Kato,
Time for me to finally jump in... I'd strongly encourage you to look into the Sigma Nu chapter at UW. Sigma Nu was founded at Virginia Military Institute as a protest movement to hazing in 1866 just after the Civil War by three combat veterans. Like you, they were non-traditional students seeking a degree - in their case, engineering, so they could help rebuild the South which had been devastated by the war. As combat veterans, they had little interest in hazing which they considered kid stuff.
They started what was known as "The Legion of Honor". This protest movement to hazing became so popular at VMI that they put Greek letters to their brotherhood and called is Sigma Nu.
Sigma Nu is one of the largest, oldest and most prolific fraternities in existence. They have an impressive list of famous alumni. With over 180 active chapters and over 175,000 living alumni, it is a powerful organization.
One of the most respected attributes of Sigma Nu is their LEAD program (Leadership, Ethics, Achievement, Development). Sigma Nu is the only fraternity that offers a 4-year ethical leadership development curriculum to its members. LEAD sessions are mostly led by alumni or university administrators. Sessions cover basic leadership topics in phase I and progress into more substantial topics (effective change, controversy with civility, group process & decision-making, organizational development, servant leadership and more...) Check out the LEAD page on our national website
http://www.sigmanu.org/programs/lead/index.php
I think you would be a great LEAD Chairman at a Sigma Nu chapter. I am a 39-year old alumnus who is on the Alumni Advisory Board of my chapter. I am the alumni LEAD Chairman and work directly with the chapter LEAD chair coordinating all of the LEAD sessions. Mostly, I bird-dog quality speakers from within our alumni group or influential university administrators. We had a county judge alumnus of ours facilitate the Ethics session - that was a great fit. This would be a great way for you to tap into the alumni network of the local chapter, which could serve you well in the marketplace one day.
Sigma Nu at UW has been there since 1895 and has a rich tradition. They have a beautiful chapter house. I cannot speak for the quality of the men, however, since I've never met them.
Bottom line... Military herritage, no hazing, LEAD program, highly-recognizable & respected national organization. Go Snakes!
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