Nathan S. Heffel '02

I thrived at Lawrence socially and quickly found friends and future brothers in Phi Kappa Tau, but struggles with a learning disability (dyscalculia) forced me to reevaluate my goal of my music education major in the Conservatory. I shifted to the University and into the Government program with mentors like Minoo Adenwalla, Chong-Do Hah and others.
 
I was a POC, academically struggling, gay (closeted), and trying to find my way through the rigors of Lawrence which sometimes brought me to the brink of just throwing in the towel. But I came out while at LU, found my future husband there, rose to a leadership position in PKT, and ended up being part of the planning group for what would become LU's formal group housing plan. I helped negotiate my fraternity's break from the Greek system's lawsuit suing the University over the plan—and met numerous times with President Warch and the LU Board to negotiate and help plan a course for the future of the fraternity houses in the Quad. So, you see, my time at Lawrence was a mix of ups and downs, highs and lows, both academically and socially.
 
While I was a “minority” at Lawrence, I never felt discriminated against, or maligned because of who I was—in fact, I felt more embraced and guided because of that fact. Dean Truesdell and Dean Hemwall were instrumental in helping me academically and, I felt, went out of their way to work within my learning disability so I could graduate from Lawrence (by the skin of my teeth, but with a degree nonetheless.) Others including President Warch and PKT alumni mentors and teachers across campus saw my potential and gave me hands-on guidance and lessons in leadership which I still use to this day. That give and take, and those ups and downs shaped me -- and truly set me on the path to success where I am today: Happily married to my husband with a beautiful daughter, changing the face of public and commercial radio on Colorado's Western Slope.

Connect with Nathan on LinkedIn.