Daniel Olson ‘99: “Without Sigma Phi Epsilon, I wouldn’t have made the long-lasting friendships I made.” 

Daniel Olson ‘99 graduated from the Penn School of Engineering and Applied Science with a BSE in Mechanical Engineering in 1999.  During his time at Penn, Dan played football and was part of the ’98 Ivy League Championship team.  Currently, Dan works as a Product Management Coach for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. He and his wife, Heather, have two children, Kyra (13) and Connor (9) that are active in sports and other activities.   

When asked what impacted his decision to pledge to Sigma Phi Epsilon, he says, “I pledged SigEp because I was looking for an outlet from football and a place to call home away from home.” 

Dan remembers countless memories and friendships from his time in Spigma Phi Epsilon. “The chapter was pretty great when I was at Penn.  We had a lot of great guys, threw great parties, and really built life-long friendships.  There are so many great memories, but one of my more wholesome and favorite memories was playing Axis & Allies in the 3rd floor alcove.  It was a great way to relieve stress and we had a lot of fun with it.” 

When it came to life after graduation, it was the friendships and connections with his brothers that he is most thankful for. “Some of my best and closest friends are SigEps.  We used to meet up annually for a fantasy football draft.  We haven’t been as good at that lately but hope to restart again soon.  I’m not sure exactly how SigEp prepared me for life after graduation other than I know that I always have brothers I can call upon in a time of need. I know if I asked anything of any of them, they would do their best to help out.” 

According to Dan, there is a great amount of value and opportunity that comes from being a brother of Sigma Phi Epsilon. “Times have certainly changed and I’m afraid that fraternity life is constantly being challenged. I think the true value of having Sigma Phi Epsilon on campus in today’s world is what I feel it always has been, about building lifetime bonds and helping kids cope with the challenges of university life.  SigEp has so many great programs that didn’t exist when I was an undergraduate and some that did, such as Carlson Leadership Academy, Ruck, Quest to Greece, etc.  The national fraternity has really invested into great leadership programs for those that have interest.” 

Post-graduation, Dan served as chapter counselor from 2001 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been the active VP of Communications. 

As an alumnus, giving back to the brotherhood with both time and money is crucial to him. “I volunteer, because there were great people before me that volunteered and helped ensure we had a great place to live.  I give back, because I feel it is the right thing to do. It is a small part that I can give back to the organization that gave me such a great experience.  I think it’s important more now than ever to give back, because fraternity life is always under attack. It is how we keep great programs, and the house in great condition.” 

Dan ends by saying, “Without Sigma Phi Epsilon, I wouldn’t have made the long-lasting friendships I made.  I know so many people that graduated from Penn and don’t feel the same connection to the University or their friends as me and my brothers do.”