is

for sure.

(continued on page 4)

Brother Alfreds, Theta Zeta Founding Father

Passing the Gavel: Alumni Updates FOUNDING FATHERS

Mike Bodnarik, #9 I am currently a Coordinator for Frater-

nity and Sorority Life at Virginia Com-

monwealth University in Richmond,

VA. At VCU I am the advisor for the

Interfraternity Council and National

Pan-Hellenic Council. Since graduation

from GWU I have received a Master's

Degree in Student Personnel in Higher

Education from University of Flordia

in Gainesville, FL in 2007. I have also

served the greater fraternity as a chap-

ter advisor for Zeta Chapter at Wofford

College, a Ladder of Risk Facilitator

and ASTP Faciliator. I have been

across the country and I am glad to be

back closer to home and Theta Zeta. I

am proud to be a Pi Kapp and to be

contributing to the fraternal movement

through my career.

Peter Garnett, #18

I’m graduating from Syracuse Law in a

few weeks and after taking the bar I’ll

be working at Schulte, Roth, and Zabel,

LLP (a corporate law firm) in NYC

beginning in the fall.

Ravi Alfreds, #30

Ravi will be travelling to Washington

for work sometime in mid-June

(TBC). He looks forward to meeting

some old timers, making fun of Baca

and Wax and lighting Michael Dalesio

on fire while he's in town.

Wes Johnson, #32 Wes will be living in the district for at

least one more year, and survived the

downturn with the consulting job in-

tact. He's also very happy to not have

been kidnapped while visiting Brazil

and Argentina during Carnival in Feb/

March.

ALPHA CLASS

Mark Locus, #52 Mark is living in Arlington, VA, work-

ing for Non-Profit org called Fund for

Peace, studying international peace

operations. He is pursuing masters in

Peace Operations from George Mason.

BETA CLASS

Ross Goldband, #59 I am going to be entering my third (and

final) year of law school at Emory in

August. From May til August I'll be in

NYC, working from Amtrak again.

During all of this, I will be dominating

the alumni fantasy baseball league,

where I am defending champion.

GAMMA CLASS

Adam Wallick, #66 I'm up to my usual shenanigans while

training for Journey of Hope on the

side.

DELTA CLASS

Bobby Corp, #71 I recently received a call from the Bills'

Pro Shop congratulating me on order-

ing the first Terrell Owens jersey as a

Bill from their website. I don't find it at

all troubling that this was the highlight

of my current semester of law school.

Andrew Miller, #73 Miller is still basically living the post-

grad dream (or nightmare, depending

on who you are). He makes a meager

wage while working at SmithBucklin, a

management company that manages

non-profit associations. Don’t ask – he

doesn’t know much more than that. On

Sundays, he plays kickball with Andy,

Abanto, and Jeff. Time spent with fel-

low kickballers is on par to spending

time at a nursing home for alcoholics,

something he one day aspires to be a

part of. Everyone who sticks around


There are other life lessons that I learnt

while in Pi Kapp. For example, never fall

asleep with your shoes on, never put food in

the first floor fridge and always lock the

front door to you room when you have

company. But those really don’t have a real

world application, unless you’re like Miller,

Mario and Fromky living together.

So how would I sum up the collec-

tive of my experiences in GW and Pi Kapp? I

have to say some of the happiest memories

I’ve had in college were in Pi Kapp, or with

Pi Kapps. If ever given the chance to do it

over again, I would, in a heartbeat. It’s the

one thing I don’t regret. EVER. Yes, it may

be a little clichéd for me to say this, but I

didn’t have friends in Washington, I have

only Brothers. To the young guys still in the

chapter: Make sure you treasure your time

in Pi Kapp. College goes by a lot faster than

you think. It’s seems only yesterday that we

were teasing Jake calling him Scuba. And

now, he’s already graduating! To the old(er)

guys: I miss you. I hope to be sent back to

DC for short trips for work, and will defi-

nitely look you guys up. To Tommy, Slade,

Cramer and Swartz, keep safe while you

keep doing what you do.

For those of you who ever make it

out to Asia, drop me a line! It’s a great place

to be, especially in Southeast Asia. Great

beaches, great cities, and a lifestyle that’s

easy to get used to. And no, none of you will

get caned, except for Wallick, but that’s just

because he likes it.

I look forward to my return to

Washington, one day. And yes, I’m DAMN

proud to be a Pi Kapp. Even if I have to be

one over here in Asia.


DC should play kickball…but stop after

turning 28 – it’s just not attractive.

Mario Sansalone, #74

Mario continues to run the show at Dog-

Paws out in Arlington. Managing a myr-

iad of issues such as scheduling dog

walks, chasing feral cats in Chinatown,

and bringing home the occasional lost pet

for weekend entertainment is his duty. He

does it well. So well that the stress will

often lead to copious amount of drinking

and “tenting.” You can find him out late

on any given weeknight enjoying the liba-

tions that the city has to offer. Or he’ll just

be eating out of a pot.

Ernesto Rodriguez, #76 Ernesto is so, so, so excited about his dog.

EPS I LON CLASS

Andy Fromknecht, #85 Andy still works for Academic Search – a

firm that does job searches for colleges/

universities to fill vacant high-level posts

(ie. College Deans, Presidents, etc.). Andy

is the tech guy. He spends all day search-

ing the internet for stuff/helping the eld-

erly figure out how to turn their laptops on

and then packs all of his real work into the

last hour of the day. Welcome to the real

world.

Andrew Baca, #87 Baca still teaches Special Education for

repeat 9th graders at Ballou High School

in Anacostia while simultaneously getting

a Masters in Education. Think that sounds

challenging? You’ll normally find him on

our couch. Sleeveless. Sometimes pant-

sless. Always stinky. He wears a lot of

hats at work – rangler, dance instructor,

“stone cold” homey, and yeah, he some-

times teaches. Still, most of the time we

are apparently doin’ too much. He swears

he enjoys his job…

Jeff Stomel, #93

Jeff is graduating from GW for the second

time with a Masters in Accountancy. He

will begin working for Grant Thornton as

an Accounting Consultant in late in late

July.

Mike Nemerof, #96

Hey everyone, hope all is well! I just fin-

ished my first term of law school at Tho-

mas Cooley in Lansing, MI. I started in

January. I am going to be in MI this sum-

mer taking a full term as well. I hope to

make a DC trip sometime this summer!

Z ETA CLASS

Marc Abanto, #102 Marc is a political operative living and

working in Northern Virginia. He is the

Campaign Manager for the Kaye Kory for

Delegate campaign (38th House of Dele-

gates District, Fairfax County).

Lincoln Patel, #104 I am currently living in Palm Beach Gar-

dens, Florida. Since graduation, I worked

for a period of time with Marriott Interna-

tional and have since taken over the fam-

ily business and I am in the process of

helping with expansion. I will be moving

to New York City this Fall to start law

school at New York Law School.

C LASS OF 2 0 0 9

Pat Kirby, #98 I will be continuing my internship at the

Public Defender Service of Washington,

DC where I will hopefully receive a full-

time position as a staff investigator in the

near future.

Jake DiGregorio, #99

I was offered a job at Qorvis Communica-

tions, right near Dupont Circle, one of

D.C.'s biggest public relations firms. I will

be specializing in social networking strat-

egy and video editing.

Matt Nocella, #100

I'm waiting to hear back from GW's

Graduate School of Political Management

and will be continuing my employment

with Strategies 360, a boutique federal

relations firm in Georgetown. I'll be liv-

ing in Crystal City.

Michael Wax, #101 I am working at Deloitte in their financial

advisory services group next year. I will

be staying in DC and am looking forward

to spending time with Pi Kapps in the

area.

Nick Robin, #109 I will be working in DC or San Francisco

for a couple of years, and then going back

to graduate school.

Jordan Teller, #116 After graduation I will be continuing to

build the production company I started

back in 2006, Mookie Productions LLC,

by working as a freelance video editor and

official DJ of the Washington Nationals.

Kevin Kozlowski, #129

I will be attending law school at Washing-

ton University in St. Louis beginning in

August.


Chapter Updates Congratulations to Theta Zeta who was named Chapter of the Year at GW’s

Excellence awards this year1

GW Greek Excellence Awards brought a

few more awards for Pi Kappa Phi to

hang on the wall. Theta Zeta brought

home the Gold Award, Risk Manage-

ment, New Member Develop-

ment,Service to the Community, Philan-

thropic Efforts, and Overall Academic

Achievement

Congratulations to Theta Zeta for it’s

outstanding performance in Sorority

Philanthropy events this year. Pi Phi Wif-

fleball, Champions; AEPhi Strike-Out

Aids Bowlanthropy, Champions; DG

Anchorbowl, Third Place; ADPi Lion-

share, Third Place.

After the conclusion of rush, Theta Zeta

initiated the 13 new members of the Nu

Class! Congratulations to our newest

brothers and we look forward to seeing

their impact on the chapter in the com-

ing years.

Theta Zeta celebrated it’s traditional

Roseball at the Carlyle Club in Alexan-

dria this year. Congratulations to all the

award winners. Especially to Rose Queen

Steph Kleczko, Brother of the Year

Bobby Roglieri, Alumni of the Year An-

drew Miller, and graduating senior Matt

Nocella who won the Nu Phi award.

The Chapter was proud to host the first

“End the R-Word Day” at GW this year.

Members of almost every Greek Organi-

zation came to the house to sign a posi-

tion to no longer use the “R-Word.” The

chapter was supporting both Push Amer-

ica and other organizations philanthro-

pies by offering a prize to the organiza-

tion who had the highest percentage of

their members sign the petition. Con-

gratulations to the winners: the MCG

Sorority Sigma Psi Zeta!

This spring the chapter attended its first

Family Enrichment Weekend, where a

number of brothers spent a weekend

working with kids with disabilities at a

program in Maryland.

This summer the Chapter will be pur-

chasing a new table and chairs for the

common room on the first floor as well

as painting the walls on the first floor in

our constant mission to make the house

the best possible living place for the

Brothers. If you would like to help this

cause by donating to this summers house

project please contact Bobby Roglieri at

[email protected].

Pictures from the Past

P A G E 7 P I K A P P A P H I | T H E T A

Pictures from the Present

P I KAPPA PHI

Π Κ Φ Π Κ Φ Θ Ζ

sorority functions have sky rocketed

to levels higher than I have ever seen

them.

On top of that, our philanthropy work

inside and outside of Push America has

also grown. For the first time, we vol-

unteered at an all weekend event with

Families Together at their Family En-

richment Weekend and had brothers

playing with kids with autism while

their parents learned new ways to help

their children. We have helped the

Residence Hall Association and Sigma

Psi Zeta Sorority in their walks for

This past

semester has

b e e n a n

amazing one

for the Theta

Zeta Chapter

to say the

very least.

Through the hard work of all our

brothers, we have achieved so much.

Since January, we have came in first

place in three sorority philanthropies,

second in one and third place in two.

Brotherhood involvement at all of the

Diabetes and March of Dimes.

Because of all the growth that we have

seen this past year we were honored

with some amazing awards. As Dean

Harwood, Director of Greek Life told

me after the GW Excellence awards,

“Pi Kapp truly deserves Chapter of the

Year.” I couldn’t agree with him more.

Although I am sad to see the seniors

graduate this semester, I know that

the 13 members of the Nu Class will

continue our tradition of having a

strong Chapter and will continue to

make our Chapter grow.

Letter from the Archon, Bobby Roglieri

GWU- Pi Kappa Phi House

607 C 23rd St. NW

Washington, DC 20052

E-mail: [email protected]

The Eagle of Theta Zeta is the official newsletter

of the Theta Zeta Chapter of the Pi Kappa Phi

Fraternity. Chartered in November 2002, Pi

Kappa Phi has become a leading Chapter at

GWU and continues to grow through a strong

commitment to the tenants of C.L.A.S.S. that

unite our Brotherhood: Character, Leadership,

Academics, Service, and Sportsmanship.

Please direct any questions about the Frater-

nity or this Newsletter to the Historian at

[email protected].

www.pikappgw.org

A publication of the Theta Zeta

Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi

Edited by Matt Casale

Theta Zeta - Spring 2009

Documents

Transcript of Theta Zeta - Spring 2009