The expressions, text messages, phone calls, and overwhelming positive attitudes and level of charisma from the brothers and I was phenomenal. The text I received from John Colon, our Chapter President, ” My Bros., @ 5:12pm today David Saks, the new ZBT Associative Director called me personally telling us that our Charter was officially granted!” We had found out on Tuesday unofficially, but today it was officially. We have made so many long strides and efforts this year that this was remarkable. Our campus advisor, Paul Turner, has been very supportive to the fraternity throughout the year. He is a constant vide of positivity and can be seen grilling at our tailgates or any time we have a BBQ.

It’s great to be a ZBT!

I have been going to professional development conferences since I was a sophomore. I have also had the unique opportunity to be part of a variety of student affairs associations. What makes NACA special to me is the warm welcome that was created since we got here on Friday. The members of the board of the directors and the convention committee continuously have gone out of their way to make us feel inclusive and part of the team.

It is pretty sad to know that the convention is almost over. Student Activities conventions level of energy and enthusiasm drives me to continue my graduate program within this specialized area. All of us interns have really bonded within the past five days and have connected really well. We came here on Friday, only having done email and phone correspondence, and today we are leaving close friends. The impact that an organization can have on you is immeasurable. Thank you NACA!

We had about 12 different acts. Just before the show someone came up to me really wanting the opportunity to participate and that he wasn’t in town when the forms were due. Never pushing someone away from being involved I told him to get ready because he would be the last one performing.

I went to the store earlier to get food for about 50 people. I asked all of the performers to enter into the caf to test the mics, staging, and the piano. When we opened up the doors I couldn’t believe what I saw…students pushed through the doors like the opening of a theme park. Students kept coming in. This was incredible. We never expected this many people to come. I truly believe that because students were part of the event that people came out to see their friends. We had 138 people in attendance. It was a huge success.

1st Place $300 Cash- Aijun Sung (Singing and Guitar)

2nd Place $200 Cash- Jory Block (Magic)

3rd Place $100 Cash- Timea Varga (Dancing) & Rob Brenner (Singing)

I have been waiting for this event for so long. KAT looked at bringing it to campus last year, but because of liability reasons general counsel decided it wasn’t the best idea. This year they granted us permission and the event was a huge success. Since we started at 11am there has been lines to check out this great experience.

We started off doing sign ups with groups of six, but it wasn’t working because people were not there when their team was going. We went into first come first serve, but I started just a general list because it was a challenge to determine who was there first. People were so excited to do it. My ears are still ringing though. I had ear plugs in, but it was really loud.

It really felt like you were flying in the sky. It would have been neat if they let go of your pants so you could fly to the top, but it was amazing. I would definitely bring it back next year.

 

Sean, our current advisor dressed up like the show Rocky Horror Show. It was absolutely hysterical. It brought some comedy to the boardroom. The other advisor, Steve Crudup, did his bid them on Transformers. The NCCs (National Communications Coordinators), basically the voice for their institution, couldn’t vote on which advisor to choose. One advisor had to win by a simple majority (50%+1) which neither could do. We re-voted four times until I read the constitution more clearly and declared this a vacancy. We didn’t get out until 1:45 and had to be back by 2:15. Lunch was rushed, I don’t even think I had time to digest.

I was going to wear my pink tie, white shirt, and pin striped pants for the banquet. The NCCs decided to criticize my shirt in the boardroom (blue/white stripes with the white cuffs and collar) so I decided to go PINK!

Anyways…got to go finish getting ready!

Once we got seated we were squished into a booth with six people. I am really small, but the others we were with are bigger and the booth wasn’t the best option, but we would have had to wait a long time for a table. The table conversation got heated when Jo, the director, brought up being late. Larry continued to question the reason for not appologizing. Will wanted to know when does a bathroom trip go bad because that was there excuse for being late, and I just wanted to know when our steak fries were coming because I was getting a headache from not eating any food. Earlier Jo had asked if anyone wanted an appetizer and everyone said no. Eventually Jo got pissed and remained silent. Then Larry asked her, are you pissed we didn’t want an appetizer (already knowing why she was mad)? 

Red Robin is known for its burgers, and they were delicious. I got a bacon guacamole burger and it was amazing. The fries were steak fries and they were very good too. We just kept getting refills on the fries.