THE RE-FOUNDING FATHER CLASS
OF OMEGA ALPHA
INITIATED APRIL 18, 2006
DAVID C. DOWTY
#94 BROTHER GATEWAY
My full legal name is David Clifford Gregory Dowty. I was born on January 31st 1984 at Wurtsmith AFB in Michigan. I was born the 4th child to Gloria Norma Theresa Paradis and Scott Meads Dowty. At this time my parents already had my eldest brother Peter John (now 27 y/o), Jennifer Anne (now 25 y/o) and Eric Meads (now 23 y/o) and in eighteen months they would have their final child Sean Michael (now 20 y/o).
My father was already a young Captain in the United States Air Force and a navigator for the B-52C and the FB-111 (eventually flying the B-51B). Within three months of my birth we moved to Plattsburg, NY (the city of my brother Sean’s birth), then Berwick, ME two years later, followed by a move to Rapid City, SD, Shalimar, FL, Würzburg, Germany, Stuttgart, Germany and finally to Montgomery, AL.
Throughout the past twenty years I have lived in thirteen houses, gone to seven different schools (eight including JWU), participated in six different scouting organizations and either lived, worked or studied on four continents. I have been a nomad and I like it that way. In total I have seen my cousins only twenty-seven times and I keep in touch with only one friend from my life before JWU.
What my travels have done for my brothers, sister and I though is to bring us closer than any other siblings I know. They are the first ones I reach out to if I have a problem. They are the first ones I would be willing to sacrifice for, and they are the first ones to whom I respond. It is not uncommon for me to drive over four hours to help out my brother or for my brothers to come to my aid. I love to spend time with my family and look for any excuse to have a good time with them.
My travels have also left me with the benefit of being able to belong anywhere. Living in Europe caused me to look for universities with an International Business program and have ignited a fire of interest in living and working abroad. To that end, while living in Germany I learned practical German and for the past four years I have studied French as well as lived and studied at the La Rochelle Groupe Superior de Commerce in France.
They have also left me without a home, which can make life quite difficult. Anecdotally my birth certificate is from MI, my SSN is registered in NH, my driver’s license is from RI, I am a legal resident of AL, yet a registered voter in FL. My car is registered in VA and my insurance carrier is German. Technically not legal, but no one has bothered to ask about it.
I am a devout Catholic and I do hold my religious obligations to the forefront of my life, but at the same time I agree with Galileo when he said "I do not feel obliged to believe that the God who endowed us with sense, reason and intellect intended for us to forgo their use." I despise blind acceptance of what some call "fact" and revile in my ability to debunk beliefs.
One of the single most influential aspects of my life has to be my involvement in the Boy Scouts of America. I have been involved in the scouting movement since the 3rd grade and will continue to work at all levels of the organization until the day I die. I believe strongly in the values the BSA instills in young men and I hope one day to be as great a mentor and "father" to those that follow me as my mentors have been.
My parents have always stressed academic excellence and encouraged my siblings and I to do well in school. As such, every one of my brothers scored above 1250 on their SATs and graduated from HS with 3.7 or above GPA. I scored 1390 on the SATs and graduated with a 3.73, however my sister trumped us all graduating with a 3.84 GPA and a 1530 SAT score.
My parents both have music backgrounds and degrees from Lowell College in Lowell, MA. They required that each of us, until the age of five, play the piano and violin. On our fifth birthday they required that each of us take up a concert and a band instrument – I chose the upright bass and the trombone. This remained a requirement throughout High School.
My dream at this point is to work in the field of developmental economics for third world countries, developing infrastructure and financing for successful integration of these impoverished economies into the world marketplace. We’ll see what happens and I’ll get back to you.
CHRISTOPHER BISCIOTTI
#95 BROTHER EVANGELIST
Since I can remember I have always been a mellow small-town boy. I grew up in the town of Torrington, CT (one half-hour west of Hartford). When I was a year old my father and mother split up and I moved in with my dad, older brother and sister. After about a year my father met a wonderful lady who eventually became my step mom but more importantly, the motherly figure in my life. This is where my little half sister came into the picture. My father, step mom, little sister and I had the American dream but that was soon crashed with a divorce about 3 years ago. Now I live with my dad while my step mom and little sister live together. Events such as these had brought me closer to everyone and really made me realize the importance of family. It gave me the ethical mindset that one day I want to have the perfect life for my wife and kids. This became my dream.
Torrington was a great place to be brought up and a wonderful place to grow friendship. Although the drama seemed to lurk around, it made for an interesting place. I attended a technical high school which was unconventional to most people but posed many advantages for me. Through my time spent at OWTS, I played baseball and wrestled and was captain of the soccer team. I also served as president of the national honor society. I also received awards such as CIAC scholar athlete and Army scholar athlete of the year. I studied electrical wiring and controls in residential, commercial, and industrial installations. This background gave me a better job than the average teenager. After high school I began to work as a registered electrical apprentice in Connecticut. I did this for about 6 months and decided I wanted more out of life. I grew an interest for the US Coast Guard and considered enlisting. My parents began to discuss the benefits of earning a college degree first, then enlisting. This changed my mind and I set off to get my degree. I had two friends that went to Johnson & Wales University so I figured why not try it out. This decision brought me to where I am right now.
When people discuss future plans, it is tough to imagine what you want to do at age 18. So to tell the reader what exactly it is that I want to do is impossible. My ideas for my new found freedom of adulthood grow day to day. My main mindset is still on the Coast Guard though. I like how this branch of the military serves as the enforcers of our waterways and ports. I hope to some day fly those helicopters that save so many people from danger. This would be the ideal situation for my interests. I also plan to earn a degree then hopefully move to an area in the US that interests me, California. Ever since I was little I loved the shore and water. The thought of relaxing on the beach brings happiness to me whenever I feel down. I soon found that my older sister was moving to California. This happens to be another reason for my idea of moving to the West Coast. I believe from visits to my sister that the West Coast has the scenery of that off of a postcard. I want to be part of that; I want to live in that postcard.
JON W. HOLICK, II
#96 BROTHER RODEO
So as you know my name is Jon Holick and I’m from Middleboro, Massachusetts which is a big town but a small one at the same time. What I mean by this is that it’s a big town per square mile but a small town in the sense that there is really nothing there. It is in a good area though, being right in the middle of Boston, Providence and the Cape. I think many things mainly from being in a small town and being around my family a lot have shaped me, but to tell the truth I think most of who I am I have shaped myself.
To start off, I was born in Massachusetts and lived there my whole life until I moved to Providence. The town I’m from is nice and a good place to raise a family, but not great if you like the night life. Growing up I was very close to my family and did everything with them. My parent divorced when I was four and it wasn’t really a huge deal for me because I was so young. It was actually a good thing them getting a divorce because they were better off friends than a married couple and they are best of friends now. It worked out good that they had a very nice divorce, after it was final they went out to eat, so it wasn’t messy at all. Since all was good my dad’s family stayed close to my dad’s side and vice versa. I stayed with my mom at our house and my dad moved out and got an apartment. Mainly during the week when I was in school I would be with my mom and then at the weekends I would be with either my dad or at my cousins house. To give a little list of my family on my dad’s side I have a grandmother, one aunt and three uncles and the are all married. I have six cousins and a few of them have kids also. On my mom’s side only my nana and my nana’s aunt, who recently passed away lived, in town, the rest being in New Jersey and Boston. My dad has since moved to San Diego and recently moved to San Antonio with my step mom and two little sisters.
Basically until High School I hung out with my family all the time. For high school I didn’t follow the rest of my friends and go to Middleboro High, but instead went to a technical High School a few towns away in Taunton, Massachusetts. I went to Bristol Plymouth Technical High School for four years to become a chef in the Culinary Program that they had. My first two years there I really liked the program and in my sophomore year, wanting to follow in the steps of the other seniors I decided that I wanted to go to Johnson & Wales in Providence to pursue a culinary career. Even though I began to hang out with my friends from school I made a strong effort to stay close to my family and made sure I hung out with them as much as possible. During my junior year at school I began to realize that I really didn’t like the culinary program and decided that I didn’t want to be a chef. At first when I decided I didn’t want to do culinary I had decided that I also didn’t want to go to college and that lasted for a while. During the beginning of my senior year all my friends started to apply to colleges and I began to wonder what I was going to do with my life. Was I just going to stay in Middleboro and have a dead end job that would take me no where or was I going to make something of myself? After thinking about all that I decided that I was going to apply to a college and since it was getting kind of late in the year and the only college that I had ever looked at was Johnson & Wales, I decided to apply there for Sports/Entertainment/Event Management. I read up on my major and it looked really interesting to me, I loved sports and the chance that I could be working with celebrities really caught me. So I sent in my application and was accepted, which was good since it was the only school I applied to.
Going to college was definitely a little scary and I was really nervous before I started. The main thing was that I wasn’t going to be around my family as much. As soon as I got to school that first weekend I loved it. It actually felt really good to be free and to go out with the town and clubs right down the street from me. I thought I would be going home all the time and that wasn’t the case at all. I met so many people that I care about so much and they have all become more than friends, they are basically my family. My major is good and I do enjoy it and I would really like to pursue the Public Relations side of it. I plan to stay here at JWU for my four years and get my Bachelors in SEE. After that I want to move to California, somewhere in SoCal and work in the Los Angeles area doing Public Relations. I hope to find a nice girl to marry and have a few kids and have a great house in the LA area and then eventually retire in Malibu or Palm Desert.
HECTOR N. AHUMADA
#97 BROTHER REWIND
Born on February 27, 1983 in Nogales, Mexico I came into the world weighing 7 lbs 7 oz. Born to Hector Ahumada and Cecila Ahumada. My father is a dentist in Mexico and my mother is a director of promotion of health. I have an 18 year old brother named Diego and a 9 year old sister Juliana. I went to Lincoln Elementary School in Nogales, AZ until sixth grade then I attended Sacred Heart School until ninth grade then I attended Our Lady of Lourdes High School and I graduated in 2002. During this time I was in youth soccer league, martial arts in which I studied Kung Fu and Karate, I was taught how to ride a horse and also participated in some rodeo events, also I was a boy scout in middle school and into high school. In high school I participated on the soccer team, baseball team, basketball team and I was a letterman. I got my first job at 17 at Yokohama Rice Bowl starting as a dish washer and eventually I moved up to a line cook position. I was accepted to Johnson & Wales University’s School of Culinary Arts in April of 2002. I began attending in September of 2002 and graduated with my Associates Degree in 2004. During this time I lived in East hall during my freshman year and Edmund Hall during my sophomore year. This is where I met my best friend Edward Volpe and he introduced me to fraternity life. During my junior year I acquired an apartment which I am currently living in with Bjorn Minde and Alex Flack. During this time I also got a job as a line cook at Oak Restaurant, this is where I can hone my culinary skills. Now that I am in my senior year of college I am looking forward to graduating and starting a new chapter in my life.
BRIAN J. COTTMAN
#98 BROTHER PRIME
I was born Brian James Cottman on February 4, 1985 at 12:52 a.m. to my proud parents, William C. and Helen Ann Cottman. I have an older brother Adam and no younger siblings. I grew up first in a little row house on Heather Avenue in Folcroft, Pennsylvania then moved to the next town over, Prospect Park, in the month of November of my third grade year. I dealt with the usual problems of jumping from one school to another in the elementary years. I enjoyed the differences in academics, my friends, and my hobbies at both schools.
My family means everything to me and I have been very close with them my whole life. I was always close with my mom since my dad was usually working two jobs to support us. This made their divorce during my freshman and sophomore years of college very difficult for me. I have made the decision to remove my father from my life. His actions during the divorce showed me that his true character was not that of a fair and just man, but of a boy who is selfish and concerned most with his own comfort. He left our mother with incredible debt, a house to pay off, and no income. It has now become my job to help support both my mother and brother. This is in no way an easy task but one that I feel is my duty to my family.
I found high school to be a breeze. I excelled academically with the exception of math. I found myself partial to extracurricular activities. I was in Class Congress, Student Council, Marching Band, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), French Club, and our Theater Group. I helped to plan dances, make homecoming floats, carry on school traditions, travel to a state championship for FBLA competition, and travel the Eastern Coast.
Every year for marching band we took a spring trip to some destination on the east coast. Twice our program delivered us to parade in Disney World. We’ve also had the pleasure of playing in Dollywood, Myrtle Beach, Ocean City New Jersey’s Boardwalk, Toronto, and Virginia. In Theater, I was the Student Director, working directly with our staff director on producing two musicals in my junior and senior years. I was a section leader for Marching Band my senior year for the Percussion Section (I switched to drums from trumpet in 9th grade). I was a committee chairperson for three years for Class Congress and Student Council and ran registration for our Regional Student Council Convention my senior year.
I think that staying in so many hotels on band trips, running a registration for so many students, and leadership experience are what drove me into my major. I got a job as a bellman at the Philadelphia Airport Holiday Inn and tried to work my way up through the organization. I was soon cross-trained in every department at the hotel. I loved my job and did my hardest to show my supervisors how much I did. When I am asked to name one unique thing about myself I always reply that I am one of the few people you will ever meet that enjoys going to work, loves going to school, and does community service just for fun.
I was sitting in my Culinary Arts class filling out college applications for different schools, my senior year in high school, and my teacher handed me one for Johnson & Wales University. I had only heard about them since they wrote our textbook for that class. I decided to fill it out as a joke thinking there was no chance I could get into a school like that with its amazing reputation in the industry.
I received my letter of acceptance three week later with a letter from the President handing me a $5,000 scholarship with a chance to earn more. Two months later I received a letter from the Chancellor with news that I won an essay contest and they’d be willing to kick in $10,000 a year for four years if I was still interested in coming to their university. That was enough to convince me and after two campus visits, I couldn’t get enough of it. I am now a Hospitality Management major in my junior year. I have an Associate’s Degree in Hotel Management and concentrations in Food & Beverage Management, Sales and Meeting Management, and Political Science (I’m a real government nerd). And I hope to one day own my own chain of restaurants and resorts.
I feel the same way about college that I did about high school. I enjoy my experiences outside of the classroom as much as those inside. One must first learn the theories in class and then apply them in real life. Both sides of the equation are useless without the other side. That is why I am so adamant about my community service and my work. Even through my positions with Student Government (Speaker of the Senate) and Tongue Fu (Executive Treasurer), I see the practical applications of leadership, public speaking, networking, etc.
I always wanted to be in a fraternity; however, the stereotypes and uneasiness at the idea of being hazed kept me from my dream. I have an older brother who often times acts like my younger and I am a few days older than my best friend Scott. They both have been there for me through the thick and thin, tears and pain. I wouldn’t trade my relationships with them for anything. However, I feel that I have not been able to adequately return the favor. It seems that they need me much less than I need them. I know that they understand that I am there for them and that that should be good enough but I still feel unfulfilled. I want to expand that relationship and help others who share the same vision of brotherhood as I do. I was approached to join Tau Epsilon Phi by a man that I greatly respect, Michael Grossi. He got me excited about committing to the organization. I had my reservations at first, but it felt real incredible to be asked to do this because someone saw in me that little extra that sets me apart. I got the same feeling and same pride when I received my bid. Every brother I have met so far, I have greeted with the deepest sense of respect not because I have to as a pledge, but because I see the same strength, dedication, passion, and drive that I feel and hope to be recognized throughout life for.
CHRISTOPHER C. HEMPEL
#99 BROTHER ORACLE
I was born on January 7th, 1985 on Tyndall AFB in Panama City, FL. I attended school in Florida until 1990, when my little sister Jamie was born. Shortly after she was born my family packed up and moved closer to the rest of our relatives near a small town on Cape Cod known as Mashpee. The change in weather, people, and way of life up North was hard to adjust to at first but finally I settled in once I was in high school. My freshman year was the hardest for me with the death of my father – I missed a great deal of school and fell behind. I slowly started to catch up near the end of my freshmen year and by my sophomore year I was in the top 20 of my class at Mashpee High School. I took up sports year round, including football, indoor track, and cross country to keep myself involved. I was team captain of my cross country team in 2002 and 2003, and still maintained an above average GPA.
In high school my artistic talent started to combine with my love for computers and technology and here I found my love for the digital arts. I was placed in an independent study to explore and teach myself digital imaging. My junior year it was clear that my passion was in this industry and so I proceeded to apply to many schools across the country from Vermont to Florida. I graduated in 2003 and began working full time as an apprentice in the heating trade, doing small amounts of AutoCAD work and freelance design until fall 2003, when I started attending Johnson & Wales University for a degree in Computer Graphics and New Media. Since then I have developed a small client base for various types of print advertisements as well as interactive web pages. I have also been working at various part-time jobs to support my college education as well as my computer programs and upgrades.
I am now a junior and plan to graduate in May of 2007. Before graduating I would like to leave a good imprint on the school which I can look back on many years from now. This is why I have decided to pledge Tau Epsilon Phi Fraternity. Although I am leaving in one short year, I feel as if I could bring to the school a positive attitude towards Greek life and perhaps change others views of the typical ‘frat boy’. I also believe that friends created through this process will be those whom I can count on for the rest of my life, as well as expanding my own personal network. I believe being part of this fraternity will teach me valuable lessons in which I can apply throughout my lifetime. I believe each candidate in my class can help bring Tau Epsilon Phi to the top of Greek life at Johnson & Wales. By holding together and focusing our full energy on conquering this process, I believe that the current T.E. Phi brothers will be happy to consider each of us their own someday.
EDWARD G. DUKE
#100 BROTHER CENTURION
Edward Duke was born in the city of Brooklyn and moved to the town of Westmoreland when he was a young child. He calls the country and the woods home. As we know home is where the heart is. Edward is 19 years old, is single, going to school at JWU for retail marketing management but still does not really know what he wants to be when and if he grows up. He likes the outdoors, trying new things, and any kind of motor sport. Some of the things you might find him doing in his free time are snowboarding, riding his motorcycle, hiking, playing paintball, playing with nun chucks or working, most of the time, that means cooking someone’s food. Not to say he does not know how to relax because he is a pro at that and has seen most any movie worth seeing. He also loves to listen to and download music onto his computer. He generally like to keep his hands and mind busy so you might see him playing around with something, anything close to him which is normally a sign that he is getting bored. Edward is easy going and is open to questions so if you would like to know more just find him and ask.
JUSTIN R. TETREAULT
#101 BROTHER QUAGMIRE
Justin Robert Tetreault was born on July 5, 1985 at the Framingham Union Hospital in Massachusetts. My mother and father (Donna and Robert) told me the story of my birth on many occasions. The story goes that during an Independence Day party, around midnight my mother's water broke and she was rushed to the hospital where she spent almost 10 hours in labor until I was born at 9:10AM that warm summer July morning. My parents tell me I wanted out of my mom's stomach because I wanted to see what all the noise was about outside. Unfortunately for me, my birth announcement was held off until the following Monday when my extended family returned from vacations. This was the age before cell phones so all we could do was wait for them to come home to learn about the new member of the family. My parents are currently divorced, and I live with my mom when I am not at college. My mom is a terrific woman. As a Chaplain of Hospice, she sees over 65 patients a week and helps families deal with the death of a member. I have an older sister named Monique who is turning 23 in May. She lives in Florida with her boyfriend Brian, where they both attend the same school. She is studying to be an interior designer, while he majors in video game design. I on the other hand study sports management in hopes of landing a marketing job for the Boston Red Sox. As a sophomore at Johnson & Wales, I realize the popularity and level of competition within my major, so I plan on attending graduate school somewhere in Florida. This will give me more knowledge of my field and it will better prepare me for the real world.
At an early age I was always into sports. Even my bib had a big picture of snoopy running with the football. For most of my life I played baseball. Since I am big for my age I was always too big to play Pop Warner football in my town. Once I reached high school, I was no longer too big to play; I was just the right size. Our freshman team had 60 players who all wanted to play hard. We finished the season at 9-1, which was the second best single season school record for freshman football. During my sophomore season, I made the varsity team as a second string Tight End. The man in front of me was the team captain, but I still received my fare share of snaps. That year we went 10-1, and won our school's first ever Super bowl by defeating Acton-Boxboro 37-25. The group of guys I had surrounding me was more then enough to keep me off drugs and focus my attention on the team. It's sad to say that wasn't enough for everyone. My junior season, we lost 10 players to 2-game suspensions for drug use. And we lost one permanently because he got locked up for drug dealing. Our team with so much promise had allowed substance abuse to take over. That season we won only three games. My senior year did not get any better. Instead of the 20-30 returning seniors, it was diminished to only 9 seniors on the team. The disappointing previous season had caused many to quit, or they just flat out quit because they would rather party then play football. We ended the season again with only three wins, but overcame a 14 point deficit in the 4th quarter to defeat our rival, the Natick Redman, on Thanksgiving Day. That win kept them from an undefeated season, and also took them out of contention to go to their first Super bowl.
The future of our fraternity is a lot like my high school football experience. In the beginning we were breaking records and playing as one. And then we allowed personal matters, drug use, and a flat out lack of discipline to ruin it. This pledge class has the potential for greatness. And we will achieve greatness if we stick together and allow ourselves to better the community we live in. Not just because we have to, but because we want to. If there is an issue, we handle it as one, and don't allow an incident to become a cancer to our fraternity. The player I mentioned before, that was convicted of drug dealing is in prison until 2009. That could have been avoided if he had come to one of his teammates or coaches and admitted he needed help for his addiction. I am not saying one of our pledge members will end up in prison, but if we don’t work together to solve our problems, then there is no way to prevent future problems. I am really excited to be part of something bigger then myself. I am Tau Epsilon Phi, and this organization will aid me in achieving my full potential as a student as well as becoming a "Better Man."
JOSH McSHERRY
#102 BROTHER NEO
My name is Josh Mcsherry and I’m from Washington, Connecticut. Washington is a small town about 2 hours from Providence. I graduated from Shepaug Valley High School with a class of 83 students. I wasn’t to active in organizations besides being part of sports teams. I have done community service by helping mentally slow people have fun by taking them bowling or to the mall. Community service was a graduation requirement at Shepaug.
In high school I played baseball and soccer. I was the baseball team captain my senior year. I have grown up playing baseball and will continue to play baseball during the summer. Baseball has been a huge part of my life; I can’t remember when I wasn’t playing baseball. If I ever had the chance to become a major league baseball player, without a doubt I would take that opportunity. It’s a childhood dream come true for me.
Here at Johnson & Wales I am an accounting major. Eventually I want to become a CPA which is a Certified Public Accountant. I would like to work in a large firm or somewhere that is close to home. I like to travel so there is a possibility that I wouldn’t mind traveling around and seeing new places while I am working. And someday I would like to open up my own accounting agency.
This fraternity means a lot to me. I would like to Re-establish this fraternity into the fraternity that everyone wants to join. I feel that I bring my communication skills and dedication skills to the fraternity. I am a good communicator; I’m not afraid to stand up to groups of people and express ideas. Dedication is huge, I am willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. I have been dedicated to baseball for years and years and will continue that dedication into the fraternity. I joined because I want to make a difference and become more active at school, it gets boring sitting around in the dorm hanging out. Meeting new people and helping the community through fundraising and community service gives me a sense of pride knowing that I am making a difference in the community and individual’s lives.
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