As Nolan McPeek-Bechtold, California-Berkeley ’14, pulls on his favorite pair of barefoot-running shoes, his thoughts are still in the lab. He’s studying exoskeletons for military and private applications, and this was an especially taxing day. He’s also thinking about the chapter meeting he’ll lead tomorrow night and the mechanical engineering midterm that’s approaching. But as he starts out on an evening run, his mind begins to clear.

McPeek-Bechtold is focused. A fourth-year mechanical engineering student, he works in three research labs, just finished his term as chapter president and is training for an Ironman-length triathlon. Having spent the last four years pushing himself through the Balanced Man Program and attending each of SigEp’s leadership events, he credits his success in college to his Fraternity saying, “Everything I know about college, I learned through or with SigEp.”

When McPeek-Bechtold first stepped onto the Berkeley campus, he was like many in his freshman class: smart and eager to succeed. He expected college to challenge him, but when he found SigEp, he realized the next four years would push him in ways he hadn’t imagined. 

SigEp surrounded this high achiever with guys who were actively working to become better versions of themselves. It wasn’t just schoolwork—they were considering every aspect of their lives. Influenced by his brothers, he began to reflect on the balance in his own life—he decided he needed to make a change.

Though he came from a family of runners, McPeek-Bechtold quit his high school track team to focus on academics after deciding he wouldn’t be competitive. SigEp taught him he didn’t have to choose, and running became a part of his life again. McPeek-Bechtold began setting goals rigorously. Encouraged by his brothers, he ran his first marathon as a sophomore in college. He was hooked. One year later, he finished the Boston Marathon with the top two percent of runners in 2 hours and 54 minutes.

Some people are “Born to Run,” others born to academic greatness. But the hallmark of the SigEp experience is crafting a life where you do have not chose. When you vary your interests, each is enhanced by the other. Nolan McPeek-Bechtold is living proof.