COVID-19 made the 2020-21 school year difficult, and UVA and Phi Sig were both impacted. Over 80% of classes were held virtually, fall rush was canceled, and spring rush was greatly limited. Several athletic events were canceled, and attendance at football and basketball games was limited to the families of the players and coaches. The University’s evolving COVID-19 protocols restricted the size of all indoor and outdoor social gatherings, and actually prohibited any social gatherings for ten days in February.
Coming into the year, our chapter had 14 active brothers, including 12 brothers scheduled to graduate. Given that initial position, the cancellation of fall rush and the limitations placed on spring Rush presented a critical challenge to our chapter. An additional challenge emerged in the fall, when it appeared that no one was planning to live in the house next year. The brotherhood rallied to address both of these challenges – five new brothers were recruited during spring rush, and we now have seven guys planning to live in the house next year.
New members for the spring of 2021 include:
- Kartik Chugh, Class of 2023, Computer Science and Economics, Herndon, VA
- Kevin Li, Class of 2022, Computer Science, Great Falls, VA
- Chris Marotta, Class of 2024, Computer Science, Lynchburg, VA
- Pierson Shamaiengar, Class of 2023, Computer Science, Williamsburg, VA
- Alex Shen, Class of 2023, Computer Science and Economics, Herndon, VA
Due to the risk of spreading COVID and the strict guidelines implemented by UVA, Phi Sig has not had any big parties or other large social events this year. These have been replaced with smaller events such as bonfires, fried chicken and 40s, and movie and video game nights. These more personal events have helped the brothers to grow closer as a brotherhood.
The brothers have also put a lot of work into improving the cosmetic appearance of the house itself. They repainted several rooms and hallways, fixed multiple doors and windows, and refinished the foyer floor. Three new couches and a ping pong table were purchased for the first floor, and two rooms on the second floor were refurnished as well.
It’s been an unorthodox and challenging year for Phi Sig, but the brothers are committed to making the house a great place to live. The graduating fourth-years are sad that it is time to leave, but they have exciting job and grad school opportunities to pursue. Here are some of their plans:
- Alvaro Cordero — Planning to attend law school
- Nick Del Hierro — Becoming a financial professional
- Graham Fitzgerald — Becoming a systems engineer at Booz Allen Hamilton
- Chris Hassert — Going to Navy OCS to become a submarine officer
- Michael Head — Becoming a math teacher at Fork Union Military Academy
- Dmitri Johnson — Pursuing a master’s degree in Urban Planning at Columbia University
- David Thomas — Pursuing a graduate degree in Psychology at UVA
- Doug Whitney — Taking a gap year before pursuing graduate degree in Psychology at UVA
- Alex Zummo — Becoming a software engineer
On April 2, the chapter gathered to celebrate the life of Dick Humphrey (Class of ’62). Dick’s widow Judy created two scholarships for current Phi Sigs in his honor. Alex Zummo ’21 and Grant Matteo ’23 were announced as the winners of the scholarships.
While we aren’t sure exactly when student and fraternity life will be able to return to normal, we feel that we have weathered the worst of the pandemic storm and are ready to press onward.