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> but how many of you are actively involved with your GLO as an alum?
I'm 60 years old, retired at 57 from the dot-com boom, and have an easy "retirement job" driving a subway train. Last month my son won the Natiional Spelling Bee, was awarded a scholarship from Sig Ep (thanks, dudes!) and I realized the immense value of greek life for gifted and talented young men and women.
I'm Acacia, I contacted my national, and updated my contact info. I'm chasing down the local house (Cal Berkeley), my 13 year old son is involved there, and I'm seeing what alum stuff is done locally.
Are you involved in the local, regional or (inter)national level?
Locally, I'm seeing what kind of alumni involvement exists, or needs to be started up. Acacia is a small house (42 chapters), so I may seek out a couple other small houses to do things together. Greeks have a lot in common with other greeks, so that might work.
On the other side, with the homeschool and GATE groups I'm in, I'm creating awareness of greek life. On the west coast, the only press greeks get are campus problems on fraternity row, usually at Cal or U Washington. I want to be a positive voice. Homeschoolers and GATE kids are often "late bloomers", and greek life (especially houses with mentor programs like "Balanced Man", "True Gentlemen", "Membership Development Program", "LEAP",...) fits perfectly with the paradigm.
I'm also an "evangelist" for other houses, encouraging alums to get involved. I'm part of a wave of boomers who are retiring early, and doing fun stuff while we are still in good health. We remember the good days of greek life in the sixties, and see that it is coming back. A different style, but a good style. A different type of student, too.
Nationally, Acacia already has a "pre-post" infrastructure with informal ties to Masonic institutions (Demolay and lodges), I am exploring that path.
What do you do, specifically?
Right now I am just beginning. Exploring resources, looking for people. My college - Rensselaer - is a regional school, there are only four RPI Acacia alums in Northern California, out of 800 alums.
Why did you choose this area of involvement?
During the boom, I worked as a pre-sales tech support engineer, and we brought organizational behavior out of HR and into the field sales force. I picked up a lot of mentoring and training skills, these will translate well into mentor programs in "greekspace". Also, did a lot of work with real estate, this may be helpful.
Are you also a dues paying alumni member of your GLO? If so, does that mean you pay dues only to your local alumni chapter or you pay separate local and international alumni dues to be considered an active alumna?
Both - just getting that cranked up. Acacia is separate, but I'd like to see the two systems integrated - one bill for both local and national.
If your GLO has a "Life Loyal" type program, are you a member?
Ironically, in 1971, I received my alum magazine, and left it open to the Life Loyal page, intending to apply the next day. The next day I got in an accident and was in the hospital for three months, but no brother visited me there, even though the hospital was 3 miles from the house. Vietnam was raging, my chapter was in turmoil, and I can look back and see how it happened. I came home from the hospital, saw the Life Loyal form on my desk, and decided this wasn't what I wanted to do at this time.
Looking back, a mentoring/life skills program would have been good. Nowadays, we have them.
I'm not sure if we still have Life Loyal, but I would do it.
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