Alumni Relations Notes

By Aidan Spizz

My name is Aidan Spizz and I am a freshman in the College of Engineering studying Computer Engineering. I am from Long Island, New York. I've enjoyed meeting so many of you this semester! Please mark your calendars for Homecoming 2022, which will be the weekend of September 24-25. On Saturday, we will have an event at the Historic 700 Oxford and then we will go to The Big House to watch our Michigan Wolverines take on the University of Maryland. On Sunday, we are trying to plan another event - stay tuned! Have a great summer and if I haven't met you yet make sure to reach out!

Relic Retrieval

By Marshal James Hawkins

Dear Brothers,

We would like to retrieve all of the relics and artifacts from our history and return them to 700 Oxford. We all really value our history in the house and at the university and would love to be able to put it on display in the house. Most specifically we are looking for our original charter, sword, composites, and any awards/plaques. If you have any items or information please contact current Marshal, James Hawkins at 734-790-3581 or jphawk@umich.edu, or Alumni Relations Chairman, Aidan Spizz at 516-297-6937 or aspizz@umich.edu.  Thank you so much!

Commander's Corner

by Commander Cole Marshall

Hello all, my name is Cole Marshall and I am Gamma Nu’s current Commander. Looking at the progress that we have made over the course of this semester, I am extremely proud of the effort, the process, and the results accomplished by the brothers of our chapter.

Our Winter Rush was a success, counting 14 newly recruited pledges bringing the new total of recruited members in the 2021-2022 year to 33 members and 73 active brothers overall. The brothers in our Rush Committee worked furiously during the first weeks of the semester to put together a strong recruitment cycle, under the leadership of our Rush Chair, Evan Nyquist.

As soon as the semester started, our brothers hit the ground running working hard to build a rink for Winterfest, our annual philanthropy event which we host at our historic 700 Oxford chapter house. The event galvanizes the entire Greek Life community to donate money and participate in a massive broomball tournament which takes place all day in our back yard every February. Josh Strand, our Philanthropy Chair, was relentless in his efforts to coordinate this event and spent countless hours in order to make it a success. 

With everyone pitching in, we were able to construct a viable rink, organize an extremely successful risk plan, and smoothly navigate interactions with stakeholders in the community. Come mid-February, we hosted an amazing event at the house, including preliminary rounds on Friday, February 18th and the main event all day Saturday, February 19th. Our chapter managed to secure a position in the top bracket of donating organizations thanks to the generosity of the friends, family, and Alumni of the chapter. Donations totaled to over $202,000 breaking the fundraising record of any known student led philanthropy event ever at the University of Michigan. In order to make this event happen, we collaborated with the IFC and Panhellenic councils, splitting proceeds equally among three worthy beneficiaries including: Fisher House, Women’s Center of Southeast Michigan, and Autism Alliance of Michigan. 

Starting March, a number of our brothers celebrated Spring Break in a variety of different places, with one large group of brothers heading to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and another group heading to Fort Lauderdale. Our brothers came out of these trips with countless stories and shared memories, serving as an important reminder of the meaning and value of lifelong friendship through stories we write together in brotherhood. During the month of March, our House Corporation made important contributions to managing the house, helping to fix a number of small issues in order to maintain the integrity of the house, for which we are grateful. On that note, we have 23 brothers signed up to live in the house for the 2022-2023 school year, which is a record number since our chapter recolonized on campus.

Now that we are beginning April, we are looking to wrap up our semester. By the end of the semester we will have initiated Theta pledge class and we will have the next wave of men join our brotherhood. Our brothers are working hard on their studies, preparing for finals, working on securing internships and jobs, and thinking about what opportunities await them in the summer months, whether that be at home or abroad. We have had much success in the term so far, and are looking forward to taking time this summer to reflect on new opportunities for growth in every area of our chapter. 

Our chapter is full of amazing men and amazing leaders who are challenging our chapter to explore new frontiers as an organization, and I am extremely excited to see what awaits us in the year ahead.  Best of luck to all of our graduating seniors and thanks for all you have done for the Chapter!

Recently Initiated Brothers

Congratulations to our newly initiated members.  We look forward to seeing everything they do for our chapter!

Chris Bower - Hometown: Grosse Pointe, Michigan; Major: Naval Engineering

Trevor Capps - Hometown: Port Washington, New York; Major: Sports Management

Adrian Karam - Hometown: Winter Park, Florida; Major: Sociology

Andrei Mircea - Hometown: Glenn Rock, New Jersey; Major: Computer Science

Jack Moed - Hometown: Montclair, New Jersey; Major: Sports Management

Benjamin O'Brien - Hometown: Stamford, Connecticut

Ethan O'Connor - Hometown: Alpharetta, Georgia; Major: Economics

Oliver Pourmussa - Hometown: Los Angeles, California; Major: Economics

John Reddy - Hometown: Birmingham, Michigan

Jeremy Sacks - Hometown: Montclair, New Jersey

Thomas Sheldon - Hometown: Marietta, Georgia; Major: Political Science

Jake Singer - Hometown: Rockville, Maryland; Major: Political Science

Maguire Smith - Hometown: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Major: International Studies

Zachary Webb - Hometown: Wheaton, Illinois; Major: Economics, Environment

Winterfest 2022 Recap

by Philanthropy Chairman Joshua Strand

Winterfest is Gamma Nu’s annual philanthropy event — a broomball (essentially hockey without skates) tournament between most of the fraternities and sororities at the University of Michigan. The event has historically been among the highest raising ones at the University, as well as nationally, and this year we raised the highest amount of money in the history of the event: over $202,000!  We donated the money to Autism Alliance of Michigan, Fisher House Foundation, and Women's Center of Southeastern Michigan. 

The event requires participation from the entire chapter. The planning starts in the fall meeting with police, IFC, Panhel, campaigning to chapters, initiating contact with charities, and contacting local businesses for sponsorships. The building of our 75x35 foot rink begins before Thanksgiving hammering posts into the ground, and this year it took 2 months working each weekend to complete.

This event brings the chapter together, allows us to make serious contributions to local charities (many of which tell us our donations are the largest they’ve ever seen), and elevates Sigma Nu’s place in the Michigan Greek community. We cannot wait to do it again next year!

Wellness Updates

by Former Wellness Chairman Jack Wolfe

Hi, my name is Jack Wolfe. I am a junior and was the wellness chairman. This semester my main goal was to make improvements to the home gym to encourage members to work out at the house. Initially, the gym was in somewhat unusable condition with a lack of dumbbells and other weights needed for anyone to get a full workout in. With the help of my committee, we purchased pairs of sixty-five, forty-five and thirty-five pound dumbbells. Along with these purchases, I also bought resistance bands, grip tape, and floor mats. At this point, the gym is much more functional than it was a few months ago, and I have seen a lot more members take advantage of this resource. Hopefully, this is one of the first steps towards making lifting weights part of everyday life for members here.

Brotherhood Updates

by Chaplain Sudhir Venkat

Dear Brothers,

My name is Sudhir Venkat and this was my first semester serving as Chaplain. This semester we have had a full schedule of wonderful bonding events that created lasting memories. Active brothers competed in fun competitions such as a nerf war and trivia.

We went on an outing to the local ice arena before midterms to relax with an afternoon of skating. On the weekends, we often cooked dinner or grilled together while enjoying movies and poker. Brothers tried to outlast themselves in our annual Hot Ones Challenge, where we ate extremely spicy chicken nuggets. We also made a trip to a local bowling alley before our finals began, and finished off the year with a senior night to celebrate our older Brothers' accomplishments and sending them off to start their careers.

It was my pleasure to serve the fraternity as Chaplain this semester, and I look forward to bringing our brotherhood even closer in the fall!

Scholastic Updates

by Scholarship Chairman Christopher Pallares

And of course, our brothers never forget the primary reason they are at the University of Michigan: academic excellence. Our brothers spend countless hours studying in the library to ensure strong grades and prepare for their respective career paths. Keeping in spirit with the mission of Sigma Nu, our brothers hold each other accountable in their studies and create an environment that prioritizes academic development. One of our brothers, Nick Gillespie, has been awarded James B. Angell Scholar, Dean’s List, University Honors, and maintains a 4.0 GPA while simultaneously contributing to the advancement of the Chapter. Nick majors in Electrical Engineering and plans to pursue a Master's Degree as part of the SUGS Program. Another brother, Alex Newman, was recently awarded the Clyde Johnson Scholarship for his accomplishments and academic credentials. I could not be more proud of the academic successes of our brothers, who will continue to strive for academic excellence as our Chapter prospers. 

Homecoming Shirts Order Form

If you are interested in purchasing a Homecoming Sigma Nu shirt, we have some remaining shirts for just $10 plus shipping fees. Below is the design of the shirt, as well as the order form. Any profits will go to the chapter.  

We want to emphasize that Alumni are always welcome at 700 Oxford. Whether it's at a scheduled event or just a spur of the moment visit, we encourage you to swing by and say hello! Brothers are always on hand and will be happy to show you around the house! If you want to schedule a time to make sure you get easy access and an awesome tour, please contact me at (516) 297-6937 or aspizz@umich.edu. 

In addition, if you have any recent personal achievements that could be included in the Gamma Nus, reach out to me and I will include it in upcoming editions. Also, if you know of any brothers that are not receiving the Gamma Nus, please let me know, and I can add them to the email list!