Hi everybody!

Beta Alpha and Iota are super SUPER excited to be the host chapters for the 2014 Southwest District Convention. I’m Christina Griffin and I am one of the 4 co-chairs for next year’s convention. 

(Me with my little brother!)

The other co-chairs are:

Blake Haag

(That’s him with his little sister!)

Sara Bitting 

(That’s her with one of her little brothers!)

and Josh Soto!

(With his little brother – Josh is the one in the fedora)

We are already making plans and are hoping to make this upcoming convention the best one yet! Our theme, courtesy of Justin Rice, will be: “We have the roots. It’s time to BRANCH OUT!” I don’t want to give too much away now, but be prepared to see some things that have never happened before at next year’s convention! If you have any suggestions or requests, please email me at Christina_Griffin@baylor.edu.

Can’t wait to see everybody next year!
<3 MOTS

This week, all of our graduating seniors were Taus of the Week and some of them decided to bring Tau to the last concert of the semester :)  These pictures are a tale of his adventures.

Tau started the evening chillin out in the clarinet section with Lynn.  He kept her company while she was warming up and gave her an awesome pep talk before her last concert at Baylor.  

After talking with Lynn, Tau decided to climb up to the top of a stand to get a view of the rest of the band. He especially liked Christina's face in this picture.  

He finished off his trip by cuddling with Heather and Elyse in the flute section and trying to balance on the head joint of Heather's flute.  Tau was really feeling the sisterly love.  He went on to listen to the lovely concert from the comfort of Heather's pocket.  

Stay tuned for more of Tau's adventures!
MLITB <3

Hey everyone! My name is Leanna Mason and I am honored to be the elected Iota President for 2013-2014 year! As president, the biggest concentration I want to focus on is communication within the sisterhood. Many times, things are discussed and talked about, yet the sisterhood does not all know what is going on or happening.

In order to fix this, I have already begun to meet with each individual member of the sisterhood to talk to them about their offices, their semester, and hear their improvements for the sisterhood or me in general. I believe that this will help all of the new members to know what is expected of them and what they are going to need to work on this summer so we can have the best start of the year as we can get!

In order to continue this throughout the year, I want to let the sisterhood know what we talk about in executive meetings weekly or biweekly, depending how many meetings we have. In addition, I am planning to meet with at least 1 or 2 members of the sisterhood a week in order to keep clear communication. This will hopefully to nip any complaints in the butt to keep them from spreading or escalating. :)  I’m also hoping for more unity within the sisterhood and going to try to pursue loving on each other in new and exciting ways!

As president, I do not want to micromanage each office. Each officer elected into office is completely capable of completing the duties of their respective office. As president, I will just be overseeing the duties to make sure they are completing their constitutional duties. I also want to be there for each individual and be there for everyone in order to have the most efficient year that we can!

Also, I’m beyond ecstatic to be hosting SWD Convention 2014! :)

If any of you have any questions, comments, or ideas for the sisterhood, feel free to e-mail me at anytime! Leanna_mason@baylor.edu

Random Comment: One of my littles (Lori Scott) and I donated our hair to the Pantene Great Lengths Foundation! We donated about 11 inches each!! 

Hi everyone!

We just finished up formal at the Clifton House here in Waco. This year we went with a Kentucky derby theme so we could all wear fun hats to match our dresses like this one! (modeled by Jules!)

It was so much fun to plan, and I had a great time working with our NEW BEAU and the KPsi social chair - Josh! I still can't believe this was my last formal as an active member, but I have truly enjoyed my time here and look forward to coming back as an alumni member! I'm also looking forward to starting classes at Baylor Law School in the Fall and can't wait to see what the newest class will do as they continue their first year as members. I'm especially excited for my little sister and new roommate, Tori, as she takes over as secretary! 

That's me and her big brother presenting her paddle!

MOTS and MLITB,
Kim

As my second year at Baylor comes to an end, I’ve been thinking about all of the amazing opportunities that I’ve had here at Baylor. I can’t express how grateful I am to be here. I knew I wanted to come to Baylor in seventh grade because my pastor had gotten his undergrad from Baylor, and he sort of changed my life.  Then in ninth grade my Algebra teacher was a Baylor bear, and she turned my hatred of math into love, thus sending me on my way to become an accounting major. The next year I got a new clarinet teacher who revolutionized my view of the clarinet, and got me practicing more than ever. This led to success in my high school band, with whom I performed in Carnegie Hall, and eventually went on to make the Texas All State Band. Because of him, I am minoring in music.

These Baylor grads all had major roles in shaping the direction my life has taken and will take, so I have come here hoping to one day extend that same hope to someone else. My time here has been extraordinary, and now I’ll count down my top 5 favorite Baylor experiences.

5. Performing for the Texas State UIL finals in 2011 was exhilarating. After performing our traditional half time show, one which was modeled on Spanish melodies and racing rhythms, we came forward in concert arcs to perform Word Up! The crowd absolutely loved it, and I’ve never had more fun in a marching band performance. 

4. I’ve been studying and performing music for twelve years now, but I have never had the opportunity to perform with a string orchestra before. Until I came to Baylor of course! Dr. Espinosa sent an email to some members of Concert Band asking those who are interested to sign up to help out Campus Orchestra in their last concert this semester. So of course I replied as quickly as I could. My favorite song was Valse Triste; a haunting melody with such dissonance and purity from the strings that it gave me chills. I also was able to perform on an A clarinet, as well as my usual Bb.

3. I love accounting. I don’t know why, I just do. Every year PricewaterhouseCoopers holds their nation-wide XTax competition. Basically we are given a fictitious entrepreneur who we have to advise on the tax ramifications of transferring intangible assets to foreign subsidiaries. (What tax differences will their business face in other countries). I worked with a team of other accounting students, and my team captain is in his fifth year, following the Master’s in Taxation program, exactly what I want to do! I learned so much in the short two weeks. Even though we didn’t win, I am so glad I participated. I met and presented to partners of PricewaterhouseCoopers, and also got free Ninfa’s afterward :)
 

2. Last spring I was in the Baylor Symphonic Band, and it was truly one of the best ensemble experiences I’ve ever had. I learned so much more than I thought I would, I loved the music we played, and we traveled to San Antonio to perform for the College Band Directors National Association. We had the privilege of performing for the composer of one of our pieces, who afterward said that was the best live performance he had heard of it! On our way to San Antonio, we stopped in Austin to perform for a high school. That night we stayed with host families, and I had so much fun. We also performed for and with Waco’s University High School. It took a lot of hard work and long hours of practicing, but it was worth every minute.

1. This Christmas I spent in San Diego, California at the Bowl Game. I was admittedly disappointed to not be able to work for that extra Christmas pay at my job, but of course the trip was way more fun. Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, a pep rally, the game (complete with fireworks, a win, and two performances of Word Up) made for the best Christmas break ever! The drive was long, but there were amazing sights along the way. I grew closer to my BUGWB family, and finally got to see California. The only travel opportunities I’ve had are with band, and I cherish every one of them. 

<3 ITB 
Hillary 

My current favorite animal is a red panda. Need to be cheered up? Well, this blog post should do it.
 

I hope everyone has a good day!

<3 ITB
Kathryn

Hi there, Iota bloggers!!

It’s Lynn, la presidente at your service! 

This is me on the right, with Jenny (graduated Spring 2012) on the right when we were at the Final Four last year in Denver, CO with the Lady Bears and Courtside Players!

So last week, I was making my scrapbook page for SWD convention. It was  in Huntsville this year, at SHSU. I was really bummed I couldn't make it this year, but between graduation and my thesis, I am just too busy.

Anyway, so as I was making my scrapbook page, and I was reminiscing back on my time at Baylor. I’ll be graduating in May, so my time at Baylor and in TBS is coming to a close. While it’s been fun, I am so excited to see what these girls will do over the next few years. Hopefully I’m ready to hit the world running. But I would like to share some fun pictures and things that I have done since I've been in TBS. 

This is a poem that I wrote when I was BUGWB’er Rep the fall of my sophomore year. It was about the rush events we had had so far. Pretty fun. J

Here is a picture of Jenny and I at our trip to the Final Four last year. We were playing a pep rally at a local high school. It was such a fun trip!

Same trip, Final Four! Bruiser is playing the drums! He was pretty good, too. 

This past fall (2012), we hosted Musical Bear Scouts. In this event, we help local Girl Scouts earn music and dance badges. This is Nicky, who was the service chair this past fall. She was really stressed so I forced her to take pictures with Tau the Turtle to calm her nerves. She did such a great job for this event!

Ashley and Allyson are dancing along with the girls as they perform their final dance!

Here is a happy Nicky when it was all over!

This picture is from leadership camp this past year… Yes, this is a black widow spider… Haha.

Here is a picture of the clarinet leadership team from leadership camp! We had so much fun!

Here is a picture from Fall Retreat (2012). We went to a place with an indoor waterpark! There was a sign in the waterpark that said “No Bears”! How rude! This is Sara in the place where we spent the night. She is being silly as Leanna is sleeping!

Here is Christina (at retreat) hoarding the lemonade! J

This is our sponsor, Dr. Espinosa! To please him the week of the Holiday Bowl, Kelsey got him two bears! Dr. E graduated from UCLA as an undergrad! But he was smart; he was completely in support of Baylor! We’ve trained him right! 

We got to go to the San Diego Zoo! It was so neat! This is Heather and I at the zoo… or maybe at the San Diego Sea World! I can’t remember which. Sea World had a huge Christmas tree in the front that had a turtle on it!

This is Taylor and I in the parade for the Holiday Bowl! :)

This is the UCLA band! We got to play Word Up with them on the Broadway Pier!

One of the coolest parts of membership is watching classes cross after you do. This is from Activities Night when the Soul Sisters (Spring 2012) crossed. Christina is there with the five members of the Sole Sisters!

Our brick! (and their shoes, very appropriate).

Here is a pic of the Spring 2013 class, the Mouseketeers and their big sisters! We had nine wonderful girls cross this spring. We had to have 2 sets of twins! :3

This is a picture from the Sweet Sixteen with the man bears in Albuquerque! This is my boyfriend, Cole, with Heather and Becky (Heather crossed with my MC class, and Becky with Orbit). I painted all of their faces! 

Here is a picture with the OU band (Delta chapter of TBS) that we got to take when we played them at OU. We took a Pep Band to this game. It was so cool!

Here is a picture from convention from spring 2012. We got to get a picture with Janet! 

This is when RGIII came to our football game versus Texas Tech! :)

Here is a picture from Homecoming this past year, when a bunch of alumni were able to join us for a picture on the BU! Next year, I might be among them! 

Finally, here is a picture of me at homecoming this year, when I was chosen as the Homecoming Nominee for KKPsi.

My time at Baylor has been so much fun. BUGWB, Courtside, and TBS have been a huge part of this time. I love my sisters, and I am going to miss them a lot next year. This is such a great group of girls, and I am so blessed to have them in my life.

MLITB and MOTS forever,

Lynn Shafer

Hi everyone!

My name is Tori. Thanks for visiting our page today! I am a sophomore this year, so it is great to get different perspectives and experiences! I now embark into the lovely world of Tau Beta Sigma. The MEP was a wonderful experience for me. It was crazy and eventful, but I learned so much! I am so grateful to have gone through this process with such a wonderful group of girls. I have come to love every one of them. They are truly my sisters and I know that I can come to them with anything. It’s such a relief to have a support system throughout college!

My MC sisters and Sara (our VP)!

Meet my bigs!

Kim Jones:

My big sister! She has such a loving spirit and is beautiful inside and out. This girl has seriously been my #1 fan through MEP. I wouldn't trade her for the world! I knew I could talk to her about any of my problems in and outside of school. As we grew closer and closer, I learned how much we have in common. We could relate to each other about so many things and this has helped me with more than she will ever know!

Kyle Wilkinson:

My big brother! He has been such a blessing to me! I could vent to him about so many things bothering me at the time and he would just listen. I couldn’t imagine this process without him as my big brother! He was comic relief at times when I needed a good laugh or just a quiet listener when I needed that as well. All in all, he’s a fantastic guy and I am so grateful for him!

Becoming a member:

It feels so good to be a member of Tau Beta Sigma! I feel so accepted and loved by all the girls in this sorority and I love them all! I love being a part of this organization and I can’t imagine being a part of any other group. I have definitely chosen the right path for me. I have grown so much this year and have learned a lot about myself. Would I do this all over again? YOU BET I WOULD.

MLITB,

Tori

 Hey everyone!

I hope everyone is having a great week. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Niketa! I love meeting new people and am so excited to be a part of this organization. I feel as though I've been thoroughly blessed by all of the new people God has brought into my life through Tau Beta Sigma.

My MC sisters:

"With you I've been through pledging!" These words have never been more true. It's hard to believe the MEP only last five weeks because it feels like an eternity. I couldn't think of a better group of girls to go through an eternity with. I love each and every one of these girls BECAUSE I know I can call any of them just to talk and they will be more than happy to! I feel as if I could rely on every single one of them and am so happy to have met each and every single one of them!!


 My Bigs:

Taylor Marze!!!! I'm so blessed to have him as a big. I can't even believe my luck. I can't think of enough words to talk about how awesome Taylor is but he probably could. He has a way with words and his words were such an inspiration to me during the MEP. Taylor shared his amazing talents with me and I can only hope that I can be half as good of a little as he is as a big.

CHRISTINA! This girl is amazingly spectacularly wonderfully beautiful inside and out. For all the MEP's dark spots, she made them brighter than you could imagine. We have so much in common because we are both..... Girls. Thought I was going to say something else, huh? She was easily the best part of the process and I can't even imagine life without her as a big. I love her to pieces (not Sara's pieces. We don't know what those pieces consist of). 

As a member:

After completing my first week as an official member of Tau Beta Sigma, I can conclude that I am absolutely in love with this organization. The sisterhood, the friendships I've made, and the people I've met have all made this experience more than amazing. I can't wait to continue growing in this amazing organization!

MLITB, 

Niketa

HI :D

My name is Sara Bitting and I am Iota’s Vice President this semester!

I am here to entertain you with NINE (Chicka chickaw!!) random facts about me that you may not know!

1.      I collect rubber ducks!

(This is not even one-fourth of my collection…)

2.      When I was five, my older sister bet me I couldn’t stick a button up my nose. I courageously accepted the challenge! And had a nice fine trip to the emergency room as well ;)

3.      When I eat a meal in by myself in public I have to make sure I have three napkins. If I am with a group of people, it’s five napkins. I have my reasons.

4.      During the ages of 6 and 7 I had the high aspiring goals of being an Albertson’s (a grocery store) cashier. That’s all I ever wanted to be when I grew up. 

5.      Until I was older than I am willing to admit, I thought the HOV lane was short for hover lane, as in cars hovering. Don’t ask.

6.      I always have a giant stock of cereal in my house/dorm/apartment. Wherever I am living. I love cereal.

7.      The most disgusting commercial known to mankind is the commercial with the guy eating skittles with his beard. I still have yet to eat skittles since seeing that commercial.

8.      For anything that I have to write, like this blog post, I have to write it on notebook paper first, and then type it. If I try to type it first then I will never get anything accomplished. I will just stare at a blank sheet, but if I write it takes me no time at all.

9.      When people tell me their name for the first time, I spell it in my head. If I don’t know how to spell it, it really bothers me and I have to ask.

These nine facts truly make me the member of Tau Beta Sigma that I am today. I would never be confident in any elections or just in general if I never stuck the button up my nose. 

Ok I hope you think I am kidding.

Actually, I attribute the reason to all my sisters in my organization, now and in the past, especially though my MC Class SUGAR RUSH and my freaking awesome trainer Brittany (Hanley) Graham! She did such an incredible job for all of us and she kept pushing and trying her absolute best to make us the most incredible members she could. (I mean, she did perfect – look at Sugar Rush now ;)) I definitely would not be the member I am today without her wonderfulness. 

Flashback:

MLITB,

Sara