Mu News – Summer 2020 Recap
Mu Chapter Alumni Newsletter – Summer Recap:
- With the summer of 2020 coming to an end and classes resuming in Athens with extensive social distancing measures in place, Mu Chapter is excited to report a number of successes from the summer.
- Mu Chapter was proud to be awarded out sixth consecutive Rock Chapter Award for the 2018- 2020 biennium. That’s 12 years of recognized Excellence!
- Rush was a tremendous success and Mu Chapter commends all the Rush Chairs for their hard work. The rush team, led by brother Shelby Edwards (Mu 2742), compiled a candidate class of 43 great young men from all over the country, including seven Sigma Nu legacies.
- On the alumni front, esteemed alumnus Wells Ellenberg (Mu 2400) was named to The University of Georgia’s Top 40 Under 40 and continues to set the example of leadership and excellence that Mu Chapter strives to achieve.
- This summer, we underwent several improvements to The Chateau thanks to the Mu Chapter Sustainability Fund. Improvements were made both on the interior and exterior of the house.
Mu Chapter Brings Home Sixth Consecutive Rock Chapter:
This month, Mu Chapter was awarded our sixth consecutive Rock Chapter Award for the 2018-2020 biennium. This 12-year streak represents the second longest streak of any chapter in the country.
What is Rock Chapter and Why Is It Important?
Rock Chapter is a metrics-based analysis of chapter operations and performance. It includes 11 categories of chapter operations including such categories as finance, manpower, academics, recruitment (rush), brotherhood development, candidate (pledge) development, service and philanthropy, alumni engagement, and the LEAD program (an award-winning four-year program dealing with Leadership, Ethics, Achievement, and Development). This is not a Top-Ten program or Top-Ten Percent program. It is a metrics-based program of sustained performance.
Sustain the Standard of Excellence and get the Rock Award, irrespective of other chapters. Compete only against the Standard of Excellence. As Former Regent Robert E. Durham (Mu 1650) says, “There is no Honor in mediocrity. Honor is attained only through Excellence, the pursuit of which is fueled by a deep appreciation of our History, our Traditions, and our Heroes.”
Mu Chapter scored Excellent in every single category, attaining our first perfect score in over four years!
Lt. Commander Jeff Powell (Mu 2759) was in charge of this year’s Pursuit of Excellence submission, which is the annual self-assessment graded by Headquarters to determine the Rock winners. Special thanks to members of our Alumni Advisory Board that helped edit and finalize our submission this year:
Joel Stern (Mu 2297)
Nathan Whitmire (Mu 2318)
Buck Dixon (Mu 2326)
Chris Sanders (Mu 2339)
Wes Robinson (Mu 2373)
Wells Ellenberg (Mu 2400)
Ben Booth (Mu 2460)
Jeff Brum (Mu 2478)
Alex Croy (Mu 2480)
Sam McKinstry (Mu 2534)
For more information and a listing of all 2020 Rock chapters, click here.
Brotherhood Spotlight:
This spring, Mu Chapter Brothers Sean Lynch (Mu 2754), Jake Horstkamp (Mu 2746), and Carson Seramur (Mu 2700) were accepted into the Corsair Society and the Student Management Investment Fund (SMIF), two clubs focused on preparing undergraduate students to work on Wall Street. Corsair society is a club for business students looking to create connections with Terry graduates while also preparing them for their futures. SMIF gives real world portfolio management experience to members of the club. Jake Horstkamp and Carson Seramur worked as Investment Banking Summer Analysts Positions at Citi, and Sean Lynch joined J.P. Morgan Chase as an Investment Banking Summer Analyst in the Mergers & Acquisitions group this summer. When asked about how he obtained the position, Sean discussed that his alumni mentor, Logan Duncan (Mu 2529), was instrumental in preparing him for networking and interviews.
UGA Top 40 Under 40:
Each year The University of Georgia’s Alumni Association selects 40 notable alumni under the age of 40. Mu alum Wells Ellenberg (Mu 2400) was chosen to be mentioned on this honorable list and sets an example for Mu Brothers to follow. Wells success is only the product of the hard work that he has put into his career and Mu Chapter congratulates him on this award.
Housing Improvements at The Chateau:
To all who contributed to the Mu Chapter Sustainability Fund earlier this year- Thank You!! With the money raised, renovations to the alumni room, living room, Pit, kitchen, patio and dining room were completed this summer. In the alumni room, we built out a desk along the wall with extra study space for five Brothers along with enhanced decoration such as new rugs and chairs. We upgraded the furniture and entertainment system and added outdoor dining sets on the back porch for Brothers to gather and enjoy meals outside the house and to practice social distancing. The “Pit” room in the basement is equipped with a new entertainment system and upgraded seating for Brothers to hang out when taking a break from studying. Dining room upgrades include six new tables with all new benches for daily meals to be served to brothers who are on the house meal plan. The kitchen added brand new appliances and a new ice and water dispenser.
Thank you again to everyone that donated and made these improvements possible, especially the Fall ’84 class (aka Graveyard Eggers), who contributed the most money led by Luther Lockwood (Mu 1901), Gus Lambrou (Mu 1899) and Tom Beggs (Mu 1895).
Mu Brothers Summer Internships:
Over the summer, Mu Chapter Brothers Thomas Bowen (Mu 2737), Cole Coughlin (Mu 2739), and Carson Seramur (Mu 2700) worked internships a little differently than they had anticipated. After Coronavirus forced most internships online, the learning experience for Mu Brothers was different but very beneficial. Carson Seramur interned the position of Investment Banking Summer Analysts with Citi Bank. Originally Carson was planning to work in New York but was moved to online when the Coronavirus outbreak began. Working in a group called Global Asset Managers (GAM), Carson was able to facilitate deals for financial sponsors with other members from Germany, China, Venezuela and Denmark. Carson was able to learn more about banking and investments on a global scale that opened his eyes to the banking world. Cole Coughlin interned for a commercial real estate firm and assisted in prospecting and listing properties. The qualities of marketing and advertising have been extremely beneficial to Cole’s learning experience. He hopes to one day own a commercial real estate development firm and was able to get an early glimpse at this profession. Thomas Bowen interned for Beazley and was able to learn more about insurance firms across the United States. Thomas hopes to work with insurance and property management in the future and found out more about this through his internship this summer.
