ZTA Dad's Weekend Success

            They say it takes the best to make the best and this weekend that statement was proven true. Our chapter welcomed over one hundred and fifty of the greatest dads this weekend.

            We started the weekend out at Lucy’s Retired Surfer Bar and Restaurant where Zeta’s and their dads enjoyed delicious food and spent the night dancing to songs played by our wonderful DJ.  With their cowboy boots on everyone was two stepping on the dance floor long after midnight. It was the perfect father/daughter dance, ZTA style. Brightly colored daisies in old mason jars decorated the table and set the ambiance for the night. Not too long after arriving, the entire restaurant was filled as we rented out Lucy's so Zeta’s could spend the whole night with their sisters and their dad’s.

            On Saturday, we started the day out right with a University of Texas baseball game. In our section reserved only for Zeta’s, the girls and their dad’s enjoyed the sunshine, cool weather, and some good old fashioned Saturday baseball. With over a hundred and thirty Zeta’s and dads in attendance, we definitely stood out in the crowd cheering on our boys. Some of our Zeta’s were even put up on the big screen in front of the entire stadium! The game could not have ended any better with a big win for our team against Nebraska.

            Directly after the baseball game, we headed to the Zeta house for a backyard crawfish boil. With over seven hundred and fifty pounds of crawfish and over two hundred people, there was not one crawfish left to eat as the girls and dads chowed down. Lemonade, water, and sweet tea were the perfect southern refreshments to go along with our long picnic styled tables covered in red-checkered cloth. We truly gave our dad’s a taste of a southern crawfish boil at the Zeta house with freshly boiled crawfish cooked right in the backyard. The dads also received a first hand look at the Zeta house where their daughters were able to give them tours of the entire house!

            Overall we consider this weekend a huge success and can’t wait to have our dads back for round two next year! It truly does take the best to make the best! 

ZL,

    Christen May and Heather Lauterbach

    PC '12

Locks of Love

After having long hair my whole life, I knew there would be a time where I would cut it drastically. That just so happened to be last weekend. I decided it was time for a change and it would be great to donate it to Locks of Love.

 I anxiously told my hair stylist that I wanted to cut a foot off. So she got her tape measurer and tied a pony tail at 12 inches and after double and triple checking with me that this is what I wanted, it was gone. I am so happy with the results and loved donating to such a great cause!

  

ZL,

Caleigh Campbell

PC '12

ZTA Silver Spurs Sweethearts

Becoming a 2013 Spur’s Sweetheart has been one of the best experiences in my college career! Since their founding in 1937, the Silver Spur’s organization has provided over 2,500 campus leaders with the opportunity to give back to our school and community through philanthropic endeavors associated with the handling of BEVO. The experience of being chosen to represent Zeta Tau Alpha as one of the 2013 sweethearts was truly humbling and exciting! From day one, I have been surrounded by the most kind, friendly, and dedicated people to meet and interact with while becoming part of this amazing organization. I am truly honored to be chosen to represent Zeta Tau Alpha in this amazing organization supported by such wonderful Texas Gentlemen and Lovely Texas Ladies. I am looking forward to enjoying my membership in the organization and being part of such a great UT community!

ZL,

ZTA Silver Spurs Sweethearts

Kate Buchanan

PC '11

Jackie Waterland, Kate Buchanan, and Cici Haley (all PC' 11)
became the newest Silver Spurs Sweethearts

Texas Zeta Day 2013

President Lauren Kraut 

This past weekend, February 15^th-16^th, Kappa chapter attended Texas Zeta Day in Houston along with twelve other Texas Zeta chapters. We kicked off the weekend with officer training on Friday night at the Westin in Memorial City. For a few hours each member of exec was able to chat with her fellow officer of other chapters. During “conversation café” we got to exchange ideas, concerns, future goals, and proposals.  The Saturday morning session started off with lovely ritual services and various chapter awards. Kappa chapter won the “maximum chapter size” award along with various other chapters. Our own rituals chair, Maddy McGlamery, participated in one of the ritual ceremonies and made a lovely speech. After a short break, all of the attendees flooded the ballroom for the luncheon. The wonderful Lynn Chapman, VP Collegiate II, made a speech alluding to the Wizard of Oz filled with great advice for collegians and alumni alike. Then, the award ceremony began. Each district president presented her respective district with the superior chapter award. Our Province President, Kat Evans, awarded our chapter with the Province XI-B Special Recognition award! Much to our surprise, we also won the Kathy Benzini Stampe Chapter Excellence Award for the most outstanding chapter in the state of Texas- what a HUGE honor! Two in one Zeta Days, that’s a record for us J. After the luncheon, executive council strolled around the nearby mall until afternoon officer training. For a few hours each officer split up for breakout sessions with leadership consultants and national officers. Overall, the weekend was a huge success! Our executive council and program council got to spend quality time together and strengthen our sisterhood, while at the same time building leadership skills and participating with our national fraternity. I’m excited to see what National Leadership Convention has to hold in July!
ZL,

Lauren Kraut

President- PC '10 

ZTA Kappa Chapter Executive Members
at Zeta Day in Houston

New Member Coordinator, Ashley Allison,
made friends with the TCU New Member
Coordinator at officer training

ZTA Professor Dinner

This past Monday, February 11^th,  Zeta hosted 27 professors and 41 girls at Zeta’s Professor Dinner. Professor dinner is a unique tradition at Zeta in which girls get the opportunity to invite their favorite, or hardest, professor to the Zeta house for dinner. We began hosting Professor Dinner in the hopes of improving student-teacher interactions, making our large university seem a little smaller, and approaching your professor feel a little less intimidating. Guests dined on wonderful beef short ribs, potato and fontina cakes, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts and spinach salad all prepared by our wonderful Chef Holly. During dinner we enjoyed a speech from the chapter’s philanthropy chair, Michelle Hecht, who shared with our professors some of the great philanthropic events we participate in, as well as a speech from the University’s assistant dean of students, Mary Beth Mercatoris. Dr. Mercatoris gave a though provoking speech about planning for our futures and resume building, and concluded by opening up the floor for other professors to give us advice as well. We wrapped up the evening with Italian cream cakes and coffee, and as most professors said their good byes, Maddy McGlamery’s professor even stayed an extra hour for some one-on-one tutoring. It was a successful night for all!

ZL,

Emily Hansen

PC '10

Chicken Finger Friday at Zeta

I had so so so much fun at Chicken Finger Friday, and am really glad it was such a success!  I don't especially love Mexican food (shocking, I know), so I was happy I could have a fabulous lunch with all my sisters and friends while enjoying their company and also enjoying the food.  I like that it's a time that all of us can bring other friends from other social circles which allows all of us to also broaden our horizons of friends.  All in all it was a great time and an incredible way to spend a couple hours on a Friday afternoon - I can't wait for the next one!

ZL,

Chris Anne Laskowski

'PC 12

The Meyerson's Family Vacation

This past Christmas break, my sisters and I (all Texas Zetas: Rachel Meyerson PC ’06, Anna Meyerson PC’09, and me, Caroline Meyerson PC’12) were fortunate enough to travel around the world. With my parents, we traveled for three and a half weeks to Egypt, Tanzania, and France.

Stop 1: Cairo, Egypt! On our first day there, we got to see the ancient pyramids. To think that they are 5,000 years old is crazy. Even King Tut saw those pyramids and thought they were ancient – he reined 2,000 years after they were built. Then we traveled down the Nile River and visited various tombs and temples. Sadly, after 9 days, we had to leave. I absolutely fell in love with the country and the people. I plan on going back as soon as I can.

Stop 2: Tanzania! My family and I landed in Tanzania, and within 2 hours, we saw wildebeests, zebras, cheetahs and cheetah cubs. The wildlife was incredible. Over the next few days, we got to see everything – lions, lion cubs, black rhinos, hippos, wild dogs, warthogs, monkeys, elephants, hyenas, flamingos, ostriches, gazelles, impalas, African buffalo, baboons, jackals, and my favorite - giraffes!!! The scenery and weather was beautiful. We got to experience picturesque sunsets and amazing campfires after the game drives. I felt like I had lived through a National Geographic magazine.

 

Stop 3: Paris, France! It’s one of my dad’s favorite cities, so we decided to take our last stop here. This city is the epitome of Europe - the little sidewalk cafes, the subway, the art museums, the sidewalk artists, etc. The best part of the trip was spending New Year’s in Paris. On New Year’s Eve,  my whole family and I walked to the Eiffel Tower and counted down to midnight. The Eiffel Tower started sparkling, and fireworks were shot off. After too many chocolate croissants and café lates, we headed home to Houston.

 

This vacation was a once in a lifetime experience. We were so thankful to be able to take this trip, see amazing sights, and spend real quality time with my family – no cell phones, no Netflix, no distractions. It was incredible to be with my family for such a large amount of time. The quick “hello” at half-time during the UT football games just didn’t cut it for me. Sometimes, we all need to take a step back from our busy lives, make time for each other, and enjoy. Through this trip, it was made completely possible, and I (and my whole family) will be forever thankful.

Happy New Year!

ZL,

    Caroline Meyerson

    PC '12

Mckenzie on her Fiji Adventure & meeting Brad Pitt!

It all started at a security check point in the Los Angeles airport…

“Is that him?” –mom

“I don’t think so”- me

“I think it is”-mom

“It is, it is, it is!” – mom

“No mom, that is not him” –me

“Yes it is! Let’s go meet him!” – mom

“Gahhhhh, you’re so embarrassing mom, it’s not Brad Pitt” –me

No one was bothering the guy or even paying him any attention as he was going through airport security, so there’s no way it could have been him right? I mean he had all black clothing and glasses on, long hair, and a very scruffy looking beard. I was convinced that this man was just the average joe.

The guy walks off to a private elevator and my mom speed walks after him and says, “Mr.Pitt, excuse me Mr.Pitt,” calmly and he didn’t respond, so then my mom decides to yell “Brad! Brad!” and he turns around looking a little bamboozled and he confirmed his identity as the one and only Brad Pitt. All I did was stare while my mom asked if we could get a picture with him. I got my iphone out instantly and basically threw it to my mom and rushed to his side the second he said yes. He was genuinely nice and very polite. After the picture and our millions of compliments he thanked us for out support and gave us a smile. 

I’ve never been so thankful to be wrong in my life and to have such an outgoing mother.

I sat in the airport for eight more hours waiting for our flight in complete bliss and amazement that I had just seen one of my favorite actors. I forgot that I was even going on my dream vacation… that is until I stepped off my plane that had just landed in the islands of Fiji. 

We took a boat to a remote island called Malolo Lailai where we stayed in bungalows and could snorkel right off the back porch. The island was incredibly beautiful with crystal clear water, white sandy beaches, and a beautiful blue sky.


The scuba diving was absolutely the best I have ever experienced due to the islands being so close to the Australian Great BArrier Reef. I got to see a few sharks, giant schools of fish, sea turtles, moray eels, clown fish, sting rays, deep sea caves, and even coral that changed colors when I touched it! The best thing about my trip, however, was getting to spend time with my mom and being able to make memories with her that will last a lifetime. I feel so fortunate to have brought in the new year with such amazing experiences that I'll never forget!

ZL, 

Mckenzie Harrison-Bolen
PC '12

ZTA Alcohol Skills Training Program

On Saturday, February 2nd, 2013, ZTA Nationals Representative, Mr. Kyle Pendleton, came to Austin, Texas from Indianapolis, Indiana to talk to the Kappa Chapter about Alcohol Awareness. The Alcohol Skills Training Program (ASTP) was truly informative and entertaining. During the seminar, some Zetas received Texas Greek t-shirts from UT Austin Sorority/ Fraternity Life for those who actively participated. Thanks again Mr. Pendleton for your time and UT Austin Sorority/ Fraternity Life for the free goodies! ZLAM,
Rachel Robillard
PC '11