Sigma Phi Epsilon - Colorado School of Mines

3 COLORADO DELTA Q: What initially made you want to join the ΣΦE brotherhood? A: Dean Willis '72 picked me up at the airport and brought me to the Chapter House when I arrived from Vancouver, Canada. I met the brothers and the rest is history. Q: Were there any alumni who had a positive impact on Chapter operations and your overall college experience? A: Marv Kay '60, Swede Arnston '51, and Bob Reeder '49 stick in my mind as memorable men. Prof. Hank "Bubbles" Babcock was an outstanding teacher. He taught the surveying summer class. Q: Did you hold any executive offices as an undergraduate? How did these roles and/or your ΣΦE membership impact your personal and professional development? A: I was pledge chairman in 1970, social VP in 1972, head hasher in 1974, house photographer in 1971, hell week chairman in 1971, and streaker in 1974. All these roles made me the multi-tasking engineer I am today. Q: Have you had a chance to visit campus or the Chapter House lately? Has anything changed or are you surprised by how little things have changed? A: The Chapter House has not changed much physically, but the IQ has risen above my level. Q: Do you stay in touch with your brothers from Colorado Delta? Are there any alumni events or get-togethers that you attend? A: I hold reunions myself. I have 110-plus brothers on my email list. Q: What makes you most proud to be a ΣΦE and what values from the Fraternity resonate most with you? A: I was not a super bright student, and if it were not for the Fraternity members I would have probably dropped out and found something less challenging than Mines. I only returned for another semester because of the SigEps. These men, almost 50 years later, are still my brothers. Q: How do you define success? What advice would you offer to undergraduates to help them achieve success? A: Success to me is being happy with your life. To the undergraduates, I would say be honest and ethical. Learn another language; get your professional engineer registration ASAP. Keep in touch with your brothers; sometimes it is not what you know but who you know. After working for others for a few years and gaining industry experience become your own boss. Sometimes being pushed off a cliff makes you learn to fly. Q: What is your role in the world professionally? What sparked your interest in that field? A: I am a third-generation mining engineer. I am a one-man engineering firm with professional engineer registration as both a mining and a civil engineer in multiple states and Canada. I work on projects in the mining industry and any engineering in the civil field. "If you need a bridge to Mars or a 10-foot shaft to hell, we are the engineers of 1,000 years and we will do the job quite well." MEMORIES AND POINTERS FROM RICHARD LAPRAIRIE '73 Drone pilot Owner of LMI Engineering Resides in Reno, Nev. Born in Leadville, Colo., and grew up in northern New York Dual U.S. and Canadian citizen A SigEp reunion with Richard LaPrairie '73. Quick Facts

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