I Believe In D’Mann
Tag Archives: greek life
New Member Retreat and My First Race
Some fun things have happened recently. First was the new member retreat for Kappa, (see pictures below). The second is that I got to participate in a race for rowing called a regatta, but I’ll talk more about that later.
The retreat…first, the car I went in had a very difficult time getting there! Our GPS led us to a factory and a very creepy small house on a hill. When we finally got to the house, it was huge and we laughed because we were the second ones there and when other people arrived they said they had gotten lost too. We also ate a lot, which is one of my favorite things to do! Then we played a game where we had to guess who our bigs were based on clues. (A big is kind of like a mentor with which new sorority members are provided to help guide them through anything they might have questions about.) I refused to go first because I am shy and that makes me uncomfortable, but when I heard the clues I knew it was my big. Next we went upstairs and the seniors talked to us about what it means to be a Kappa, and because it was Kate’s and my birthday, they brought us cupcakes. Then we got to make up a song about Kappa. We decided to make a song based on Taylor Swift’s song Love Story. It turned out really cute. By the end of the night I was really glad that they had this event because it was so fun and it was a great thing to do on my birthday.
The other thing was amazing was the regatta. It wasn’t exactly a real regatta with medals and things but we raced Kansas in a scrimmage. Since I am more of a coxswain (the person that steers the boat) I don’t typically race in the boat, but someone got sick and I did get to race. It was really exciting because based on times our boat won 3rd which would have meddaled if it were a real race. I also was really excited to spend the whole day with my friends and get to see the experienced rowers. Because it was parents weekend my parents even got to see me row, which is awesome. All and all it was a pretty exciting race for me. I unfortunately don’t have pictures from this so just trust that it was soooo fun 
Last Call for Fun
This past week was my fraternity’s (Kappa Sigma’s) 51st annual philanthropy week, coined “Kappa Sigma Olympics”. Our local philanthropy is The Little Light House of Tulsa which assists families of children with special needs. And our national philanthropy is the Kappa Sigma Military Heroes Campaign which provides charitable donations to organizations such as The Fisher House Foundation in support of our military veterans.
Throughout the week we hosted various events to raise money and promote awareness and support. We had a dinner is which the entire campus was invited to come out and take part in, Burn Co (a local BBQ favorite) provided the food. And saturday we had a kickball tournament with all the sororities competing and a dance competition that night.
Kickball is pretty intense, but the dance competition is where the main focus is. The sororities start practicing months in advance all for the chance to win the coveted title. Kappa Sigma also puts on a step show as a warm-up to the dance competition. This year Tri-Delta (Delta Delta Delta) took the title, but it was a great show overall.
(Photos from the kickball and dance competition can be viewed here https://plus.google.com/photos/117595852460701245725/albums/5731363056910643281)
Looking Back, Looking Forward
Here is a guest blog post from Maribel O., a senior Energy Management Major from Arkansas….
When I first decided to be a guest blogger for the TU Admission Blog, I thought it would take me a couple of minutes to write something funny, insightful, and inspiring. Yet, this brought to mind so many of the memories that I have experienced at TU. Both good and bad. And it surprised me how quick my journey at TU has been. Allow me to share my story with you…
As a small-town girl from Huntsville, Arkansas, I wanted to get out of Arkansas. And fast. I traveled to colleges in Missouri, Oklahoma, and California in search of the perfect one. I wanted to retain the small-town feel that I had grown up in, but not sacrifice the thrill of football games and Greek life. I found the perfect mix at TU. This sounds super cheesy, but I knew I wanted to be a Hurricane the moment I set foot on campus. I even made a life-long friend out of my tour guide at Tulsa Time. (Shout out to Sara M)! The professor whose class I sat in for Tulsa Time ended up being one of my favorite professors and I proceeded to take two of his classes (Dr. Settle WILL make you learn economics). My admission counselor was beyond awesome and the entire staff or counselors, advisers, and professors eased the transition from high school to college.
First semester I joined a sorority and I am proud to call some of the most incredible, talented, and caring women on campus my sisters. But some of my closest friends are non-Greek and I love that TU has the type of environment where affiliation does not impede friendships, but rather fortifies them. Campus has so much diversity; I have friends from Indonesia, Scotland, China, Venzuela, Uzbekistan, Ireland, Germany, Nigeria, and India. It is incredible how much you can learn from your friends! Who knew Kazakhstanian women love telenovelas as much as I do!
Finally seniors!! My best friends and me on bid day
With friends after brunch with alumni
So TU, Think You Can Dance?
What an amazing weekend!
This weekend, I got to see one of the best performances that I’ve ever seen at TU! On Friday and Saturday night, TU hosted a dance competition called “So TU, Think You Can Dance?” The production was based on the famous TV show “So You Think You Can Dance?” which made it all the more fun. The original auditions for the competition were in October, and dozens of people tried out from all areas of the school–all different majors, interests, styles of dance, etc. The directors and choreographers of the show cut it down to about 30 if you include understudies, and then selected the top ten from those 30 to dance solos at the performance.
The performances featured 21 dances including the soloists, and the styles ranged from contemporary to tap, ballet, jazz, and hip hop. There were some pieces choreographed by faculty, some by students, and even one that was choreographed by a professional dance company in New York City who sent a dancer down to TU to teach it to our dancers! The new Lorton Performing Arts Center was sold out, and there were even 100 people that had tickets that had to be turned away because the number of people present was above fire code. It was incredible! The energy of the audience was insane, and you could feel it emanating from the dancers as well. They were so incredible to watch–no one had any idea that we had so much talent right here on our own campus!
My pledge sisters and I--two of whom danced in the show--after the performance!
I had five sorority sisters that were in the performance–three of which were in the top ten–so it was especially fun for me to watch them completely in their element. All of them have danced their entire lives, but they have never had an opportunity such as this one to showcase their dancing to their friends, much less the entire campus. I felt so blessed to be able to share that moment with them as a member of the audience, and I was astounded again and again as each dancer performed. There were numbers that made me cry and numbers that made me smile. I was such a mess of emotions by the end of the night that I couldn’t even keep it together! Seeing my sisters jump off of the stage at the end of the show and run into the huge group of girls from my sorority that had come to watch was one of the most amazing moments I’ve had at TU so far. All of the dancers did an absolutely incredible job, and I am so glad that I was able to see such an amazing production before I graduated. On top of the amazing dances, the show brought in professionals and professors alike to serve as judges. The principal dancer of the Tulsa Ballet was even a judge! The judges selected the top 5 dancers, and then the audience got to text in votes for the winner. There was a different winner each night, so it kept the entire campus on its toes. It was such an amazing weekend, and I hope that they make this production a yearly event so that I can come see it again when I’m in law school next year!
It is amazing to me that even as a senior with four years at TU under my belt, I can make these amazing memories each and every day. No matter how monotonous life gets, TU always keeps it interesting, and for that I am truly thankful. I was just thinking today how much Tulsa has become my home, and how by the time I’ve graduated law school I’ll have lived here for almost a third of my life. It has truly become a part of me, and I’m not sure that I’ll be ready to leave when the time comes. I love this city, I love this campus, and I am so grateful for the blessings that I have experienced as a result of being here. I’ll definitely be a Golden Hurricane for life. Go TU!
We love our Seniors
Entering week four of the spring semester now. Even though I have been spending a lot of time studying for exams and writing papers, life is good. I’ve been reminded a lot lately that graduation is just around the corner for our seniors. Prep for Student Association’s Graduation Party that honors and celebrates TU graduates this May is under way and I have the privilege of working on this project. In addition to Grad Party festivities, I am also planning Senior Week for my sorority. I am particularly excited for the seniors to give their Tulsa and sorority t-shirts away to us that week. I love t-shirts, especially when they’re free! It’s so awesome that as a Freshman I have multiple opportunities to acknowledge the achievement of some of the best role models on campus. It is clear to me that they love Tulsa and will be sad to leave this spring.
In the mean time I am focused on staying involved on campus (Presbyterian Leaders and Scholars, Greek Life, and Student Association) and staying on top of my school work! When my senior year arrives I plan on looking back and knowing I made the right college choice (woot woot TU!), I made the most of my time, I made lasting friendships, and I set a good example for underclassmen.
Let Them Eat Pancakes!
Hannah and I getting ready to go to formal!
I’m also really excited because I have an enormous presentation on Tuesday night for my advertising class. My group actually got to put together an advertising campaign for Tulsa Animal Welfare, a division of the City of Tulsa that handles animal adoption and enforces city pet ordinances. It is so neat getting to work for a real client, and it’s all thanks to the connections that our professor has. He wants us all to meet real people in the business so that we can establish our own connections, too, which I think is really awesome and so characteristic of TU! I’ve done so much networking since I came here, and most of it is thanks to the efforts of my professors.
The next two weeks will be filled with studying for finals and avoiding procrastination (so easy to do when you don’t have class at all!), and hopefully lots of holiday fun. I’m so excited for Christmas, and I’m even more excited to have three weeks off of school. On top of that, we found out today that TU is playing in the Armed Forces Bowl against BYU on December 30, which will be a blast to watch! I’m so excited!
Happy holidays to all of you, and I’ll talk to you soon!
CHI OMEGA SING 2011
For those of you that don’t know, all the sororities and fraternities have their own Philanthropy Week that takes place throughout the year. During a sorority or fraternity philanthropy week, dinners and events are sponsored in support of the organization that fraternity/sorority supports.
So in short, last week was Chi Omega’s philanthropy week also known as Hootiefest which supports The Make A Wish Foundation of Oklahoma . Throughout the week Chi O had different events in which fraternities competed in order to win Hootiefest. The final event, also the biggest, is always Chi Sing! It’s not your average lip-sync competition (as participants actually have to SING! haha). Fraternities usually go all out for the event with hopes of winning the prized tropy.
Long story short….after days and countless hours of practice and tears, and the freqent use of Red Bull, my fraternity, KAPPA SIGMA, showed up and won Chi O Sing 2011! Enjoy the video below and hopefully you’ll get a laugh from it.
Kappa Sigma Chi Sing 2011 (My Girl, Dead or Alive, Larger Than Life)
Brotherhood Weekend
Can we say STRESS!!!! haha But what is college without tons of it. Classes have been killer lately and time has been in short supply, but luckily the semester is coming to an end. Went to Rogers State with my fraternity and enjoyed some ropes course action a few weeks ago and got some team building accomplished. All in all that weekend was short but eventful.
October
I feel bad for not posting anything all month. So I will incorporate everything into one post. (Don’t worry, it will be short) 
First up was homecoming. For those of you that don’t know, homecoming is also Parents Weekend at TU. So along with alumni, the campus is bustling with parents and family coming to see their college son/daughter. For the freshman, this event is really exciting especially since the last time some may have seen their parents was months ago when they moved in! So TU makes sure to have a weekend filled with awesomeness. Friday night is the bond fire and Saturday is the tailgate out on the New U with a lot of free food, shirts, and other merchandise for all to enjoy. 
Unfortunately I missed the bond fire, but I’m sure fellow bloggers have pictures and stories about the festivities. I did make it to tailgating and the game on Saturday. Not much to say about the football game because we WON!!! Pretty good game, the Golden Hurricane bruised up the Mustangs pretty bad.
That same weekend was also Halloween. Even though it was a Monday night, my fraternity decided to throw a party. Everyone came out in their costumes and it turned out to be one of the best Halloween parties I’ve been to. I was the Big Bad Wolf and I forgot to get a pic with Little Red so maybe next year…
October went by pretty fast, especially at the end. Only a few more weeks till thanksgiving break. Can’t wait.
TU was also randomly visited by the C-SPAN bus.haha.
