This year’s chapter retreat was once again held in Moodus CT, and was organized by Moodus native, Mike Quinn, along with brother Colman Tokar. Mike and Colman tailored this year’s retreat with a focus on providing more meaning to the symbolic letters of Sigma, Phi, and Epsilon. With this, they planned events that allowed the brothers from all different classes to grow closer as friends, and as people that other members in the chapter could confide in, no matter of the brother’s age. Below is a description of some of the popular events from the weekend.
CT Alpha was fortunate to have alumni, brother Tom Birmingham, share about how his membership in SigEp has improved his life during his undergrad years and beyond. Tom provided powerful insights as to how the brothers that many of us know now are going to be our brothers for life. Tom left the chapter with some of his best memories from his time in the chapter. He presented many powerful lessons, advice for our chapter, and provoked laughter with his jokes.
The brothers then wrote letters to their future selves. This was an opportunity for the brothers to confide in themselves, look to the future, and be truly honest with their personal struggles and aspirations. This was also an opportunity for reflection where brothers could write about their hardships that have made them better men, their failures that have changed their mindsets, and perhaps what they wish they would have done differently if they could travel back in time.
Next, the brothers were placed in groups, each with a new member and at least one more senior member. In these groups, each member shared their life’s story with his group. This tends to be the event that the brothers hold in their memories forever. This year was no different, as the groups dove into highly-personal stories that facilitated trust, respect, and camaraderie between group members.
The next morning, the chapter broke into groups for the “Keep, Start, Stop” activity. This is an integral part of the retreat, as it allows the chapter as a whole to improve and evolve to the needs of the current members. Many ideas presented in this year’s Keep, Start, Stop will be implemented into next semester’s plan.
The brothers concluded the retreat with a chapter meeting, followed by a scenic drive back to Storrs. This was CT Alpha’s first year programming the chapter retreat on an annual basis. The programming was a success, and the chapter was happy to embark on such an important event that allowed them to grow so much closer.