Life at UT Arlington

Among my favorite memories are from my life as a student at UTA and spending time with my fraternity brothers (Kappa Alpha), and many other friends. Bed races down West 2nd Street, Shrimp Fest (PKA) in the Greek parking lot, and attending UTA football games. Yes, we had football! I served as an officer in KA, on UTA Student Congress, and as a UTA Ambassador. I had the honor of hanging out with UTA president Dr. Wendell Nedderman, and smoking cigars in his office. One year, we entered the air band competition that was taking place at University Center. I noticed that all registered competitors were entering rock bands. We had to do something different, so I thought, how about a big band? I gathered my KA brothers and we practiced with saxophones, clarinets and trumpets. We performed Glenn Miller's "In the Mood." It was a success! We won the competition and subsequently appeared in the UTA Shorthorn and live on Channel 11 (KTVT). For a moment, we were famous. Our 15 minutes. This is the kind of serendipity that happened while I was a student there. UTA is also where I met my wife Lorie (Zeta Tau Alpha), who has since become a successful and respected business person and community leader in Arlington. Serendipity.