How Beta Sig Changed The Life Of an Alum

“Beta Sig, to me, was a life-changing event,” says David Richin ’70. Like most other freshmen, David found things a bit overwhelming at first. But the camaraderie he found through Beta Sigma Beta changed everything, and it has stayed with him his entire life since. David first joined Beta Sig along with his best friend, Jeffrey “Ike” Eisenstat ’70. Soon he had plenty more people to call his closest friends.

“You really did become like brothers,” he says.

The biggest game-changer for David, however, was serving as Chancellor of the fraternity.

“You learn so much about people that you can’t learn in a textbook,” he says of his time as Chancellor. “That really affected me positively—leadership, how to get along with people, negotiating. It was an amazing experience.”

Many of the experiences and skills that David gained at Beta Sig would very much come in handy down the road. He went on to attend law school at American University, then completed his clerkship with a judge in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia before beginning his own law practice in Silver Spring, Maryland. After 40 years of practicing law, he is now happy to say that he’s retired. And still today, he has never lost touch with his Beta Sig brothers.

“It’s kind of amazing how things turned out because my best friends today are still my brothers,” David says, “which is pretty special, to think that relationships would last that long.”

David still goes on yearly trips with Ike and Larry “Spider” Silverman ’70, and together they’re known as “the three amigos.” He also visits Penn State for a game every year with a group of brothers, while Fred Hurvitz ’69 (David’s big brother) hosts them for the weekend. And most recently, David is looking forward to Alan Greenbaum ’70 and his wife coming to visit him and Dave Callet ’70 for a weekend soon.

“We keep the torch burning,” David says. “We go out of our way to see each other.”

Today, David lives in Rockville, Maryland, and is happy to be enjoying the retired life. He is very close with his family, and his daughter Alissa—a Penn State grad—lives close by with her husband and children, Jacob (5) and Austin (18 months). In his spare time, he likes to stay active by playing golf and working out. He also continues to generously support Beta Sigma Beta as he has for years and is proud of the undergrads for the effort they put forth for causes like Autism Speaks and THON. It’s clear that David will always be a loyal Beta Sig.

“I think I owe so much to Beta Sig,” says David. “I got a lot more out of it than I could ever pay back in. It’s been an amazing run, and I’m very thankful today.”

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Author: betasigmabeta