Theta Xi - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

A group of 55 Alpha Chapter alumni returned to 1490 Sage Avenue on the weekend of April 29-30. While it was three years between Founders' Day celebrations, it seemed like virtually no time had passed as lifelong friends and brothers gathered in the formal room to meet many active brothers in person for the first time. We conducted our annual meeting, as suggested in last year's survey, though the bulk of the meeting was held virtually the weekend before. We then proceeded directly to elections, new business, and Chapter Eternal without ever leaving the house. The weekend focused on alumni and active brother connections, including a barbecue at the house, alumni/active ice hockey skate, downtown meals and bar hopping, and a Saturday-evening private gathering upstairs at the Ruck (the old Sutters). The alumni and actives jointly inspected our house. One highlight was the new foyer window donated by the spring 1986 pledge class. The house needs a little TLC, as the last two-plus years of COVID left it underoccupied. We've submitted a punch list to our local contractor and will complete deferred maintenance over the summer break. Our Alpha actives have done remarkably well with recruiting given the headwinds of a virtual COVID campus and the anti-Greek outgoing administration. With some hard work and a little luck with fall recruitment, we may be in a position to choose to execute our last major capital campaign project (the kitchen renovation) next summer. Your alumni board continues to focus on helping the actives execute recruitment and foster alumni networking. In addition to mentoring Alpha Chapter officers (including recruitment), we continue to JV with the chapter to support their Professionalism Series (résumé writing, interview skills, and networking) held at our house. Let us know if you're interested in participating! If you are coming to campus for a job fair or otherwise, let us know in advance. If you are involved in hiring, let us know. Your survey responses last year asked us to help foster alumni networking within professional fields. In response, we are launching a pilot program focusing on finance, civil, and nuclear engineering to coordinate with RPI, the house, and our alumni. If you work in any of those areas and want to participate, let us know. If you work in another field and want to volunteer to organize alumni within that discipline, please reach out. Finally, you told us last year and again this year that you'd like more information. In addition to the two annual AlphaBet issues, we will continue to send quarterly email blasts that contain content including alumni association meeting minutes, directions to alumni calls (all monthly meetings are open to any brother, active or alumnus), and other pertinent content. Please make sure we have your updated mail and email addresses if you want to receive these communications. I look forward to seeing you at 1490 Sage Avenue on April 29, 2023. Yours in the Bonds, David Fowkes '89 (A1275) ALPHA CHAPTER OF THETA XI SUMMER 2022 ALPHABET As you face the front of the house, the spring 1986 pledge class window is the first to the right of the front stairs in the foyer. A s an engineering student, Mike Baron '06 (A1555) felt as though he simply "ended up" in that path—not fully knowing where it would lead him in his career. What he learned in class often felt overly technical and disjointed, lacking a cohesive "story" to help him understand these lessons and skills in a useful way. "I later became transfixed on studying the ways that my older colleagues were able to retain and redeploy information," Mike recalls. "I came to realize that the word 'expertise' defined that skill better than 'education' or 'experience' did." Mike strove to help document this expertise and help transfer it to younger generations. In 2016, he founded the aptly titled Expertise Project, an organization that introduces aspiring engineers and high school/college students to a variety Alumni Return to Resilient Alpha Chapter And More Opportunities to Get Involved! Bridging the Gap to the Future Mike Baron '06 (A1555) Helps Students by Telling Stories (Continued on page 2) Please contact us if you are interested in mentoring active members in the following: Résumé writing Interview skills Networking Finance Civil Engineering Nuclear Engineering

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