Sigma Phi Epsilon - University of Illinois

4 Hearing Happiness Ken DeMarco '87 Shares SigEp Experience with His Son, Anthony DeMarco '23 K en DeMarco '87 will never forget walking into the SigEp chapter house on his first day of school at the University of Illinois. The men he met that day became his best friends, and that hasn't changed for the past 37 years. Ken's son, Anthony DeMarco '23, grew up around several of his Illinois Alpha brothers. When Anthony officially joined the brotherhood last fall, Ken's SigEp pride reached another level. "It was probably one of the proudest moments of my life. For Anthony's birthday, I just bought him a SigEp paddle," Ken said. "Even though I'm blind, to hear the smile on his face was just like a gut feeling. The feeling I got was pure pride." Anthony's first visit to 1105 S. Fourth Street came at a much earlier age than Ken's. They've seen some cool parallels of the chapter house since that first visit and when Anthony moved in. "He's heard me talk about SigEp ever since he was born. I took him to see the house when he was 4 years old," Ken said. "We went into a room that he's living in now. So 14 years later, he ends up living in the same room. That's awesome." One of Anthony's closest childhood friends is now his roommate, Matt Hawkins '23. Ken coached both of them in football and is glad that they have each other at Illinois Alpha. At Dad's Day Weekend in November, Ken enjoyed catching up with Erik Gerew '89, whose son, Davis Gerew '18, is also a legacy. Along with returning to Champaign for Illini games and Illinois Alpha events, Ken has made a tradition with Brian O'Rourke '86, Brian Beard '87, Mark O'Bryan '85, and Johnny Leon Guerrero '87 in taking trips every couple of years to Miami. SigEp has had a profound impact on Ken's 29-year career as a financial advisor. He currently works for Avantax Advisory Services. "The personal skills I learned at Illinois Alpha helped me create relationships with my clients. I like helping people. Most of my business is fee-based, so I'm a fiduciary," Ken said. "So my goal is as my clients do better, I do better. If my clients do worse, I do worse. That's the part that sticks out to me. I don't do it for the money. I do it to help people achieve their life goals." Ken can't wait to see how Illinois Alpha prepares Anthony for life after college. His daughter, Isabella, also hopes to attend the University of Illinois next year and enter the nursing program. "I just want to stress that to this day, I still think joining SigEp is the best decision I've made," Ken said. "If I had to do it over again, I would do it 10 times over. I'm very proud to be a SigEp and always will be." You can connect with Ken at kdemarco639@comcast.net. "It was probably one of the proudest moments of my life. For Anthony's birthday, I just bought him a SigEp paddle. Even though I'm blind, to hear the smile on his face was just like a gut feeling. The feeling I got was pure pride." New Member GPA Scholarship Supported by 50-Something Reunion, Others via Matching Challenge T he 50-Something Reunion challenged brothers to support the New Member GPA Scholarship with a matching challenge launched late last year. Leading up to the reunion, undergraduate leadership had signaled the need for a $350 scholarship to support new members with a first semester GPA of 3.4 or higher, offsetting the one-time national dues required of new members. Often an impediment to joining, the program rewards top academic performers and reinforces the importance of living in the chapter house. Alumni responded to the 50-Something challenge in a big way by contributing nearly $20,000 in total donations. The 50-Something group has been incredibly loyal over the years and we are grateful for the support of those brothers. In particular, we appreciate the longstanding dedication of Jim McGreevy '69 to bring together this generation of Illinois Alpha SigEps. We look forward to hosting the next reunion and appreciate your commitment to SigEp!

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