This super senior is probably the wisest — and definitely the oldest — new member of his college fraternity.
“I have a big brother and he’s 49 years younger than me,” 70-year-old Arkansas Tech University freshman Gary Fryer joked to THV 11.
A retired furniture salesman, Fryer enrolled at ATU last fall after graduating and transferring from the University of Arkansas Community College.
At an orientation event at his new school, the bros at Kappa Sigma made him feel welcomed.
“They had all the booths set up, and I went by the Kappa Sig one,” Fryer said, according to the university’s website. “I had a badge on saying I was a transfer student, so they could recognize that and know I wasn’t just some old goof ball. They spoke real friendly and so did the other fraternities, but I guess I responded more to [Kappa Sigma].”
The bald and bespectacled septuagenarian, who sports a gray goatee, went through the same motions as any other frat bro wannabe, receiving a bid, going through rush and attending mixers.
“I have a bunch of 18- or 19-year-old brothers,” said Fryer. “They told me they thought it would be great having me in there because I may have experience and be able to give them advice. I told them I don’t give advice. I’ll share experiences with you, and I’ve been through all the experiences you’re going to go through, so I’d love to do that.”
Kappa Sigma blood runs in Fryer’s family. His late older brother, Jack, joined the frat during the 1960s and his younger brother Robert, father-in-law, son-in-law and several pals were also members.
After he eventually gets his bachelor’s degree from ATU, Fryer hopes to one day become a teacher.
“I think I’d love adjunct teaching on a part-time basis, so I have a possible goal,” he said. “That would be pretty cool. I could take the place of some guy who retired in his 60s and be some kind of good influence on someone else’s life.”