Page 1 - Diamond News - December 2015

Fall 2015 | Georgia Institute of Technology | Alumni Office | P.O. Box 80828, Atlanta, Georgia 30366
President’s Report Alumni Thomas M. Pethtel ’12
Spotlight
We l c o m e Editor’s Note: For this edition of the newsletter
to our we’re shining the Alumni Spotlight on Brother
inaugural Tom Pethtel ’12. From the hometown of
Marietta, OH, Tom came to Tech in pursuit of
issue of the Georgia a degree in Computer Science. He has served
Tech DU Alumni the chapter as Rush Chair, Vice President of
Club Newsletter. Recruitment, and Member at Large. Tom is
Our goal is to currently working as a Software Engineer
establish a reliable with Utility, Inc., a company that provides
and consistent mobile resource management technology and
communication services that allow utilities and first responder
process with all Georgia Tech DU alumni, organizations to effectively command, control
family, and friends. We are fortunate to have and support mobile field operations. Outside of
engaged Elevate (formally The Laurus Group work, Tom enjoys working on cars, computers,
& Stewart Howe) in Atlanta to manage the and the art of cooking. This spring, he and his
newsletter for us, keep up with alumni address fiancée, Kelley, will wed. Congrats Tom!
changes, and maintain an alumni web site,
without having to depend entirely on volunteers.
Elevate will help us focus on what Al Walters
’63 called being in the “DU Forever” business.
Very glad to report that the chapter is doing
great. One of the highest fraternity GPAs, 50-
60 member range, well regarded on campus
and by the Tech administration, doing well in
sports, won the Greek Tug of War the last two
years running, and won Fraternity Sing and
Greek Week this last year. All DUs should be Tom and his father repairing the kitchen exhaust
very proud of a great group of guys. fan on the fraternity house in 2008.
Elevate is being paid a modest annual fee to
provide continuity for us. Fortunately the GT
DU Alumni Club is in a good financial position What led you to join the chapter?
to cover this cost. We have a six figure cash Like many other members of the chapter,
account balance, the house is in good shape,
and our rental payments from the undergrads I was not necessarily looking to go Greek.
comfortably covers the mortgage, property During rush I stopped by the house a few times
taxes, and a healthy addition to our capital and quickly realized the great opportunity being
replacement reserves each year. Tech dorm offered to me. On the surface it was easy to see
rent is now more than DU House rent plus simple benefits like better housing options and
more exciting food. What I didn’t realize at
the time was how much the fraternity would
President (Continued on Page 4) become a part of my life. Being part of the
brotherhood meant having
friends and partners in every
class, a friend to sit with at
Yellow Jackets win! In the final second of the game, the lunch, or a quick ride to the
Jackets took down FSU for a 16-22 win. Turn to page 3 for a
full Homecoming 2015 recap!
grocery store. It also meant
learning how work with
people from many different
backgrounds to accomplish
a common goal.
What did you enjoy
most an active?
During my time in the
chapter I always enjoyed
being part of projects to
make the chapter better.
ΔΥ ΔΥ ΔΥ ΔΥ ΔΥ ΔΥ ΔΥ ΔΥ ΔΥ ΔΥ
Tom and Kelley on a sunset cruise during
a recent trip to Nevis, West Indies.
I spent several years involved in recruitment
as Rush Chair and later as VP of recruitment.
I also spent some time as Member at Large
helping brothers work out differences
among each other and the chapter. Some
of my favorite times were when I had the
opportunity to teach people. From the early
days of working with my pledge class on our
pledge project to work week every summer
to building sets for parties, it was always
great to see the guys learning new skills.
I am also fortunate to have met my fiancé on
the steps of the chapter house a few weeks
after school started. She and I made many
lifelong friends at the fraternity and helped
to foster a relationship between her sorority
and our chapter.
Why did you have to leave school
during your Junior year?
Throughout my third year in school
I started feeling increasingly tired and made
several trips to different doctors trying
to figure out what was going on. Finally
by midway through the spring semester
my symptoms pointed toward Hodgkin’s
Lymphoma, a very common blood cancer
often affecting men in their late teens or early
twenties. Luckily this cancer was the first to
be successfully treated with chemotherapy
and therefore I should expect a rapid and
successful treatment program. I left school
to move back with my parents where
I hoped to overcome the disease quickly
and return in a few months. Unfortunately
I repetitively fell into the minority group for
which treatments were unsuccessful, and a
few months turned into several years.
Pethtel (Continued on Page 4)