Page 3 - Marching Along - Fall 2016

Chapter Spotlight: Andres E. Levy
Editor’s Note: Representing the chapter as Spotlight is Andres Levy. Born in Miami, Florida, Andres
and his family have lived in Miami for fifteen years and lived in Charlotte, NC for five years. Andres is
currently in his third year at the University of Florida, majoring in Finance, and is scheduled to graduate
May 2018. As an active chapter member, he served as the Internal Philanthropy Chair, organizing the
chapter philanthropy and raising over $40,000 for Alzheimer’s research. Andres is currently serving as
the New Member Educator in charge of overseeing the professional development of the new member
class in the fall and turning them into Men of Principle. Andres is also heavily involved on campus,
serving as the Beta delegate for Dance Marathon, the social chairman for Camp Kesem at the University
of Florida, and has a wide range of other experiences on campus. Outside of class and campus
involvement, you can find Andres going to the gym, sitting buy the pool, or enjoying cheap tacos and
quality conversation at the local Cantina.
Fun: Rec sports; works full time as an Administrative Assistant during the summers to help pay for his
school financial needs; volunteers with Hands for Haiti each summer in which he works with Missionaries
for the Poor to assist with building a school, building an irrigation system, and spend time with the kids.
America. Our greatest achievement was breaking
our fundraising record from last year and raising
over $40,000 for Alzheimer’s research. I’m most
proud of how smoothly the event ran amid all of the
chaos backstage. I’ll never forget, five minutes before
opening curtain, a girl on the first team scheduled to
perform broke her arm. Because we were so quick
to act and had the paramedics on site, she was fine
and we managed to reorder the whole show without
missing a beat. There’s really no way I could have
done it all alone and I felt truly blessed to see so
many people contribute and to have everyone’s full
support every step along of the way.
How have the older chapter members influenced
your campus-related volunteer work?
Beta has a huge presence in most on-campus
organizations and the older members really
encouraged all of us new members to get involved.
I was fortunate enough to join Camp Kesem and
Dre (right) with his friends and tour guide DanceMarathonalong withseveralotheroncampus
on a hike during a mission trip to Haiti. organizations all because of the encouragement and
What led you to join Gamma Xi? influence they provided. I really look up to them
Well, I didn’t know many people coming into and I know my pledge class feels the same way,
UF but the chapter president at the time was nice which is probably the biggest reason that I wanted
enough to show me around my first couple of weeks to be the Pledge Trainer this coming fall. Hopefully
and introduce me to a lot of older Gamma Xi’s. The I can have the same impact on these new kids that
first day of rush I spent all my time the older Gammi Xi’s had on me.
at Beta and reluctantly decided to
hold my bid. I met a lot of amazing What type of internship are you
people I really got along with and interested in for next summer?
felt like I just fit in well with all of
them so the next day I came back My goal is to work for a private
and accepted my bid right away. equity firm after I graduate from
I didn’t really even rush anywhere UF. I’ve always been interested
else. Beta just felt right for me. in the financial and operational
aspects of private equity firms, and
As Philanthropy Chair, what I am looking for an internship in
that area so I can gain a greater
was your greatest achievement? understanding of the industry.
As Philanthropy Chair, I was
in charge of putting on our Dre (left), his dad, and What are your plans for the
annual philanthropy Beta Bring his little brother having summer?
It On, which is a cheerleading fun during their father’s
competition that benefits the Well the first half of summer I’ll
Alzheimer’s Association of weekend this spring. be working full time back home
in Miami. I’ve got some cool trips
planned too though. I’ll be in Peru
for about a week for a wedding and then I get to go
back to Haiti for about a week. I’m most excited
for Haiti. The past three summers me and one of
my best friends have gone on a mission trip to Cap-
Haitien to work at school in the mountains that his
dad helped start. After all that, I’ll get to go back
to UF for summer classes. Finally, the last week of
summer, I get to go to my first year of Camp Kesem,
which is a free week long summer camp for kids
who have been impacted by a parent’s or loved one’s
cancer. It’s going to be a great summer.
FROM THE ALUMNI
PRESIDENT
(continued from page one)
her priorities would be ensuring the safety and
well-being of the boys, their guests and the house
itself. We tried to get her to change the order
of her priorities to put the house first, but she
wouldn’t budge on that point. Tough lady! But
being the House Mom you have to be both tough
and tender. Tough to make sure the place doesn’t
get burned down, and tender to be a mom to over
one hundred guys away from their own moms
for the first time. It takes a special person, and we
feel that Kathy has the “Right Stuff” to be great
in her new role. Welcome Kathy to the Gamma
Xi family!
Fall is an exciting time at UF, and especially at
Beta, with the fun of football game days. Please
stop by the house if you are in town to reconnect
with friends from your college days (visit our
website ufbeta.com for more details as the season
approaches). If you haven’t seen the house lately,
you will be impressed with how nice it looks.
And you will get a warm reception from your
brother Betas.
_Yours in Kai_
Thank God I am a Beta
Brad Fortune ’92
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