Delta Kappa Epsilon - Wesleyan University

2 Delta Kappa Epsilon Brendan Kelly '03—Helping Keep Boston Safe A lot of Wesleyan alumni have found ways to contribute to their community, but Brendan Kelly '03 might be unique. Like many of his classmates, he's a lawyer, but he's also a uniformed police officer walking the dangerous streets of Boston, literally helping protect local neighborhoods from the bad guys. Some Wesleyan alumni remember Brendan as the defensive player whose late-game tackle in 2003 helped stop a potential Amherst scoring drive, preserving a 14-13 win and breaking the Lord Jeffs' eight-season winning streak over the Cardinals on the gridiron. But today on the beat, he's known simply as Officer Kelly. As a police officer, he's been shot at, he's brought people back to life with CPR, chased suspected criminals through dark alleys, investigated child murders, and confronted gang members. He was working about a mile from the bombsite on the morning of the Boston Marathon attack, and saw the resulting carnage. Why would he choose a career like that? Brendan is part of the generation galvanized into public service after the September 11 attacks. He left Wesleyan knowing he wanted to help people in a very concrete way. He returned to his home in the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston and initially became an inner-city schoolteacher like his mother. He then joined the Coast Guard Reserve, first driving small boats in search and rescue missions off the coast of Cape Cod and then becoming part of the special investigations unit, focused on human trafficking, anti-terrorism, and sexual assault. In 2006, he became a Boston police officer on uniformed patrol, eventually joining the gang unit. As if that wasn't enough, he also started going to law school at night, eventually graduating from New England Law in 2012, after which he passed the bar. "Policing is an altruistic profession," Brendan argues. "Almost everyone who joins the police force these days wants to help people." But it's a tough life, made tougher by smartphones, a bureaucratic court system, and a growing distrust of the police driven by negative media coverage. The pressure wears down a lot of good officers, who suffer high rates of suicide, divorce, and alcoholism. Fortunately, Brendan is blessed with a strong support system, including devoted parents and a steadfast wife—a schoolteacher like his mother, who makes it possible for him to work overnight shifts even though they are raising a 5-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son. He also relies on support from his associates and friends, including his DKE brothers. Brendan's association with DKE goes back even before he decided to attend Wesleyan. As a potential high school football recruit on a campus visit, he stayed overnight in the DKE house with Sean Minor '00. He joined DKE as a freshman and lived in the house junior year with his roommate, Dave MacMillan '03. He and Dave are part of a quintet that also includes Dave McLaughlin '03, Jimmy Barletto '03, and Ben Halewicz '03, who essentially grew into men together at DKE and remain close friends, having attended each other's weddings and kids' birthday parties. DKE was a safe place for a kid from Boston to meet a diverse range of guys from all income, racial, and geographic backgrounds. DKE also provided a network of alumni and classmates—an unbreakable bond that continues to this day. "My family, my friends, and DKE—including people I don't even know—have been crucial to my success," Brendan says. Wesleyan, particularly Cardinals football, also provided Brendan many life lessons that continue to inform his career. Playing football taught Brendan the importance of teamwork, especially with a group of diverse individuals. It also taught him to how to survive and thrive in hierarchal organizations. These are lessons that Brendan applies every day as a police officer. Brendan doesn't idealize his work on the police force. It's an exciting life, but it's also emotionally hard because he has a front-row seat to some of the worst of human behavior. Still, there are some rewards, like when the resident of a housing project pulls him aside and thanks him for cleaning out some gang members who were terrorizing the tenants. "That's when you know it really counts," he says. "That's when it's most meaningful. It's not when the politicians make the speeches about how much they support the police, but when someone who you've helped takes a moment to say thank you." Michael M. Stein '57 enjoys retirement after working for 50 years after college. He says it's hard to believe he's now 80! Michael keeps busy with various hobbies and pursuits and expects to attend the 60th reunion in 2017. E-mail: jasmineandmike@aol.com Barton S. Bolton '58 has facilitated leadership development for information technology leaders for over 20 years. He and his wife, Cynthia, live in Upton, Mass., and have three children. E-mail: bartbolton@aol.com George C. Stephens '63 works as a real estate broker and has nine agents operating under him. His wife, Judy, is his leading agent. He also writes a column for the Houston Chronicle titled "Ask George and Chuck." He maintains the two websites, www.askgeorge.net and www. stephensproperties.com. E-mail: george@ georgestephens.com Paul Eschholz '64 continues to write college- level textbooks. He also works at the local homeless shelter. Paul and his wife, Betsy, moved to Naples, Fla., from Shelburne, Vt., in 2005 ("Just in time for Hurricane Wilma!"). They enjoy spending time with their six grandchildren from Saskatoon, Canada, to Schenectady, N.Y., and Richmond, Vt. E-mail: peschhol@uvm.edu Ralph P. Jacobs '65 retired to a life of church leadership. He enjoys camping trips throughout (Continued on page 4) ALUMNI NEWS

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