Sigma Phi Epsilon awards the “Balanced Man” scholarship to six freshmen men

Karli Strom - Editor in Chief

Sigma Phi Epsilon (Sig Ep) awarded six incoming freshmen men the national fraternity “Balanced Man” scholarships on August 17, recognizing their achievements during their high school careers.

“The Balanced Man Scholarship, right now, is completely run by undergraduates. This year, I was in charge of administering the whole thing,” said president of Sig Ep, William Plumley ‘25. 

The 500-dollar scholarships are provided from the fund created by the Sig Ep Alumni Illinois Gamma chapter. Since the launch of the program in 2008, they have awarded more than $32,000 in awards. They received their most applications ever, this year.

Awarding the “Balanced Man” scholarships was a full circle moment for Plumley since he received the award as an incoming freshman.

“It was more awkward my freshman year when only about four or five [of] us that applied, and most of us got it, versus this year where we were able to get twenty-five applications and provide six. So, it was a much more formal process. I was very proud of that,” said Plumley.

The recipients of the scholarships were Jordan Bridgeford, Ian Logan, Basilio Mekoum, Jon-Marc Torrez, Calvin Wellman, and Owen Zanger.

The “Balanced Man” scholarship is one of four other Greek life scholarships available for students to apply for at Monmouth College.

“The scholarship is promoted as you’re under no obligation to join the fraternity even if you apply or win, but we definitely look at those people for a potential list for recruitment first,” said Plumley.

The Balanced Man Program is part of the Sig Ep experience. It is a non-pledging, non-hazing, leadership and professional skills development experience.

“It’s probably the most important tool that we have to sort of project to freshmen that they have a place here that is actively looking for them to be successful and wants to promote an avenue for them to do that while they’re here,” said Plumley. “Recognizing whatever academic or pre-professional achievements that they had in high school and kind of recognizing that the hard work that they put in will give them dividends as they get here.”

Plumley found his place in Greek life but found a home in Sig Ep as a freshman.

“Sig Ep, and just having a role in Greek life in general, has really encouraged me to sort of push my boundaries a little bit. Sig Ep has really encouraged me to sort of give back to the community and actively try and grow this group that has given me so much. I couldn’t imagine my time without being in Sig Ep.”