The following Tragos Quest to Greece Scholars were announced at the 2020 Carlson Leadership Academies.
Learn more about the Tragos Quest to Greece.
Louis Acra, Cincinnati ’21
Louis has served his chapter as vice president of communications, Phi coordinator, and on the standards board. A Ruck Scholar, he's a finance and real estate major with a 4.0 GPA. He's passionate about his university, serving as a tour guide, and has received several prestigious scholarships from his school. A leader in the school's real estate organization, he's active in a student group that consults for nonprofits, currently supporting a center that fights HIV/AIDS. He's active in a group that adopts a local public school class, and volunteers for an organization that collects goods to support underserved communities. He's interned for a large real estate company and held a number of business-related jobs and internships, and hopes to become a commercial real estate broker in a major city.
Brady Alexander, Florida ’22
Brady has served his chapter as vice president of communications and VP of programming. He's a leader in student government, serving as a senator on multiple committees and representing the voice of his class members. Active in Blue Key, he established a leadership program for freshmen, marketing the organization and helping select those in the program out of hundreds of applications. He's a physiology and kinesiology major and hopes to eventually become a physical therapist and help people recover from injuries. He also enjoys event planning, and has helped plan the largest student-run pep rally in the nation.
Alex Cheema, Massachusetts ’21
Alex serves his chapter as vice president of recruitment. At an important time for the chapter's manpower, with a large number of members leaving the previous semester, this brother’s chapter asked him to take on the role. Even though he didn't have much experience with recruitment, this brother took over and built a viable recruitment strategy that helped the chapter recover, with a 30% increase in manpower. He's an economics major and loves mathematics, and he hopes to work in finance after graduation. As a volunteer with the student alumni association, he manages their social media presence, and he maintains a sound body through the Spikeball Club and Ski and Board Club. He's also volunteered at an assisted living center and in local elementary schools.
Braden Dobson, Toledo ’22
Dobson has been on the dean's list three times and was a Hickman Scholar at Carlson last year. A member of the Order of Omega, he was also selected for an honor society as a sophomore and was picked as one of the most prominent freshmen in his major. He exhibits a sound mind as a criminal justice major with a 3.8 GPA, he hopes to become a lawyer after graduation. He also maintains a sound body, with a passion for soccer and spikeball. He's served his chapter as philanthropy chair and standards board member, and he's been a leader in the criminal justice society and Relay for Life as well as a member of Order of Omega. He's also active in an organization that provides meals for the community and and another group to provide food for children around the world.
Calvin Foss, Loyola Marymount ’21
Calvin is a physics major and applied mathematics minor, part of his university's honors program. He's been active in researching biophysics alongside a professor at the university, and has a desire to pursue biophysics research in grad school. He's also served as a physics lab teaching assistant for electricity and magnetism. As a freshman, he went on a cultural immersion trip to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Calvin is a Trustee Scholar at his school, the top scholarship program on campus offered to ten students each year. He's also VP of philanthropy for his chapter, active in volunteering at a soup kitchen with his chapter. After graduation, he plans to continue working in physics and eventually get a PhD.
Caleb Gipple, Northern Iowa ’21
Passionate about sexual assault awareness and violence prevention, Caleb's taken steps to revamp the campus's sexual assault training. He's also become a Mentor in Violence Prevention and supports survivors at a local center for those affected by sexual assault. He serves on the student conduct board alongside the dean of students, is active in student government and has served on his chapter's standards board and recruitment committee. He's taken his love for reading to his community by starting a student organization to promote literacy in underserved schools in his area. With the help of his brothers, he provided over 2,000 books to kids at five schools in the community. He's been on the dean's list, is an avid supporter of his high school's band and served as an orientation leader and admissions ambassador.
Curtis Harrison, Colorado School of Mines ’21
Curtis holds a 4.0 in his studies in engineering physics and computer science. Selected as a member of Stanford's University Innovation Fellows, this brother has visited Stanford and Google's campuses and returned to launch a number of projects for his community — including a series of design thinking workshops on campus, mental health pop-ups and a 4-year leadership program open to all students on campus. A leader in the Makers' Society on campus, he facilitates creation of all kinds for other students. He's held several internships and jobs with tech companies, and he serves as associate director for the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He represented the University Innovation Fellows at South by Southwest in Austin, and he's passionate about empowering people to create and innovate. He works with his family in their company, developing physiology research equipment. And he maintains a sound body by playing club tennis.
Matthew Johnson, Louisiana State ’21
Matthew is a Ruck Scholar, member of the honors college and a teaching assistant, with a GPA well over 4.0. He's serving as a facilitator for his school's Greek Leadership weekend, and he's a member of the Greek Board of Directors, where he was selected to direct Greek Week. He's also helped facilitate IFC pre-recruitment orientation to answer questions of men who are considering joining a fraternity. He maintains a sound mind and is active in the Society for Human Resource Management, Habitat for Humanity, a local high school soccer team and the Order of Omega. On the Sound Body side, he is a certified high school soccer referee. Recipient of a number of awards, he's frequently been on the president's honor roll, majoring in psychology and interdisciplinary studies. He's active in his church and religious organizations, vice president of communications for his chapter, and is fluent in French with working knowledge of Latin and Spanish.
Yordon Journey, Sam Houston State ’22
Yordon has always planned to become a police officer after graduation. He's received the highest honors and promotions in a police explorers program, and he put together a presentation for city council to gain funding for a program he organized, bringing 300 people from across Texas together to compete in a variety of law enforcement scenarios that he designed. He's interned in a police department, and has been on the dean's and president's lists with a 3.7 GPA. In addition, he's a camp counselor for his university's orientation camp, mentoring those who are about to start their college experience. Dedicated to his studies, he also maintains a comprehensive workout routine to build a Sound Body.
Chris Krickhahn, Missouri State ’21
Chris has served his chapter as president, Sigma coordinator, recruitment chair and social media chair. A Ruck Scholar, he's active in student government, a leader in a conservation organization and helps organize welcome week events. Active in community service with his chapter, he's volunteered with a community partnership, served children in elementary school, organized a fundraising softball tournament, supported a foundation for survivors of violence and participated in his chapter's service learning project to help veterans. A Ruck Scholar, he's often on the dean's list, with a 3.82 GPA as a finance major.
Ian Locke, Nevada-Reno ’21
Ian is an economics major with interests in international business, public policy and business management. He's served his chapter as vice president of member development and on the recruitment, housing and standards boards. He's also a leader in the Interfraternity Council, and involved with the economics club and international business club. He's also held a leadership role in a solar power company that gives solar lights to communities in Africa for each one it sells. Interested in fashion, he started an online clothing store. He also enjoys golf, world religions, speaks Spanish and is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom.
Noah Moore, Western Kentucky ’21
Noah is passionate about the arts, language and social justice, and has a triple major in Arabic, Spanish and Public Relations. He's interested in education and arts advocacy, and plans to be an immigration lawyer in the future. On campus, he started an organization dedicated to the study of languages, and he volunteers with the global learning office. He's passionate about international experiences, having benefited from his own study abroad trip to Argentina. He's a leader in Order of Omega and the Public Relations Student Society of America, as well as an ambassador for the honors college. Active in his community, he's helped fundraise for St. Jude's and founded an organization to build mutual understanding between student groups. He's also been a tour guide and orientation leader and served as a mentor in Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Thomas Niepsuj, Kent State ’21
Thomas has served his chapter as vice president of programming and in a number of other capacities. A biology and public health major with plans to become a doctor, this brother maintains a 3.9 GPA. An honors student, he's active in a number of student organizations, including student government, Phi Delta Epsilon pre-med fraternity, an a capella group and the student leadership office. He also volunteers at the university hospital and with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. He interns with the fraternity and sorority life office and has served as an orientation leader.
David O’Coffey, Louisville ’22
David is a marketing major who has made an impact on his community early on in college. He's made a real impact on his chapter's public-facing presence, holding several positions focused on branding the chapter's materials and learning community efforts. Passionate about his school's fundraiser for pediatric cancer, he used his artistic talents to raise over $1,600 for their dance marathon. He's involved with the chapter's partnership with the campus center for sexual assault prevention, giving time and skill to fundraising efforts for the center. He's also part of an organization for responsible alcohol consumption in Greek life. David is a Ruck Scholar, and sound body is especially important to him, as he overcame challenges in that area and now lives a healthy lifestyle that includes soccer and mindfulness. He's talented at drawing and also has an appreciation for architecture and graphic design.
John Owens, Drexel ’21
John served his chapter as vice president of communications and VP of programming. Throughout his life, he overcame a huge challenge and found ways to do good through it. Growing up, he fought through the difficulties that came with dyslexia and began speaking at schools across his area about the challenges he's overcome, bringing hope and confidence to students struggling with learning disabilities and their parents. He continues to work with Dyslexia Advocacy today and is now studying management and information systems with a 3.5 GPA. Also interested in entrepreneurship, technology and photography, this brother enjoys running throughout his city.
Daniel Raleigh, Stevens ’21
Daniel is a Ruck Scholar who also attended Conclave and Life After College. A resident assistant, this brother aims to make an impact on those in his care, and has navigated a number of difficult situations to support those in need. A leader in the Gear and Triangle National Honor Society, he's is pursuing a combined bachelor's and master's degree in civil engineering and construction engineering and management. He's also volunteered for a homeless shelter and helped fundraise for children's hospitals. Daniel received a civic engagement award from his university, won his chapter's BMS before he joined, and is passionate about making a difference in the world.
Matt Shuma, Radford ’21
Matt is a Ruck Scholar and former president and vice president of recruitment for his chapter. On campus, he's passionate about adding value to peoples' lives: he's part of programs to support international students, accommodate students with learning needs and provide food to underprivileged children. A member of the honors college, he's president of the honors council and recently received news coverage for his efforts to change a rule on credit hours so it doesn't financially discriminate against those with demanding majors. And he succeeded in getting the policy changed. He's received a number of scholarships from the university and SigEp, and he's an avid runner and plays cello in the university ensemble. With plans to pursue medical school after college, Matt conducts research on microplastics and holds a 3.9 GPA.
Ryan Ware, Mississippi State ’21
Ryan is passionate about emotional intelligence and self-awareness. He's angled his life to help people realize their potential, by learning verbal and nonverbal communication styles that will best resonate in order to build lasting relationships. He's bringing that relationship-building to his chapter as chaplain and budget committee chairman. He's involved in comparative economics research on prescription drug use and abuse, and he's a facilitator for the National Society of Leadership and Success. Ryan's also part of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, a member of a student investment club, and is active with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, an animal shelter, and a wildlife refuge. On graduating, he hopes to work in international finance, and already has an internship with FedEx. A talented soccer player, he aims to try out with a professional team before entering his business career. A Ruck Scholar, he's on the presidents list and has received a number of scholarships and honor society invitations.
Max Yates, Montana State ’21
Max has served his chapter as chaplain and vice president of communications. A member of the honors college, he holds a GPA over 3.9 and studies biochemistry, economics and global health. Getting involved as the first volunteer tutor with the Native American Student Success Center, this brother has helped many students improve their grades while crossing cultural barriers. And when the center was unable to afford paid tutors, he recruited six more. Active in his school's Presidential Scholars program, he was selected as an undergraduate representative on the selection committee as well as a hiring committee. In the community, he volunteers with an adaptive recreation program as well as the Special Olympics. An undergraduate researcher in the biochemistry department, he aims to address inequality in healthcare after graduation, whether as a physician or public health professional.
