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Volume XVI - Issue III - Spring 2021 Hello alumni!
Here it is, the last edition of the Encore for the 2020-21 school year. Hopefully (and I say this with nearly full confidence, but you never know) this will also be the last edition of the Encore brought to you during this era of completely remote learning. I'm sure you're as excited for a return to normalcy as I am! Summer is in full swing but we would be remiss without a recap of this past spring quarter. As always, our Chapter had an ambitious quarter full of projects and events. Some were new -- like our Alumni v. Active Jeopardy Trivia night -- while others were more familiar -- like our 4th annual Day of Music and Leadership (DOMAL). All events provided opportunities for our Brothers to engage in service, music, leadership, and brotherhood whilst staying connected. Continue reading to see what we've been up to, as well as to celebrate some new and old faces: particularly in our Senior Spotlights and in messages from your new Psi President and Alumni Relations Officer. Speaking of our new officers... Without further ado, I am incredibly proud and excited to present to you: the Psi Chapter Officers for the 2021-22 school year! President: Gina Talcott Vice President of Membership: Ariel Fernandez Sergeant-at-Arms: Natalie Wang Director of Service: Joshua Cielo Director of Music: Renee Shanteler Treasurer: Samuel Black Brotherhood Relations Officer: Alannah Linden Director of Brotherhood/Sisterhood Relations: Sheryl Ocampo Director of Band Activities: Brianna Becerra Secretary: Bryan Jefferson Alumni Relations Officer: Angel Lopez Historian: Olivia Raskin Webmaster: Adam Traut Congratulations to all our new officers! I am grateful to know this Chapter is in great hands as I graduate and join you all as a Psi alumnus. With that being said, I want to offer you all my sincere thanks and appreciation for embracing me as your Alumni Relations Officer this year. I was able to meet and reconnect with many of you, and I hope the future holds even more of those relationships to be created and cherished. Thank you for trusting me as your point-person of contact, allowing me to try new things in this role, and for coming to my events (I hope you had a great time). Above all, thank you for trusting me with the legacy of this Chapter's alumni base. I am extremely grateful for your Brotherhood, and your involvement -- in ways both large and small! AEA, Carrie Appel Beta Chi Alumni Relations Officer, 2020-21 If you would like to get more involved in our Chapter this summer, here are some great ways to do so:
Thank you for reading this edition of the Encore. Stay safe everyone, and happy summer!
We are proud to present... the Psi Chapter Class of 2021! By Daniel Adea, ΒΦ  Sara Acosta Future Residence: El Dorado Hills, CA Instrument: Alto Sax Major: Chemical Engineering Plans after graduation: I plan to pursue my Master's degree in Bioprocess Engineering at UC Berkeley in the fall. Go Bears? Go Oski? Fun Fact: My life changed forever after I tasted the BBQ quesadilla from Rende ♡ What I’m looking forward to: I'm looking forward to being a part of the alumni band! Can't wait to watch more games in Pauley and the Rose Bowl.  Carrie Appel Future Residence: Los Angeles, CA Instrument: Colorguard Major: World Arts and Cultures Minor: Visual and Performing Arts Education Plans after graduation: I'll be coming back again to teach the UCLA Colorguard, and taking on another non-guard job too -- hopefully in some other arts education setting. Fun Fact: I've done a whole lot of teaching! At UCLA, Culver City HS, Emerson Community Charter MS, and in a dance club called EMI. What I’m looking forward to: After serving as ARO, I can't wait to be on the other side of the communication and come to fun events. Also -- can't wait to see my Psi family keep growing!  Emma Boone Future Residence: Los Angeles, CA Instrument: Horn/Drum Major Major: Music Education Plans after graduation: I plan to hopefully be teaching music! My goal is High school band somewhere in California, however I am keeping all of my options open! Fun Fact: I got to high-five Justin Bieber when he was playing soccer with friends on the IM field just before band rehearsal! What I’m looking forward to: I am looking forward to seeing all of the younger classes of band students grow and live out the rest of their time at UCLA!  Renu Chepuru Future Residence: Los Angeles, CA Instrument: Alto Saxophone Major: MCDB Minor: Study of Religion Plans after graduation: Continue to work in LA at a private Allergy and Immunology Clinic in Santa Monica and apply to medical school. If everything goes well, I will attend medical school starting in the fall of 2022. Fun Fact: I grew a lot in my civic engagement and awareness and I am very happy I got to take to the street in LA to protest systemic racism and police brutality after George Floyd's death. What I’m looking forward to: I am most looking forward to being a tangible resource for UCLA pre-med's who feel overwhelmed and confused about the application process.  Emily Davis Future Residence: New York, NY Instrument: Flute Major: Biology Plans after graduation: I will be moving to New York City to complete a Master of Arts in Climate and Society as part of the inaugural class of Columbia's Climate School. Fun Fact: I joined the club E3: Ecology, Economy, and Equity my freshman year for fun, never imagining that I would now serve as Co-President and be pursuing a career in the environmental field. What I’m looking forward to: I'm looking forward to continuing to learn and grow in a new city with the support of my fellow bruins near and far.  Garrett Henkle Future Residence: Los Angeles, CA Instrument: Trumpet Major: Biochemistry Plans after graduation: Taking a gap year before medical school, working at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center as an ENT Scribe! Fun Fact: I got to join the UCLA Waterski team and you should too! It's really fun :D What I’m looking forward to: Spending more time learning what my career will look like and getting to help people in a real clinical experience! :)  Emily Liu Future Residence: San Diego, CA Instrument: Color Guard Major: Classical Civilization, English Minor: Cognitive Science Plans after graduation: I've been awarded a Fulbright ETA grant to teach English in Taiwan for a year, starting in the fall! I may be working for a company in the summer as well, but that hasn't been finalized yet. Fun Fact: Zoom has allowed me to take four different creative writing workshops over the past year, and each one has been amazing in terms of exploring/remixing new genres, getting to see all the great work peers are putting out, and learning just how many wonderful and important things each class has to say about the world through their work. Some workshops are often more accessible to get into than you might think, so I would encourage people to take advantage of all the cool courses that are offered by departments (not just limited to English!). What I’m looking forward to: In terms of Psi, I'm excited to reconnect with Brothers I may not have talked to for a while and get to know how everyone's doing! In terms of graduating in general, I can't wait to travel and gain valuable experience, both professionally and in life :)  David Matter Future Residence: Moreno Valley, CA Instrument: Trombone Major: Psychology Minor: Public Affairs Plans after graduation: Take a small break, and then apply to grad schools. Not sure in what field yet but thinking about an MSW. Fun Fact: Nothing too special, but I'm grateful for all of the fun and cool gigs I was able to do for band. What I’m looking forward to: Seeing new people continue to join the organization and breathe life into it in new ways.  Peter Oh Future Residence: Pleasanton, CA Instrument: Trombone Major: Electrical Engineering Plans after graduation: I will continue applying to electrical engineering positions, while using online resource to study more about computer vision and neural networks. I plan to finish a few personal engineering project during this time as well. Fun Fact: I was a part of the IEEE student branch at UCLA, where I led around eighty project members in building and programming a quadcopter from scratch. What I’m looking forward to: I'm looking forward to interacting with the other alumni and continuing to see the growth and progress of the Chapter.  Kevin Reidy Future Residence: Los Angeles, CA Instrument: Trumpet Major: Philosophy Minor: Music Industry Plans after graduation: I plan to work in the music industry for a few years, then eventually find my way to law school somewhere and make a career in entertainment law. Fun Fact: In my three years of undergrad, I took more classes online than I did in person. One of those half-fun-half-not-so-fun fun facts. What I’m looking forward to: Together with the world opening back up, I look forward to living on my own terms a little bit more - to go where I want, see who I want, and make the music I want to make without worrying about online classes!  David Thorne Future Residence: Los Angeles, CA Instrument: Horn Major: Aerospace engineering Plans after graduation: Working on my masters at UCLA, PhD after hopefully Fun Fact: Going to Maryland for a competition with my engineering club, Unmanned Aerial Systems, was so fun. The competition seemed to have the 70+ best engineering schools in the world, and it was an awesome experience to represent UCLA. What I’m looking forward to: Going to UCLA sports events and telling all the people with me about how I was in the marching band.  Erica Vellanoweth Future Residence: Los Angeles, CA Instrument: Alto Sax Major: Computer Science Plans after graduation: I have one more academic quarter in the Fall! After that, I'm either going to work full-time at Microsoft following my internship this summer or at another organization. Fun Fact: There has never really been a dull moment, but seeing my street go up in flames during our Final Four stint this year was pretty unforgettable! What I’m looking forward to: I'm just excited to have TONS more free time to explore other hobbies that I've been wanting to try for a while!  Elizabeth Wan Future Residence: Los Angeles, CA Instrument: Flute/Piccolo Major: Psychology Minor: Public Affairs Plans after graduation: I will apply for law school and study for the LSAT. I am also looking for internships. Fun Fact: In the span of transferring to UCLA to graduating (two years), I have lived in three different places, worked three different jobs, learned how to drive and got my license and insurance, and got three more rabbits, all while living through a global pandemic and being a full-time student. It's been a wild ride y'all. What I’m looking forward to: Not having to take online classes anymore.  Eric Wong Future Residence: Mountain View, CA Instrument: Alto Sax Major: Mechanical Engineering Plans after graduation: Either attending graduate school at UCLA pursuing a 1-year Master's Degree studying Mechanical Engineering with a focus in Design, Robotics, and Manufacturing, or accepting a full-time Mechanical Engineering position somewhere in California (pending interviews). Fun Fact: Every organization that I have participated in throughout my undergraduate career has been with another fellow brother (from other clubs to work to all of my classes). What I’m looking forward to: Regarding being an alumni in Psi, I am looking forward to being able to come back for Degrees and celebrating our family as well as possibly doing some Alumni Interviews. In terms of being a UCLA alumni, I'm excited to be able to tailgate since we never got that opportunity with marching band lol.  Naveed Zaman
Future Residence: Corona, CA Instrument: Alto Sax Major: Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Plans after graduation: I'm going to medical school!!! (The location is not important...) Fun Fact: I used to work at the Ostin Music Cafe on campus. There was a poster of the cafe employees, which contained pictures of us with our favorite drink listed underneath. One day, Kevin posted my employee picture and and the words "Dirty Chai" (my favorite drink) to the entire 2019-2020 band Facebook page without any context. That was a difficult one to explain... What I’m looking forward to: I'm excited to come back and visit friends at UCLA as well as meet some other alumni in the future! By Alannah Linden, ΒΩ Due to the global pandemic, the usual Active / New Active basketball game has become a virtual Family Feud night where the returning active members and new active members play for the victory title. This year's event took place on April 23, 2021 at 6 pm via Zoom, featuring questions such as, “name a behavior a dog would get away with that a person wouldn’t,” “how many days can you keep a banana before it goes bad?”, “name something you haven’t done since high school gym class,” and more!
For those that don’t know, Family Feud is a game in which each team attempts to come up with “popular” items to win points. If one team guesses an item that isn’t on the list, the turn goes to the next team. The event was organized by our Brotherhood Relations Officer Ryan Lee, who said about the event, “I thought it went really well! I was super excited to see the number of returning and new actives that showed up for some friendly competition. It was a great way to break the new active win streak.” That’s right: for the first time in 3 years, the returning active members won, but not without a strong fight from the new actives. Once brothers had logged on to the meeting, the two groups split into separate breakout rooms to come up with a game strategy and team member roles. After about ten minutes of deliberation, the friendly competition began. As each team took turns responding to the questions on the board, it became apparent that the returning active members were taking the lead. The event reached the final round, in which only two members from each team had to respond to each question with different answers to get more points (the “fast money” round). Kevin Reidy and Gabriel Ramirez represented the returning actives team, while Connor Lantz and Alannah Linden played for the new actives. Although the new actives scored more points in the fast money round, the returning actives had scored enough previously in the game to win victory. Overall, it was a great game, a fun night, and a brilliant way for new and returning actives to bond as one chapter. By Gina Talcott, ΒΨ  This year’s Day of Music and Leadership, virtual once again, gave our Brothers the opportunity to connect with high school students from all over California. The virtual venue allowed us to invite students that would normally be too far away to attend! We held the event on May 15 of this year, and featured clinics for each instrument as well as leadership clinics and workshops on conducting and improvisation.
The small group of attendees this year allowed Brothers to interact with the students on a much more personal level and address their individual questions, concerns and curiosities. The day began at 11AM with fun icebreaker activities led by Sheryl Ocampo that helped lighten the mood among the students. Then, they moved on to the musicianship clinics, where they were able to choose between clinics for flute, clarinet, saxophone, horn, trombone, trumpet, tuba, guard, drumline, and mallet percussion! Upon returning to the main room, the students were excited to share the new musical knowledge they had learned from their incredible clinicians. Following musicianship, we all enjoyed a lunch break before leadership clinics. This year we held two blocks of leadership clinics that allowed the students to attend two clinics and pursue their diverse interests, interacting with even more Brothers! In addition to our normal leadership clinics, some students were able to learn about social consciousness in music with Deborah Gallego or practice the basics of musical improvisation with Colin McClure! The excitement about the diversity of clinics was shared by clinicians and students alike. Finally, we ended the day with a Q&A panel of our Brothers that featured a special appearance from the one, the only, Dr. Travis Cross! It was a wonderful way to end the day, finishing with a final, lighthearted question about music from Star Wars. I think we were able to improve the days of more than a few students and I cannot wait for the return of an in-person DoMaL to realize the potential of the event once again! By Bryan Jefferson, ΒΨ  2021 B/S Olympics Champions! One of the coolest and most special parts of Psi is our remarkable, everlasting bond with the sisters of Tau Beta Sigma. Anything this incredible deserves a celebration, and luckily for us, the Directors of Brotherhood/Sisterhood Relations from Kappa Kappa Psi (Adriana Vree) and Tau Beta Sigma (Aylin Henstridge) planned a week-long “B/S week” where we had the opportunity to enjoy each others company, reflect on some of the values that bring us together, and of course, take part in some friendly competition. The week was action-packed with activities, games, and opportunities to make new friends as well as strengthen existing friendships, and a dash of studying -- because week 6 consists of working on assignments, starting new papers or getting ready for your 1st, 2nd, or 3rd midterm of the quarter! But with the support of your "brosters", absolutely anything is possible! To prepare for the upcoming week ahead, the brothers of Kappa Kappa Psi and sisters of Tau Beta Sigma had the opportunity to fill out a google form to participate in a Virtual PsiEk date night! A Brother and a Sister were paired together and given the opportunity to plan a virtual hangout any day throughout the week to catch up and play some fun activities. This was a great way to meet one-on-one with a friend or meet someone new and hangout! The first group event of the week was the B/S Olympics! All of the Brosters that attended the virtual event were split into groups of 3-4 and had the chance to meet up in a breakout room to create a team name and bond. Then, each group had to tackle challenges like relay races to see which group was the fastest to run around grabbing random household objects, and riff offs testing the quickness with which the groups are able to recall and sing the first song that comes to mind when given a word!  2021 B/S Amazing Race Champions, feat. Barack Obama! Because week 6 can be pretty class-intensive and demanding, the Directors of Brotherhood/Sisterhood Relations and their committees had our backs! Not only did they give us opportunities to de-stress and enjoy one of the best parts about school (our friends!), they also had a virtual study room open everyday of the week that there was not an event scheduled, for brosters to drop in and study together. It was a great opportunity to help each other cram for midterms or give a quick “good luck” and offer support! The concluding event of the week was the B/S Amazing Race. This virtual event allowed teams to travel all around the world (virtually), from France to Germany and pick up clues from the DOBSRs and their committee members in order to solve fun, yet thought provoking, riddles and move onto the next step. This was one of the most fun events of the week and each group definitely played to win. The final awards were incredibly suspenseful as some groups were only seconds to milliseconds away from winning, but ultimately only one group could take home the title of first place! Throughout the week, brothers and sisters were given prompts to talk about some of the most important aspects of the bond and why it’s so important. Especially in difficult times, the bond is something that keeps us going and B/S week was an incredible reminder of the friendship, support, appreciation and love that Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma have for each other.
By Maddie Benson, ΒΩ This long-standing, widely-revered cultural touchpoint began in 1984 and still continues on today. You might sing the theme song in your head whenever you are given a brief wait time. What is...Jeopardy? This spring quarter, for one night only, a very special iteration of this iconic game show hit Zoom. What is...Alumni vs. Actives Trivia Night?
During this event, Psi alumni and actives alike assembled for some hearty, trivia-themed competition. Of course (as enhances any heated game night), the competitors assigned themselves spunky team names before heading into trivia battle (such as one group’s punny title “Over Armour”). Our host, an active named Kevin Reidy, provided contestants with a wealth of trivia questions. From UCLA facts, to scientific wisdom, to knowledge of pop culture, the intergenerational competition was fierce. Active member Jordan Casciato fondly remembers the cutthroat game show faceoff that took place, explaining: “Trivia night was super fun, even though I got absolutely slammed by the trivia.” Ultimately, one alumni emerged as the night’s clear trivia champion: Josh Epport. However, the real theme of the night was not about division or trivia-induced lifelong grudges. Even long after the game was over, competitors were still in the Zoom meeting--eager to get to know the dynamic, talented, and enthusiastic brothers who came together for a night of trivia fun. |
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