Sigma Alpha Epsilon - Kansas State University

KAnsAs betA house corPorAtion of sigmA AlPhA ePsilon P.o. box 14692 lenexA, Ks 66285 RetuRn SeRvice RequeSted THE lion's lore SAE welcomeS new houSemother, monIca Strathman M onica Strathman has been working with college students at K-State for 25 years, so she was excited by the opportunity to be the new housemother for SAE. "I love working with college students." she says. "The energy and excitement generated by young people draws me to opportunities to work with them." While she has only been in the position for a short amount of time, Monica had served as the housemother/director at another fraternity for the past six years. Her many responsibilities include working with the food service company to plan meals and communicate needs to the maintenance company. She is a cheerleader and supporter at intramural sporting games, assists in planning events like Mom's/Dad's Weekend and Family Day, and is even a seamstress for the occasional shirt or jacket button. "The role of the traditional house director/mother is to serve as the hostess for the house and to provide a woman's touch and perspective to chapter activities," Monica says. "While I do that, too, I am more interested in having an influence on their personal development." Her favorite time of the day is joining the men for their meals; the conversations give her a chance to get to know the members better, which helps her find ways to connect them to different programs and organizations around the university. "The best way I can contribute to SAE is to leverage my campus relationships and knowledge of the university system to advocate for the men and assist them in connecting with other student organizations such as the Student Governing Association and honor societies, as well as various university programs," she says. Campus involvement remains a top priority for Monica. She hopes to use her connections to help the men grow and give them the skills that they need to succeed. "Campus involvement gives the men additional opportunities to develop personal and leadership skills," Monica says. "Research also shows that campus involvement is beneficial in attaining academic success, including persistence and the likelihood of graduating." Monica has already seen campus involvement, especially with the Greek community. Her favorite experience so far was the welcome back block party, ice cream social, and '80s tribute band on the lawn of the Kansas Beta chapter house. Nearly 2,000 students attended and had a blast. "It was high energy and tons of fun," she says. "I went to high school in the '80s and love the music from that era. Every tune they played can be found on my playlist. It was a fantastic way to kick off the new academic year and to highlight SAE." Monica and her family first moved to the Manhattan area 28 years ago. Her daughters are all grown, but live in or relatively close to the Manhattan area. E-mail Monica at monicap@ ksu.edu. Chapter Eternal Ben Price Jr. '48 entered Chapter Eternal on January 26, 2014. He met his wife, Ruth Jacob, while attending Kansas State University. He was a founding member of the Chapparro Club while in Manhattan. Ben farmed and ranched alongside Ruth. He served as president of the Kansas Angus Association and was a lifetime member of the Kansas Livestock Association. Both Ben and Ruth were founding members of the National and Kansas Limousin Associations. He was a member of the Reading Lions Club for more than 40 years and devoted many years to the various positions of USD 251 school board. Ben is survived by one daughter, two sons, and grandchildren that still maintain the Price Ranch near Reading. Alumni News Thomas Mistler '63 is living in the Philadelphia area. He recently saw brothers Howard Liebengood '64, Bill Beck '49, and Dick Meyers '65. Thomas says these SAE college friendships get more meaningful with age. E-mail: tmistler@msn.com Joel M. Burrow '79 retired from K.P.I. Architects in Tulsa after 20 years. He may stay in Tulsa or move over to Anderson, South Carolina, with the pine trees and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Robin A. Ladner '79 was elected county commissioner of Jackson County in Holton, Kan., in January 2015. Curt R. Coffman '90 is glad to hear from Kansas Beta and says "Keep up the good work, guys!" James Fair '01 is president of the SAE Kansas City Alumni Association. The last two Centennial Lion Award winners were he and John Hatfiend '77. E-mail: jdfair@gmail.com Justin A. French '01 and his wife, Emily, welcomed their daughter, Emma Pearl, on December 30, 2013. Matthew S. Baker '11 just completed one year in his insurance company and one year of residence in Las Vegas. He plans on getting involved with the UNLV SAE chapter. E-mail: mbaker11@ksu.edu Chapter Update

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