Beta Theta Pi - Purdue University

3 BETA THETA PI AT PURDUE UNIVERSITY W hen Craig Lewis '15 first arrived in West Lafayette to attend Purdue, he experienced a bit of a culture shock. As a New Jersey native, the Midwest almost felt like foreign land to him. Getting a degree was the top priority for Craig nonetheless, and he wanted to surround himself with people who push him to achieve that and his other goals. The men of Beta Mu answered Craig's call. "I learned a ton through Beta. I'm a very social person and I've tried to keep that in me," Craig said. "Beta was a great starting point for reaching out and doing things you might not be comfortable with. That led me to being able to do a lot of different things on my own." One thing that impressed Craig about Beta was the fraternity's commitment to supporting different charities. Craig will never forget representing Beta in Sumo Slam, which benefitted a local children's hospital. "It was a big competition between the fraternities," Craig said. "I remember going up against one of the guys who was on the football team. It was an all-out battle." Beta prepared Craig to tackle a variety of challenges in the real world. Craig worked for Skanska USA Building in New York City for about two and a half years, but he couldn't stop thinking about a part of the Purdue experience that he couldn't fulfill. Due to his family's finances being tight, Craig didn't have the opportunity to study abroad in college. Thanks to the solid career he started at Skanska and confidence he gained at Beta, Craig filled that void and then some when he decided to quit his job and travel the world for nearly a year. It was another major culture shock for Craig, but this time it left him wanting more. After Craig returned to his job with Skanska, he combined his passions for construction, charity, and traveling all into one trip. Craig reached out to Habitat for Humanity about one of their trips to go to Malawi, Africa, in February 2019 to build a home for a single mother and her five children. With the help of his family, coworkers, friends, and Beta brothers, Craig raised more than $3,000 for the build. He was joined by 15 others from around the U.S. on the life- changing week-and-a-half trip. "We went to a village in the middle of Malawi and were greeted by almost 1,000 people. They sang songs for us and led us into the camp because they knew what we had done to get to that point with raising money," Craig said. "The family was living in a mud hut that was wide open to animals coming into it. It was dangerous. Their homes can get washed away. It gave them something that could withstand storms and the animals that are out there." Craig always enjoys capturing photos of the cities he travels to and made sure to get plenty of them in Malawi. Those photos are worth way more than 1,000 words to him. "They don't even have mirrors, so they didn't know what they looked like," Craig said. "I'm out there taking all these pictures and showing them to the children and the people who live there and they are cracking up." Craig can't wait to make another trip like the one to Malawi. He's also planning a trip to a place that no longer feels like foreign land to him. Craig is returning to West Lafayette this year for Homecoming. You can connect with Craig at cjlewis1992@ gmail.com. Building Upon Beta's Principles Craig Lewis '15 Cherishes Life-Changing Trip to Malawi George C. Harmon '49 Howard Harman '51 James B. Lester '56 Clifford A. Dunton '57 John Hoyt '57 James S. Crane '59 John D. McDougle '60 James E. Corliss '61 Michal McClure '62 Robert McLean '62 Thomas Faulkner '63 Phillip L. Zellers '64 John Canterbury '65 Grant H. Martin '67 Richard Bond '68 Jan Deemer '68 R. Scott Hayes '68 Lee Saberson '68 Roger Schenkel '68 Walter Bender '69 David McKinley '69 David Pittman '69 Robert N. St. Jean '69 M. Stephen Huss, M.D. '70 William W. Reid '70 Michael A. Tucker '70 Thomas Work '70 Kevin Comer '71 Stephen Dexter '71 Geoffrey J. Hibner '71 William P. Johnson '71 Richard A. Roski '71 Michael S. Kady '72 William M. Irish '74 Paul S. Petticrew '76 Bruce Parkinson '78 Richard J. Bond '79 Thomas H. Lupfer '79 Thomas P. Heed '80 Robert Toth '81 Thomas Hoover '82 John Miller '82 Kevin Raywood '82 David P. Todd '82 William S. Tippet '83 John C. Kestler '85 Thomas Brazina '86 James E. Dora Jr. '86 Raymond Benton '94 Dan Breier '94 Gregory Ogle '94 John C. Tyrpin '94 Andrew C. Bauer '95 Ryan Kratz '95 David Nagel '95 Jeff Steurer '02 Sean M. Klinger '17 Griffin W. Hoover '18 THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING BETA MU! I n the fall we announced a fundraising effort to raise another $700,000 for our Chapter House and to reduce our long-term debt. To date we have raised nearly $100,000 for this effort. We wish to thank the following brothers for their generous support, and we hope to add more names to this list this year! GIVE ONLINE TODAY! tinyurl.com/ btppucapital

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