don't blink

I cannot believe my sophomore year at Virginia Tech is going to be over in a matter of days. 1 more weekend. 3 more days of classes. Reading day. 2 exams. 1 speech. 1 presentation. 1 paper. Then it's summertime and the livin's easy.

This year has been absolutely unforgettable! So much has happened, but it has all happened so fast! Let's look back at some of the best memories of the 2010-2011 school year through pictures...

I'm glad that I am so adamant about taking pictures and documenting my life. With only a little over a week left as a sophomore, I will be sure to live by the words of Muhammad Ali...

"Don't count the days, make the days count" 

passing the torch

I know, I know...another post about Orientation? It just so happens to be the most exciting thing in my life at the moment, and it hasn't even really started!

Today's training topic was "A Day in the Life of an OL". So instead of meeting in the training room, we met in Squires to briefly walk through what a typical day of Orientation will be like in the summer.

As J.Jo was starting to explain what Orientation will be like, all of OL X (last summer's OLs) secretly snuck up behind us. Then J.Jo pointed to the other side of Squires to continue explaining, so we all turned around and there were the OL Xs holding up our very own OMEGA LAMBDA shirts with our group number and last name on the back.

They were passing the torch. Those group numbers are now in our hands for OL XI. Chills. GROUP 28 WILL DOMINATE!!

The best part was that my big, Anna, was there to pass down my shirt to me (even though she was group 27 last summer).

Anna inspires me to be the best I can be every day, and I am so lucky to be her little. I hope not only to be as good of a big to my little Emily as she has been (and continues to be) for me, but also as amazing of an Orientation Leader. So much to live up to!

i believe...

Earlier this week I saw this quote posted as one of my sorority sister's Facebook statuses, and I thought it was just too perfect. Isn't Audrey Hepburn the greatest? So classy and fabulous.

beautiful blacksburg weekend

Happy Easter everyone! I was blessed to share this beautiful day and weekend in Blacksburg with my family this year. Here is a quick recap of this weekend's events...

FRIDAY NIGHT: RELAY FOR LIFE

Despite the cold and rainy weather that hit Blacksburg on Friday, VTRelay was a huge success!! As a committee member, I spent most of the day setting up the drillfield for the big night. At 4:30, I came back to help set up Team Skeet's onsite fundraiser. 

We sold "Come SKEET (Stop Kancer Each & Every Time) With Us" tanks and sweatshirts, VT/Relay gloves, and all sorts of baked goods. By the end of the night we raised $479.42, which gave Team Skeet a grand total of $5,854.07 raised for the American Cancer Society!

SATURDAY AFTERNOON: VT SPRING GAME

After getting just a few hours of sleep, I had no problem waking up the next morning knowing my family was in route to Blacksburg. They got here around noon, and we walked around campus and ate at West End before the Spring Game at 2:00.

It was so great to have the whole family here with me in Blacksburg this weekend. Especially Mikey since he has NEVER visited me at Tech before this weekend. I can tell he definitely loved the school (almost as much as I do) and he and the rest of the family also loved getting the see the Hokies play some football on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon.

EASTER SUNDAY

This morning I met up with my family back at the Inn at Virginia Tech and we partook in our annual Easter egg/basket hunt that the Easter Bunny left for us. It was a little different having it in a hotel room as opposed to at our house, but it was still a blast! I love that the Easter Bunny still visits us even though we are now a house full of teenagers (even Danny who recently turned 13!!).

After the hunt, we took some family photos. 

Then we went to Easter Mass. Followed by a wonderful brunch at the Inn at 2:00.

Although the weekend flew by, I am so grateful that my family made the trip out to visit me for a couple days. It was a nice getaway from the college lifestyle, especially considering I am about to hit the ground running with finals quickly approaching. But I am not trying to think about that quite yet, instead I am going to continue to enjoy this beautiful Easter Sunday in Blacksburg!

this is a jen davis production...

This was my Orientation group's Campus Resources Presentation that we showed in training today. We started off by being SUPER boring and just reading off facts, and the rest of the OLs and OAs thought that was our presentation. But at the end of our fact-reading, Jen stood up and called us out for giving a HORRIBLE presentation. Then we re-re-remixxxxxed it up and showed this video!

Our group had SO much fun making this vid. From spending hours coming up with lyrics, to filming all over campus on a Sunday afternoon, to editing on a Monday evening (including a taquitos run to 7/11 and some Aaron Carter jamz)...I'd say I have the BEST OL TEAM there has ever been. Look out class of 2015!

neVer forgeT

"While 32 of our friends and classmates are trying to explain to heaven what a Hokie is, I stand here sure in the fact that I wouldn't want to be anything else."

Today marks the 4th year since the horrible tragedy at Virginia Tech. Although most of the students who were here to experience 4/16/07 have now graduated and are no longer a presence on campus, the Hokie community does NOT forget. We will neVer forgeT the 32.

It is never a dull day to remember and live for the 32 beautiful souls we lost 4 years ago. Our Hokies hearts are shining through the rain clouds today here in Blacksburg.

"How do you tell someone that has never been to Blacksburg that a Hokie is not a turkey, that it;s not really even a bird. A Hokie is a state of mind. It's a sense of community. It's a feeling of pride...Being a Hokie is about an unconditional love for our little town tucked away in a deep valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains."

-Rebecca Samuelson 

"We are strong, and brave, and innocent, and unafraid. We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imaginations and the possibilities. We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears, and through all our sadness. We are the Hokies, we will prevail, we WILL prevail, we will prevail, WE ARE VIRGINIA TECH."

-Nikki Giovanni 

a life full of laughter

Yesterday was an awesome, unforgettable, and crazy day. All the fun began at 5:15 when all the OLs and TOGs were instructed to meet in front of Lane Stadium for THE photo shoot. Keep in mind, this is a very important photo that had to be taken. The photo for the "Welcome to Virginia Tech, Orientation Team 2011" poster that is displayed all over Blacksburg during the summer.

So the OLs and TOGs were put into formation and we took the picture...many times. Hopefully my eyes are open in a few of them. I have major problems with keeping my eyes open in pictures for whatever reason. I think I can thank my Mom for that trait.

Once we took the group picture, the OLs stayed for about another 2 hours taking as many ridiculous and cutesy pictures we could think of.

The most daring picture, however, was on top of the VT arch (pictured below). Basically to sit on the ledge, you had to climb up the sides of the arch. I don't do so well with heights. So my team got up there no problem, and where was Christine? I was FREAKING out at the bottom of the arch. However, Jen and the rest of my team kept encouraging me and cheering me on, so I faced my fears and CRAWLED up the arch at snail speed.

The pictures were well worth the trouble. I love my team!

After hours upon hours of smiling and giggling and posing, we headed back to the Dean of Students office to fill out paperwork for summer employment. After some initial chaos trying to fill out the tax forms, we finished up the paperwork and headed over to Hokie Grill for some grub.

We all ate our meals and then Erica and I decided we wanted Cinnabon. But as we were getting up, Erica realized she couldn't find her keys. We frantically searched the booth and her backpack for her keys and could not find them.

Then we thought, oh no they are probably in the Dean of Students office...which was now locked up for the night. So Wes, Sean, Erica, Rob, and I called up Meg and she said she would come and unlock the office for us. We owe her big time! Luckily, Erica's keys were in the office so we thanked Meg and left to head home for the night.

But the craziness didn't end there. As I was driving home, Wes called to tell me this story...

After we left the Dean of Students office, Wes realized as he was driving Sean home that he left a bag he was carrying outside of the office. So the two of them turned back around to go get it, and sure enough, there it was sitting outside. As they were leaving (again), Wes jokingly asked Sean if there was ANYTHING else he had left behind in the office. Sean had all his stuff. But once they got back into the car, Wes realized he had left his backpack in the lounge of the office when we had been filling out our paperwork hours before. It was too late now! Can't call Meg...again. Looks like that 12 page paper was just going to have to wait another night to be written.

TOLM. (Total Orientation Leader Move).

five dysfunctions of a team - greeks giving back 2011

What?

A few weeks ago, I attended my first all-committee meeting for Greeks Giving Back 2011. Greeks Giving Back is a relatively new event to Virginia Tech that is held in October of the Fall semester. In order for this Greek-wide day of community service to take place, the Greeks Giving Back Executive Board has created three committees to assist them with the work that needs to be done before October. These three committees are Fundraising, Logistics, and Student Outreach.

For the past 2 years, I have been on the Student Outreach Committee. The role of this committee is to speak to all Greek organizations on campus and spread awareness about Greeks Giving Back. This year, the committee is composed of one Exec member and about 15 committee members from a handful of Greek organizations. At our first meeting we simply went over the role of each committee member, and what we were expected to do over the course of this semester into next semester as we get closer to Greeks Giving Back.

So What?

Since we are building a new committee, it is important to start considering the team dynamic. Patrick Lencioni’s fable, “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”, composes a model that lays out the five most common dysfunctions as a team. These dysfunctions are all interrelated to each other, meaning that the lack of just one of them could be lethal to the success of any team.

In this model, the first dysfunction that a team must overcome to be successful is absence of trust. Since the Student Outreach Committee for Greeks Giving Back 2011 is still building its teamwork and group dynamic, this is something we definitely need to consider as we continue to meet and assign roles throughout the end of this semester. Without obtaining trust among committee members, we will not be able to overcome other potential team dysfunctions, such as fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and lastly, inattention to results.

Now What?

Since our first Student Outreach meeting as was held as an all-committee meeting, we did not necessarily have time to start working on our team dynamic. However, as we begin to meet as an individual committee and are assigned roles by our Exec member, the team dynamic will begin to form. According to Lencioni, “team members who are not genuinely open with one another about their mistakes and weaknesses make it impossible to build a foundation of trust.” I hope to convey this message to the rest of the committee members by the end of this semester. If we have a strong foundation of trust coming into Fall 2011, I know we will have one of the most successful Greeks Giving Back events yet!

a hokie weekend

WOW, what an awesome weekend to be a Hokie! From The Big Event to SAA Retreat to Hokie Camp Counselor Training, this weekend has definitely served as a reminder of just how much I love this school.

THE BIG EVENT

Saturday morning was The Big Event, basically one BIG community service day at Tech. As Director of Community Service for Alpha Phi, it was my responsibility to create a team for all Alpha Phis and to distribute projects to the girls the morning of.

I worked on 2 awesome projects with Alexandra throughout the day. The first one was for an old woman who literally lived on the top of a mountain. We simply picked up sticks in her yard, and she was so so grateful! It was so fulfilling to get to help out members of the Blacksburg community. She even gave us Klondike bars and Snickers as a thank you. Precious.

The next project was closer to downtown Blacksburg. We raked leaves and spread mulch for a family. This project was a little more time-consuming, but the family and babysitter were outside helping us so it went by a lot faster! By the end of the day I was absolutely exhausted, so I took a well-deserved nap while it thunderstormed for the rest of the afternoon.

SAA RETREAT

This morning was the Spring SAA Retreat. SAA hosts 2 retreats each school year, one in the Fall and one in the Spring. Today, we got Carol Lee Donuts AND Sub Station, played lots of games and icebreakers, and took this awesome SAA pic outside of the Alumni Center.

I have never been in the SAA picture before because for whatever reason, we never took it at the past two retreats I have gone to. So that was an exciting start to my Sunday morning. Oh, the little things!

HOKIE CAMP TRAINING

Now this was hardcore. KJ and I arrived at the amphitheater (never even knew it existed) near the President's house, and I had no idea what to expect. But it was an awesome experience! First, we took session pictures, and a few OL pics too of course. Session 2 is OBVIOUSLY stacked.

Then we got our co-counselors by playing a game where we all had slips of paper that had a word on it and we each had to find the word or name that matched ours. I had Katie Holmes so I had to look for Tom Cruise, and I found my co-couns, Kenneth Byrd!

After that we split up into our color groups (colors=unknown) which are made up of 10 counselors from Session 2 . Our color group's team name is Paparazzi. On the count of 1-2-3 we scream "Paparazzi" and Kenneth gets down on one knee, snapping shots with a fake camera while the rest of the 9 counselors do poses and act like the rockstars that we are. LOVE IT!

We ended training by doing a relay race with our co-counselors. It was fierce and extremely heated (both competition-wise and weather-wise). Although Kenneth and I didn't get first, we were still pretty competitive. I am now SO excited for Hokie Camp in August! HOKIE HOKIE HOKIE HI!

At this point I don't know if there is anything left to say besides...

I.LOVE.VIRGINIA.TECH.

a little inspiration

Whenever I am having a super busy week (aka every week), I like to google inspirational and motivational quotes and look through old pictures that make me smile. Today, I found these...

The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible.

Arthur C. Clarke

Happy hump day everyone!! Keep on chuggin'. It will be sweet summertime before we know it.

ride on!

Today Alpha Phi went on a sisterhood retreat to Carowinds Amusement Park in Charlotte, NC. Let me tell you, I have been in NEED of a retreat! It was so nice to just get out of Blacksburg for a day and enjoy some fun in the sun.

The day started off at 8am when the charter bus arrived at the Alpha Phi house. I made my little sleepover at my place the night before to make sure that I woke up...early mornings are NOT my specialty.

Sure enough, Emily and I show up to the Alpha Phi house and we are dressed identical to KJ and Lindsey. Not intentional, so embarrassing, and SO typical.

After a 3 hour bus ride (much longer than anticipated), we finally made it to Carowinds! We were all so anxious to get off the bus and into the park. But not so fast. Our bus driver didn't quite know where the entrance of the park was, so we drove around for an extra 30 minutes trying to find where to get off. But we finally made it to the bus parking lot and were free!

The first thing we wanted to do was get on an insane roller coaster. So most of the us got in line for Nighthawk. We waited in line for probably over an hour.

Worth it! Literally the scariest roller coaster I have EVER been on. You lay down in your seat and are basically either looking up at the sky or down at the ground/water the whole time. Usually I am a screamer on roller coasters, but this one was so scary I couldn't even scream!!

After that we needed a breather, so we met up with the rest of the aphis and got lunch at Joe Cool's Burgers and Pizza. Gotta love Snoopy themed restaurants!

Next up, more thrill rides! So we headed over to another roller coaster called Afterburn. Let me tell you, this one was WAY more intense than I had anticipated too. It was one where your feet dangle in the air, which I love, but I did not realize how fast it went and how many corkscrews there were. I loved it!

Our next adventure was to go on one of those pirate ships that go back and forth and upside down. So we all get on, and apparently something is wrong with the safety gate. So basically we were stuck in the suffocating lap belts and chest belts for about 20 minutes. People were freaking out! Alexandra, Carly, Victoria, and I remained calm and insisted on staying on the ride. We had already waited so long! But after the 20 minute wait they told us that they had to run maintenance checks, so we couldn't stay on and ride it.

The wind was apparently really strong for Charlotte today, so a lot of the rides (including Intimidator) were closed down due to the strong gusts. We all thought that was really funny because the wind today was nothing compared to the wind tunnel that is Blacksburg, VA.

Oh well! We went on other fun rides instead. Like bumper cars! I love reliving childhood memories at theme parks.

All in all, today was perfect. Nothing beats spending time with amazing sisters in a place as thrilling and happy as Carowinds Amusement Park. Sisterhood.