Mu Chapter Newsletter – Fall Recap: 

In a year filled with joy, pain and an ever-growing appreciation for brotherhood, Mu Chapter has continued to seek excellence by thriving in adversity. The year 2020 was set to challenge Mu Chapter, and now with the year starting anew we can say that the strong leadership of our Executive Committee and faithful alumni have proven the fortitude of our family. The high standard of excellence that Mu places on all members has produced the sixth consecutive Rock Chapter Award and a perfect 30/30 score on the Pursuit of Excellence. The Brothers of Sigma Nu would like to extend a sincere thank you to all those who contributed to the success of the Mu Chapter Sustainability Fund (updated photos of the house can be found here). The time spent with friends and family in The Chateau is cherished by the unforgettable memories. Mu Chapter will continue to strive for excellence in the new year and is thankful for the guidance and support from each of you. 

Mental Health Committee:

Sophomore Clay Watkins (M 2799) with the help of Juniors Will Milling (M 2755) and Jack Donovan (M 2741) have stepped forward and shed light on a topic that all too often seems to be swept under the rug. These individuals brought it to the attention of the chapter that we need to be proactive in maintaining a strong, positive mental health. Typically, mental health is not a topic that is often talked about, especially in the male population of Greek life, but through the Mental Health Committee; the Mu Chapter hopes to reverse this trend. Many people deal with mental health issues behind closed doors and rarely express their struggles. We hope to encourage brothers to change this because 1 out of every 3 college students endures these hardships and do not seek the help they need. The committee has many goals including integrating mental health workshops directly into the new member candidacy. This will be done in ways similar or in conjunction with the typical LEAD meetings or bible study already conducted with new members. The mental health committee is designed to be a resource for brothers and candidates to shed light on issues that are impacting their daily lives before it becomes too late. In terms of long-term goals Watkins said very simply, “We want this to expand to the Interfraternity Council at UGA so that all Greek life members have the opportunity and resource within their respective chapters.” The group of 3 men responsible for starting this new committee within Mu Chapter have reached out to Alumni such as Tom Greene to gain support for creating this resource, in hopes of making it the norm for not only Mu chapter but all chapters at UGA. In plain terms, the mental health committee hopes to eliminate the stigma that Greek Life members do not have mental health problems because at the end of the day, it is OK to not be OK.

Alumni Speakers: 

Alumni have made a memorable impression on the Brothers of Mu Chapter and the many lessons learned from these LEAD sessions will carry throughout our lives. This past semester Luther Lockwood (M 1901), John Hearn (M 2000), Joel Stern (M 2297), Wells Ellenberg (M 2400), Tom Greene (M 1964), and Michael Barry (M 2071) taught irreplaceable values to the members of Mu Chapter. Throughout their speeches, Luther Lockwood and Joel Stern were able to recap the complex history of Mu chapter, and allow those newly initiated to get a glimpse of our past. Other speakers such as Tom Greene, Michael Barry, and Wells Ellenburg shared personal experiences from their time within the chapter as well as their professional careers. These anecdotes gave valuable knowledge to our members, who absorbed copious amounts of career, school, and general life advice. The lessons of history, goal setting, successful habits, and leadership were presented adding value to each member and candidate present. The experience is paramount to the Brothers of Mu Chapter and we are grateful for the time and effort of these alumnus. Through their generosity, Mu Chapter has the support to continue its legacy of grooming exceptional young men, and we cannot thank them enough. 

Movember: 

Throughout the course of November, brothers attempted to grow out the best mustache in

support of a men’s health organization of their choice including: The Prostate Cancer Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project, National Center for PTSD, and Mental Health America among others. At the end of the month, supporters voted on who they believed grew the best mustache by sending a donation attributed to a specific charity. In total, nearly $850 was raised for the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Chron’s and Colitis Foundation with the competition’s winner Carter Thompson (M 2797) raising $350 himself for the Prostate Cancer Society. Carter chose the Prostate Cancer Foundation because of the impacts that it has had on his family in the past. Perhaps the most surprising outcome of the competition was the second-place finish by first year brother and sophomore Walker Clark (M 2819) who’s alopecia makes growing a mustache quite difficult. “I have been participating in Movember for all 18 years of my life,” Walker jokingly remarked during his fundraising. On a more serious note, Walker said, “I ‘grew out my mustache’ to raise money for Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation because I, myself, struggle with Crohn’s disease.” The fundraising done by all participants shows how an initiative as fun as Movember can have such a positive impact on areas of life that impact everyone around us. 

(Carter Thompson, winning mustache)

Initiation: 

Candidate Class of 2020-

Emilio Ferrara / Atlanta, GA / 2815

Russell Cox / Watkinsville, GA / 2816

Nicholas Mauldin / Athens, GA / 2817

Landon Law / Americus, GA / 2818

Walker Clark / Atlanta, GA / 2819

Parker Barnes / Pacific Palisades, CA / 2820

Tyler Ege / Arlington, VA / 2821

Ethan Leoni / Lafayette, LA / 2822

Samuel Shelton / Oxford, MS / 2823

Luke Law / Americus, GA / 2824

Clayton Walton / Perry, GA / 2825

Jack TerHaar / Baton Rouge, LA / 2826

Graham Connell / Atlanta, GA / 2827

Connor Kuck / Milwaukee, WI / 2828

Nicholas Tuggle / Carrollton, GA /2829

Joshua Milam / Newnan, GA / 2830

Thomas King / Monroe, GA / 2831

Kolton Green / Atlanta, GA / 2832

William Tumlin / Beaufort, SC / 2833

Jack Gallagher / Milton, GA / 2834

Gray Sasser / Saint Simons Island, GA / 2835

Luke Davidson/ Athens, GA / 2836

Aidan Ressing / Manhattan Beach, CA / 2837

Graham Collins / Atlanta, GA /2838

Christopher Rita / Arlington, VA / 2839

Matthew Heard / Roswell, GA / 2840

Jay Wright / Franklin, TN / 2841

Colby O’Brien / Savannah, GA / 2842

Ian Fitzgerald / Atlanta, GA / 2843

Conner Gilbert / Macon, GA / 2844

Davis Burch / Atlanta, GA / 2845

Cameron Kopp / Cumming, GA / 2846

Carter Boswell / Gwinnett, GA / 2847

Griffin Boykin / Jesup, GA / 2848

Travis McDonald / Perry, GA / 2849

Steven Seramur / Dunwoody, GA / 2850

Lucas Nadaud / Knoxville, TN / 2851

Robert Kinnas / Perry, GA / 2852

Chaz Martinez / Griffin, GA / 2853

Trey Hunter / Macon, GA / 2854

Thomas Pinson / Camilla, GA / 2855

Carson Bregitzer / Dunwoody, GA /2856

New Member Spotlight: 

Emilio Ferrara (M2815), a freshman and Mu Chapter legacy, actively seeks to uphold the values of Sigma Nu and is a member of the Fall 2020 candidate class. Emilio is the son of Eric Ferrara (M2012) and attended The Lovett School in Atlanta, Georgia.  This past summer, after going through rush, Emilio remarked that he rushed Sigma Nu because of his family connection but accepted because of the strong values of brotherhood demonstrated by the rush team.  One rush chair said that Emilio’s intelligence and charisma made him stand out from other rushees.  

During his first semester of college, Emilio joined the club lacrosse team, Extra Special People, Med Life Club, UC Berkeley, and Innovative Genomics Institute CRISPR Journal Club, and Freshman Greek Leaders. Emilio also maintained his Foundation Fellowship scholarship by receiving a 4.0 GPA. Through this program he will have the opportunity to study at the University of Oxford in May. When he is not busy studying, Emilio enjoys playing golf, lacrosse, and exercising. After college, Emilio plans to go to medical school in hopes of becoming a neurosurgeon or orthopedic surgeon.  

Looking back on his fall semester, Emilio talked about how Sigma Nu has become home and how he appreciated being a part of the brotherhood: “I walked into pledgeship knowing only one other kid from high school, but now as an active member I have 41 other guys who I can confidently call my brother and other 169 active in the chapter that I know will always be there for me.  All of my best experiences thus far have been through Sigma Nu and I know there are many more to come!”

Mu Chapter is proud to have you Emilio, keep up the great work!

Semi-Formal: 

The Sigma Nu Semi-Formal was one of the most thoroughly planned events we had in late November this past semester. The struggle of finding a venue large enough for all the brothers and their dates to be together at the same time was difficult but achieved. The event was held in 1785, where the large room space allowed for COVID-19 capacity restrictions and social distance rules to be followed while hosting the brothers of Mu chapter and their dates. The night was memorable as a few of our own active brothers worked together to play and perform songs as the band of the evening. The band consisted of Gambill Dallas (M 2782), Kyle Cochran (M 2780), Will Milling (M 2755), Matt Wilson (M 2764), Henry Broms (M 2731), and Sam Diroberto (M 2737). The band was a hit, as most of the event consisted of the brothers and their dates cheering on them and they played many renowned and beloved songs. To quote Gambill from the experience, “I have sung in front of others before, but this experience was like no other. Having all of my closest friends cheer me on and join me in some of my favorite songs was a night I will never forget.” Like Gambill, everyone was feeling the mood of the band, as each song they performed was joined in by the people. The event sparked something between them, as other future events would feature them again.