Kyle Field Day

This past Sunday, April 22^nd was finally Kyle Field Day! This is MSC FISH’s huge service project that we plan and execute in the spring semester. In the beginning of FISH, they divided us into four different committees and I was placed on the Kyle Field Day Committee. We have been working hard every single week since the beginning of the school year to ensure the success of our 2^nd Annual Kyle Field Day. For the past three weeks, every member of FISH has been wearing the SAME aqua blue shirt and holding banners on campus. Everywhere you looked, you could spy someone you knew. We had stickers, posters, fliers, and every other form of advertising you can think of. Our original plan was to promote this event for two weeks; however, due to inclement weather we had to postpone it for another week. The mission of Kyle Field Day is to provide the students of Texas A&M a chance to actively engage in service and seek continued involvement in the community. By providing a wide variety of service opportunities, we looked to engage both individuals and organizations. From 11:00am to 3:00pm, there were booths set up around the field that allowed us to give back to the community and bring a wide range of awareness. We painted flower pots for the special needs children at Camp For All, weaved bracelets together to advocate against human trafficking, painted picnic tables for the Boys and Girls Club in Bryan, decorated recycling bins to support environmental preservation, created bowls for Twin City Missions to donate to a local soup kitchen, and much more. In addition to the service aspect of Kyle Field Day, there were also a variety of field games, live entertainment by Charlie Gore, free pizza, Chef Tai, and Cake Junkie. This event allowed for students to give back to the Bryan/College Station community and enjoy themselves as well! Our goal was to reach out to a wide range of campus organizations as well as other individuals to participate in this event. KFD was such a huge success this year and we were beyond excited about all of the families and students that stopped by and experienced it with us. The best part about the whole day was that everything was completely FREE! I couldn’t be more proud of the event that we planned as a committee and a freshman leadership organization. The relationships and memories that I’ve made throughout my time on the Kyle Field Day Committee are simply unforgettable. Kyle Field Day has enormous potential for growth and I can’t wait to see how it continues to improve and change in the years to come.

Paddle Pass.

Last night was Paddle Pass for PC ’11. It is a historic tradition to make a paddle for your little sister in Tri Delta. Most other sororities do it, too. They really aren't used for anything other than decoration to hang on your wall. Big sisters spend tons of time and effort on the paddle for their little. The paddles tend to get extremely creative and elaborate as the years pass by. Courtney Reed, my big, painted me the most perfect paddle and I know I will cherish it for the rest of my life. She used coral and aqua blue paint with white sparkly deltas on it. She is an incredibly talented artist and I am so thankful she is my big. Paddles are always complete with the sorority letters, the name of the big, and the name of the little. It was so much fun looking at all of the different paddles for the girls in my pledge class, taking tons of pictures, and eating yummy cookie cake. The paddles were all extremely unique and matched the personality of the little perfectly. All of the girls in PC ’10 did a fantastic job making this special for us and Paddle Pass 2012 was a huge success. I love all of my beautiful Tri-Delta sistas and I cannot wait to live in the house with them next year!

The Perfect Partnership.

Tonight was the night of Camp Duke’s Partner Revelation! There has been so much anticipation leading up to this moment. For those of you that aren’t familiar with Fish Camp– every single counselor is paired with a partner within their camp and together they lead a Discussion Group (or DG) during Fish Camp. You work extremely close with your partner and naturally they become your newest best friend. Before we dig into the actual revelation of our 12 perfect partnerships, there is a little Camp Duke gossip to share. Last week, one of our counselors had to drop out due to various circumstances and other time commitments. This week, we “picked-up” our newest counselor and that girl just happens to be BRITTANY MULLER. What are the odds of that, Sugar Land?! Brittany and I have known each other since Kindergarten and I truly believe she is the perfect addition to our camp. We are going to have the time of our lives together and I still can’t believe it!

Tonight was Partner Revelation, so we all dressed up in our finest attire and ate dinner at Chuy’s. The entire evening was a mystery and surprises aren’t my thing, but it was neat getting to know different people in camp at dinner while the anticipation was building! As we finished paying our checks, Will and Britni decided to show up. They were preparing for the revelation the entire time and I couldn't have been more excited to see them. We took a few pictures and then carpooled over to George Bush Library. I had no clue what to expect and I was unbelievably nervous. As soon as we arrived, they instructed us to find our Easter egg. This wasn’t any elementary school egg hunt… They hid these things extremely well. Once we were all finally assembled, we opened the eggs. All of the boys had a picture of Britni and all of the girls had a picture of Will. This was fake-out number 1. Next, we went over to the waterless fountain and found a rubber ducky with our name on it. Underneath the duck was a number and we matched up into pairs. This was our “partner,” but we knew there were more tricks to come. This was fake-out number 2. We walked over to the lake and each light pole had your corresponding number with a personal letter attached. We lined up and one by one were taken over to the gazebo. With our backs to the boys, we read our poem allowed and they were down on one knee with a rose. This was the revelation of our actual Fish Camp partnership! I was one of the last people to read the poem, so my impatient nerves never seemed to settle. However, David Lebeuf is my newest partner and words cannot express how excited I am!!!

David and I were lunch buddies last week and we have grown so much closer since then. We share so many similarities and I knew after we ate pizookies at BJ’s that I wanted this kid to be my partner. Although Dave witnessed me spill an entire glass of water while talking with my hands and realized just how gullible from the very beginning, I knew this was the start of a great friendship. He gave me lots of advice for my first experience in Fish Camp and warned me of the incredible relationships that come from this organization. David is a great guy and I’ve already learned so much about him! He not only wrote me a Jeff Pickering style two page poem, but he also wrote me a personal two page letter. He gave me coupons for one dinner, one movie, one sonic drink, and the list goes on. Little did he know, the Engle's are the biggest fans of coupons as gifts! I couldn’t be more thankful that I am his little Fish Camp wife and I know we’re going to have the best partnership anyone could ever ask for.

Everyone in our camp is matched up into 12 perfect pairs and our friendships are growing closer by the day. The countdown until we meet our freshmen has officially begun and we couldn't be more excited! I can't wait to get to know everything about David in these next few months! His number is already in my list of favorites on my phone. I am extremely excited about this year because everything has been absolutely perfect so far!!!

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Dear Future Partner,

Fish Camp is a Freshman’s First Tradition

It creates long lasting friendships and has the greatest mission.

We were both chosen as Fish Camp Counselors and placed into the same cluster

Over 900 staff members piled into Rudder Auditorium—

Which made the start of Fish Camp almost as monumental as Muster.

We were about to embark on a journey that would forever change our days,

And quickly adjust our lifestyle to the Duke Swag ways.

New color, new session, and all sorts of change

So many faces and expectations that seemed pretty strange.

Although we may have walked on different paths of life,

Camp Duke brought us together and allowed us to unite.

We are here for the freshmen— Fightin’ Class of Sixteen

And will always stick together in our precious Duke Green!

Our Camp is now divided into 12 perfect pairs

Did I mention we naturally have the sickest Co-Chairs?

Our DG group will consist of the coolest kids around

And they will instantly fall in love with this little college town.

They will be bleeding maroon due to our perfect partner love

We will teach them all about Aggieland and a university they can be proud of

I am so thankful you’re my partner and you’ll never leave my side

With inside jokes and plenty of laughter, Camp Duke will never divide.

Get ready to have the time of your life

Because now you can consider me your newest Fish Camp wife.
 Sincerely, Kaitlyn Engle

  

Parent's Weekend!

This weekend was perfect in every single way. Saturday morning, my family arrived for Texas A&M’s official Parent’s Weekend. There were a million things going on, so I made them a custom itinerary for the day. It all began with a presentation by MSC FISH at 8 am. It was early and overwhelmingly hot in Rudder 301, but it provided our parents with the perfect opportunity to become well informed of our organization and what exactly we do. The presentation consisted of our chairs, execs, ADs, and fellow freshmen speaking about our mission, our projects, our memories, our schools, our committees, and so much more. I think it was overwhelming for the parents to realize just how many service hours their student volunteer each week. It made me even more proud to be a part of this incredible organization and see the enormous contributions we have made over the past year. After the MSC FISH event, we headed over to the Business School for brunch. I gave them a personal tour of campus… I walked them through the clock tower, introduced them to Sully, explained the meaning of the Century Tree, announced the grand re-opening of the MSC, and showed them just how long the walk is to my 8 am class every day. We visited the Taste of Aggieland near Kyle Field and shopped at the Aggie Mom’s Clubs boutiques in Duncan Dining Hall. My Dad attempted to win a car, but sadly our luck fell a little short. We headed over to the Tri-Delt House for a BBQ and a brief tour. Considering this is where I will be living next fall, it was fun showing them around!! We went to the grand re-opening of JJ’s Snowcones in Bryan and it was the perfect way to end the day. I had an absolute blast with my parent’s and my baby sister all day in Aggieland. I can’t thank them enough. I truly have the best parents in the entire world. I am thankful they support me financially and always take an active role in my life. I would be no where without their constant love, encouragement, and wisdom. I love the both to the sun, the stars, the moon, and back! After showing them around Texas A&M the entire day, the saying will always be true…“From the Inside Looking Out You Can’t Explain It… From The Outside Looking In You Can’t Understand It.”

 

On Sunday morning, I woke up bright and early to support our MSC FISH boys in Bro-Bowl. This is the all FLO Football tournament amongst the men of each organization. Our boys are highly competitive and unbelievably athletic. Needless to say… we were still bitter about the outcome of the powderpuff tournament in the fall and we were ready for redemption. Our boys played all day long and the girls provided great cheerleading entertainment. We made t-shirts, drew posters, brought food, and chanted all day long. Even though I could only stay until noon due to other obligations and my insanely busy schedule, OUR BOYS WERE THE BRO-BOWL CHAMPIONS! They beat FLiP in the championship game, and I couldn’t be more proud of them and the outcome of this tournament. WE WON FIRST PLACE… FINALLY! It was an unbelievably successful weekend filled with a day at the lake, time spent with my family, victory on the fields, painting KFD banners, and workin’ it at the Tri-Delta Rush Workshop!