Alumni Profiles: House Boys to House Men

Support staff is the backbone of any organization.  But what happens when the most humble member of the house gets a home of their own?

BY WEST CAMPUS MIRAGE | APRIL 2018

This kitchen is the cleanest one I have ever seen.  Better Homes and Gardens could barely even dream of the perfection. Everything is in its exact place, organized by color and all looking brand new. One feels nervous to even breathe in this sterile room for fear of contaminating it. There is a beautiful fragility here.  

The kitchen belongs to the Sinclare family, an affluent presence in the River Oaks community. The large plantation-style home sends a message to all those who see it: power resides here.  

Indeed, Elizabeth Sinclare wields a formidable amount of authority. As the youngest  partner at the Maddox & Lee Legal Firm, she commands every room as if it is a courtroom — her courtroom. The rumors of an eventual judicial appointment are easy to believe.  

With all the attention that the young law prodigy receives, it would be incredibly difficult for the Mugdown to book an interview.  Thankfully, Elizabeth is not the Sinclare I am trying to reach.

Thomas Sinclare, née Macon, met Elizabeth Sinclare when they were both sophomores at Texas A&M University.  

“Yes, I remember it well,” Sinclare said when I asked about how he met his wife. “It was my first day on the job, and I was so nervous and jumpy. I literally ran into her while I was carrying a large stack of plates.  Ceramic and food went everywhere, and I was so embarrassed! But then I looked up and saw my Lizzie for the first time — and both of us were speechless.”

It has been nearly a decade since Sinclare last held the title of “houseboy” at the Eta Theta Zeta Sorority house. Traditionally held by members of a “brother organization”, houseboys are responsible for serving meals, cleaning dishes, and performing odd-jobs around a sorority’s house. In Sinclare’s case, it was his membership in Aggie Men Embracing Nobility (AMEN) that gave him the advantage needed to land the minimum-wage job.

“It was such an honor to be chosen to be a houseboy. I don’t know how many other AMENs applied for the job, but I’m sure the competition was steep!” Sinclare accepted the position with the utmost reverence.  “Imagine the amount of trust that they put in me— a crude male— to have access to a house full of beautiful women! I had to really hold myself accountable during my time at Eta Theta.”

As we talked, Sinclare took me on a tour of his large home.  He showed me the meticulous decorations that he had arranged in each of the many rooms.  Every room has two notable items in it: an award or trophy from Elizabeth’s career and one of Thomas’ “projects.”  Since he graduated in 2009, Sinclare has had a lot more time to dedicate to his artwork.

Given the National Eta Theta Zeta requirement that houseboys must be full-time students, Thomas was simply unable to work every night of the week.  To help lighten the workload, Paul Tinnam was also hired. I was able to catch up with Paul at his office in Fredericksburg, TX.

“My job at the Eta Theta house? I barely remember that now.  It was really just a way to make ends meet.” Tinnam suspects that he was given the job purely because he had a food handling license.

Paul and his wife run a non-profit organization that focuses on feeding impoverished teenagers. Tinnam says that local sororities have often tried to partner with them for philanthropy events, but there has not been a successful pairing yet. “It’s kind of funny, now that I think about it. Those Eta Theta girls had no appreciation for food, and not much has changed.”   

Though The Mugdown was unable to get any comment from Elizabeth Sinclare, her husband had more than enough words to share about their relationship.  “She doesn’t get to come home often, but when she is back, it’s like I never stopped being her houseboy. Could there be any higher honor than tirelessly waiting on my girl – I mean wife?”