Brotherhood Bio: Brian Chalif

In an effort to highlight some interesting projects that current brothers are working on, we will be putting up some posts that allow brothers to share their passions. Below, Brian Chalif, a member of the '16 class and one of our Rush Chairs, talks a little bit about his experience with music and singing with the Aires. 

Brian before one of his a capella shows

In high school, I was always known as the musician. I played violin, guitar, piano, and I sang. Coming to Dartmouth, I had little expectations to continue music to such a large extent. However, I now am in Glee Club, Gospel Choir, Canta Choral, a Jazz Trio, take voice lessons, and am a double major with music. Despite my involvement in all these activites, the biggest impact on my Dartmouth career was my freshman trip leader, who convinced me to audition for a cappella. 

Brian during his FSP in London

Being a member of the Dartmouth Aires has been an adventure I could not have imagined when coming to Dartmouth a little over two years ago. My first term at Dartmouth, the group sang at Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign rally in Hanover. Later the same term, the Aires sang at an Obama and Clinton Presidential campaign rally in Concord, New Hampshire for over 15,000 people. The rest of the year was full of exciting shows, including the traditional East Coast winter tour and an exciting international tour to Aruba.

Brian, fourth from the right, with the Aires

Now, two years later, it is still a constant stream of new experiences. Last spring, we recorded an album, which after six months of editing is getting released next month. This year our winter tour will be going to the west coast, for the first time in many years. However, most excitingly, this spring the Aires are traveling to China! I am super thrilled for this because, obviously it is a great experience, but I also have planned most of this tour as the spring tour manager. I look forward to this exciting year and to my senior year, where I can give back to the group that has been one of the most significant impacts on my Dartmouth experience.

I hope to see some Kappas at one of our shows in during our spring tour to California.

Yours in Kappa,
Brian Chalif ‘16

Fall Rush

Last weekend, fraternities across campus held rush, and 18 members of the class of 2017 sunk bids at Tri-Kap. We are thrilled with the kids that we brought in to the house, and we look forward to instilling our Tri-Kap values in them as they join the brotherhood. 

Here is a picture of most of them after they received their first and favorite house shirt:

From left to right: Sam Agler, Chris Laughlin, Arun Reddy, Scott Lehman, James Howe, Josh Lange, Jeff Lange, Phillip Yom, Ronak Kanwar, Ted Poatsy, Daniel Kang, Caleb Junmo Kim, Sidney Wijngaarde, and Fred Kim.
Not pictured: Matt Zubrow, John French, Joe Minichiello, and Brendan Krimsky.

Yours in Kappa,
Manav Raj '15
Vice President

Class of 1960 Boston Reunion

A large contingent of Tri-Kap 1960s got together in early September in Boston to reunite for a few days and remember their friend Tony Rodolakis '60.  We had 8 brothers and accompanying wives and lady friends: Bob Armknecht, Don Belcher, Frank Bell, Pete Crumbine, Paul Goldberg, John Mitchell, Jim Nolan and me (Bill Danforth). We started off with a Duck Tour (first for many) followed by dinner at the old standby Durgin Park. We were treated royally. On Wednesday we had the grand tour of Fenway Park. The Tour people were very accommodating to the members who didn’t feel up to stairs and they had their own guide, even including the Green Monster. That afternoon we had a great turnout for a 3-hour culinary tour of the City’s North End followed by an authentic Italian dinner at Antico Forno. We refused to retire early and spent some time discussing the Tri-Kap capital campaign and a memorial donation in Tony’s name. 

At Fenway Park: Bill Danforth, Frank Bell, our tour guide, Joanne Danforth, Don Belcher, Pete Crumbine, and Carol and John Mitchell

The whole gang:

Bottom: Paul Goldberg, Frank Bell, Bea and Pete Crumbine; Middle: Sally Nolan, Don Belcher, Carol and John Mitchell, and Judy and Bob Armknecht; Top: Bill Danforth, Jim Nolan, Maureen Bell, Marie Belcher, Joanne Danforth and Margie Goldberg

Rising early on Thursday, we took a Boston Harbor cruise out to George’s Island and toured the Civil War fort. After a short rest we rode out to Brookline for a memorial service for Tony Rodolakis at the chapel of the Boston Metropolis, the headquarters of the Greek Church in New England. It was a simple yet memorable opportunity to share memories and feel as one with Tony. We continued marching (as all Tri-Kaps do) down to the harbor where we enjoyed a private room at another Boston dining icon, The Union Oyster House. Having enjoyed the 3 days fully, we’ve set a target of 2017 for a repeat, this time in Williamsburg, Virginia, It’s very fitting to be in such a historic spot since we are all rapidly becoming antiques.

Yours in Kappa,
Bill Danforth '60

Academic Talk with Professor Steve Swayne

At the end of the summer term, Tri-Kap held a talk with Steve Swayne titled: "What Ferguson Means/How Ferguson Feels: The Thoughts of a First-Generation African-American College Kid Who Became a Dartmouth Professor." This talk lasted 3 hours and was attended by almost the entire active summer brotherhood, other undergraduate students, graduate students, and a college administrator. 

Professor Swayne, Chair of the Music Department and a Jacob H. Strauss 1922 Professor of Music, discussed the current state of affairs in Ferguson and why that impacts everyone, even students far away at Dartmouth College. Professor Swayne, who grew up facing discrimination as a gay black man, told stories of his life and at multiple points was close to tears.

A packed house listening to Professor Swayne

His talk started by going around and having everyone in the room introducing themselves. Then he spoke for about 45 minutes before opening it up to become more of a conversation. After about another hour the formal aspect of the conversation ended and some people left, but still about 10 people stayed for another hour and talked further with Professor Swayne about this and tangential issues. 

Professor Swayne, in an email after the event, said it felt like one of the more important things he has done while at Dartmouth. 

Yours in Kappa,
Brian Chalif '16
Summer Academic Chair

14X Jock Chair Update

14X Jock Chair Update - Hector Iturbe and Eric Chalif

Coming off a spring IM championship in softball, we were set to do well for the summer season. We advanced to the knockout stages as the first seed from our group. Brothers Charles Cai '16 and Brian White '15 led the way for Tri-Kap. After a very good run, we were knocked out by AD in a close 2-0 loss. 

Coming off a championship run in the fall, Tri-Kap was also set to do well in the IM Soccer league for the summer. Led by the play of club soccer player Hector Iturbe '16 and brothers Keaton Renta '16 and Eric Chalif '16, Tri-Kap was set to advance into the knockout stages with a good seed. However, due to a misunderstanding with a grad school team the friday of Masters we had to forfeit that match. That technicality eventually cost us our bid in the knockout stages. The fall will bring back a couple of other club soccer brothers and Tri-Kap will be set to defend their fall IM soccer title. 

14X Philanthropy Chair: Joe Wang

14X Philanthropy Chair: Joe Wang

This summer, the brotherhood of Kappa Kappa Kappa has participated in a variety of philanthropic events. We raised more than $500 for The Prouty, an annual charity effort whose proceeds go directly to funding cancer research. We also participated in the Pelt-a-Delta dodgeball tournament, raising money to go towards the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Furthermore, we have worked closely with the Upper Valley Haven this summer. We helped bake and sell bread to raise money to help fund the services that the Haven provides, such as food, shelter, and educational programs for the children of homeless families. We also collected food and clothing donations for the Haven. All in all, the brotherhood of Kappa Kappa Kappa has made a strong philanthropic effort this summer term.

14x Academic Chair - Brian Chalif '16

14X Academic Chair Update:

The brotherhood continues to exhibit extreme commitment and contribution to the internal academic community at Dartmouth and external international world, whether it is in finance, music, government, or entrepreneurship. I, Brian Chalif '16, just completed the four-week Tuck Bridge program, which gave me an introduction to business, which Dartmouth does not offer. This introduction to business culminated with a team-based DCF, economic, marketing, financial and strategic analysis of Nike. Both Juan Nicholls '15 and Johnny Yoon '13 are participating in the second session. This summer, instead of taking classes, as a presidential scholar I am helping the chair of the music department do research for a book he is writing. 

Josh Tupler '16 flew to Gent, Belgium, to present at the 14^th annual Transatlantic Studies Association Conference. He was a panelist with three other officers from across the world presenting about Canadian ballistic missile defense – he was the first undergraduate to ever present at this conference. 

Joshua Schoenbart '16 spent a week at the G20 YEA Summit in Sydney, Australia, as the youngest of eight delegates from the United States. 

These are just a few examples, but every TriKap brother is a crucial part of the academic community at Dartmouth.  

Brian Chalif '16

Reunions

The last two weeks, the house hosted reunions for the classes of 1964, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1984, 1989, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2009. We were thrilled to see so many brothers and their families take the trip back up to Hanover and visit the house. Especially impressive was that 16 out of the 19 members of the class of 1964 were present for their 50th reunion. Thanks to all of the brothers that were able to make it up, and we hope to see you again soon. Here are a few pictures from the '64s reunion:

YiK,
Manav Raj '15

Brother Bio: Jeremy Thibodeau

In an effort to highlight some interesting projects that current brothers are working on, we will be putting up some posts that allow brothers to share their passions. Below, Jeremy Thibodeau '14 talks a little bit about the feature film that he has been working on for the last year. 

Jeremy framing a shot

Since our sophomore spring, my team and I have been working on "THE UNION", a feature film about a bartender and his experiences dealing with the dysfunctional family whose wedding reception he is working at. Spanning a period of three weeks, the shoot took place primarily on the Dartmouth campus. It was an intense and educational experience, the source of many wonderful memories I'll cherish for years to come. 

A look at the set within the tower room in Baker Library

We are proud to be offering a pre-screening of the film tonight in the Black Family Visual Arts Center. Hopefully, many brothers will be able to attend. If you're interested, take a look at the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kigrb2uLhw0

We are excited to keep you posted as the film nears completion. 

YiK,

Jeremy Thibodeau '14

IM Softball Champs

This last Sunday, Tri-Kap won the IM softball championship, beating Alpha Chi 11-10 with a walk-off hit in the bottom of the sixth inning. The victory completed a successful three-peat for Tri-Kap, capping a year in which we won Soccer in the Fall and Basketball in the Winter. After a rocky start, Tri-Kap trailed 10-6 going in to the fifth inning. However, the team remained resilient, lead by solid fielding and coaching by Brian White '15.

Down 10-8 in the bottom of the sixth, the situation looked dire with two outs and just a man on first. However, Keaton Renta '16, remaining cool and composed despite the pressure, hit a clutch single, and Charles Cai '16 followed it up with a huge triple to bring home the tying run. On the next pitch, Anthony Zhao '14 hit a line drive over the second baseman to bring Charles home and win the game.

We are excited to bring another IM championship to the house, and hope to continue Tri-Kap's IM dominance in the coming term. Here's a picture of the winning team and the crew that came to heckle and cheer them on.

YiK,
Eric Do '15
Jock Chair