Aspirations Heavenward: a brother lives his dream
Todd Shelton and Michael A. Knipp | 11/19/2003 If there’s any organization in the world that epitomizes teamwork, dedication, and a strong commitment to excellence, the Navy’s Blue Angels lead the pack. Consequently, those are just a few of the same values Major Chandler Seagraves was taught early in life from his father. He continues to uphold these standards of distinction as a member of that prestigious and devoted team of naval aviators.
Although a Quantico, Virginia, native, Seagraves considers Meridian, Mississippi, home. A 1988 graduate of New Bern Senior High School in New Bern, North Carolina, he is a sports enthusiast and ultimate team player. In high school, he wrestled, played football and was captain of the baseball team.
Entering college at Mississippi State University, he had natural expectations. But while other students were spending their time less studiously, Seagraves kept his eye on the future; he had plans of going to vet school. His father nevertheless, with a lifetime of military service, had a strong influence on the future Kappa Alpha member. His father was a career marine pilot and a flight instructor in Meridian. Seagraves credits him as his greatest mentor.
“Dad told me 'Get involved in everything you want to, don’t worry about what people think if you don’t always win,’” says Seagraves about the best advice he ever received.
“He told me that the officer candidate school for the Marine Corp was the toughest thing I would ever do,” says Seagraves. “So, the summer of my junior year I did it.”
He went on to graduate from Mississippi State with a degree in Poultry Science. After graduation, however, he found that he was an ace in the air and took his commission.
So where, you ask, does the Order enter the equation? Well, lucky for Kappa Alpha, there happened to be a few outdoorsmen in the Beta Tau Chapter at the time.
“I had been through a lot of baseball camps at MSU when I was in high school,” Seagraves remembers. “My first year in college, I tried out for the baseball team but didn’t make it. I was so involved with baseball that I didn’t rush my freshman year.”
During his time off the diamond, Seagraves managed to meet several Kappa Alphas. “I had met a lot of KAs on campus and in classes. They were a lot like me. They were guys who liked to hunt and fish,” says Seagraves.
By his sophomore year, becoming a KA was no longer debatable. He felt that the gentlemen demonstrated the same beliefs that he did; the beliefs instilled in him by his father. Seagraves received a bid and was initiated into the Order.
One of his greatest memories was the honor of being elected Number II, an office he held for two years. “Getting the opportunity to be in that leadership role and play a part in the development of each new class that came through was a unique and cherished experience,” says Seagraves. “KA helped me through my college life and continues to help me today.”
Because of his exceptional fraternal experience, Seagraves says he would like to give something back to the man that taught him how to be a gentleman. He welcomes the opportunity to share the brotherhood with his father. He says it would be great to show him that the fraternity is really based on something more substantial than the media portrays.
“He [Dad] has seen some of the reality shows based on fraternities on television,” says Seagraves. “I would like to show him that it is much more than the parties and craziness depicted on TV.”
“KA has been a huge part of my life,” he continues. “It can’t make the entire person, parents have a big deal in the first part of your life, but KA made a huge difference in the way I decided to continue to conduct my life.”
Seagraves now resides in Pensacola, Florida with his wife Teri, a daughter and two sons. He adopted the children who are from Teri’s previous marriage to another pilot who was killed in a plane crash. Seagraves and his wife are expecting their first child together in December. Amid a myriad of accomplishments, his family ranks number one.
His stint as one of the most astonishing stunt pilots in the world follows close in the ranking. He joined the Blue Angels in 2002. The team spends 300 to 320 days traveling for exhibitions and practice. They participate in air shows every weekend from the beginning of March until the end of November each year. After breaking for just a few weeks, they head to California for two months of practice as they prepare for the next tour of annual shows.
“It is an honor to serve the country I love and to fly the world’s best technology,” Seagraves says. |
