XIV-A Races for the Crown at ZTA Convention 2012
14 collegiate delegates from 6 Indiana schools crossed the rive to join over 800 other ZTAs at Convention 2012. The host city yielded the race-centered theme for the week, which was executed through an opening dinner appearance by Steve Buttleman (the Derby buglest), centerpieces, and references in keynote speeches.
Official delegates voted on a change to the Constitution and Bylaws, the 2012-2014 National Council, and a motion to reaffirm our commitment to breast cancer education and awareness. Indiana's Province President Stefanie Davis and eaders from Alpha Xi, Gamma Chi, and Zeta Alpha facilitated discussons in the "Conversations with the Experts" session. Maddie Wathen from Lambda Epsilon and Kami Schmitt from Zeta Alpha served as guards.
Check out the slide show on the homepage for all of the awards earned in the last biennium and ask your collegiate delegates about their experiences! Get ready to dream big!
ZTA is Miss Indiana
photo courtesy of Kelsey Sager, left
Alpha Theta member MerrieBeth Cox was crowned Miss Indiana 2012. MerrieBeth performed a no-drop baton routine as her talent. That is no surprise since she has been the Purdue Golden Girl since she stepped onto the Purdue University campus.
MerrieBeth is described by her sisters as sweet, committed, and fun. During her reign she will make numerous appearances to promote her platform of Overcoming Obstacles: Rise to the Challenge. She chose this as her platform because she has overcome some speech and hearing problems, herself. She has already begun the Miss Indiana appearance schedule, having visited a number of television stations and some children's hospitals.
Of course the height of the experience will be walking onto the Miss America stage in January. Our congratulations and best wishes for a fun and fabulous reign go to MerrieBeth!
Check out this video of MerrieBeth's crowning!
Zetas in Wonderland
ZTAs from all over the state - and a few from outside - joined together at IUPUI to celebrate sisterhood and share accomplishments at Zeta Day 2012. This year's theme was Zetas in Wonderland, complete with afternoon tea and flower-filled hats as centerpieces.
The state was pleased to welcome Kate Harmon to her very first Zeta Day...and she brought her mom along, as well! Kelley Snow Harmon is the national Vice President Collegiate for our area. Mrs. Harmon offered warm greetings on behalf of National Council and took the stage after lunch for a keynote to Indiana's collegiate members. In honor of her years of service to the Fraternity and in light of her upcoming retirement from Council, Mrs. Harmon was presented with a bracelet featuring mascot charms and the colors of each Indiana chapter.
Awards are always a highlight of Zeta Day, and this year was no exception. All 6 Indiana chapters walked away with Quota/Total Awards, an accomplishment of which to be proud. Alpha Xi earned the highest average chapter GPA while Courtney Williams (AT), Vasundhara Bhargava (AX), Allison Steele (BT), Briana Zmikly (GC), Brett Enneking (ZA), and Brianna Hunter (LE) took home honors for the highest senior averaged.
The Anne Winnes Redmond Service Award went to Alpha Theta and Purdue member Taryn Gerson accepted the Helen Winton Jenkins Collegiate Service Award for her work in founding Breaststroke 4 Hope. Beta Theta earned the Outstanding New Member Programming Award and Gamma Chi was honored with the Outstanding Chapter Programming Award. Karil Sommers, the General Advisor of Alpha Theta, was named Outstanding Collegiate Advisor and Susannah Hallgarth accepted the Sherry Server Tilley Zeta is Forever Award from the Past National President, herself. The final collegiate award was a state-level silver award: The Spirit of Indiana. Zeta Alpha chapter earned the award for making great strides in all areas.
It is a great time to be an Indiana Zeta, and Zeta Day 2012 was a fitting celebration of our sisterhood!
Zeta Collegians Learn Around the World
Getting ready to return to school for second semester takes a lot of planning. There are texts to buy...clothes to pack...vaccinations to document...plane tickets to print...supplies drives to gather donations to take to Africa.
A growing number of ZTAs is taking opportunities offered by colleges and completing coursework or internships far away from the home campuses. Many travel with chapter sisters and others use break time to hop to a different European country to reconnect with a sister.
Before the first semester let out, Beta Theta members gathered school supplies for sisters to take to African orphanages. In the picture above, Franklin's Rebeca Lehfeldt and Jamie Rowles enjoy a little sightseeing in Guatemala before teaching in elementary schools in the Central American country. Learning to teach by learning to open minds and hearts to different cultures through immersive teaching experiences will build our sisters into better educators and world citizens.
Zeta Alpha's Shelby George is no stranger to travel...or China. Shelby, UE's reigning Homecoming Queen, has visited Beijing and Shanghai in each of the last two years through International Studies Programs. To the right you can see Shelby repping Zeta on the Great Wall of China. The value of learning through travel is certainly not lost on Shelby; I am sure we have a life-long traveler in this sister!
At the far bottom of this entry is a map showing the reach our Indiana ZTA collegians have this school year. Click on it to have a closer and more complete look. Zeta is forever...and it is surely for everywhere.
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| | Franklin College students take advantage of a beautiful Guatemalan view and the presence of members from each NPC organization on campus to take this Panhellenic picture. Represented are two members from Delta Delta Delta, one member of Pi Beta Phi, and two Zetas.
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Taking PWOT to the Next Level
Collegiate leaders from 12 chapters in 4 states converged on Purdue University on December 3 for a huge, regional officer training. Around 120 collegiate Executive Council members were led in a variety of sessions by ZTA National Officers and Chapter Advisors.
The day began with a chapter roll call including a picture and a chapter brag. Chapter representatives divided and conquered during two different topic breakout sessions with their choice of six topics. A significant amount of time was spent in individual officer sessions with plenty of brainstorming. The day also included a large group session on risk reduction.
As our new chapter leaders begin their duties in the spring, we hope that our day at Purdue encourages them to create positive change in their chapters!
UE Historian Crowned Homecoming Queen
Zeta Alpha senior Shelby George was crowned University of Evansville Homecoming Queen. Shelby has long been a well-known face on the UE campus since she is involved in a variety or campus activities including the Aces Dance Team. Shelby has contributed her leadership to the collegiate chapter in numerous ways and was serving as chapter Historian Reporter at the time of her crowning.
No one deserved this honor more than Shelby. Congratulations, sister! Also, congratulations to her chapter sisters who ran a pretty intense campaign to help her reign supreme.
XIV-A Helps Colonize at University of Louisville
Again, collegiate members from across Indiana answered the call to assist the ZTA Extension team. Just a year after learning the Extension ropes with the Installation of Lambda Epsilon at IUPUI, XIV-A was asked to lend a hand just across the river to assist with the colonization at University of Louisville.
Chapter members from IU assisted with colonization events and Ritual teams from Franklin and Evansville operated rooms for Formal Pledging. The culmination was Initiation and Installation on the weekend of November 11. The Ritual team from Franklin joined a team from Ohio with a team including members from IU and IUPUI to Initiate nearly 90 members. It was a fabulous opportunity that I know that the chapter members involved respected and enjoyed.
Zeta Alpha Tackles Cancer
Congratulations to the UE chapter on an awesome BMOC fundraiser! This year the Evansville sisters tackled cancer with the help of a stage full of contestants, 2 former Colts cheerleaders, and an autographed football for the silent auction. Take a look at the pictures below to share in the chapter's success!
Indiana University BMOC Raises $190,000
Indiana University Zetas raised even their own bar with this year's Big Man on Campus competition. Twenty-three men competed for the title and prize package and helped the chapter raise $190,000.
Click on the picture to the left for a great article from the Indiana Daily Student.
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