2nd Interview: Sean Kennedy '10

Our first interview to kick off the 2nd round of interviews is from brother Sean Kennedy '10!

The 2nd round of interviews will follow a slightly different format.  In these interviews, we are asking some new questions of all brothers, some follow up questions, and some unique questions.  This should make each interview more enjoyable to read!

Basic Stuff:
1. Where are you currently living?
Moving to Cherry Hill, NJ starting on August 14th. Excited about moving and being closer to my south Jersey-ans!

Fraternity Stuff:
2. Did you hold any elected or appointed officer positions as an undergraduate? If so, what positions and what semester/year, if you can remember?

I was the BG (Freshman year, Fall ’10), VGP (Junior year, Fall ’11), and fraternity Educator (Senior year, Fall ’12). Just realized that I had no influence over any spring election, I’ll blame all my losses on my lethargy after the winter hibernation. 

3. Stories about nicknames, but this time not yours! Tell us why you gave your little(s) their nicknames. Your chance to tell your side of the story!

Both of my littles have nicknames that reflect their personality more than a story. They were both way too tame during pledging.

4. What was your favorite service event that you participated in and why?

Field of dreams was an amazing experience. It was an event where I didn’t feel like I was counting down my service hour requirement, and was overall a fun organization to help out. 

5. What was your favorite mixer/social event you attended and why?

Mixers during my freshman and sophomore year were so wild, and I think I was still blind to the disgustingness of the house. There were too many good ones to even choose one in particular, maybe one of the WTF mixers. 

6. What was your favorite campus activity/intramural sport you participated in and why?

I liked fall and indoor soccer. I played soccer my whole life and didn’t have any chances to play when I came to college other than the fraternity team, so it was nice to get back on a field and kick the ball around. 

7. Name at least 1 brother you admire and why?

I have a lot of respect for Andy Mac. When I think of him I just think “balance”. When I see everything that he did during school and after (good grades, marathon training, long commutes, maintaining relationships, going out etc.) it always inspired me to throw away my own excuses for not doing things. 

8. Name 1 moment when you felt the brotherhood at its strongest and why?

When we won grand chapter not only were we the strongest chapter nationally for Phi Psi, it seemed like we dominated every fraternity category on campus. Besides the awards and winning homecoming and having awesome statistics, we meshed as a brotherhood and had an insane amount of fun. I’m going to make a bold statement, but I think it was the strongest we’ve ever been in NJE history. 

9. When was the last time you visited Rowan or the chapter? 

Initiation Spring ‘15

Career Stuff:

10. Has your occupation changed since we last interviewed you? If so, what are you doing now?

I don’t remember what I said last time but it possibly changed? I’m a technical specialist with Purolite as of 9 months ago. We sell ion exchange resins and I provide technical support, develop sales tools (calculators, engineering bulletins, etc.), and perform some small scale lab and pilot testing for new applications. 

11. What are your personal career goals that you hope to achieve one day?

My goal is just to be able to live comfortably without being bored. It’s a constant evaluation of what I’m doing and where I see myself going if I keep at my pace, and then making the best decisions from there. 

12. What advice would you give to an undergraduate in your major today? 

Fellow chem-e’s: as an undergraduate try and get those out of classroom experiences as much as possible. Either via internship or helping your teachers or working a job that will give you relevant work skills (like a lab tech or something). If you don’t have any of those, find a project that relates to chemical engineering that you can do for the summer as a hobby. It doesn’t matter where you get your skills from, as long as you actively try to supplement your education. This is what makes you better than the rest.

13. If you could go back to college, would you do the same degree or pick something else? If something else, what would you do?

I’d probably take a second major in something related to computer science. I find myself coding a lot of engineering design programs and calculators and it’s similar to engineering in terms of problem solving, only these problems are a little like brain teasers. I was surprised that I actually enjoyed it.

Relationships/Family/Personal Stuff:

14. Has your relationship status changed since we last interviewed you? 

Nope! Still with my girlfriend Melissa (almost 4 years now). 

15. Do you have kids? If so, remind us of their names and how old they are now? This is your moment to brag…tell us something great about your kids!

Nope

16. Hobbies that you are currently into? What do you like to do in your spare time? 

I just finished the Wheel of Time book series which took up a good chunk of my life after work. I guess I’ll probably be back on the Xbox One now that I’m done reading for a while. I also run 15-20 miles a week and have been trying to cook new types of dishes. 

Questions for Sean!

Some of these are follow ups to previous answers, some are completely new.

17. Tell us what the chapter was like during the time you were in and we won Grand Chapter?

It was a crazy time where we actually won homecomings and greek weeks, where Four Loko’s were also energy drinks, and where we worshipped plastic lizards. You had to be there to understand, but all you need to know is it was epic. 

18. Tell us some of the races you have ran in?

Philly half marathon is really the only one. I might do another half in the next couple weeks. 

19. Are you still playing Minecraft? What about any other video games?

No Minecraft lately, but I miss it. I didn’t have my computer set up after I moved from Harrisburg and am looking forward to getting it set back up when I get my new house. I’ve been playing a lot of Destiny and Elder Scrolls on Xbox One. 

20. Tell us a unique recipe that you have made?

I took a Moroccan cooking class and made some bangin chicken with couscous and an orange salad with a vinaigrette dressing. It had a strangely Caribbean vibe to it that I want to keep in my back pocket for using in other dishes. 

21. What bars do you like to frequent?

Manayunk Brewery and Iron Hill have been my recent go-to’s. 

22. What is your favorite drink?

Nothing beats a good Jack and Coke. 

23. Now that you are a corporation board member, how would you like to see the corporation progress in the next few years?

I’d like to see more alumni interaction with the board and attendance at events. I’d like to also see us becoming more cohesive with the undergraduate structure so that transition from UG to alum is less weird. 

24. Is there anything personally that you plan to accomplish while on the corporation board?

Currently trying to define what makes a brother in bad standing, and making sure we have proper documentation of when this happens. This is more complex than it sounds, since this status originates as an UG so we need to mesh our guidelines with the UG bylaws and mindset. Many brothers who have been in “bad standing” in the past had either paid or challenge the amount they owe, and without proper documentation this is hard to prove. It’s my hope we have a more solid way of keeping track of these things so that brothers aren’t dissuaded from coming to events and shunned by the brothers because of some misunderstanding. 

25. How would you describe the corporation and its purpose to a member who doesn’t know anything about it?

The corporation’s purpose is two-fold. On one side, as an alumni we all yearn for the times we had with our brothers as UG’s. The official alumni events give us an excuse to get together to re-live those memories and catch up with our fellow brothers. The corporation helps organize these events and provides the funding for them as part of our operating costs. On the other side, the fraternity has played a part in all of our lives and has contributed to our successes. Giving back to the undergrads is a great way to ensure they have even better experiences than we had, and as living relics from the NJE system we can know that our donations will yield great results. The corporation has a chapter scholarship fund and housing fund that directly help the UG’s for their future success. Donations aren’t all monetary, our events with the UG’s allow them to network with us and for us to share our experiences and wisdom.