Alumni Band Together to Encourage Community Service

May, 2019
Members of the Theta Epsilon Alumni Association

May 29, 2019—Humboldt State alumni are encouraging community service and supporting education with a new scholarship. Members of the Theta Epsilon Alumni Association, formally Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity (TKE), Theta Epsilon Chapter of Humboldt State College/Humboldt State University made a $25,315 gift to create the Theta Epsilon Alumni Association Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund, which will provide $1,000 each year to support a student performing volunteer service in the community.

The Theta Epsilon Alumni Association was formed by members of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity (TKE), Theta Epsilon Chapter that resided at HSC/HSU from 1960 to 2004. “We took part in a lot of good-natured hijinks, but community service was always a closely-held value of TKE Theta Epsilon. We did a lot of volunteer service, visiting residents of nursing homes and picking up trash,” says Robert Kreuiter, Theta Epsilon’s treasurer.

Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity (TKE), Theta Epsilon Chapter of Humboldt State College/Humboldt State University was founded in 1960 and consisted of around 430 members over the years. President Mike Brattland (’70, History), a fellow member of the fraternity, began hosting gatherings of TKE Theta Epsilon alums in the Sierras in 1996. A year later, they decided to form the Alumni Association. At the annual meeting in 2016, the Association voted to create a scholarship endowment at HSU. Endowments work by investing a donor’s contribution long-term, using only the income generated each year to provide awards in perpetuity.

“We want to support good students who are doing good things. HSU is the greatest place to go to school. It’s just beautiful—the redwoods, the wilderness, the beaches, the streams, the rain. It’s an honor for Theta Epsilon to help a student at HSU work toward their degree,” says Robert, who now lives in La Mesa, CA.

If you would like to support the Theta Epsilon Alumni Scholarship Endowment, you can make a gift here. If you have questions about giving, or would like to learn about other ways to support HSU students, visit loyalty.humboldt.edu, email the Office of Philanthropy at giving@humboldt.edu, or call 707.826.5200.