Theoden Janes '93

Theoden Janes graduated from the University of Arizona in 1996 where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. A 1993 initiate of Gamma-Rho, he served as Grand Scribe during his undergraduate years. Beyond his fraternity involvement, Theoden was a dedicated member of The Daily Wildcat, the university’s independent student newspaper, where he held roles as a sports reporter, Sports Editor, and Managing Editor. 

After graduation, Theoden embarked on an accomplished journalism career, working for The Arizona Daily Star, The Washington Post, The Arizona Republic, and The Record in Hackensack, N.J. He has been with The Charlotte Observer since 2006, serving as a Features and Entertainment Reporter. His work has earned him numerous journalism awards from organizations such as the North Carolina Press Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Society for Features Journalism. He is also an active member of the Asian American Journalists Association. 

Passionate about mentorship, Theoden regularly speaks to high school and college students interested in journalism. He is also an avid endurance athlete and serves as the social coordinator for a Charlotte￾based running and triathlon training group with over 150 members. Theoden lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife, Amanda, and their daughter, Joie. 

When asked about Kappa Sigma, Theoden says, “I was an immature young man with an underdeveloped sense of purpose in my life when I entered college in 1991. Joining the Gamma-Rho chapter of Kappa Sigma and being held to certain character standards set me on a path that changed both of those things: After a rocky start to my time at the University of Arizona, the fraternity experience helped me to develop that maturity and that sense of purpose. By the time I was a junior, I was heavily involved at the student newspaper and being offered an internship at one of the best and most powerful news organizations in the U.S. I think without the lessons in discipline and the focus on character-building instilled in me by Kappa Sigma’s formal and informal leaders, I would not have matured in the same way. I of course also developed deep friendships that are some of the most meaningful in my life. More than 20 years after we were initiated together, I completed my first Ironman alongside one of my closest Kappa Sigma brothers, and have stayed connected with him and other Gamma-Rho contemporaries through our shared love of endurance sports.”