FISH RECRUITMENT

I am serving as an Assistant Director for MSC FISH for this upcoming year. MSC FISH is a Freshman Leadership Organization on campus and is absolutely my favorite part about Texas A&M. With that said, I couldn’t be more excited to give back to this incredible organization and provide the Class of 2016 with the same experience. I know it will be challenging and require immense patience, but the best is still to come for my time in MSC FISH. This week was the start of our intense recruitment process. All throughout sorority recruitment, the other Assistant Directors were planning videos, painting banners, and preparing for this week. Thankfully, I am surrounded by incredible leaders and they picked up my slack while I was preoccupied. On Sunday, we hosted a table at MSC Open House. This was our first opportunity to get our name out there and start finding our future fishes. We ran through the halls of the MSC with neon signs, passed our playing cards that reflected our “Go FISH” theme, and held countless conversations with freshmen. Even though we are all incredibly passionate about the mission and vision for MSC FISH, at the end of the day… we just want these freshmen to find a place they can call home. For us, that was MSC FISH and that will hopefully hold true for 80 unknown freshmen. Monday morning was the official kick off to recruitment week. We all wore our hats and infamous blue tanks on campus all week. Between the 16 AD’s, we held banners in three locations on campus from 8 AM – 5 PM every single day. If you weren’t in class, you were holding a banner. Yes, it was hot. Yes, we got tired. Yes, we stayed hydrated. And yes, it will be worth it. It has been the longest week of my life. I have had several break downs at random moments. I have felt overwhelmed and schoolwork took a temporary back seat. We held three informationals at night where the freshmen could learn all about MSC FISH, our committees, and our purpose. They could ask questions and socialize with the staff members. Each informational had an incredible turn out, but I’ll never forget literally “running” from one organization to the next on Wednesday night. As I reflect back on the week I just had, I can’t help but smile. I am still exhausted and I can’t exactly think straight, but overall recruitment was a blast. I was surrounded by 15 of my best friends for an entire week. We are about to get 80 of the best freshmen MSC FISH has ever seen. I am so close to meeting my partner and my school. How could life get any better? Tomorrow is our final day recruiting on campus and applications are due by 5 PM. We will finish this chapter strong and celebrate by reading countless applications all night tomorrow. Although I’ve never felt more tired or stressed out, I know that God has placed each of us here for a reason. Together, we are going contribute everything we have to FISH and impact lives. I couldn’t be more blessed by the people that are on staff. We hold banners together. We recruit together. We learn together. We laugh together. We celebrate together. And together, we’re a family. MSC FISH 2012-2013 will be an unforgettable year.

Meet MSC FISH Staff...

Our Offical Recruitment Video!!!

Chicken LITTLE

On Wednesday night, Tri Delta had its BIG/LITTLE reveal. Nationals ensure that every Tri Delta member is given a “Big” 12 days after Bid Day—which fell on September 5^th. This is rather early, but thankfully I was given a little that I absolutely adore. In the first week of the semester, we are given temp littles in order to get to know all of the new girls much better. On Sunday, we preffed our littles and the new deltas preffed their bigs. We matched them all up on Sunday night, and I happened to be a perfect match with the one and only Janie Tekell. This was one of my DG babies and my Star Baby during recruitment. The moment I found out she was a Tri Delt, I knew I had to be her big. It is unfortunate that all of the clues leading up to tonight fell during recruitment week for MSC FISH. I have been going non-stop and wish I could have spent more time crafting for my little like the rest of the house. However, I knew she would understand my busy schedule. The first clue was given on Monday and I placed a giant poster board on her dorm door. The rest of the clues were little riddles along with a few presents. It all led up to Wednesday night and I couldn’t have been more excited!!! Everyone gathered at the house wearing ridiculous costumes. There were babies, pumpkins, hot air balloons, reindeer, grandmas, thugs, and so much more. I borrowed a chicken suit from Steven Baker and forced Janie to be my perfect “Chicken LITTLE.” I dressed as a farmer and forced her to scream, “The sky is falling, the sky is falling.” It was pretty epic and dressing up is always fun—especially when you get to laugh at her in that ridiculous costume. It is still unreal to me that I met her at Fish Camp. Janie is incredible and I feel so blessed to have her as a part of my life. From my DG baby to becoming my LITTLE in Tri Delta… She is such a big part of my life. I know she will do incredible things at A&M and I am so thankful to be a part of her journey. I am so happy for all of the new Tri Delta families and can’t wait for us to start our own dynasty!

New Member Retreat

This weekend was the New Member Retreat for PC ’12. Lauren Paine and I have been planning our new member program for quite a while and this retreat was a huge part of it. Between Bid Day and the Retreat within the span of one week—we have been BUSY around here. This weekend wasn't possible without our incredible new member team and additional officers that came along. We left the Tri Delta house on Friday afternoon and headed towards Lake Travis. We ate Jason’s Deli for dinner on the way there and played plenty of bus games. Speed Dating, “Delta” Hot Seat, Original Tunes, and so many more. It was an awfully long ride there—due to a few delays, but everything fell into place once we arrived. We began by dividing the girls into their Pearl Pal groups and settling into our cabins. The Pearl Pal Group’s consist of approximately 8-10 girls from their pledge class led by two older Tri Delts. It is a neat opportunity for them to get to know additional people in our chapter and bond with each other. Once we introduced ourselves, we grabbed our color coordinating bandanas and headed to the field for some activities. These girls were rather competitive—which made the games super fun! They each came up with a team name and cheer—and performed for everybody. I can’t lie… I was rather impressed by the final outcomes. However, Team OJ forever has my heart. We also had a dance competition to some classic songs in the conference room. These girls got some pretty sweet dance moves! The night continued on with advice from our senior officers and a unique opportunity for each girl to share something of importance. Even though this isn’t my first year in Tri Delta, I learned a ton of valuable lessons from listening to the seniors as well. Everyone brought their thing of importance—some goofy and some serious. Regardless, we shared laughs, tears, and countless stories with the group. The night came to a close in the wee hours of the morning and we headed back to our assigned cabins. When the morning rolled around, we all woke up and ate breakfast together near Lake Travis. Becca and Callie led us in a morning devotional about the four essential pillars for life and balancing them. We broke into small groups and discussed several other questions, goals, fears, and more stories. The rest of the morning, the girls had free time around camp. They could hike, swim, swing, or just hang out with their new sisters. We headed back to College Station around noon and I don’t think our retreat could have ran more smoothly. PC ’12 is incredible. They are funny, outspoken, and absolutely precious. They don’t care about what people think about them and each of them had a great attitude all weekend. I PRAY that they had fun- because I know all of the officers enjoyed getting to know them!!! I couldn’t be more excited for the remainder of our New Member Program. Lauren and I have countless more things in store for these girls. Our hope is that they begin forming lifelong friendships with each other and feel beyond welcome to Tri Delta. I know the next eight weeks will fly by, but I pray these girls cherish each and every moment.

“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” –Proverbs 31:25