Demonstrating the brotherhood and networking many fraternities boast, Delta Tau Delta and Phi Kappa Psi hosted alumni speakers last week to make members aware of career opportunities.
Marshall Jarrett, the U.S. Department of Justice counsel for professional responsibility, discussed his specialization in prosecuting public officials to about 40 people, 30 of which were Delta Tau Delta members, at the fraternity’s 2020 G St. house Wednesday.
Jerry Nelson, a venture capitalist who once owned Ticketmaster, and Paul Wineman, a professional corporate negotiator, spoke to 14 undergraduate members and 20 alumni of Phi Kappa Psi at a seminar at the Crystal City Marriott hotel Friday morning.
Jarrett, a Delta Tau Delta alumnus who graduated from West Virginia University, spoke to fraternity members about his career, employment opportunities in the Department of Justice and interesting cases.
Beginning as an assistant U.S. attorney, Jarrett said he has worked for the U.S. Department of Justice for 25 years. Jarrett said the skills he developed as an undergraduate in the fraternity helped him with his career.
Jarrett chose his job because “the public trust is sacred,” he said, and he favors cases that involve corrupt public officials. He took part in an undercover drug operation that led to the prosecution of former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry. The FBI arrested Barry while in office in 1990 on narcotics charges.
Jarrett encouraged fraternity members to “try to find a job that makes your heart sing.”
After an hour, the audience was allowed to ask questions. A student asked Jarrett how to get a job at the Justice Department. The U.S. Department of Justice will not hire a lawyer right out of law school, Jarrett said, and favors litigators. He said there is an honors program for paralegals who graduate with an overall GPA of 3.3 to 3.5.
Delta Tau Delta members said they found Jarrett interesting and informative.
“I thought it was an excellent presentation,” senior Dan Baptiste said.
Members said they plan to invite more speakers to inform the fraternity of their post-graduation options.
“We are going to try to have at least one speaker per semester,” senior Michael Brown said.
At the Professional Leadership and Negotiation Strategy Seminar sponsored by Phi Kappa Psi’s national organization, Nelson talked about what separates winners from losers in business and habits that prevent people from succeeding in life.
Wineman, who teaches Fortune 500 companies such as Anheuser-Busch how to negotiate, spoke about negotiation skills, strategies in life and business and how to negotiate to be a winner.
“Everybody thought it was really productive,” said junior Jeff Nestler, rush chair for Phi Kappa Psi.
Fraternity members said the seminar forced them to look ahead to the future and start planning.
“It’s made me look at the next couple of years differently,” said sophomore Justin Lareau, a Phi Kappa Psi member.
Nelson hosted 11 Phi Kappa Psi members at his home in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, during Spring Break this year. The fraternity chooses members who will benefit the chapter the most to attend the week-long trip, which features three-hour seminars every day.
Fisher said Phi Kappa Psi plans to sending members to the same conference this spring.
“We have a very strong national network of active alumni,” Fisher said.
