A pledge
to help you succeed
By Tyler Boggess, Drake ’10
A pledge was once an oath a man made to his fraternity, not a status of membership and certainly not a member of lesser value. When he took that oath, another commitment was made: his brothers promised to help him develop throughout college. SigEp’s Balanced Man Program restored these ideas, and today a pledg e is once aga in a commi tmen t between men. But what would happen if a fraternity committed to the development of students before they became members? Two and a half years ago, SigEps at Ohio State asked that very question. The answer gave rise to an innovation that has the potential to change the way SigEps everywhere look at recruitment and the freshman experience.
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sigep journal Fall 2014 | sigep.org
The Ohio State Chapter’s innovative lecture series was developed after former Chapter President Matt Littman, ’14, encouraged brothers to build on the success of the Balanced Man Program.
The Ohio Gamma Chapter’s Balanced Man Success Series is built to aid in the development of both potential and current chapter members. “It allows us as a deferred recruitment chapter to start developing potential members in the fall before they join,” said Chapter President Christopher John, ’16, who sees many benefits to the program. A series of fall seminars on various topics is held at the chapter facility and on-campus. Sessions range from Ohio State basketball star, Aaron Craft, speaking on the secrets behind his success to SigEp alumni Michael Repasky, Ohio State ’08, and Sean Anthony, Dartmouth ’06, facilitating seminars on goal setting and professionalism. The chapter also brought in the Ohio State vice president for student life to speak on leading with integrity. Chapter leaders use the Balanced Man Scholarship, a program that happens in
tandem with the Success Series, to build their freshmen invitation list. They plan most of the seminars to coincide with chapter meetings, making it easier for brothers to attend. Toward the end of most seminars, attendees break into groups of five to 10 freshmen and two to three brothers called cohorts. Brothers then lead a discussion or activity that builds on what they just learned. Chapter Counselor Don Stenta, ’01, views it as an important way for the Fraternity to bring values to the forefront. “I think it brings the BMP to life. The whole program is geared toward making first year students as successful as possible—it activates our values.”