Growing up as an Army Brat I spent most of my life moving from place to place, and then spent my later high school years in Korea on an Army base. I went to DOD (Department of Defense) schools most of my life and this makes for are rather sheltered life experience. Although it was good in some ways, the “real” world, as it turns out, was much different than I ever knew.

So, there I was a graduating senior looking to start my adult life at college in the U.S., with my parents and [current] friends 6000 miles away. When I arrived, my sister who preceded me here to Kean College, introduced me to the Phi brothers, which included her then boy friend and husband to be. These guys took me in and immediately got me acclimated me to campus life, as well as life in general. They were a God-send, as I would have otherwise been on my own to discover these things.

Joining the fraternity was a no-brainer, since most of my new friends were Nu Sigma Phi. But, I also had a deep respect for what they stood for. This was a diverse and well rounded group of guys with a long history of ideals that I approved of. Most of them knew what they wanted in life, and new how to have fun achieving it. And, with the wisdom of decades of alumni who were very active in the fraternity, I knew I was in it for the long haul.

Eric Tichenor
Alpha Ata 1983