Duke University ATO Fraternity - Xi Chapter
Alumni Newsletters
About ATO Duke
Duke University, ATO Xi Chapter - Founded 1872
To bind men together in a brotherhood based upon eternal and immutable principles, with a bond as strong as right itself and as lasting as humanity ; to know no North, no South, no East, no West, but to know man as man, to teach that true men the world over should stand together. Otis Allan Glazebrook, 1880.
Alpha Tau Omega began as an idea in the mind of a young Civil War veteran who wanted peace and reconciliation. His name was Otis Allan Glazebrook. His people were defeated, many of their cities burned, much of their countryside ravaged. But Glazebrook, who had helped bury the dead of both sides, believed in a better future. He saw the bitterness and hatred that followed the silencing of the guns and knew that a true peace would come not from force of law, but rather from with the hearts of men who were willing to work to rekindle a spirit of brotherly love.
1
Summer, 2017 | ATO Xi Chapter
July
Semester in Review
An Opening Word
Alumni of our beloved Xi Chapter of Alpha Tau Omega, my name is
Josh Engel and I am honored to serve as our chapter's Alumni Chair for
the coming year. I hope to better connect our current members with the
brothers that came before us. We have a lot to share about the state of
our brotherhood, and a lot to be proud of. It is with great pride that I can
say that our chapter completed a year of continued academic success,
holding a spring semester grade point average of 3.607 to finish the year
with a cumulative 3.488 average. Additionally, we are excited to have
welcomed 19 new brothers into our chapter. Our new brothers come from
a wide range of backgrounds, and embody all the amazing qualities our
fraternity strives to instill. We enjoyed the several opportunities to meet
and host our alumni and look forward to having that privilege again in
the future. Alumni have built our traditions and brotherhood and are great
examples for our active members to follow in order to continue improv-
ing our chapter. While this past year has been generally marked by good
times and success, it is with great sorrow that I alert you to the passing of
one of our dearly beloved brothers, Michael Doherty. A member of the
Class of 2019, Mike's body was found on May 20th after having gone
missing in his hometown of Franklin, MA nearly a week earlier. It is our
hope to commemorate our late brother by beginning a new scholarship at
Duke in his honor. More info on the Michael Doherty Memorial Endow-
ment Fund can be found below.
In This Issue
1. The Michael
Doherty Memo-
rial Endowment
Fund
2. New Brothers
2
The Michael Doherty Memorial Endowment Fund
Doherty with brother Louden Richason ('19)
Remembering Mike Doherty
"Michael had a youthful face, seemingly forever caught in a
blushed smiled. It invited a dash of innocence, just enough
so that you could watch peoples' eyes when they first him
and see them instantly become at ease with his presence.
After initially meeting Mike, he would often not say much
to you. But once you reached a sense familiarity with him,
you opened yourself to a world of endless joy. I can confi-
dently say I never interacted with Mike without feeling his
warmth and his bliss. He could walk into a room visibly
dejected after a tough test or a hockey loss, and, as long as
we got him to crack just a little bit of a smile, the mood of
everybody else around him would improve. Never have I
met someone else with that unique ability to inspire happi-
ness so effortlessly.
I always thought Mike's radiant positivity made a lot of us
secretly protective of him. He really was the best of us and,
deep down, we knew that. We were so honored to be his
friend that we intrinsically always feared what life would be
like without him. As I have come to see that fear turn into a
reality, and as I have come to recognize how fragile our
world can turn out to be, I am left searching for answers for
how to adapt to life without Mike. I know nobody can re-
place what he was able to bring to me every day. I will have
to come to accept that. I know I can never express to others,
through my spoken words or through written letters, how
great of a guy he really was. I will have to come to accept
that too. What I can do though is encourage all who knew
Mike or have learned of his story to dedicate themselves to
looking within and finding a way to lead a life that is prin-
cipled on bringing joy to others. It is not an easy task and
we are all certainty not as gifted as Michael in doing so.
Furthermore, this could initially appear as too vague a rec-
ommendation to guide a change in your behavior. Yet, if
you knew Mike, I simply invite you to look back at your
memories with him and watch the many ways he made you
smile.
I miss you Dohboy and I will never forget you."
-Isaac Nicchitta ('19)
Recently Michael Doherty, a brother of ours, passed away in a tragic accident. Mike's presence in our brotherhood
was a profound one, and his ever-jubilant presence significantly affected everyone he touched. Mike was planning to
be a mechanical engineer, was a devoted member of the Duke Hockey Team and most of all, an exceptional human
being. To honor his name, we have established the Michael Doherty Memorial Endowment Fund, in partnership with
the Pratt School of Engineering. The fund will provide scholarship support for undergraduate students in Pratt. It is
our hope that the scholarship will support students who embody the same qualities as Mike: people of amazing char-
acter and genuine kindness. To learn more about the scholarship or to donate, please visit https://pratt.duke.edu/
dohertymemorial. Any help is greatly appreciated.
3
New Brothers
Top Row (Left to Right): Justin Chae, Kevin Coward, Forrest Pratson, Nick Agoglia, Nick Peoples, Alex Wilson, Vincent Li,
Kyle Baer ('19), Cole Johnson ('18), Kyle Shutkind. Bottom Row: Jack Swofford, Donovan Bendana, Martin Cala, Thomas
Kaye, Daniel Gardner, Matt Drake, Matt Brecher, Jake Kohn, Josh Engel, Nick Panjwani. Not Pictured: Robert Burns
We are excited to welcome in our 19 new brothers. Here is a little information about
this year's pledge class:
Hometown
Prospective Major
Nick Agoglia
Mendham, NJ
Economics
Donovan Bendana New Orleans, LA
Political Science and ICS
Matt Brecher
Philadelphia, PA
Computer Science
Robert Burns
Dallas, TX
Biomedical Engineering
Martin Cala
Pembroke Pines, FL Electrical Engineering
Justin Chae
Summit, NJ
Economics
Kevin Coward
Key West, FL
Environmental Science and Economics
Matt Drake
Darien, CT
Civil Engineering
Josh Engel
Chevy Chase, MD
Biomedical Engineering
Daniel Gardner
New York, NY
Public Policy
Thomas Kaye
Vancouver, BC
Electrical Engineering
Jake Kohn
Seattle, WA
Computer Science
Vincent Li
Princeton Junction, NJ Mechanical Engineering
Nick Panjwani
Irvington, NY
Biomedical Engineering
Nick Peoples
Kensington, MD
Environmental Science
Forrest Pratson
Chapel Hill, NC
Physics
Kyle Shutkind
Rockville Centre, NY Chemistry
Jack Swofford
Washington, DC
Political Science and Arabic
Alex Wilson
Phoenix, MD
Biomedical Engineering
We hope to see you for homecoming weekend, September 15-17! Please stop by Craven U&T on West Campus, and keep an eye
out for an update on the schedule for that weekend in the coming months. Please also feel free to contact me with any questions at
jse15@duke.edu We appreciate any and all donations! If 2017 has been good to you and you would like to support our chapter,
please write checks to the ATO Xi Foundation and mail them to:
Josh Engel
440 Chapel Drive, Box 98483
Durham, NC 27708
Summer, 2017 | ATO Xi Chapter
July
Semester in Review
An Opening Word
Alumni of our beloved Xi Chapter of Alpha Tau Omega, my name is
Josh Engel and I am honored to serve as our chapter's Alumni Chair for
the coming year. I hope to better connect our current members with the
brothers that came before us. We have a lot to share about the state of
our brotherhood, and a lot to be proud of. It is with great pride that I can
say that our chapter completed a year of continued academic success,
holding a spring semester grade point average of 3.607 to finish the year
with a cumulative 3.488 average. Additionally, we are excited to have
welcomed 19 new brothers into our chapter. Our new brothers come from
a wide range of backgrounds, and embody all the amazing qualities our
fraternity strives to instill. We enjoyed the several opportunities to meet
and host our alumni and look forward to having that privilege again in
the future. Alumni have built our traditions and brotherhood and are great
examples for our active members to follow in order to continue improv-
ing our chapter. While this past year has been generally marked by good
times and success, it is with great sorrow that I alert you to the passing of
one of our dearly beloved brothers, Michael Doherty. A member of the
Class of 2019, Mike's body was found on May 20th after having gone
missing in his hometown of Franklin, MA nearly a week earlier. It is our
hope to commemorate our late brother by beginning a new scholarship at
Duke in his honor. More info on the Michael Doherty Memorial Endow-
ment Fund can be found below.
In This Issue
1. The Michael
Doherty Memo-
rial Endowment
Fund
2. New Brothers
2
The Michael Doherty Memorial Endowment Fund
Doherty with brother Louden Richason ('19)
Remembering Mike Doherty
"Michael had a youthful face, seemingly forever caught in a
blushed smiled. It invited a dash of innocence, just enough
so that you could watch peoples' eyes when they first him
and see them instantly become at ease with his presence.
After initially meeting Mike, he would often not say much
to you. But once you reached a sense familiarity with him,
you opened yourself to a world of endless joy. I can confi-
dently say I never interacted with Mike without feeling his
warmth and his bliss. He could walk into a room visibly
dejected after a tough test or a hockey loss, and, as long as
we got him to crack just a little bit of a smile, the mood of
everybody else around him would improve. Never have I
met someone else with that unique ability to inspire happi-
ness so effortlessly.
I always thought Mike's radiant positivity made a lot of us
secretly protective of him. He really was the best of us and,
deep down, we knew that. We were so honored to be his
friend that we intrinsically always feared what life would be
like without him. As I have come to see that fear turn into a
reality, and as I have come to recognize how fragile our
world can turn out to be, I am left searching for answers for
how to adapt to life without Mike. I know nobody can re-
place what he was able to bring to me every day. I will have
to come to accept that. I know I can never express to others,
through my spoken words or through written letters, how
great of a guy he really was. I will have to come to accept
that too. What I can do though is encourage all who knew
Mike or have learned of his story to dedicate themselves to
looking within and finding a way to lead a life that is prin-
cipled on bringing joy to others. It is not an easy task and
we are all certainty not as gifted as Michael in doing so.
Furthermore, this could initially appear as too vague a rec-
ommendation to guide a change in your behavior. Yet, if
you knew Mike, I simply invite you to look back at your
memories with him and watch the many ways he made you
smile.
I miss you Dohboy and I will never forget you."
-Isaac Nicchitta ('19)
Recently Michael Doherty, a brother of ours, passed away in a tragic accident. Mike's presence in our brotherhood
was a profound one, and his ever-jubilant presence significantly affected everyone he touched. Mike was planning to
be a mechanical engineer, was a devoted member of the Duke Hockey Team and most of all, an exceptional human
being. To honor his name, we have established the Michael Doherty Memorial Endowment Fund, in partnership with
the Pratt School of Engineering. The fund will provide scholarship support for undergraduate students in Pratt. It is
our hope that the scholarship will support students who embody the same qualities as Mike: people of amazing char-
acter and genuine kindness. To learn more about the scholarship or to donate, please visit https://pratt.duke.edu/
dohertymemorial. Any help is greatly appreciated.
3
New Brothers
Top Row (Left to Right): Justin Chae, Kevin Coward, Forrest Pratson, Nick Agoglia, Nick Peoples, Alex Wilson, Vincent Li,
Kyle Baer ('19), Cole Johnson ('18), Kyle Shutkind. Bottom Row: Jack Swofford, Donovan Bendana, Martin Cala, Thomas
Kaye, Daniel Gardner, Matt Drake, Matt Brecher, Jake Kohn, Josh Engel, Nick Panjwani. Not Pictured: Robert Burns
We are excited to welcome in our 19 new brothers. Here is a little information about
this year's pledge class:
Hometown
Prospective Major
Nick Agoglia
Mendham, NJ
Economics
Donovan Bendana New Orleans, LA
Political Science and ICS
Matt Brecher
Philadelphia, PA
Computer Science
Robert Burns
Dallas, TX
Biomedical Engineering
Martin Cala
Pembroke Pines, FL Electrical Engineering
Justin Chae
Summit, NJ
Economics
Kevin Coward
Key West, FL
Environmental Science and Economics
Matt Drake
Darien, CT
Civil Engineering
Josh Engel
Chevy Chase, MD
Biomedical Engineering
Daniel Gardner
New York, NY
Public Policy
Thomas Kaye
Vancouver, BC
Electrical Engineering
Jake Kohn
Seattle, WA
Computer Science
Vincent Li
Princeton Junction, NJ Mechanical Engineering
Nick Panjwani
Irvington, NY
Biomedical Engineering
Nick Peoples
Kensington, MD
Environmental Science
Forrest Pratson
Chapel Hill, NC
Physics
Kyle Shutkind
Rockville Centre, NY Chemistry
Jack Swofford
Washington, DC
Political Science and Arabic
Alex Wilson
Phoenix, MD
Biomedical Engineering
We hope to see you for homecoming weekend, September 15-17! Please stop by Craven U&T on West Campus, and keep an eye
out for an update on the schedule for that weekend in the coming months. Please also feel free to contact me with any questions at
jse15@duke.edu We appreciate any and all donations! If 2017 has been good to you and you would like to support our chapter,
please write checks to the ATO Xi Foundation and mail them to:
Josh Engel
440 Chapel Drive, Box 98483
Durham, NC 27708