FALL 2014 NEWSLETTER Contents: 1. Welcome Message from the President, Board of Governors 2. Attend Annual Sphinx-Friars Homecoming Reception: Nov. 1, 2014, 3:30-5:30 p.m. 3. Honor Two Sphinx Alumni Receiving Alumni Award of Merit at Oct. 31, 2014 Gala 4. Meet the Full Sphinx Class of 2015! 5. Meet the Sphinx Senior Society Board of Governors 6. Read Alumni Notes, Emails, and News Items 7. Sign Up for the Sphinx Class Alumni Directory 8. Visit Campus as a Distinguished Sphinx Alumnus 9. Mentor a Sphinx Undergraduate 10. Look for and Contribute to a New Sphinx Historical Archives Page 11. Contribute to the Sphinx Alumni Fund 12. Join the Sphinx Facebook and LinkedIn Groups 13. Send Us Your News, Comments, and Suggestions 1. Welcome Message from the President The Sphinx Senior Society, now entering its 115th year of campus leadership and service to the Penn community, continues to work through its 17 member Board of Governors (BOG) and the members of the Class of 2015 to implement our five goals: 1. Strengthen alumni outreach to our approximately1600 living alumni; 2. Support the undergraduate program; 3. Add an online Sphinx Class Alumni Directory to our ever improving web site; 4. Expand the Sphinx Links mentorship program; and 5. Raise $10,000 to support the Society’s activities. In this Fall 2014 Newsletter, you can read about our most recent activities to achieve our goals. These activities include: The launch by 140 alumni to date of our new Sphinx Class Alumni Directory, where you can sign up, enter your profile, and contact other members of your Sphinx class or any signed up alumnus; 1 The inauguration of a new program by the Class of 2014 to invite distinguished Sphinx alumni to campus to meet with the current Sphinx class; The matching of 13 Sphinx Class of 2014 mentees with 18 Sphinx alumni mentors in various professional fields and so far six Sphinx Class of 2015 mentees matched with alumni mentors through our Sphinx Links mentoring program, now in its fifth year; Our continually expanding website, www.sphinxseniorsociety.com , which contains news of current Sphinx events, alumni accomplishments, an updated Class Awards list going back to 1900 and the founding of Sphinx, and later this school year a new Sphinx historical archives page. This archive will include a recently rediscovered video Mika Rao, Chief ’96, and Carrie Kitchen-Santiago,’92, made to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Sphinx in 1999-2000. The video is entitled “Sphinx Senior Society: Celebrating 100 Years.” We showed the video at our annual Spring Banquet on April 25, 2014 and are posting the video here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MWVf6hWkGk&feature=youtu.be&noredirect=1 and later on our web site. Please read this newsletter and check our website to see how you can get involved this year in the Sphinx Senior Society. For example, you can: Mentor a Class of 2015 Sphinx student in the “Sphinx Links” mentoring program; Speak on campus as part of the new Sphinx Alumni Series; Enter your profile in our new Class Directory and email classmates; Send us your personal alumni news, or memorabilia for the new Sphinx archives page; Interview a fellow Sphinx classmate of public interest for a future newsletter; Attend the annual Fall Homecoming Sphinx-Friars Reception, Sat., Nov. 1, 2014, 3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m., Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall. Donate to support these activities. Enjoy the rest of your fall, see you at Homeconing, and Think Sphinx! Steve Klitzman, C’66, President, Sphinx Senior Society Board of Governors [email protected], [email protected]; W: 202-418-1763; H: 301-263-0616; C: 202-277-9509. 2. Annual Sphinx-Friars Homecoming Reception, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014, 3:30-5:30 p.m. The annual Sphinx-Friars Homecoming reception will be held this year on Saturday, November 1, 2014 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. right after the Penn-Brown football game in Franklin Field. We’ll meet in the usual location, Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce Street, just a few blocks west of Franklin Field. 2 Here are the details: We’ll serve wine, beer, soft drinks, and snacks. Admission is $10 per person for alumni and students and $5 for children under 18 (payable at the door). While not mandatory, reservations are strongly encouraged. Sphinx alumni should RSVP at [email protected]. You can also RSVP at or send us any questions to [email protected] Friars alumni should RSVP at [email protected] Selling Sphinx “Gear.” We’ll also be selling hooded sweat shirts and hats with the Sphinx logo on them for $30(sweat shirt) and $20 (hat). Come enjoy the fellowship of your fellow Sphinx and Friars at what has become a favorite Homecoming tradition! Here’s a picture from our 2013 Homecoming Reception. Get in the picture for 2014!! 3. Honor Two Sphinx Alumni Receiving Alumni Award of Merit at Oct. 31, 2014 Gala Two Sphinx alumni will receive Penn’s highest award for alumni participation, the Alumni Award of Merit, at the annual Homecoming weekend gala on Friday, October 31, 2014. The Sphinx recipients are: John C. T. Alexander, W’56 and Chief, Sphinx Class of 1956 James S. Riepe, W’65. WG’67, Hon’10, and former President and member of the Penn Board of Trustees. 3 4. Meet the Full Sphinx Class of 2015! At our annual Spring Banquet on April 25, 2014, the Society inducted the following 23 members of the Sphinx Class of 2015: Timothy Lee, Chief, C’15, Active Minds, a student-run mental health awareness, education and advocacy group, the Student Hospice Organization of Penn Sam Rappaport, Pharisee, W’15, MGMT 100, a leadership and teamwork program in the Wharton School, Penn Parliamentary Debate Victoria Ford, Scribe, C’15, President, Excelano Project, Penn’s “first and premier spoken word group” and Director, “The Vagina Monologues” Katy Allen, W’15, Women’s Basketball Lauren Ballester, ENG’15, Penn for Palestine Joshua Chilcote, C’15, PRISM, Penn’s student interfaith group, Undergraduate Assembly Taylor Culliver, W’15, Executive Editor, Daily Pennsylvanian Menvekeh Daramay, C’15, Muslim Students Association Kerry Dolan, NUR’15, Student Nurses at Penn Tamar Friedman, C’15, Shira Chadasha, a Jewish spiritual group within Penn Hillel Shadrack Frimpong, C’15, Students for a Healthy Africa Abrina Hyatt, C’15, UMOJA, an umbrella “unity” organization for African and African- American students at Penn Joanna Kamhi, C’15(?), Abuse and Sexual Assault Prevention Joyce Kim, C’15, Undergraduate Assembly, United Minorities Council Ariel Koren, C’15, Class Board Stephen Masso, ENG’15, Queer People of Color Dilip Rajan, W’15, Penn Masala, the “first and premier Hindi a cappella group” Louis Schott, C’15, Men’s Soccer Eric Shapiro, W’15, Community School Student Partnerships Wyatt Shapiro, ENG’15, Mask & Wig Rishi Simha, W’15, One in Four, Mask and Wig Sydney Turchin, C’15, Softball Clara Wu, ENG’15, Women in Computer Science, Penn Labs 4 Here’s a picture of the members of the Sphinx Class of 2015 inducted at the April 25, 2014 Spring Banquet with 2015 Sphinx Honorary Member Dean Eduardo Glandt in center, all giving the Sphinx hand sign: On October 19, 2014, the Society inducted seven more members of the Class of 2015. Here they are in alphabetical order with their Penn schools and campus activities that merited their induction into the Society: James (Jung Ho) An, C’15,WH’15: - Founder and Leader, P-Cypher—Korean Hip Hop Rap Group -Research Peer Advisor, Wharton Research Scholars Program, CURF -Major Advisor for Religious Studies -Mentor, Wharton Undergraduate Research Board - Member, Alpha Phi Omega - Former President, PennSori A Cappella group Jason Fernandes, C’15: - President, Social Planning and Events Committee (SPEC) - Drummer, Penn Yalla (“Penn’s premier Middle Eastern/belly dancing dance and drum troupe”) - Dancer, Onda Latina (“Penn’s premier Latin dance troupe”) - Campus Events Manager, Houston Hall - Structured Sport Supervisor, Penn Dept. of Recreation Kanad Ghosh, C’15: - President, Penn Philippine Association - Facilitator, Asian Pacific American Leadership Initiative - Director, Strictly Funk Dance Group Director 5 Stephanie Jideama, C’15: - Founder & Chair, Penn Initiative for Minority Mental Health - President, Penn AIDS Awareness - Founder & Project Coordinator, Queeen’s School Association Youth Division - Vice-President, Penn African Students Association - Student Liaison Committee and Student Advisory Board, Penn Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Oyinkansola Muraina, C’15: - Co-Director, University City Hospitality Coalition Soup Kitchen at Hillel - Representative, Penn African Students Association, United Minorities Council and UMOJA, an umbrella “unity” organization for African and African-American students at Penn Sheila Quintana, C’15: - Core Member, Dream Activist Pennsylvania, a “grassroots activist group that consists of undocumented youth and their allies who are committed to defending the rights of immigrant youth, our families and the communities [ in which] we live.” - Core Member, “Decarcerate PA,” a “grassroots campaign working to end mass incarceration in Pennsylvania.” - Community Organizer, Statewide Campaign Co-Ordinator, Lucha Pro Licencias (Fight for Driver’s Licenses) Royce Reeves-Darby, C’15: - Lieutenant, Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT), Penn’s student-run volunteer emergency medical services organization - Volunteer, LIFT, a community- based anti-poverty organization - “Coordinator for Write On,” Penn’s Kelly Writer’s House 5. Meet Sphinx Senior Society Board of Governors Steve Klitzman, C’66, President Greg Suss, C’75, Vice President John K. Fiorillo, W’86, Treasurer Samir Malik, C’08,W’08, GEN’13, WG’13, Secretary Merrie Frankel, C’76, President-Emeritus Max Presser, C’14, Chief Emeritus Lex Ruby Howe, C’07, WEV’09, WEV’10, GED’12 Eileen McKeown, C’10 Elizabeth Katz Miller, W’87 Kiera Reilly, C’93 Carlos Rodriquez, W’12 Anita Saggurti, C’12 Glen Schuster, C’86 Franklin Shen, ENG’03 Timothy Lee, C’15, Chief, Sam Rappaport, W’15, Pharisee,Victoria Ford, C’15, Scribe 6 6.