Delta Tau Delta - The Ohio State University

The ohio state university page 3 J oining Delta Tau Delta as an alumni initiate, Jeffrey Pelletier '94 (Boston College) credits this decision to the simple fact that someone asked him to be a part of the fraternity. As there was no Greek life at Boston College, this was Jeff's first opportunity to be a part of a fraternity. He began working with the Delt colony at Ohio State in 2004 as a university staff advocate, and the colony members liked Jeff enough to give him a bid to join as an alumni initiate. "I was honored to go through the initiation ceremony with the rest of the founding classes when they rechartered in 2006," he shared. ΔΤΔ was one of two fraternities expanding on campus that fall. "After reading through their mission statements and values, the way that ΔΤΔ articulated what it meant to be a member stood out to me," Jeff recalled. He also had a good friend and colleague who recolonized a chapter at his own undergraduate institution just a few years before, so his influence definitely tipped the scales for Jeff to want to work with Delt. Before coming to Ohio State for graduate school in higher education and student affairs, Jeff was an officer in the U.S. Navy and a government contractor for the Navy. "I always knew I wanted to work on a college campus, after having a positive experience through my own involvement as an undergraduate," he shared. "It just took the right combination of people to encourage me to just make it happen." Jeff believes working with undergraduates and advising helps him in his day-to-day work with his staff, students, and volunteer work with other professional organizations. "It also gives me a chance to advocate for the positive aspects of the fraternity experience, when inexperienced people start speaking poorly based solely on what they may see in the news," he explained. The most rewarding part for Jeff is knowing that his team is making an impact on the lives of those who use their facility every single day. As for current undergraduates, Jeff advises them to take some time to ask themselves important questions. These include, "What brings me joy? What am I good at? Where in the world is there a need for that? It takes time to arrive at the answers to those questions (maybe not even before you graduate), but the intersection of all three, if you're lucky, is where you might find your calling or vocation." He also urges them to think beyond themselves, both in everyday situations and wanting to save the world. "It's great to have aspirations, but it's also great to pick up after yourself, let a car merge in front of you, or use complete sentences in texts and email." Although Jeff's Delt experiences have come solely as an alumnus, he always tries to tell active members of Beta Phi that they don't join for three to four years, they join for life. "If you think about it, you spend just a fraction of your time as a Delt as an active chapter member. The vast majority of your time is as an alumnus," he explained. "If not for the involvement of hundreds of alumni, our chapters would not be able to persist. Even though all of my time as a Delt has been as an alumnus, I can safely say that some of the most rewarding Delt experiences out there are ones that alumni can take part in." Jeff's wife, Jen, also works at Ohio State in the Office of Student Life, in our Student Activities Department. Although their students keep them busy, they took up curling last year. They attend a club in Columbus not too far from where they live, and really like the people they've met there. "We love talking to people about it and getting people interested, and we even helped host a Delt alumni 'learn to curl' event last February." You can connect with Jeff at pelletier.12@osu.edu. Finding a Place in ΔTΔ How Jeffrey Pelletier '94's Experiences Help Him Mentor the Next Generation H aving gone through formal recruitment in the mid- '80s, John Shave '89 was immediately drawn to Delta Tau Delta, especially the quality of the diverse individuals. "The bottom line is that the Delts were in a league of their own in terms of academics, Greek life, athletics, and epic social events—I was sold on the best fraternity at The Ohio State University," he recalled. As CEO/entrepreneur/investor, John has always been the CEO and typically the founder/investor in his enterprises. "My gift is the ability to identify trends, deploy capital, and develop a winning culture of individuals that walk through walls to execute the corporate mission." He began in 1992, selling telecom services to businesses in Chicago. After resigning in 1993 from MCI-Worldcom, John founded a telecommunications company, Globalcom, which he sold in a windfall exit in 2008. "In life we are always selling, and our confidence sets the tone for how we envision our potential," he shared. "Be confident, think big, be ethical, and good things will happen." John's biggest challenge was learning how to navigate and succeed when monopolistic oppression by nemesis A Winning Equation Why John Shave '89 Ensures the Lasting Legacy of Beta Phi (Continued on page 4)

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