Zetas love Thetas: Profit Share at Red Mango

          When I found out earlier this semester that Theta would be our sisterhood sorority, I was already looking forward to the upcoming event we’d have together.  My roommate, Kiko, is a Theta and I was so excited to be able to share this with her!

           After eating dinner at Hardin House, we went across the street to Red Mango with friends from both of our sororities.  It’s so awesome when we can all hang out together, and even better when it includes fro-yo! Of course, Red Mango was packed because no one from either house could miss out on this. After having too many tasters, I committed to vanilla and dark chocolate with peanut butter on top. Of course, I pilled on the toppings and got too excited when I saw peach rings, my personal favorite! We all sat outside together and devoured our cups.  

          The profit share was such a great break from studying and a fun way to bring

two houses together. Events with other sororities are always a blast.  I love getting to know new girls and catching up with my friends who I don’t see as often as my own sisters.  My roommate and I definitely make our own fro-yo visits, but it was such a treat to be able to be there with friends from both of our sororities.

ZLAM
Erica Kitchin
PC'13

PC'13 Ariana Goetz, Jenna Noons, Ava Fechtman and Brittany Beldon enjoying fro-yo

ZTA Alumni Easter Egg Hunt

         In preparation for the Alumni Easter Egg Hunt, PC’13 brought Easter candy to stuff the eggs with! This task did not bother me at all; it simply gave me an excuse to buy some extra Starbursts, Jelly Beans, and Reeses Eggs for myself. Which is exactly what my sorority sister, Leah Haugh and I did when we went to Target to pick up the candy, because everyone knows Easter candy is the best kind of candy.  Between a Big/Little meeting, our ARC meeting, and the Easter Egg Hunt, Sunday made for a long yet productive day. But I couldn’t help but look forward to the little ones arriving!

          Finally the time came, we were released from our rush meeting to help set up for the Easter Egg Hunt. Zeta Alumni, along with their families and children all started to arrive. First we went to the backyard to play with the animals in the petting zoo. Bunny rabbits, guinea pigs, an iguana, and even baby chicks! The children couldn’t contain their excitement any longer (and neither could the Zetas). It was so entertaining watching the children as they attempted to “gently” pet the animals.

         After the petting zoo, came the moment everyone was waiting for, the Easter Egg Hunt! Suddenly I felt like a little kid again. I found it humorous watching the older children run from fence to fence in the back yard as they frantically searched for eggs, while the younger children wandered around not sure what to do. I definitely remember those days; being the youngest of four children I was lucky if I even found an egg on Easter morning. Eventually after all the eggs were found, the families headed inside to enjoy some treats-cupcakes, crackers, cheese, and even healthy options like carrots and celery! You can bet I took a cupcake, or maybe even two. Watching the families at the Alumni Easter Egg Hunt really made me miss mine, but I knew in less than a week I would finally be reunited with my entire family for the first time since Christmas! Happy Easter!

ZLAM

Mackenzie Benton

PC’13

Texas Zeta Presents the Z-Factor!

          In the first year ever, Texas Zeta hosted the Z Factor. This event highlighted the talent of college students around the UT campus, while raising money for a great cause. Our philanthropy, Breast Cancer Awareness and Education, touches many hearts and heals many of them too. It is a privilege to be a Texas Zeta and to be able to support a cause that is helping so many women and men fight breast cancer. This year, our philanthropy chair, Ashton Groves hosted the phenomenal talent show to raise money for our philanthropy. This idea could not have been anymore exciting as it joins together college students displaying their talent for a great cause, and let's be honest, what’s more catchy than the Z Factor? 

         Z Factor was hosted this past Sunday and on Sunday alone, Texas Zeta raised $15,000 for our philanthropy! How was Texas Zeta able to raise all of that money? Well, Z Factor included fifteen acts that varied from talents such as dancing to singing to even contortionism.  In one dance act, our very own PC ’12 Lauren Moore self-choreographed a hip-hop routine and ended up winning the whole talent show! Participants displayed their acts and once their act was completed, girls went around passing bags to collect money and attendees were supposed to give money if they enjoyed the act. A participant of the Z Factor won the talent show by having the most money raised after their performance! The Z Factor could not have happened without all the tremendous amount of help from the Ashton Groves herself, the Z Factor committee, the Texas Zetas, and the University of Texas for allowing us to use a building on campus to host our talent show. 

          Z Factor was such a success and it seriously makes my heart flutter to just think that the $15,000 we raised just from this one event will go to helping women and men who are fighting an incurable disease, maybe breathe a little easier to know that maybe their medical bills are paid for or maybe a new researcher was given a grant to fund a lab to try and find the cure for cancer. Now, for the really huge thank you is to the performers themselves. Each and every one of them stood on that stage to display a talent they have in honor of raising money for our philanthropy. All the performers were incredible and many of the acts in Z Factor included some our very own Texas Zetas! We have talent, yes we do!

Matthew Ryan King lip syncing for his talent 

           Highlights of the show included one of our very own, PC ’13 Kacey Adams. Her act was contortionism as she wound her body in a full circle as she did a backbend and crawled through her legs. It was absolutely incredible and astounding! Another highlight of the show was Kara Roberts, where she sang Walka Flaka’s song “No Hands”. It was hilarious as this rap song was portrayed through her incredible voice and the lovely tune of the talented guitar playing. Other affiliates of the greek community competed in the show as Sig Ep brothers, Blake and Lee Lueder performed “Ride” by Somo. The two put hilarious twist on the song, as vocals by Blake completely enthralled the audience but then Lee came in with the triangle as he danced around the stage and had an incredible surprise for the audience (you had to be there). Needless to say, he definitely engaged the audience and had us all dying of laughter. Another astounding performance was by Maddy Denault who actually just released her first album! Her act portrayed her amazing country twang with beautiful vocals and an original song written by her. Matthew Ryan King performed an even more unique talent where he never sang, but actually lip-synced the song perfectly. His act portrayed his amazing skill to use facial expression, perfect timing, and acting to convince the audience he was singing. It was hilarious and surprising as he most certainly looked like he was belting his heart out to Jennifer Hudson’s “And I Am Telling You".  Last, but most certainly not least, was another one of our own PC ’13 Harper O’neill. Harper’s unbelievable vocals and musical talent stole the audience as she sang, “Put the Gun Down” by ZZ Ward. To be honest, I would kill to have her vocals because they are absolutely incredible. 

          A warm thank you to all of the performers and a huge round of applause to this incredible event, Z Factor. We hope to make this a tradition and Texas Zeta cannot be any more excited to host it again next year and hopefully beat the amount of money we raised this year! 

ZLAM

Alexis Conley

PC'13

PC'12 Lauren Moore: The first ever winner of the Z-Factor!

TBT Throwback Thursday: Spring Break Trip to San Francisco

          My Zeta sister, Courtney Groos, and I were talking about what our spring break plans were and both realized we did not have any. We somehow both agreed that San Francisco, California would be the perfect spring break trip for us and two of our ChiO friends, Brandi Russell and Grace Mueller. About a week later, we had found the PERFECT unit to rent and booked our flights, and then we were off!!!

          This trip is full of memories that I will never ever forget. From our first Uber ride, which is all the rage in Cailifornia, to running up to our unit and seeing the ocean from our window. We made the absolute most of the vacation. We set our alarms for 7 am each day and were up and ready to explore the city. Our first day we grabbed delicious sandwiches from Ikes and walked over to Dolores Park for a picnic. I kid you not when I say it was the BEST sandwich I had ever had. The park was so beautiful, with a great view of the hills and houses of San Francisco.

Visiting the Painted Ladies

         Another day we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge to go to Muir Woods and saw hundreds of gorgeous redwood trees, unlike anything I had ever seen before. Naturally, when you get a group of four girls together, there is bound to be a lot of shopping. We walked up and down Fillmore and Chestnut for hours, popping in and out of shops. It is not a real trip to San Francisco unless you go see the Painted Ladies, also known as the Full House houses. So, of course we took plenty of pictures in front of those. Those are only a few of my favorite memories from this incredible trip!

          We had a very full schedule and really saw just about everything there was to see. I am so glad that Courtney and I decided to go on this trip and made these memories. I absolutely fell in love with the city and most definitely plan on visiting again.

ZLAM
Caleigh Campbell
PC'12

ZTA Mom's Weekend

          One of the perks of being a freshman is not knowing what to expect. This year I experienced my first college class, first college football game as a student, first all nighter, and just this past weekend…first Mom’s Weekend. Friday morning went by in a blur as I sprinted back and forth between meetings, class, and hurriedly cleaning up my room. My mom was driving up with my roommate’s mom (also a Zeta—Kelsey McGlamery), as they had long since bonded over their daughter’s shared room, sorority, and their same names (both Kathy’s). We drove up to the Domain area to meet them at dinner at the restaurant North. 

          Naturally, Kelsey and I rolled in about twenty minutes late, but when we finally did arrive I couldn’t help but laugh. My mom and I, even though we haven’t seen each other all semester, were wearing almost the exact same outfit: a cream top with one inch sleeves, black shorts, a long statement necklace, Kendra Scott earrings, and cream wedges. Like mother like daughter. I instantly became hit with how much I had missed my best friend while away at college, and we spent all dinner catching up on boy talk, funny college memories, and news from home. 

Catching up at dinner in perfectly matching outfits.

          After dinner we headed downtown to Summit, where Zeta had rented out the rooftop bar area exclusively for us. Blessed with beautiful weather and an extraordinary view of downtown, the night was well spent socializing with the other mothers and introducing my mom to all of my friends so that she could finally put faces to the names she’d heard so much about. 

          The next morning, we had originally planned on power walking down to the lake for an early morning workout, but promptly became distracted by the stores along 2^nd that we swore we’d “just look at but come back later” that were offering discounts to Zeta moms and daughters for the day. Needless to say, we never made it to the lake but found some VERY cute steals. 

           After sprinting back to Zeta, grabbing some food along the way (thank you food trucks of Austin), we barely made it in time for the painting event held in our backyard. Accentuated by Tiff’s Treats and lemonade, our hectic morning in the city dramatically contrasted the relaxing afternoon we spent out in the sun while painting flowers and snacking with local reggae music in the background. 

           That night,we met up with a group of my friends at Second Bar and Kitchen on the corner of Congress and 2^nd street. Sporting some scary tan lines from our day spent outside, we stayed at dinner for hours enjoying the company of some of my best friends and their mothers. Whether our mothers are initiated Zetas or not, there’s no denying strong bonds of sisterhood were formed that night. 

The Zeta Think Pink Brunch at Austin Country Club

          Finishing up the weekend with a brunch at Austin Country Club (with almost just as much time spent taking pictures), I couldn’t help but reflect on how lucky I was to have been able to spend the weekend with the women I care most about: my mother and my sisters. Saying goodbye after such a short time was sad but the awesome memories and plenty of laugher we shared over the weekend are sure to be more than enough to hold me over until next time I see my family! 

ZLAM, 

Lauren Woolfolk

PC ‘13