Richard M. Cratem, 1986
Sarah Cratem, 2017
Epsilon Sigma, University of Florida
By Sarah Cratem
All throughout my life, my parents have inspired me and pushed me to be the best I could be. Both of my parents graduated with their bachelor’s in electrical engineering and were a part of honor societies, including for my dad, HKN at the University of Florida. They nurtured my interest in math and science and encouraged me to learn at home too. I can remember watching my dad fix things in our house and asking him what he was doing and if I could help. I loved to play with his tools and try to understand how they worked. One New Year’s, my brother had a light-up hat that had stopped working; there was a wire that had broken. My dad went and retrieved his old soldering kit from college, and my parents soldered the wire, fixing the hat. I remember thinking it was the coolest thing!
In sophomore year of college, I received my invitation to join HKN. My dad encouraged me to join because he said many of his close friends were in it with him, and so I did. Last year I ran for the position of corresponding secretary of my Chapter and won. At one of our meetings, I was looking at our ledger of dues from past semesters. On one of the pages I recognized the handwriting, sent my dad a picture, and asked if it was his. Turns out he was treasurer of the Chapter when he was at UF, and it was really amazing to see my dad’s name and handwriting in the book, from when he was inducted and paid his dues to when he was collecting the dues. We both have enjoyed being in Eta Kappa Nu and it is an incredible bond we share.
What is your HKN story? Please let us know. Send an email to n.ostin@ieee.org.
