Tau Kappa Epsilon - Missouri University of Science & Technology

Fall 2014 Newsletter

Beta Eta Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity at Missouri University of Science & Technology

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PRIDE IN OUR PAST, SECURING OUR FUTURE 2 Kevin Renfro '82, BH718 Prepares Beta Eta for the Future A s a freshman at Rolla, Kevin Renfro '82, BH718 was curious about Greek life. His brother had been in a fraternity so he knew some details, but he wanted to get a better grasp on it. "For me, the decision was driven by seeing how involved the entire Greek community was in campus activities. I really wanted to be involved in campus organizations and felt that being in a fraternity would help." "I've certainly learned at this point in my career and life that your time in college needs to be well balanced between academics, activities, work experience, and learning how to get along with people from all walks of life. Beta Eta did that very well. We built a good, functioning team that had fun while working. The leadership and teamwork exposure that I got from TKE certainly helped me land a good job with a good company coming out of school." Kevin graduated with a degree in petroleum engineering and now works as general manager of compliance/regulatory/process safety for the Gulf of Mexico at Anadarko Petroleum. "I worked for ARCO for seven years and now Anadarko for more than 21—all in oil and gas. Most of my positions have been in production and completions engineering, with the last 17 focusing on the Gulf of Mexico and, specifically, deepwater operations. I moved into my current position after the Deepwater Horizon incident and to make sure a terrible tragedy like that wouldn't impact our industry or the people who work in it." Kevin owes a lot to TKE and Beta Eta and the pair of alumni who were there from the start. "There were a lot of alumni who made my experience worthwhile, but I have to give special credit to the two Fraters who recruited me in the first place, Rob Telker '78, BH612 and John Daniel '80, BH678. Without them, I wouldn't have ended up at Beta Eta in the first place or been exposed to such great people and opportunities." Mike McEvilly '78, BH615, chairman of the building campaign, inspired Kevin to contribute to the Pride in Our Past, Securing Our Future campaign. "Mike and I worked together at Anadarko for a number of years, now he works elsewhere, but we still keep in touch. I have a lot of respect for him and know that it's a lot of work to build a new house. If not for this initiative, Beta Eta may not be around with the campus infrastructure crowding out the old house. As alumni, we must do our part to give back and ensure TKE remains at Rolla for years to come." Kevin and his wife, Michele, live in Spring, Texas, and have two children, Katy, a sophomore at Texas A&M majoring in biomedical engineering, and Cameron, a senior in high school. Kevin is a big supporter of Boy Scouts and was very active while his son was involved. Now that Cameron is out, Kevin is back at the district level helping start new Cub Scouts packs and acting as commissioner. You can contact Kevin at kevin.renfro@gmail.com. Giving Back and Moving Forward: David Bernstein '69, BH362 Supports Capital Campaign D avid Bernstein '69, BH362 came to TKE at Rolla after spending a weeklong orientation at the house. The Chapter was very welcoming and he immediately bonded with the members, which led to him pledging soon after. There were many highlights of David's time in Beta Eta, including numerous Chapter events like St. Pat's, Greek Week, and Homecoming. "There weren't many girls at Rolla, so these were a few of the opportunities we had each year to have dates on campus." David graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science and moved to Houston, Texas, to work for Texas Instruments. Not long after, he moved to Austin and continued working for TI for 18 years from the late '70s through the '80s. After leaving that position, he began working for Dell until retiring in 2000. "Living in the TKE house was very convenient as a computer science major because the building was right down the street. It was a short walk which came in handy when I had to run computer jobs in the middle of the night. Living in the house taught me to get along with and coexist with people of different backgrounds and personalities. That's something you continuously do throughout your life and I fortunately learned early on." A few years back, David and a handful of his pledge brothers celebrated their 40-year anniversary at the house. "It was amazing to see everyone again. Out of the 18-20 in our pledge class, six or seven were in attendance, and we picked up right where we left off. The bonds we formed 40 years ago were still strong, and it was great to continue almost as if no time had passed. "When I was there two years ago, there was already discussion of building a new house. There were two alumni present who were on the university alumni association and presented the plans. I had never been involved with the university alumni association; I've always been closer to Beta Eta and the fraternity than Rolla as a whole, but what they were saying made a lot of sense and it seemed like a good things to do, and fortunately I was able to give back." For alumni who haven't made a contribution to the campaign yet, David encourages you to reconnect with your brothers and with the campus. "If you're able to go back, do so. Visit with the active members and hopefully you can coordinate with your peers to visit at the same time. You'll immediately feel that bond and remember the good times. Also, campus has changed dramatically since we were in school, and what we once considered a prime location isn't anymore. We need to get out and relocate to maintain our presence on campus. I hope everyone will try to remember what TKE meant to them and help out as much as their condition allows." David and his wife, Gail, live in Fort Meyers, Florida. Over the years, David has taken up boating and sailing, but since retiring in 2000, he has focused mainly on power boating. If you'd like to contact David, you can reach him at dbernstein316@gmail.com.

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