Dear Alumni,
My name is Axel Tarnvik and I am the current Sage at the Beta Pi Chapter of Sigma Pi at the University of Virginia. A little about myself: I am a Third-Year Computer Science major in the Engineering School from Loudoun County, Virginia. I am originally from Umea, Sweden, a small town in northern Sweden of about 80,000 people. I moved to America in 2000 and have spent most of my life since then in various parts of Northern Virginia. I pledged in the Spring of 2012 and I can say with certainty that it has been one of the best decisions of my life. The friendships I have built are irreplaceable, and I have become a better man and member of my community since becoming a brother.
Sigma Pi has made great strides over the past few semesters. Two years ago, when I pledged, my pledge class totaled 12 members. Though a great group of brothers, it was a small group and we knew going forward we would have to make large improvements in our recruitment. In 2013 we took a pledge class of 20 members, which was a step in the right direction. We needed to continue this excellence in recruitment to have a strong brotherhood in the coming years. On April 11th, we initiated a pledge class of 25, one of the biggest in recent Beta-Pi history. The future of Beta-Pi is bright.
We have also continued strongly with our philanthropic efforts. Last fall we held a party called Rock To Uganda where we raised several thousand dollars to help Building Tomorrow (a UVA student organization) build its third primary school in Uganda. We also adopted a highway and helped various University organizations with their events. This spring our main event is our Seventh Annual Surf & Turf, also benefiting Building Tomorrow. Each April we host around 600 people in the front yard for steak, shrimp, drinks, and live bands.
Thanks to Brian Roy ’94, the house continues to be in great shape. Currently we have 15 brothers living in the house and next year we are expecting an increase to 19 brothers. The series of snow storms this winter was rough on the old part of the house, but the building stands strong. Our third counselor, Jason Gart ’15, has done an excellent job at keeping us stable financially. Lastly, the chapters GPA is above the all-men’s average and competes strongly with the other 29 houses on grounds.
Looking forward this semester we are hoping for a great philanthropic event with Surf and Turf in a couple of weeks and a constructive pledge process for the new members. The brothers are also eagerly looking forward to Foxfield in late April, an event you may remember remember from your time at UVA! If you have any questions about the state of the chapter please contact me at: aet3pv@virginia.edu. As always, feel free to stop by the house at any time.
Regards,
Axel Tarnvik ’15
(Intramural Chair), Nate Farmer ’16 (Risk Manager), Dane Dyslin ’16 (Social Chair)
Front Row: Tim Metzger ’16 (Philanthropy Chair), Jay Ashe ’15 (First Counselor), Axel Tarnvik ’15 (Sage),
Tom Osmers ’16 (Fourth Counselor)