Cedarville Magazine, Spring/Summer 2015

Advancing Cedarville by Carol Lee ’96 “Friends for Life” has been the Alumni Relations tagline for years. The phrase captures and celebrates the lifelong connection Cedarville students share with one another and with their alma mater. These “school ties” can take root and grow in formal collegiate settings, but more often they happen informally. A group of Theta Rho Epsilon (OPE) students, for example, built lasting friendships when they gathered each Thursday for prayer, accountability, and (on occasion) Star Trek. More than 20 years after graduation, this group maintains deep friendships with one another and two decades of OPE alumni. They are also forming friendships with today’s student members while encouraging them to form lifelong friendships with each other. They still gather — online and in person — for prayer, accountability, and to encourage (there’s no other way to say this) “the next generation.” Paul McGrady ’93 and Kevin Parliament ’93 are two of OPE’s founding members. They spoke with Cedarville Magazine about how this student organizationhas established a multigenerational brotherhood and a lifelong connection with Cedarville. When and why was OPE founded? PM – OPE began our junior year, in 1991. The other founding members were Brian Bales ’93, Tom Mathisen ’93, Mike Heft ’93, and TomDriscoll ’93, along with Jeff Beste ’86 as our adviser. We added additional members the following spring, and yearly membership has stayed at about 15–20 men. KP – I’d love to say we had a master plan to establish 20 years of brotherhood, but we were 19- and 20-year-old college guys. We thought it would be great to have a men’s organization where we could get to know each other as brothers, hold each other spiritually accountable as men, and also have a little fun. We wanted to make sure each class of guys we brought in would be committed to these same principles. And how did you become “Friends for Life”? PM –We’ve maintained our accountability relationships as we’ve grown older, keeping in touch in person, by phone and text, and online through a Facebook group. We share concerns and prayer requests about our marriages, children, and health. KP – We also stay in touch with current OPE students. Each year the officers plan an annual winter retreat. As founders, we try to attend each year, and we invite OPE alumni from other years. There could be as many alumni as there are students at the retreat. You can’t talk about OPE without talking about Jeff Beste, the group’s longtime adviser. He’s had a constant connection with this group from the beginning. How did you see his influence? PM – Jeff had the vision for OPE as amen’s accountability group, and he saw the potential for friendships that could last a lifetime. He was the glue that held it together and made it happen. With a gentle hand, he took a young organization and steered us toward longevity. KP – I transferred to Cedarville at the start of my junior year. Other students already had two years of bonding with students and professors — I wasn’t yet part of the crowd. Jeff welcomed me into the group of guys that started OPE that year. He was older than us, so he was like a big brother that we looked up to. How did your OPE experience shape your “Cedarville experience”? PM – OPE didn’t shape our Cedarville experience as much as it continued it. Kevin, Tom, Brian, and I went to a conference a while back and spent three days together sharing meals and conversation and building on a long-term friendship that began at Cedarville. OPE also continues the experience because we know students on campus today. So when we get funding requests for various buildings and projects, those requests are not abstract for us. KP – I agree. I don’t know that we would have stayed this invested in Cedarville without it. “Accountability Group” Living Long and Prospering 26 | Cedarville Magazine