RPI Pep Band Alumni (and
Friends) Newsletter
Volume 2, Issue 2
About Us
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This Issue:
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Wow! What a year it has been. To think that after our first year we've broken the 100 members mark, watched the football team make it to the NCAA semi-finals, and had three successful alumni events! 2004 looks to be even better, with the hockey team playing well and more alumni gatherings on the way. Plus we can now welcome this year's second semester seniors to our merry little band. With all that in mind, let's get started on the first newsletter of 2004. |
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Hockey Season Comes To A Close The Engineers put up quite a fight this season. After a horribly disappointing 2002-2003 campaign, RPI turned it all around for another 20+ win season. The ECAC was close right up until the final night of the regular season, and RPI ended up just one point out of a first round bye. After sweeping Princeton at home, RPI went on the road to face #4 Dartmouth, and won the first game. In the end though, the Big Green were too much for the Engineers, and defeated us in two straight shut-outs. Dartmouth would then lose their semifinal game against Harvard, who would then go on to defeat Clarkson for the ECAC title. The irony here is that RPI swept both Clarkson and Harvard in the regular season. The women's season was much the same. After leading the conference for most of the year, critical loses to Manhattanville cost the Lady Engineers the regular season title and the chance to host the ECAC-East tournament. RPI would later lose the conference final rematch, and see their hopes for an autobid to the NCAA D3 women's tourney vanish. Now we look to next year, and boy is there plenty to look forward to. For the men, a top-notch recruiting class including standout goaltender Jordan Alford and forward Andrew Lord should help to push the Engineers back to the top of the conference. On the women's side, the team will look to compete in their final season at D3, as plans have been announced to move the team to D1 starting with the 2005-2006 season. Unofficial schedules are already in circulation, and we'll be sure to bring you the info as soon as we have it. |
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With the Freakout over and the season behind us, it's time to turn our attention to our next Alumni event, Reunion Weekend. We are still very much in the planning stages for this event, and are looking for your input. For those who don't have their calendars handy, Reunion Weekend this year is June 10-13.All of the 4 and 9 classes will be having their class reunions that weekend, with the usual parades and dinners. Last year's Pep Band Alumni Reunion Weekend featured Pub Night at the Clubhouse Pub followed by an evening of pool in the Union Games Room. This year we will be doing the 2nd Annual Pub Night. In addition, we are trying to coordinate a street hockey game for that Saturday, as well as a post-reunion breakfast on Sunday. Other ideas, including a private off-campus party, are still in the works. We're still soliciting input as well, so if you have ideas or want to help let us know. And if you haven't already done so, be sure to RSVP. Information on RPI's official Reunion Weekend events can be found at http://www.alumni.rpi.edu/si/reunion/reunion.html. |
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There's only one word to use to describe this year's Freakout: Wow. Alumni turnout this year was spectacular, with over thirty of our members showing up. The second annual pre-freakout breakfast was also a huge hit, and it was great to see both the local and not so local alumni in attendance. And of course another Freakout come-from-behind victory over Clarkson (SUCKS) didn't hurt the night's festivities either! Pictures from the day can be found here. If you have more pictures from the event that aren't included here, be sure to send them our way. |
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Wow, it's been a busy quarter for some of our recent alums. Good to see so many people doing well, and to hear from so many of you. Let's see what everyone's been up to. Ex-conductor Stand Up Kim will be finishing up her degree in geology this May from Kansas State University. Her next step will be to finish a degree in secondary education and begin a graduate degree in geology, including three weeks in Hawaii studying volcanoes. Her husband Darrell is currently serving in Iraq and will be returning home this fall, while her son Justin turns four this summer. Another ex-conductor, Tex Tunes It Y'all '02, has just finished his MS in electrical engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology. From there, Tex will be working at Hanscom Air Force base in Boston doing research. Ex-manager and all around good guy Johnny Stucklen '01 will be running in the Indianapolis Life 500 Festival Mini Marathon on May 8, 2004 in Indianapolis, IN to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Johnny is trying to help raise $1500.00 for the LLS. 80% of the money goes directly to research and the other 20% goes to support the children and their families. If anyone wants to help out and donate they can either contribute by sending a check payable to "The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society" to me or can do a cash donation to his paypal account at stuckj@alum.rpi.edu. All donations are tax deductible, and must be received by April 14th. Checks can be sent to 263 Main St., Salem, NH 03079. For more info, go to Team In Training, or contact Johnny directly. And finally, Ex-manager Erica Baer received some good news recently, as she was accepted into the PhD program at Alliant International University, where she will complete her degree in 2008. We're always looking to spread the word on things happening in the lives of our alums. If you have anything you'd like to share, please let us know. |
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When RPI says they're breaking ground on a new construction project, they really mean it. Construction on EMPAC has begun. Anyone who remembers sledding down library hill or just sitting there in the summer watching the sunset better sit down for these next photos. The fence, along with most of the trees, is no more.
To see more photos, click here. The first photo was taken a week before the rest, so you can see the amount of progress being made. We've also included some photos of the renovated approach for those alums who haven't been back in a while. Some interesting news comes from the announcement of new athletic facilities up near the Fieldhouse, with several buildings to be started within the next few years. No plans to replace or upgrade Houston Fieldhouse as of yet, but who knows what the future might bring. |
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Hi, we'd like to start off this column by introducing the new
officers for the next year. Andrew Bickford (flute, physics 2005)
and Erin
Chapman (flute, mathematics and computer science 2007)
are the
new managers.
Sarah Toner (mellophone, physics 2006) is the conductor
for the coming year. We'd like to say hello to all of you. It was
good to see many of you at Freakout, cheering the team on to a
4-2 win
over Clarkson (sucks!). Hopefully Freakout this upcoming
year will be equally enjoyable and see the team to another <insert
adjective> victory. The band enjoyed their over night road trip to Harvard and Brown
in mid-February where they say the team score late goal to defeat
Harvard 3-2 and then go on to crush Brown 4-0 the next night. Some
of the
band took a quick side trip to see the women's team play
U. Mass.
Boston on Saturday afternoon. A few weeks later the band took a
short
jaunt to New Haven, Connecticut to see the team pulverize Yale
6-0. After
cheering the team on to a sweep of Princeton in the first round
of the ECAC
tournament, the band took a road trip to Hanover, New
Hampshire where they played at the team's three games against Dartmouth.
Between
the games the band wandered the streets in search of amusement,
but regrettably managed to exhaust Hanover's supply in too short
of a time. The band is starting to wind down for the year but we do still
have a few events left before the end. As we write this, we are
preparing for accepted students day on April 3rd and the Crop Walk
For the
Hungry on May 2nd. We're looking forwards to a fun filled year and will hopefully
see many of you along the way. --Andrew Bickford and Erin Chapman |
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As always, here's our newsletter recap and notices.
Next issue: Reunion Weekend recap, Football and Hockey previews, getting ready for Alumni Night, and Student Orientation! |
