Ethan Pickering Wins the 2016 International Balfour Award

Ethan Pickering, CASE WESTERN 2015, accepted the 2016 International Balfour Award (IBA) at the July 30, 2016, closing ceremony of the Balfour Leadership Training Workshop at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. He is the first brother from his chapter to receive the award.
“This is a dream come true to be up here, winning the International Balfour Award,” said Pickering in his acceptance speech. “This morning, I bawled in my interview thinking about what Sigma Chi means to me. I hope Sigma Chi means as much to you as it does to me as you go through your own journey.”
Pickering graduated last fall with a 4.0 GPA, Summa Cum Laude honors and a degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering. He expects to earn a master’s in mechanical engineering this summer from Case Western, after which he will pursue a Ph.D. in the same field at the California Institute of Technology. Pickering’s chapter involvement includes holding the offices of Consul, Kustos, historian, chapter editor, house manager and accountability chairman, among others.
The IBA was first presented following the 1929 to 1930 school year to Significant Sig Paul Hagemann, WASHINGTON (ST. LOUIS) 1930. Sigma Chi’s Governing Laws mandate that each IBA winner serves a two-year term on the Fraternity’s Executive Committee. Notable winners include Huntsman Cancer Institute founder Jon M. Huntsman, PENNSYLVANIA 1959, and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Merlin Olsen, UTAH STATE 1962, both of whom are recipients of the Significant Sig Award and inductees into the Order of Constantine.