Tau Kappa Epsilon - Iowa State University

A lthough they were undergraduates at separate times, brothers Jon '06 E-2025 and Sam Turk '10 E-2100 were fortunate to overlap as members living in the Epsilon Chapter House for a few years. Jon served as the live-in advisor for the Chapter for two years while finishing his master's degree. Those two years were Sam's first years at ISU, and that time together allowed them to grow closer, both inside and outside of TKE "We were four years apart and always in separate stages of life," Sam said of their early relationship. "That two-year overlap was probably the most I had ever talked to Jon." "TKE showed me what a great friend I had in my younger brother," Jon said. "I'll always be thankful for that." FINDING EPSILON Jon was interested in joining a fraternity but knew little about Greek life. He visited Iowa State and a few houses, but he was unimpressed. However, he remembered hearing his parents say they both had a lot of friends who were Tekes back in the day. In fact, Jon specifically remembered his mom saying with a smile, "Nope, you can join anywhere but not Teke." This, along with a bad dorm assignment, motivated Jon to reach out to Epsilon for a Chapter visit. At the end of the visit, he turned in his signed bid card. Epsilon had a smaller membership in those days (complete with a renovated, dry Chapter House), but Jon got along great with the Fraters and Mom Sandy. The revitalizing Chapter gave him many leadership opportunities, including serving in three different jeweled-officer positions, an IFC vice president, and with the support of the Teke undergraduate and alumni community, student body president. Looking back, Jon said, "I loved my TKE experience and was glad to see a stronger Epsilon Chapter by the time Sam joined." Sam met several Tekes at his high school graduation and decided to stay at the Chapter House for ISU's Greek Getaway. "I was an introvert from a small town, and TKE helped encourage me to branch out and meet new people," he said. "It got me involved in leadership roles and projects (like the Veishea floats) that I probably wouldn't have sought out if left to my own devices." Both brothers have great memories of football games with Fraters and late-night chats on the porch. Over the years, they've also grown fond when looking back at the weekly Chapter meetings—something that may have felt tedious at the time. "You're living in a house with 100 of your best friends, and it's hard to keep track of what they're doing every week," Sam said. "But for an hour a week, everyone stops to come together and catch up. You don't really get that same experience again." TEKES FOREVER The TKE experience is far from over for the Turk brothers. Jon was succeeded as advisor by his good friend, Dave Overman '06 E-2020, and has helped edit Epsilon's Top Teke award application for several years. When he went to the University of Georgia for his Ph.D., he became a Province Advisor working with Chapters throughout the state. In his first year as a professor at Saint Louis University, Jon was an advisor to the Epsilon-Alpha Chapter and helped them through a rough patch. "Now I'm a bit more hands-off since I have two little babies at home," he said. As thanks for the TKE scholarship that helped him as a live-in member, Sam volunteers on the scholarship committee for the Epsilon Chapter Alumni Board. He works with ISU on the finance side of the program and helps the Chapter with the annual award ceremony. "The scholarship offerings are just phenomenal—we awarded nearly $100,000 in the 2022-23 school year alone," he said. BONDS THAT LAST Jon and Sam stay close with many Epsilon Teke alumni to this day. Both groomsmen parties for each of their weddings consisted entirely of Epsilon Tekes, with each brother being the other's best man. Even one of Jon's good friends, Rick Groom '05 E-2006, is now their parents' next-door neighbor! Jon and his wife, Sara (an attorney at Wells Fargo), live in St. Louis, where Jon is a professor of higher education at Saint Louis University. They had twin boys in November 2022, William Mitchell and Henry Michael. Sam works at Chevron Renewable Energy Group in Ames, where he originally landed an internship by recommendation of Michael Beals '07 E-2051, working for Teke alumnus James Bucher '96 E-1806. He met his wife, Breanna, at the company and they have two sons, Theodore Thomas and Winston Jonathan. "My wife is already hoping the kids will consider becoming Tekes, given her experiences with the Fraters she knows and how close-knit we still are as a group," Sam said. "It's worth spending time getting to know folks in and out of TKE, especially these days with such a large Chapter," Jon said of the many connections they've found. You can reach Sam at sturk2100@gmail.com and Jon at turk2025@gmail.com. What TKE Means to the Turk Family Great Fraters, Better Brothers CHAPTER ETERNAL Wally Falcon '54 E-568 August 2, 2023 Steven P. Zamastil '71 E-1080 June 28, 2023 J. Randy Kiliper '72 E-1098 August 9, 2023 ALUMNI NEWS Luca Berrone '75 E- 1201 and Steve Sukup '75 E- 1194, close friends of Xi Jinping, joined the Chinese president for an intimate dinner when he visited the U.S. for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Alumni Updates T hank you to the following Fraters who supported Epsilon's annual giving program in 2023. These donors listed below stepped up to invest in TKE's future, and we could not be more grateful. If you have been omitted from our contributors list, we sincerely apologize. Please contact our communications coordinator at alehr@penningtonco. com with any corrections. Richard Reisem '50 E-462 David F. Unzeitig '55 E-570 William D. Mullins '58 E-632 Marvin Richards '60 E-712 James S. Taylor '60 E-677 James King '62 E-770 Alan Tubbs '62 E-772 Vance O. Shoger '63 E-800 Mitchell E. Stock '65 E-819 Charles D. Oberg '66 E-848 Charles Collins '68 E-952 Richard A. Carlson '70 E-1022 Alan D. Schellhorn '73 E-1132 Roger C. Underwood '76 E-1239 Scott R. Diaz '86 E-1523 Jeff Underwood '90 E-1658 Nancy Pilcher An additional thank-you to those who have already extended support in 2024. We appreciate your dedication and generosity! John Atanasoff '53 E-547 Robert Carlson '62 E-757 Keith O. Westendorf '72 E-1094 Michael McGuire '74 E-1184 Scott A. Jorgensen, M.D. '79 E-1310 Dean Jessick '80 E-1373 Andrew Bradfield '84 E-1465 Steven W. Cromie '84 E-1455 Mark Lenson '86 E-1531 Josh Otten '09 E-2081 Thank You, Annual Campaign Supporters Visit epsilontke.causevox.com. Give to Epsilon Chapter! From left: Sam Turk '10 E-2100 and Jon Turk '06 E-2025.

• Cover