About ten years ago to the day, Dan Sullivan, Quinnipiac ’13, wrapped up a semester living in Coventry, Connecticut. At the time, Dan worked on SigEp’s Headquarters expansion staff. His job assignment that semester was no small feat: he and fellow staff member Artie Angelo, Elon ’13, were tasked with restarting the Connecticut Alpha chapter at the University of Connecticut.

Dan was no stranger to the Connecticut Alpha world. While he was an undergraduate at Quinnipiac’s SigEp chapter, Connecticut Epsilon, Dan had the opportunity to work with Ed Kaplan ’88, who served as Connecticut Epsilon’s chapter counselor. Little did Dan know that, just one year later, he would have the chance to lead the effort to reestablish Ed’s home chapter.

That would not be the last Connecticut Alpha-Epsilon overlap. Just two years later, Derek Stanley, Quinnipiac ’11, stepped up to be Connecticut Alpha’s first Balanced Man Steward. And in 2020, Dan Sullivan once again joined forces with our chapter, this time serving as its District Governor.

Unfortunately, Connecticut Epsilon hit a few roadblocks during this stretch of time and eventually closed its doors in 2018. Fortunately, it would not be gone for long. This past fall, SigEp made a triumphant return to Hamden, recruiting over 30 brothers. This time, it was Connecticut Alpha’s turn to return the favor.

As the fall semester ended, the nascent Quinnipiac chapter elected its first set of executive and standards board officers—but it faced a challenge. As the chapter’s first recruits, the newly elected officers had no on campus who could perform their Ritual ceremony. Fortunately, this was nothing a phone call up to Storrs could not fix. Next thing the brothers knew, they loaded into cars on their way to Connecticut Alpha. Led by Chaplain Matt Ucci ’23, the UConn men kicked things into gear and initiated over a dozen of our neighboring brothers. Fittingly, the Ritual took place in the Ed Kaplan Chapter House, whose namesake served as a legendary volunteer for both chapters.

The men of Connecticut Alpha are excited to welcome back a second SigEp chapter to the Nutmeg State. We look forward to building upon our common chapter heritage in the decades to come!