Kappa Alpha Order (KA) is one of the many fraternities within the Interfraternity Council at Northwestern State University. Their philanthropic organization is the Independence Fund, which is dedicated to helping disabled veterans and their families.
Parker Stroope is a junior business administration major and the current president of KA. Their main goal for the year was to get more members. “We were in a tough spot last spring—we had a total of five members,” Stroope said. “So this fall, it was a really big goal to get membership up, and we finished with a pledge class of ten new guys.”
Being president has taught Stroope time management over anything. “Having to balance all of these guys [as well as] school and work and other stuff, [it’s taught me] time management skills definitely, and it helps out a bunch,” Stroope said.
For anyone interested in the fraternity, Stroope wants people to take a chance on it. “You may not know a lot about it, or you may not be interested in Greek life as a whole, but I took that chance, and it’s opened so many new doors for me. I’ve met so many new people, I’ve gotten so many opportunities to do things that I didn’t even know I wanted to do,” Stroope said. “Just take that chance on KA or take that chance on Greek life in general. It’s very beneficial.”
For Joshua Peek, a sophomore health and exercise science major, joining KA was about making a difference where he could. “I wasn’t originally interested in it, but then I saw over the spring and summer that they were struggling. So I thought, ‘if I’m going to join anything, it’s going to be KA,’” Peek said. “I just felt that there was something that I could bring to the table … and I felt like I could help and do my part for the fraternity.”
The motto for KA is “God and the Ladies,” and they say they’re called to be modern gentlemen. “Most of us are Christians, so we have a faith of believing in God and [going] by the morals and standards that they go by,” Peek said. “And so for the ladies … we’re called to be modern gentlemen. To be KA is to be respectful, honest, genuine and just have good morals and be a leader in whichever way we can.”
Being in a fraternity is more than joining and making friends—it’s becoming part of a family—something that Rafe Suggs, a sophomore biology major, can attest to. “The group of guys that surround KA, they’re more than just my frat brothers. They’re my actual brothers. It’s a family,” Suggs said.
“If I need a guy to pick me up from my hometown … he’ll come and do it. And I realized that really quickly when I started to rush, when I didn’t even plan on rushing, but I realized that this is a family,” Suggs said.
Being in KA has taught Suggs to be a gentleman. “That’s one of our big things—being modern gentlemen. Most people don’t do it, it’s hard … and I think that we teach it really well, and how to be a better man than you come in,” Suggs said.
Kappa Alpha Order is a fraternity based on religion and morals, being a modern gentleman and defining what that means for them. They are open to all and have brought in people based on the relationships formed between one another.
