Joining Theta Tau was one of the best decisions I’ve made in college, and looking back, I wouldn’t have it any other way. From professional development to brotherhood bonding, the past few months have been packed with memorable moments, and what better way to recap it all with our first ever Semes-TAU Recap!

One of the first events that really stood out to me this semester was the Family Lock-In. As a new member, you get to meet different parent sets of brothers. Then at Family Lock-In, your mystery parents give you a theme to dress as, your parents are revealed to you, and officially paired with you. As Maggie, our PNM Marshall, puts it best: “Family Lock-In is my favorite event each semester - with each passing semester, the costumes the parent sets think of get more and more creative. Our family system is unique to the Kappa chapter, and I love how each family tree grows and grows.”

On Family Lock-In day, my parents, Luka and Will, were revealed to me. The rest of the day was filled with competitive family games, laughs, and a whole lot of creative costumes from the parent sets on the Main Quad. There’s something about not knowing who your parents are until they show up in costumes that make the reveal even more exciting. As Sydney, a PNM getting paired with parents this day as well put it: “It was so fun to see the creative ideas every parent set came up with, and to try to piece together who each person’s parents were as they arrived in their outfits.”

If Family Lock-In was the event that made me feel like a part of a family, then retreat was the event that made me feel like a part of the brotherhood. A two-hour drive away, brothers spent a memorable weekend away from campus including watching the Fighting Illini make their way to the Final Four in March Madness! From things like trivia to senior roast, I was able to get closer to brothers in a unique way and truly bond with them. If watching that game alone wasn’t enough to make the trip memorable, what truly made the retreat special was bonding with brothers outside of a structured setting, and I could feel the difference.

Fellow PNM Zach said it perfectly: “Being able to meet some people who I hadn’t had the chance to talk to previously was really fun. It was an amazing opportunity to get closer to my PC and the frat in general!”

One thing that surprised me the most was how seriously the chapter takes professional development. In NME meetings, we cover many different topics from resume building and interview prep to elevator pitches, LinkedIn, cold emailing, and internship advice. Brothers also come in to share their own perspectives on things like adding minors, studying abroad, and navigating their major industry which makes the advice feel real and applicable. The advice from these meetings was very helpful for me, where I was able to apply it to this recruiting season and land an internship this summer!

Outside of these meetings, PNMs are also paired with a mentor - an upperclassman in your major who helps you map out your four-year plan, suggests classes to take, and gives advice tailored to you and your field. It’s the type of guidance and mentorship that’s hard to find anywhere else on campus. With my mentor, I gained a lot of insight from her. My biggest takeaway was in adding a legal studies minor to my degree, which is something I never would have even thought I would be doing in the past!

Looking back, being a PNM is something truly special.