Mom's Weekend 2018

There is nothing better than seeing the look on a mother’s face after accomplishing something great, or reaching a goal for the first time. I received this look after moving to Austin to live on my own, as well as the day I received a bid from Zeta Tau Alpha, where I met strong independent sisters who would comfort me in my transition to “adulthood.” I would say that my mother found peace in the fact that I had such a large support system, and if you had seen how excited she was, you would have thought she had received a bid as well.

My mother attended UT as well, but she did not go through recruitment. She remembers, however, frequently walking past our sorority house and thinking to herself “Wow, this is so beautiful!” The chain of events from applying to UT, getting accepted, choosing to go through recruitment, and finally pledging Zeta Tau Alpha will forever be some of our favorite shared memories. As Mom’s weekend quickly approached, I was more than happy to experience our favorite city together with my sisters. With multiple events planned for the weekend like a comedy show, sales at the Domain, and a Sunday brunch, the weekend could not come fast enough!  Mom’s weekend was extremely special because, for the first time, my mom got to tour our beautiful sorority house as the proud mom of one of its PC ‘17 members.

My mother, having never experienced the true sisterhood of Zeta, was amazed at the instantaneous relationships she formed with the girls in our chapter and their moms. She was overwhelmed with all the Zeta love, and I believe that is what is so special about this highly anticipated weekend in the chapter. Whether your mom went through recruitment, was a Zeta herself, or chose not to rush, there is something extremely special to show about your own journey. Getting to share mine with my mom has brought us closer together, which seems impossible considering how tied to the hip we were already. Recruitment was one of the first things I did entirely by myself, and after seeing how excited I was on bid day, how many friends I made since the first week of college, and how involved I’ve been with Zeta already, my mom knew I had found a wonderful new home to replace hers with, at least until the summer, right?

Anjuli Fink

PC '17

ZTA Presents "Big Man on Campus"

Last week, Texas Zeta took on the impossible challenge of recruiting eleven college students to compete in a male pageant to support our philanthropy, Breast Cancer Education and Awareness. The event was called “Big Man on Campus” and each competing contestant was nominated by eleven of the UPC Sororities. Our amazing philanthropy chair, Ellen Teuscher not only wrangled eleven college boys into dancing, singing and wearing swimsuits on stage, but also organized a successful fundraising event. The pageant was emceed by two Zeta sisters, Sarah Colbert and Emily Craycraft. They managed to deliver the organization of the show, keep the audience engaged, and stall for a few technical difficulties. Tickets for this event were sold through an online system for $10, and the audience filled Hogg Auditorium.

The pageant was broken down into four rounds: formal, talent, swimsuit, and questions. During the formal round each competitor was escorted by a girl from the sorority they were representing. This round was… interesting to say the least. One contestant brought a puppy, which was definitely a crowd favorite, and one decided to take the stage for himself. As the talent round approached, two contestants were eliminated due to a shortage in the money fundraised. Although this was unfortunate, this round featured talents ranging from balloon making, interpretive dances, and even a triangle solo. After voting for the best scores, six competitors advanced to the swim portion, where they had to utter their “best” pick up line. The final round consisted of two questions. The first being, “If you were given a million dollars, which philanthropy would you choose to donate to?”, and the second being a random question from the emcees. After a final round of voting, there was a winner!

Zeta raised over $30,000 for our philanthropy, as well as for the philanthropies for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner’s sororities! To me, it was rewarding to see how the crowd interacted with the contestants in such a positive manner, along with the fact that everyone who purchased a ticket was supporting a cause greater than themselves. I feel honored to be a Zeta, and I can’t wait to see what the contestants have to offer in the years to come. If you were not in attendance this year, you definitely missed out!

Elizabeth Walker

PC '17