The Two “Teams” of Thomas Gregory Ehrig

By Janine Fields: ENGL 336.002

Every person in the world has a story to tell about who they are, where they came from and what they are going to do in their life. All of the stories and lessons come from the different relationships that one has with others. Thomas Gregory Ehrig is no different from that simple fact about humans. He was born on October 14 and has at least 20 years under his belt. Though, he laughs at the talk about his birthday, “I am the baby in my family with an older sister who is 31 and a brother who is 27”. His family lives in Olney, Maryland in Montgomery County. This is the county where he graduated from the Colonel Zadok A. Magruder High school in 2007. After graduating he made the choice to go to Frostburg State University and start to learn many lessons that will carry over to adulthood.
In his first year of college Ehrig joined the tennis team who had a 2-16 record for that year. Putting tennis on the back burner, he joined Sigma Tau Gamma in his sophomore year. This school year he is doing fall warm up to get himself conditioned for his season back in tennis since 2008. The Frostburg tennis team had a 9-6 season last year with hopes of a good season this year. Also this year, he is an actual brother of Sigma Tau Gamma which is a national recognized fraternity here at Frostburg State University. Sigma Tau Gamma was founded in 1920 by a group of men who were veterans of World War I who believed in the principles of value, learning, leadership, excellence, benefit, and integrity. The Frostburg chapter that he participates in today was founded in 1960 and is very active in the community. A couple of the philanthropy activities that his chapter participates in are BACCHUS/GAMMA and Books for Kids. Coming to his junior year, he has learned a lot about the different expectations of himself and of others around him.
When asked about the difference between being an active member of the tennis team and Sigma Tau Gamma, he responded that the expectations are the first thing that comes to mind. “In tennis you just play the game, Sigma Tau Gamma is different.” The tennis teams only expects for him to play the game and to be able to maintain good grades so he can play. His fraternity teaches him more about teamwork and responsibilities as there are set rules that all Greek organizations must follow. Also, Sigma Tau Gamma is a brotherhood and that sense of brotherhood stays with the members throughout life and helps them with any group that they join after college. Ehrig though, also made the comment to “keep close friends close” in the fact that he learned also that he cannot trust every person that he meets. In any path that he chooses to pursue after college he will always keep this basic knowledge with him in the choices that he makes from now on.

Sources:
Frostburg Sports(tennis): http://www.frostburgsports.com/index.aspx?path=mten
Sigma Tau Gamma: http://www.sigmataugamma.org/
Frostburg Greek Life: http://involvement.frostburg.edu/greek/frats.html