September 16, 2024
An Engineering Technologies major at Shawnee State University, Kyle Perry is the President of the Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity on campus.
“Originally, I never believed that I would ever join a fraternity,” he said. “I don’t look or act like the type of person you would typically see.”
Looking into the organizations, Perry decided to join once he met many active members of the organization.
“It wasn’t just a place to fit in, it was more than that,” he said. “It was a brotherhood.”
TKE is a fraternity for males on campus at SSU. The organization functions under the motto, “Better Men for a Better World”.
“The motto means helping men mentally, morally, and socially for the development of themselves and their peers,” Perry said.
As President of TKE and a member of Fraternity & Sorority Life, Perry is always looking to see how Greek Life members can benefit from being part of an organization. In his own experience, he has seen the opportunities to professional network, travel, enhance job opportunities, and create lifelong friendships.
“I have experienced instrumental growth in my ability to talk with people, including intrapersonal skills and my ability to publicly interact and speak,” he said, outlining trips and experiences he’s taken for personal and leadership development as well as to see the TKE national organization outline their mission to raise $10 million for their philanthropy, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, in the next decade. “I have gotten to go on several all-expenses paid trips across the U.S. this past summer to Colorado, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee.”
At SSU, Perry can see how the evolution of Fraternity & Sorority Life can inspire the growth and engagement of campus life for students.
“Greek Life is evolving at SSU by working with student life at the university to help engage students,” he said. “We are working to make student life more engaging and fun for everyone so that the campus can flourish and grow.”
Perry and his fraternity brothers understand there’s a stigma associated with Greek Life on college campuses, but they want to work to break that stereotype at SSU.
“Greek Life is about focusing on personal growth and development,” he said.
TKE is recruiting new members throughout the week of Sept. 9, but Perry and his brothers are open to talking with interested students throughout the semester about their organization’s goals as well as the benefits of Greek Life.
To learn more about Fraternity & Sorority Life at Shawnee State University, students can contact Marlita Cadogan, Interim Director of Student Life at mcadogan@shawnee.edu. For more opportunities within Campus Life, visit shawnee.edu/campus-life.