Monday, April 29, 2013

Texas Cheer White Squad Rookie of the Year



Ever since I can remember, cheerleading has been a huge passion and influence in my life. Instead of going to parties and my own senior prom, I was going to cheer practice and competitions. And naturally, once I had been accepted into the University of Texas I began to prepare to try out for cheer at one of the best colleges in the state. After the nerve racking try out process it was to my surprise that I made the squad! I was on the all-girl team, White Squad, and couldn’t even being to control my excitement. I’m pretty sure after I found out I made the team, my mom bought everything she could get her hands on that was burnt orange or cheer related… once a cheer mom, always a cheer mom. At the beginning of the year when we first started cheer practice I didn’t quite realize what I was in for. Not only was I going to school and being a new member of a sorority, I was also balancing cheer practice three times a week. I was often sore from workouts and exhausted by the time it came around to studying, but none of that really mattered to me… I was getting to cheer at THE University of Texas, and that was pretty cool. On White Squad, I began my year as an alternate team member and didn’t really expect to get moved up or make it on the field to cheer at the football games. I just enjoyed being around my friends as well as keeping up with my cheerleading. To my complete and utter disbelief, when my coach was announcing the girls who would be cheering the first football game… my name was on the list! I seriously thought I was going to explode with excitement. I could not believe I would be cheering on DKR Field in front of thousands of people for the first football game of the season. That first game was probably the best and most exciting moment of my life.
Just imagine thousands and thousands of screaming Texas fans, being five feet away from the players, and looking up and seeing my friends and sisters waving down at me, it was incredible! After that game, I cheered every single home football game that season, I was incredibly lucky and blessed to have gotten the opportunity. That first year as a rookie on White Squad taught me a lot. I began the year as a main base, and then rotated to side basing. I had never based in my life so it was quite the challenge to grasp the technique and not be absolutely terrified to toss a girl ten feet in the air and then somehow manage to catch her. About half way through the year I was put in the position of a flyer in our two man stunts and also began to fill in the position of a back spot… you could say by the end of the year I knew every position pretty well. After a long year of football games, basketball games, volleyball games, as well as cheerleading appearances, we closed the year with our annual cheer banquet. Each year, there is one new member from each team who is awarded the “Rookie of the Year” award. Naturally, I never imagined I would get that award until all of a sudden our coach was calling my name and asking me to come up and receive my award. I was so surprised, happy, and not to mention honored to receive the “Rookie of the Year” award and it was so awesome to have my hard work and passion noted by my captains, team, and coach. Being a part of the Texas Spirit Program is one of the best things that could have happened to me and this year has been a whirlwind of new friends, new experiences, a lot of sweat and some tears, even more hairspray and fake eyelashes, and some pretty amazing memories. It was such an accomplishment to end this season with the Rookie of the Year award and I cannot wait to see where my time in this program will lead me and what else is in store for me as a Texas Cheerleader. 


ZL,
Morgan Willett 
PC'12

Sunday, April 28, 2013

ZTA Crown Cook Off



This past Thursday, April 18th, all our work towards creating the greatest Crown Cook Off yet was put to the test. It has taken months of planning and organization from reserving the location of the event in front of Gregory Gym to painting big wooden signs publicizing the event. But that wasn’t all, we had to send out donation requests, go to tutorials focused on tent set-up, put up flyers around campus, create voting ballots, and sell tickets. All of these tasks ensuring the best turnout could not have been completed without the help of the Crown Cook Off committee. Their help made our goal of hosting the best Crown Cook Off yet attainable. Unfortunately, the terrible rain attempted to, but certainly did not spoil our annual salsa competition. Despite the weather however, Zeta still managed to capture the fun and excitement Crown Cook Off brings to many people by requiring all 18 teams to bring their unique salsas to the Zeta house for judging. We didn’t mind this one bit considering there was more salsa and chips for us! Throughout the day, zetas at the house conveniently tried and voted on their favorite salsas. We had originally planned on the Qdoba general manager, student body vice president Michael Ugeo Williams, and assistant dean of students for sorority and fraternity life Liz Medina to be the official judges but due to the unexpected weather and our location change, they were unable to give their input. After a lot of eaten chips and creative salsas tasted, we had the winners. Thanks to many donations provided by local Austin restaurants and stores, we created prize baskets for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, and a crowd favorite. The crowd favorite went to the Salsa Senior-itas. Third place went to Flaming Chips and second to Spicy Hot Mamas. First place went to the salsa made by the Spice Boys! It was a great day in spite of the crumby weather but lets not forget the reason we throw this annual event. All proceeds raised from Crown Cook Off are donated to our philanthropy, breast cancer education and awareness. We want to raise as much money as possible to donate to research organizations so that one day we can find a cure for this disease. Our goal through this event is to ultimately make a difference and make a difference we did. We raised around $12,000 for our philanthropy and we could not be more thrilled. At the end of the day, despite any unexpected challenges and obstacles, the Kappa Chapter zetas still manage to make a big donation to the philanthropy we are all so passionate about while enjoying some delicious salsas at the same time.   

ZLAM,
Michelle Hecht, Philanthropy Chair
Sydney Braasch, Assistant Service
Chiara Geremia, Assistant Service

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Zetas for Christiane’s Cure pt. 2


Run to the Sun a 95 Mile Relay for Batten Disease

            In a previous blog post I wrote about running in Run to the Sun, which is an overnight 95-mile relay race for Batten disease. I did this run with eight of my closest sorority sisters and three of my best friends from high school. This was one of the most memorable and rewarding things I’ve ever done. Here are my reflections on the weekend:
1.     The best part of doing this run was being with my sorority sisters. I really saw how much they cared about me and wanted to support something that means the world to me. I mean we ran 95.5 miles and stayed awake for 15.5 hours!!! Who is crazy enough to do that?! … My zeta sisters.
2.     Not only did we get closer to each other this weekend, but we also learned about the reality of Batten disease. When I started the 7th leg of the run it was about 10:30 pm. It was dark and so hard to see anything on the country road that I was running on.  While I was running I just kept thinking about Christiane, and all the children with Batten disease that are going to lose their vision. I started to cry and pray as I ran for all those children and their families. It was an eye opening and humbling experience.
3.     Not only we’re we challenged by the limited amount of light, but we also had to conquer tons of hills in our run. At one point in my run I looked ahead and saw that I was about to run up one of the steepest hills I’d yet to face. Maddy McGlamery knew what I was thinking and at the perfect time she drove up next to me, rolled down the window, and said to me, “We do not live by sight alone, we live by faith. Don’t look at that hill. You can do it. Just keep going”. She said everything that I needed to hear in that moment. She gave me so much courage that I didn’t stop running from that point on until I crossed the final finish line.

Our team at Exchange Station 2 with
Christiane's Girl Scout Troop.
 
The best part about running through the night
was getting to see the sun set.
 
4.     













  

At times we wanted to just get in the car and drive a couple miles and get back out and run (these thoughts especially started to surface around 3 am), but we never gave in. We ran every mile of the race. When someone needed encouragement or help finishing a leg of the run, a sorority sister jumped in to take over. Kate ran 4.5 miles of Bekah’s leg without hesitating (her motherly instincts kicked in). Tori ran next to me for the last couple of miles of my 7-mile run. And Emma refused to let me run the last leg of the race by myself. She stuck with me until the end.
5.     Our team raised $6,776!! We exceeded our goal!!
6.     SLOW AND STEADY FINISHES THE RACE. We started at 3:30 pm on Saturday and crossed the finish line on Sunday at 7:59 am… BUT we ran all 95.5 miles!
    
      Thank you to everyone that made a donation and ESPECIALLY to my sister that ran in the relay: Anna Fleury, Bekah Thayer, Chelsea Carbonel, Emma Weiss, Kate Onofrey, Kim Boller, Maddy McGlamery and Tori Pell.


ZL,
Megan Gallishaw
'PC 09


Thursday, April 25, 2013

Out with the old, and in with the new!


Meet Executive Council 2013!
The girls answered why they chose to be a member of Exec, their plans for their new position, and a little bit about how it is going so far. Take the time to get to know our chapter’s amazing leaders and read on!

Lauren Kraut, President
Hometown: Plano, Texas
Major: Nutritional Sciences/Pre-Med
            After being on recruitment team I realized my desire to lead our chapter and be highly involved in Zeta. Most of my friends were on Exec last year and they all said how it has helped shape their leadership, time management and organization skills. A combination of these few aspects, and my passion to lead our chapter into a new year of success and excellence, made me REALLY want to be on Exec!

            As President this year, few of my goals for the year include better organization during chapter meetings on Monday, stricter re-enforcement of the standards policies, increased visibility of Exec's decision making progress, and improving the senior retention rate and involvement. 
            As a team, our Exec board has successfully accomplished these goals, and we still have one more semester to make meaningful changes and progress! Being on Exec and serving as the president has been an incredible experience so far. I have learned that it is impossible to make everyone happy, so you have to follow the most diplomatic path when making big decisions. I think our entire Exec board is extremely cohesive and has made       
an excellence team thus far!


Jan Winkelman, Vice President
Hometown: Brenham, Texas
Major: Business (Marketing)
             I have always enjoyed being in a leadership position and wanted to do my part in helping Zeta continue to be the best that we can be! I am always looking for options to help out and with being an executive officer and I am able to do so in many ways! I also believe that being on Exec will further grow my leadership, responsibility and communication skills much more which will help me out in my future career after I graduate.
            I serve on Executive Council as the chapter’s vice president. My job is to oversee Program Council (PC). Our PC members actively plan all of Zetas programs and events including socials, sisterhood events and much more, along with assisting Executive Council as well. My goals as Vice President are to make sure all events that PC plans are the best that they can be and to make sure every PC members gets recognized for all the hard work they put into making all these fun events for our chapter to enjoy throughout the year! 
            PC was great this spring semester! We had great events planned, like our Mom's Weekend and our Dad's Weekend, a Spring break bootcamp at the Zeta house, an Easter egg hunt for our alumnae and some really fun socials as well! I am looking forward to this Fall because PC has some great and fun ideas for each of their positions and I am excited to be there to help lead and make them happen.


Sloane Schaumburger, VP Recruitment
Hometown: League City, Texas
Major: Public Relations with Business Foundations
            I ran for Exec because I wanted to have a leadership position in ZTA and give back to the organization that's given so much to me!
            My goal for the year is to work closely with recruitment team and the chapter to get the best possible women for our 2013 pledge class.
            Working with EC has been a great experience thus far. With the help of Exec and Recruitment Team, we've accomplished so much in a short amount of time -- I'm looking forward to what next semester brings! 





Sophia Vickers, Treasurer
Hometown: Mclean, Virginia
Major: Business (Marketing)
            I chose to run for Exec because over these past two years, the girls in Zeta have truly changed my life for the better. I applied to be on Exec in order to give back to the chapter. I knew that both my organizational skills, as well as my ongoing determination would enable me to become a good representative of the chapter as a whole.
             My main goal for my position is to ensure that the chapter's budget is properly managed, so that we, as Exec and PC, can provide the chapter with their wants. Whether it be socials, sisterhoods, or parents weekends, I want to make sure there is always enough money in the given budgets to make sure all these events are as great as possible!
            So far, I absolutely love being on Exec! I cannot stress enough how awesome of an experience it is to serve and represent the chapter. The other girls on Exec are amazing and we have all formed a great team thus far!


Michelle Hecht, Philanthropy
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Major: Nutrition Honors
            One of my goals in college was to get involved in an organization that I enjoy, and Zeta was the perfect place for this! Being on Exec would allow me to make a difference and let me get more out of being in this sorority.
            I recently planned our annual Crown Cook-off, and although we had to cancel the event because of the rain, we still managed to have a make shift Crown Cook-off. The salsa teams brought their salsa to the house, and throughout the day, girls could taste all the salsas and vote on their favorite! Although I was disappointed that the event was cancelled, we still raised almost $12,000!
            In October, I will be planning "Think Pink" week, organizing the Zeta team for Race for the Cure, and planning the Think Pink brunch following the race!


Ashley Allison, New Member
Hometown: Spring, Texas
Major: Nursing
            I decided to apply for Exec after serving on Program Council as Assistant Database for Rush Team. I enjoyed having a role in our chapter and placing those responsibilities on myself. As a member of Exec, we are able to give back to the Chapter and address what our members would like keep and/or change. 
            As New Member Coordinator for the upcoming year, our goal is to really get the new members to mesh well with their pledge class as well as the rest of the chapter. We are planning most of the same events that have occurred in the past for the new members, with the addition of one, surprise new event complete with plenty of treats and fun activities! We are looking forward to everything in this upcoming year and are excited to welcome our new members!
            So far, everything is going excellent! We have planned Bid Day, New Member Retreat, Surprise Pledge Class Party, and more! Other events are being revised and tweaked to ensure everything runs smoothly when our new members arrive on August 27th.

Rachel Robillard, Historian
Hometown: Flower Mound, Texas
Major: Broadcast Journalism with Business Foundations
            Once I attended my first ZTA Chapter Meeting my freshman year, I knew I wanted to be on the ZTA Executive Council. Since my freshman year, my favorite part about chapter meetings is watching the thirteen Exec members make their announcements and encouraging everyone to "Have a wonderful week". Chapter meetings are a great way to start off my week! 
            I knew right away that the Exec ladies are the leaders of our chapter. I decided to apply for Exec because I wanted to be an ambassador for our chapter and create a positive ambiance within the chapter. I am grateful to have been selected as a member of the Executive Council. 
            I plan to promote Zeta Tau Alpha and Texas Greek Life though Social Media. In addition to Facebook and Twitter, Zeta should be acknowledged over another form of social media: Instagram. Since social media is thriving, Texas Zeta needs to be up to date on all types of social media. A vast majority of Texas Zetas have an Instagram, which is an online photo-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take a picture, apply a digital filter to it, and share it on a variety of social networking services, including its own. Creating a @TexasZTA Instagram is a great way to show involvement and sisterhood in Zeta. I am glad Zeta is not up to date on our social media!
            Everyone on Exec is doing wonderful so far! I am blessed and fortunate to be a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha Kappa Chapter’s Executive Council. The 2013-2014 Executive Council has and will continue to do great things for our chapter.




Emily Hansen, Scholastics
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Major: Nursing
            I wanted to be a part of this year’s Exec because I enjoyed getting to be a part of it last year. I love getting to implement what the chapter wants and come up with new and fun things for us to do!
            As Scholastics, my main goal is to offer help and resources to the chapter to help them improve academically. I want everyone to excel academically and I want to help in any way I can, from hosting study hours (with snacks!), Professor Dinner and Meet Your Major, to improving resources such as test files and our new professor database!
            So far this semester is going great! We have a new professor database with over 100 professors, we've added over 50 new tests and quizzes to our test files, and we have the best study snacks! Last fall Zeta ranked 4th in highest Panhellenic GPA, with a 3.39 overall GPA!
Juliet Mullins, Panhellenic
Hometown: Bethesda, Maryland
Major: Corporate Communications
             I knew I wanted to be on EC ever since my first chapter meeting as a Zeta! I looked up at the girls leading the meetings and knew that I really wanted to become involved in my chapter and eventually become a leader in it!
            As the Panhellenic Voting Delegate for ZTA, I aim to make Zeta's presence in Panhellenic as large as possible. I encourage our chapter to get out to other chapter's philanthropies and always support the University Panhellenic Council.
            Exec is going great so far and is such a rewarding experience. It has been amazing to become closer with the other members on EC and help with the important decisions we have to make about our chapter!


Liz Flury, House Manager
Hometown: Southlake, Texas
Major: Business (Accounting)
            I always saw those Exec girls sitting in front of meeting as a freshman and I always had so much respect for them and wanted to be like them. I knew that they were involved and even as a first semester freshman I knew their names, and I wanted to be involved in the chapter and have people look up to me. 
            I am House Manager, so I am in charge of communication in the house, working with Mom Marge and Chef Holly to keep things running smoothly, and other fun things like Mexican Dinner and Chicken Finger Friday. My goal is to keep everyone happy as best I can!
            It has been a really good experience being on exec so far, I love knowing what is going on in the chapter and being able to help make decisions. It has taught me a lot about working in a team and communication. I would recommend my position and being Exec to everyone who is considering applying next year! 



Sofia Silver, Risk Reduction and Education
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Major: Neurobiology, Pre-Medical
            The reason I wanted to be a part of Exec is because I wanted to learn more about leadership and become more involved in chapter decisions. I want to become a doctor in the future, so being a good leader is very important. I knew that becoming a member of Exec would give me great experience as a leader, and would teach me a lot about good communication.
            My position is Risk Reduction and Education, and my goals are to make sure that all of the girls are abiding by the National policies, and to make sure that Zetas represent themselves in a positive manner to others. 
            So far, it has been a great experience to work with the other girls of Zeta. I really enjoy having a position of leadership and working with the rest of Exec important decisions regarding the rest of the chapter. 




Maddy McGlamery, Rituals Chair
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Major: Business (Accounting)
            Zeta has done so much for me in my past two years here at UT, so I wanted to do something to give back to the organization. I also believe that if I’m going to be part of an organization, I should make sure that I am a relevant part that contributes to the well-being and does my part to make it better.
            My goal for my position is to instill a greater respect for and understanding of our zeta rituals and to make initiation night run more efficiently.
            It’s going well so far! Post-Initiation Education (PIE) went successfully. I am currently coordinating with the alumni, who will be performing our senior initiation into the alumni world ceremony! As soon as that dinner is finished, I will begin planning for initiation in October. I will be putting together a team of extra reliable girls to help me run things on the day of initiation when I am busy with the ceremonies. I plan to spend the summer planning out all of the details for initiation and look forward to meeting the new pledge class that we will initiate in the fall!



Tori Pell, Recording Secretary
Hometown: Spring, Texas
Major: Advertising
            Exec is a great way to give back to Zeta. I love being able to have the opportunity to help our chapter grow. It has also been a great way to get to know girls in Zeta outside of my pledge class.
            My goal is to improve chapter communication, between members and between Executive council and chapter members. I also would like to make checking into chapter meeting a more efficient process.
            So far we have an awesome new Strawberry Patch where members can post any information they want to relay to the chapter. I am also looking into technology that will make managing attendance more manageable and accessible for members.

Monday, April 22, 2013

ZTA/Tri Delt Ice Cream Social




Torrey St. George and her Tri Delt friend, Emily Hees, at the 
ZTA/Tri Delt Ice Cream Social.  In addition, here is a glimpse of 
their yummy ice cream creations 
What can bring two sororities together on a Tuesday night? Ice Cream Sundays! That’s right, an amazing ice cream social. Our first Zeta/Tri Delt ice cream social, held this past Tuesday, was beyond a success. Planning it with the sisterhood team was such an outstanding experience. The excitement started Tuesday morning when I drove to HEB to stock up on all the delicious toppings. I thought it would be a fun idea to ask girls what their favorite ice cream toppings were – little did I know people had strong opinions about their favorite toppings.  Within a minute, I was flooded with suggestions. A little shout out to PC '10 Jess Harper for throwing some wild, fun ideas my way (such as cereal—who would have thought?) Anyway, as I walked the aisles of HEB pushing my cart, filled sky-high with chocolate and other heart attack inducing candies, many grocery shoppers gave me sideways looks.  The glares had gotten a little out of hand. People must’ve assumed I had recently gone through a terrible break up or that I, a college student, had a poor diet.  Finally, someone had the courage to approach this crazy looking girl and ask what I was doing.  Happily, I was able to brag about our ice cream social with Tri Delt. After my adventure to HEB, I headed to the house to prepare for the social. Arriving an hour before the event I recruited Ben Biamante and other ZTA houseboys for the small price of a few Oreos. Together, we prepared for the ice cream extravaganza. As the clock struck 7:00, the line was out the door, and soon Tri Delts and Zetas took over the dining room with chatter.  Everyone enjoyed the event and left no trace of goodies and toppings behind! It was such a success and hopefully we can have another ice cream social with the ladies of Tri Delt soon. A little Delta bird told me they loved it just as much as we did!

Lots of love (and ice cream),
Torrey St. George 
PC '11