“When I came to Penn State, I was a city guy and pretty much of a loner,” Ken Weaver says.
“The brotherhood experience forced me to learn how to get along with 46 guys, most of whom were not like me. Some I liked, some not, but they were all my brothers. That experience had an enormous impact on my social skills and was fundamental to my success in both my professional and personal life.”
Looking back on his Lamda Chi days, he remembers pledging a fraternity that was known around campus for “partying and sports… academics, not so much,” fun nights spent at Mr. C’s disco (where his wedding reception was held), playing for the house volleyball team the Sky Kings, and a three-day pledge class trip to Niagara Falls (“We had lots of fun while Steve Quinn ’76 studied organic chemistry.”). His connection to the fraternity extends to his present role as the High Alpha mentor, which he calls “a great way to give back to an organization that had such a big impact on my life.”
The most impactful aspect came when he met his future wife, Rhonda, through Lamda Chi Alpha. “She was very patient and overcame her dislike of fraternity guys, for which I am very grateful,” he says. “Back in those days we would have called her a GDI.”
The many “fulfilling” relationships with his brothers represent another lasting benefit of his fraternity experience. “I reconnected with my pledge class (Rick Powl ‘77, Dave Deluca, Steve Quinn, Ed Dankanich ’77, and Scott Bleggi ‘78) around 10 years ago, and we now get together regularly. (They) always had my back, even when I didn’t deserve it. I assure you that if it wasn’t for them, I would not have completed my pledge experience and learned to get over myself.” 
Ken considers the Lamda Chi Alpha initiation a tradition he hopes will never diminish: “I had the opportunity to see it at the leadership conference in Phoenix last summer and was amazed at the depth of Christian symbolism contained within it. The brothers that thought it up 100 years ago were truly amazing. I got a lot out to it when I was initiated, but even more seeing it 50 years later.”
After graduating in 1976 with a degree in General Arts and Sciences (“a.k.a. having fun”), Ken graduated first in his MBA class at Penn State in 1979. He then began a 35-year career with Firestone Tire and Rubber, during which he moved 12 times and held 21 different positions, starting as a management trainee and ending up as the President of the Commercial Division.
“After retirement, I spent six months doing all the fun things retired guys do until my wife told me to go back to work after we were trapped in the house together during the winter, and I made the mistake of giving her too much advice on how to run it. She told me, ‘I took you for better or worse, but not for lunch.” I then began working in the private equity business and am now a managing director for a firm in Nashville Tennessee. Along the way, we raised four children and now have four grandchildren.”