Sig Ep awards frosh scholarship

High SAT scores, stellar GPAs, and a long list of leadership positions. Ah, the glory days of high school. While tough midterm's are being returned, four freshmen got to savor their high school achievements one more time. Wharton freshman Daniel Baker won a $500 scholarship at Sigma Phi Epsilon's first Balanced Man Scholarship awards reception Wednesday night. Wharton freshman Christian Siembieda and College freshman Brandon Blevans also won cash scholarships. College and Wharton freshman Michael Graves received a certificate for his runner-up status. Winners were selected based on the attributes of a "balanced man," part of Sig Ep's philosophy that emphasizes balanced individual growth based on scholarship. A balanced man is someone who "is not average, but rather a man who is a proven leader, scholar, athlete, and gentleman," according to College senior Andrew Hua, the scholarship chairman. No Sig Ep brothers were on the committee that selected the winners. Brothers screened the more than 100 applications and chose 25 finalists. Only one of the four freshmen receiving awards is rushing Sig Ep, and the awards are entirely separate from rush. Baker said he was "extremely surprised" and proud when he won the scholarship. "I always thought of myself as a well-rounded person, but not a completely balanced man that Sig Ep identifies," he said. Vice Provost for Student Life Kim Morrisson said she was "quite taken" by the model of a "balanced person" in a speech delivered at the reception. "The power of the group is used to evoke and support the power of an idea," she said. College junior and Sig Ep brother Adrian Massiah said Franklin was a good example of a balanced man because he was not focused on one issue. "He was involved in many things. That is the essence of what we consider to be a balanced man," he said. "The scholarship finalists epitomized the same qualities." Two University and Sig Ep alumni also spoke. Alum Ray Allieri said the diversity of Sig Ep taught him to learn the value of different opinions, making him a more balanced person. Hua said Sig Ep's national organization encourages all its chapters to have a freshman scholarship. "Our fraternity places a heavy emphasis on leadership and academic achievement," he said. "We wanted to demonstrate how our fraternity and the system as a whole values leadership." Over 100 students applied for the scholarship, which was only open to men, but Sig Ep President John Grugan said he hopes it will be offered to the entire freshman class in the future. The scholarship money came from Sig Ep's chapter alumni foundation and its undergraduate foundation.

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