Tucker Norton

On many weekends, you can find members of Delta Kappa Phi picking up trash around the city or shoveling walkways after a snowstorm. The fraternity partners with the Lowell Litter Krewe on cleanups and participates in Operation Rosebud, a program that sends volunteers to clear snow for elderly residents and disabled veterans.

For business major Tucker Norton, president of the UMass Lowell chapter of Delta Kappa Phi, volunteering in the community is a vital part of Greek life.

“Without the community, Greek life wouldn’t be where it is today,” says Norton, who also serves as president of the Greek Life Council at UML. “It’s important to give back to our neighbors, as well as to the faculty, students and alumni at UMass Lowell who make Greek life possible.”

Norton has helped steer the 30-member fraternity toward more consistent outreach, and the recognition has followed. Delta Kappa Phi received the Excellence in Well-Being Programming award at the annual Student Leadership Awards ceremony. At the Greek Gala, it was named the Most Philanthropic Organization, and Norton was named Most Likely to Succeed.

“I didn’t know too much about UML’s Greek life coming into college,” says Norton, who has come to appreciate the relatively tight-knit size of Delta Kappa Phi. “I would much rather have 30 brothers who I know everything about and can call my best friends compared with living in a house with 100 guys whose names I barely know.”

In the Manning School of Business, Norton serves as president of the Real Estate Network Association and as vice president of the Manning Leaders Council. His weeks are a blur of meetings, events and classwork.

“If I didn’t use my Google Calendar, I don’t know what I would do,” says Norton, who has worked hard on improving his time management skills. As a first-year student, he often put off assignments until the weekend. Now, he refreshes the Canvas learning management system early each week and completes tasks the moment they appear.

“If I put it on the back burner, it’ll stay on the back burner and get burnt,” he says. “Every little thing truly does matter. Building that discipline and staying on top of your classes pays off in the future.”

Outside the classroom, Norton works as an intern at staffing agency Black Diamond Networks in North Andover. His role includes calling pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and Moderna to identify staffing needs and placing consultants with specialized expertise.

A native of Concord, Massachusetts, Norton plans to build on his marketing concentration by potentially adding finance and eventually pursuing the Bachelor’s-to-Master’s Program.

His long-term interest in real estate began during his first semester when a friend introduced him to the Real Estate Network Association. He hopes to find a co-op that leads to a full-time marketing role, ideally with a real estate firm.

“I wasn’t expecting how strong the community is here at UMass Lowell,” says Norton, who addressed the Class of 2029 as a Convocation speaker. “Once you’re on campus, you realize how open people are to meeting each other and how much everyone has in common. You never know who you can meet.”