Duke in Dripping Springs

On Saturday, Camp Duke spent the entire day in Dripping Springs at Hamilton Pool. Every Fish Camp is allowed to take one day trip during the spring semester, and today was our day. We chose this natural preserve located approximately 30 minutes outside of Austin, TX and it was absolutely amazing. The day began bright and early in Lot 50. We divided into several different cars, grabbed breakfast at the local gas station, and headed on our way. My favorite part of the morning was seeing Will dressed in his full tropical outfit... from his shirt to his hat! The drive wasn’t as bad as I expected, especially since I rode with Ashlei, Clayton, and Stephanie Biran. These were three people that I didn’t know very well prior to the trip and there is something about traveling with people that bonds you in a unique way. We jammed to the newest Road Trip CD (Thanks to Brandon O’Bar) and attempted to guess who suggested each song. Once we finally arrived to Dripping Springs, the group gathered our gear and began the trek to Hamilton Pool. Andrew Millar forgot to mention that hiking through the wilderness was required on this trip... otherwise I wouldn't have worn sandals. The first moment of my life that I actaully wished I owned Chacos. After making our way through the never ending trail, each carrying full loads of supplies, we found ourselves at the beautiful natural preserve of Hamilton Pool. The scenery was unbelievable and I couldn’t have been more excited to spend the day with this great group of people. It didn’t take us long to strip down into our bathing suits and hop into the water. Despite it’s rather chilly temperature, everyone made it into the water at some point. Even my silly partner, who knowingly chose not to bring a bathing suit to a pool. Gotta love him! The day was filled with several adventures through the rocks and tons of pictures in the preserve. At one point, I headed over to the 50 foot waterfall with a few fellow counselors. It felt like a movie, even though Landon Sikes thought otherwise. Will Garnett, one of my co-chairs, experienced the fountain of youth, pretended to be floating on water, and meditated in the midst of the waterfall. He cracks me up! Collectively, we packed lunch for our entire camp and had a picnic at Hamilton Pool. Our namesake, Chris Duke, and his wife stopped by. It was so great to see their smiling faces and know how supportive they are of our camp. Overall, it was an amazing day of bonding in Dripping Springs. We couldn’t have asked for better weather or a better location to spend our day trip. Later in the afternoon, we packed up and hiked back through the wilderness. The walk back seemed much longer the second time around. Luckily, all of Camp Duke survived in one piece and returned to College Station a few hours later. As the days pass, we continue to become more unified as a camp. Hopefully, our unity will provide for a smoother transition for our freshmen. I am anxious to see how the relationships we have built will enable our camp to be successful for all campers and staff. Throughout every Fish Camp tradition, our focus remains on the freshmen at all times. I am so thankful for everyone in our camp and for my amazing co-chairs that coordinated this perfect day trip. Saturday got me super excited for all of the road trips to come in the summer and reminded me how much closer we are to meeting our freshmen in August!!!

Delta Diner

Last night, Tri Delta hosted our spring philanthropy event—Delta Diner. Everyone came out to the Tri Delta House to eat breakfast for dinner. Tickets were only $5 and all of the proceeds benefitted St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which is our national philanthropy. The philanthropy committee has been working hard all semester planning and preparing for this event and it was a HUGE success. We were jamming to 50’s music while serving pancakes, scrambled eggs, and sausage. It was so much fun taking pictures and all of the decorations were adorable. The house was completely full with people the entire evening. I had a wide range of friends that stopped by—including my fish camp partner, members of MSC FISH, and my very best friend Katy Lowery. It was so great catching up with all of them and giving them a tour of where I will be living next year. I am so thankful that Tri Delta is able to support this one of a kind place. St. Jude allows children with catastrophic diseases to receive treatment at no cost at all. They even pay for the families to have a place to stay while their child is a patient in the hospital. Delta Diner was a simple way we attempted to raise money for their great cause and promote St. Jude throughout the College Station community.  I am so blessed by each and every one of the girls in this organization!

MSC FISH Banquet

As I sit down to write my last blog as a freshman in MSC FISH, tears are rolling down my face. Never in a million years did I ever imagine being a part of an organization that would continually challenge me to be a stronger leader, a more charismatic speaker, a kinder friend, or a more selfless servant. My involvement in FISH completely defined my freshman year of college. When people ask me about Texas A&M, I inevitably ramble on and on about this organization and the people I’ve met through it. The relationships I’ve made throughout the past eight months have changed my life. At one of the first meetings, they told us that our very best friends were sitting beside us in that room and some of them would even be in our wedding one day. I shook my head and rolled my eyes, but luckily I was proven wrong. They knew it all along... there is something about MSC FISH and serving together that sparks the most unforgettable friendships and instantly unites people on a different level. We all experienced our first year of college together and our days were beyond busy…. Rev Night, FLO BOWL, Halloween Festivities, Winter Banquet, BJs in our PJS, Sbisa Marathons, School Roadtrips, AGBs, Weekly Service, GCMS, Hippie Hangouts, Football Games, Fuego Runs, Fall Project, Winter Trip, Spring Retreat, Root Beer Floats Parties, Lake Conroe, Bro-Bowl, Prom Dress Drive, Camp For All, Aggieland Saturday, Kyle Field Day, Big Event, and the list goes on and on. My blog, Peace, Love, & Gig ‘Em, attempted to document every major FISH event and I am so thankful I can always look back and reflect on this amazing year through pictures.  There are plenty of little moments, deep conversations, and friendly faces that I will never forget. We were all chosen to be a part of this organization for a reason and together we made the perfect FISH Family. I am confident the friendships I’ve made my freshman year of college will be life lasting. Tonight was Banquet for MSC FISH and it was by far one of my favorite nights to date. This was the last offical time we would all be in the same location at the same time. I was filled with a thousand different emotions. The AD’s and Exec’s worked incredibly hard to make this event memorable for us and they were very successful. We took group pictures at Rudder Fountain and headed to the 7F Lodge. This place was in the middle of nowhere, but it was the perfect location for banquet. The scenery was beautiful for pictures and every single person in FISH looked stunning. As we arrived, we were greeted by the entire staff and began taking pictures with our schools. It was super fun goofing off and acting like ‘Typical TAP’. We began flooding into the room for our banquet ceremony and every single table was decorated according to the various schools. Laura Mixtacki, my incredible “mom” and friend, did a phenomenal job with our table and all of our gifts. She is the reason our banquet celebration was special and we are all so thankful for her hard work and dedication to our school. The night was filled with speeches, memories, slideshows, cupcakes, presents, hugs, and pictures. Listening to everyone reminisce on the past year reminded me of what a blessing it has been to be a part of this organization. I wish every single person could experience something like this, because from the outside looking in it is exceptionally hard to understand. We all voted on superlative awards—such as Mr. and Mrs. FISH, Most Attractive, Most Athletic, Friendliest, Most Likely to Become President, Best Smile, etc. I was voted as “Most Redass” out of our freshman group.  REDASS is defined as someone who is very involved at Texas A&M, follows all traditions, and is filled with Aggie Spirit. I had zero expectations of winning this award, but I am honored that FISH chose me as someone that is well representative of Aggieland. Banquet was the most perfect night spent with the most perfect school around. The people in Toates Angsty Platypi will forever hold a special place in my heart. We are all unbelievably unique and most people don’t understand us. However, it was our differences that united us and made us a strong school. We were and always will be known as the awkward school that redefined normalcy one day at a time. I wouldn’t have rather been a part of any other school, preferred any other FLO, or attended any other university. I am in love with Texas A&M—thanks to all of the people in MSC FISH. We are now all a part of ‘Old School’ FISH, even though it seems like just yesterday that it all began. This may be my last official post about an MSC FISH event, but this will by no means be the last time you see these people in the blog. FISH provided me with the easiest transition into college and introduced me to my very best friends. No matter where the road of life may take me in the future, I will never forget where it all began. Thanks & Gig ‘Em!