The Psiren Spring 2017

The Psiren Reviewing 2016 and an Exciting 2017 Featured in this Issue Omicron and Xi Class Overview Brotherhood Spotlight: Rob Karp Philanthropy Update Alumnus Spotlight: Christopher Fong

Welcome to the Omicrons and Xis

By Daniel Cadena ‘19 With a total of seventeen of the most chivalrous and dedicated young men, I am proud to introduce the Omicron Class of Pi Kappa Phi’s Psi Chapter. From 13 different majors, like Applied Economics Management to Biomedical Engineering, and from 5 different states and Australia, I can easily say the diversity of thought and culture has only gotten more extensive with the addition of this class.

The Omicron class has already been working on their professional career. Don Moore, a freshman Biological Engineering major, carried out his own testing for a new drug delivery system that actively promotes nerve regeneration. Jordan Gorelick ‘20 and Michael Delaney ‘20 are both on engineering project teams at Cornell. Vincenzo Guido ‘20 worked at White & Case LLP during his winter break, and he is a brother of Kappa Alpha Pi, a pre-law professional fraternity at Cornell. Dominic Lim ‘20, in order to change the political representation in his district, started working on a political campaign which evolved into working for Senator Corey Booker and a political consulting firm.

This fall, the Psi chapter also took a pledge class of 3, rounding out a year of recruitment. Led by pledge class president Burhan Abdi ’19 from Dayton, NJ, who now serves as both IFC Representative and Archivist, the Xis quickly integrated well into the brotherhood.

Brothers Chris Bower ’19 from Menlo Park, CA, and Sean McCulloch ’19 from Oakland, CA are already serving as both Rituals & Push Chair and Scholarship Chair, respectively. The chapter is excited to count the Xis among our ranks and looks forward to seeing what they have to offer.

It is safe to say they will proudly wear their letters and represent Psi amongst the greater Cornell community.

The men of the Omicron and Xi classes are driven to accomplish great things professionally, within the chapter, and in life. With the wealth of knowledge and guidance from the chapter, I am sure they will become great people and even better brothers. I am proud to call them my brothers and have them join the ranks of successful individuals and wholesome citizens.

Brotherhood Spotlight: Rob Karp The Omicron class of Spring 2017 featured in their first pledge class photo.

4/17/17 The Psiren Published by the Psi Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein. The Psi Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi, nor Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity is liable for errors or omissions. © 2013

By Brendan Hammond ‘18 In order to give the Psiren’s readers some insight into the Nu class, I interviewed Robert Karp ‘19. Rob is a student in the Hotel School and already a successful entrepreneur. He founded MilesAhead, an upscale travel advisory firm that has improved the trips of countless customers.

Rob’s fascination with planes, which metamorphosed into MilesAhead, the business he runs today, started at age 9 when his parents bought him a Microsoft Flight Simulator. Eventually, he was flying for Delta Virtual Airlines, flying to destinations such as London and Tokyo during his free time. To add fuel to an already firing flame, his family flew frequently from White Plains to Minneapolis to visit family. Thus, flight had always been seamlessly interwoven into his life. Around 14, after helping his family and friends with many travel arrangements, he opened Karp Enterprises (today MilesAhead) to help people use frequent flyer miles for free tickets. This gave him unparalleled exposure to the aviation industry and where he applied his research on the use of miles to save people money on flights.

Parents and friends were so impressed by the money he saved them that they encouraged him to do this on a larger scale. Rob’s pride comes from the fact that he built MilesAhead from the ground up without outside capital. He notes, “I started the business from $600 I made as a part-time soccer referee. Today, MilesAhead is a high-end travel advisory firm with a focus on reward point optimization and the client experience.”

The MilesAhead Team consists of over ten students and last year’s travel sales (which is separate from the company’s undisclosed earnings) was about $850,000. Rob is also working on expanding a new venture, Big Red Rocket, which seeks to provide private charter service from Cornell to Westchester. Overall Rob, like the rest of us Nus, feel that we certainly wouldn’t be as happy anywhere else.

“I like the people and there was a balance of character. People could study hard and party hard, and there was always a diverse, distinct vibe.” – Rob Karp ‘18

4/17/17 | The Psiren | Psi Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi | Page 2

Alumni Spotlight: Christopher Fong

Philanthropy in Full Swing

By Vincenzo Guido ‘20

By Matt Dalton ‘18 In conjunction with the sorority Sigma Delta Tau, the Psi chapter hosted an all-you-can-eat pasta dinner at our house to raise money for Pathways for Exceptional Children. We are very proud to announce that we raised $1200 to benefit children with special needs. In alignment with the vision of the Ability Experience, Pathways works to empower those with special needs through the support of their peers.

In keeping with its commitment over the past couple of years to the upstate NY community, Psi chapter, spearheaded by Steven Smolyn ‘16, constructed an accessibility ramp for a local low-income family, which greatly improved the quality of life of their daughter, Colby. Over the course of a weekend, Steven and brothers from every pledge class constructed the ramp in our front yard, transported, and installed the ramp at Colby’s home. Colby’s mom, Elvina, says that the ramp has made a big impact on Colby’s life and allows her easy access to the outdoors and community at large, both of which are very important to her.

Pi Kappa Phi encouraged its chapters to partner with Best Buddies, a non-profit organization that pairs volunteers in one-on-one friendships with persons with autism. This past April, Psi chapter paired up with the Cornell chapter of Best Buddies to host the first annual Best Buddies Banquet in the Great Hall. Over the course of the evening, brothers and buddies enjoyed refreshments, music, dancing, and even a few games of water pong. However, by the end of the night, the one thing everyone came to realize that they enjoyed the most was each other’s company.

Brothers Austin McLaughlin ’18, Sharat Durbhakula ’19, Jack Burger ’19, and Burhan Abdi ’19 pose after the end of Cornell’s collegiate Model UN conference, Cornell International Affairs Conference (CIAC).

Sharat serves as the conference’s Director-General.

Letter from the Archon

By Frederick Tamarkin ‘19 Representing eighteen states, five countries, and more than fortyfour academic majors, the Psi Chapter’s ultimate strength is its diversity in thought, interests, and backgrounds. Psi Chapter has grown independently and collectively among Cornell University and the National Fraternity. As a member of the Nu Class, the largest class in Psi Chapter history since its refounding and the second largest class of Cornell University’s thirty-six fraternities last spring, our growth is visible across campus as well as our past composites. While each of the seventy-seven active Brothers have distinct experiences, it is evident that we were all drawn to Pi Kappa Phi for the same fundamental reason: the supportive and lifelong Brotherhood.

Earlier this Spring, the Psi Chapter member education process instilled a mature sense of selflessness and responsibility into seventeen individuals now known as the Omicron Class. The process replaces self-worth with self-respect. It turns personal aspirations into communal objectives. It substitutes immaturity with accountability. Most significantly, it turns young men into true gentlemen of Pi Kappa Phi. These gentlemen will step into the next chapters of their lives with an entire brotherhood supporting them as Exceptional Leaders experiencing Uncommon Opportunities.

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55 Ridgewood Road, Ithaca, NY Historian’s Phone Number: 610-551-2043 Historian’s Email Address: bbr32@cornell.edu www.cornellpikappaphi.com

2016 Leadership Archon: Lynah Sherrill Vice Archon: Craig Hannon Treasurer: Eric Zhang

2017 Leadership Frederick Tamarkin Daniel Cadena Sharat Durbhakula

Vincenzo, a member of the Omicron class, interviewed Christopher Fong, one of our refounding fathers in 2004: VG: What drew you most to Pi Kappa Phi when you started to explore Greek Life at Cornell?

CF: The core values and student creed drew me to the house.

The emphasis on Common Loyalty, Achievement and Responsible Citizenship were aligned with my personal goals. I was excited to be around others that would be drawn to these values.

VG: While a student, how were you involved in Pi Kapp? Do you have any particularly fond memories of events or brotherhood functions?

CF: I was a refounding father and we had to hit stringent requirements before we could get our charter back. There were many long and arduous debates among the brothers seeking to be refounding fathers as we seeked to re-establish the chapter on campus and the standards and values we wanted to uphold.

Those standards were critical in recruiting new associates and I’m delighted that Psi Chapter has been able to recruit men of high standards that continue to make me proud to call myself a PiKapp. The parties were also legendary thanks to Jason Jendrewski!

VG: How has brotherhood in Pi Kappa Phi played a role in your professional life after graduating Cornell?

CF: I’ve been involved in startups, carved out a career in the tech sector and also completed a MBA. I wouldn’t have achieved what I’ve been able to without the peer mentorship and help from PiKapps such as Zain Yousaf, Tom Wei and Justin Teo whose opinions and acumen I trust and continue to turn to.

VG: Please tell us a bit about what you are doing now.

CF: I’m based in San Francisco where I’m a startup investor and company advisor. I worked at Google for over 8 years and launched an investment syndicate at the end of last year to invest in startups founded by ex-Google employees. We have over $400,000 in backing to invest in each early stage startup, you can find out more at angel.co/xooglers/syndicate. I’m also staring an investment syndicate to invest in founders that are students or alums of Cornell University, University of California, Berkeley or Columbia University. In addition, I spend my time advising companies and lead the global Google alumni community, Xoogler.co, which I started.

I’m moderating the panel, Mentorship as a Critical Part of Success During Entrepreneurial Journey at Cornell’s Entrepreneurship Celebration on April 27-28, 2017. Pop by on April 27 or email me chris@xoogler.co if you want to meet up with Steve Mossey and I while we are back in Ithaca.

VG: Do you have any particular advice for new associate members undergoing the new member education process?

CF: If you fail to prepare, be prepared to fail. The new member education process is meant to help you be a better man and brother. Without it, you are just individuals, the process leads you to become brothers.