Going back to school....and living in the House?
 

So, most of y'all know that i graduated from A&M where i was a SNu last may. Ive decided to go back to school this fall at USD for a degree in Ph Ed.

There is a SNu chapter at USD. This spring i emailed their president and asked if i could live in the house while i was there doing work study this summer and he said it wouldn't be a problem. While i was down there last weekend he offered to let me live there during the regular school year as well. They're a smaller chapter, 25 guys, and it would help to keep their house full. He also asked if would be interested in serving on an advisory board for the chapter.

I'd like to live there, but i don't want to feel like i'm imposing on my brothers. For you current actives out there, if a young alum was in my situation how would you feel?

Kitso
KS 361

Just as someone who works with collegians, if they are the ones inviting you, then they may really be in need of some help.

I wouldn't consider it imposing if they were the ones who invited you to live there during the school year. Maybe they are having trouble filling the house?

Re: Going back to school....and living in the House?
 

I'm a young alum, but we've had transfer brothers come around our chapter a few times. I'd have to say it depends on the guy. In some cases, it works out great. In others, the dude was kind of shady. I think you'll do fine though.

I would think you'd be an asset to the chapter. In any case, let us know how it works out. :)

They're inviting you, and it doesn't sound like one of those houses where no one but sophomores lives there or something. I'm sure it will be fine.

kitso, I think it would be a great idea!

#1, you are not that old nor that far removed from the collegeexperience.

#2. you may have a lot to offer these Brothers.

Try it, you may like it!!!!:)

I would have loved this, I think. Actually, every group I was in during college, I was excited to have the young alumni around. It made me proud to be part of a group that had inspired a lifetime loyalty in our grads.

This isn't exactly the same thing, but I think it's similar enough to show my point:

In 1987, Keith entered Beloit and joined Sigma Chi. He was unable to maintain a high enough GPA to continue at the college past his first year. Last year, he decided to come back to school. Get his Bachelor's and maybe go on to get his Master's and whatnot. He decided to live on campus. He thought it would be weird. But hey, this is Beloit. We accepted him with open arms. He also thought that it would be weird to be around the Sigma Chis, but they accepted him like their own brother. Because hey, he is their brother. Sure, it was very different from when Keith was here, but he was able to roll with the changes because they had all been for the better. Keith became an active part of Sigma Chi once more. He even went on to be elected to President of IFPC and lived in the Sigma Chi house this spring.

Point being, I think you should go ahead and live in the house. It looks like you'll be accepted just as easily as Keith was.

Would you still be teaching while attending school?

If so, I think holding a professional job and living in the house might be hard. 18 year olds partying, playing video games, etc. until 4 am is not conducive to dealing with 5 year olds at 9 am.

I think the biggest challenge of living in the house and advising is finding the separation b/w being an advisor and being a member. I know the "line" is different for men's groups than women's but I know quite a few women who have done this in the past and they kept their roll to being a sort of chapter consultant.

If your brothers invited you to stay then you wouldn't be imposing at all.

They've also asked to you to be an advisor, so it looks like they need some help.

I say go for it. You've got a place to stay with people you'd most likely get along with. And even if you don't have the time to be an advisor, just by living there, you could help them out once and a while.

I agree with Lady Pi Phi. As long as you're OK with it, sounds like a win-win for the chapter and for you.

1) I think its a great idea.

2) Check with your national fraternity to see if there is a scholarship available for you. My fraternity offers a scholarship for in-house graduate advisors.

Thanks to all of y'all for your thoughts..

No Nikki.

I could have continued teaching and taking classes, but that would have pushed back the time until i was done. So i just decided to go back to school full time and get it knocked out in 5 semesters.

I'm just nervous bout bein the 25 year old guy livin at the frat house i guess :D

Kitso
KS 361

Well, if they invited you to live there cool...just remember like someone else said earlier, it's a lot different when you are working on a Master's Degree and the guy who actually "has" to study as opposed to staying up all night and partying your Sigma Nu butt off. My BF did this for a while because the rent was low and he hated every second of it because it's a lot less fun to have guys partying when you have a huge paper due the next day.

Being an adviser might be hard if you live in because it can be hard to separate yourself from the guys if you become the alum that parties with them. I know it is different for girls, but if I partied with the girls I advise they would probably take me a lot less seriously when I have to advise. It's also hard to not say the "Well, back at my chapter we used to do this...(or back in my day...)" because that can really get old to the guys after a while when they are trying to do it their way.

So maybe live in and don't advise? or advise and don't live in? It might be different because it's not your chapter..but they are your bros one way or the other. =)