Sing

Posted on March 18, 2014 by alicroom

By Ashley Woo

Here at Baylor, the end of February and beginning of March can only mean two things: Spring Break is coming up, and Sing is FINALLY here. For those of you who don’t know what All-University Sing (or Sing for short) is, I am here to give you the 411 on all things Sing – and just a forewarning, it is a really really big deal.

One of the oldest traditions at Baylor, All-University Sing is one of the largest off-Broadway productions in the nation and has been performed by fraternities and sororities at Baylor since 1953. In fact, Sing celebrated its 60^th anniversary last year! Members of each fraternity and sorority elect several chairs, who are in charge of developing the organization’s act for that particular Sing season. Every year a couple organizations opt to pair up with each other, but generally, organizations decide to rely on their own strengths to create a winning act.

The big thing about Sing is the theme. Sing chairs develop their acts with their producers for more than four months, but they must keep everything a secret. In fact, chapters usually don’t find out their theme until a couple weeks before the first practice or, in some cases, DURING the first practice! Even then, Sing chairs stress the importance of keeping the themes a secret until the opening night of the show. During Sing season (early January to the end of February), each organization practices for several hours almost every day. When it gets closer to the performances, weeks are filled with dress rehearsals, audio techs, open stages and other rehearsals to make sure that you are as prepared as you can be. It is during that time that the Sing chairs really see what works in the act and what might need to be tweaked. And then…after two months of hard work and countless hours practicing to perfect every move, you get to perform six times on the stage of Waco Hall. These performances are judged, and the top eight acts are given an invitation to perform at Pigskin, which is a show during Homecoming weekend. In addition, the top three acts are given awards as well as a variety of People’s Choice Awards.

This year, my sorority’s Sing theme was Egypt, specifically titled, “Take Me Through the Pyramids.” My favorite part of the costume was definitely the wig. It was fun to see everyone with short black hair! In the end, Tri Delta was awarded with 2nd place and received a Pigskin invitation. Of course, we were all so excited that we were able to represent our chapter in such an incredible manner. However, my favorite part about Sing was definitely being able to spend time with all my best friends performing on the Waco Hall stage. Sing is such a unique and incredible tradition that only happens at Baylor. Being able to participate in such a wonderful part of Baylor’s history and has truly deepened my love for my school.

Friend – noun – \’frend\ – Emily Pate.

Posted on March 4, 2014 by alicroom

By Patara Williams

That lexicographer guy…I think his name was Webster said, “A friend is a person you like or enjoy being with”…I defined it as such: “Emily Pate.”

I met Emily at a church event called “Connection Weekend,” during the first semester of my freshman year.

Spring 2011 Snow Day (Freshman Year) – I promise that we’re normal.

Fast-forward four years, and at this very moment, I am sitting in Moody Library studying with her, feeling utterly elderly. As we near the close of our undergraduate studies, we suppress the onset of the inevitable…separation.

I must concur with Webster’s explanation of friend, but I must also say that once the noun in question becomes a personal pronoun, it also begins to possess extraordinary qualities.

Emily has found a way to squeeze innumerable memories into an unbelievably short time span of four years.

Late Night Fro Yo Run!

Experiences include, but were definitely not limited to making snow angels, fro yo adventures, retreats, dinners, life and death experiences, and she has even acted as a catalyst in spiritual life.

Don’t you hate it when people say trite stuff like “Your college years are going to be the best years of your life!”?

Yeah…me too.

I hate it even more when they’re right.

To be totally honest, I did not come to Baylor searching for new friends. I am an introvert…(with extrovert tendencies). All this to say:

Be yourself.
People will laugh at your jokes – Even if you thought no one thought you were funny.
Someone out there shares your interests as well – Even if you only like to watch “The Big Bang Theory” for four consecutive hours.

I have begun to learn how strategic God is in placing who He wants in our lives when He wants them there. You don’t have to force yourself to make friends, they’ll come; and when they do, sow into those friendships because in due time, you will reap a good harvest!

Experiencing Sing

Posted on February 14, 2014 by alicroom

By Laura Teague

As the last two weekends of February draw closer and closer, people start talking about funny things like Girl Scouts and Mad Hatters or Boxing and Museums. This is the time when everyone starts guessing the themes of each group’s act in All-University Sing. Don’t get too excited – these are all past acts from the time I’ve been here at Baylor, but soon enough, this page as well as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram will be full of pictures of people in crazy make-up and costumes.

It’s amazing to watch an act come together in a few short weeks, due to the hard work and planning of the Sing chairs over the past year. These students work tirelessly on the choreography, song choice, costumes, backdrop and everything else in between. It’s a lot of hard work. I can’t imagine the joy the Sing chair feel after they know their group just KILLED their act on Waco Hall stage.

Every year, we all compete to see who will have the honor of performing again during Homecoming weekend at Pigskin, which is something ∆∆∆ is working very hard for this year! I hope some of y’all are planning on coming down this year to see Sing, but if not, it needs to go on your Baylor Bucket List. No matter if you’re just going to see it or performing with an organization, there really is nothing like it. We got to try on our costumes for practice in Waco Hall last night, and I hope y’all are just as impressed as I was seeing our whole chapter ready to perform!

Here is the Sing montage from last year to get you pumped – I may or may not have watched it five times already since Sing practice started.

Gone Fishin’

Posted on February 12, 2014 by alicroom

By Emily Woodby

As I’ve said before, Baylor is awesome for many reasons, including its commitment to service. As students, we are told to make a difference in our new community and give back to our surroundings. This is a big factor in all clubs on campus and definitely a big part of Greek life.

This past weekend was Kappa Omega Tau’s Fishery event. They rent out the fair grounds and host a carnival of sorts for the special needs community of Waco. Members of all of the sororities and other clubs come to help with booths and hang out with all of the visitors.

My friend’s name was Laura, and she was an absolute joy to be around. It was so great to be reminded of the difference we can make in people’s lives, even if it’s just hanging out with them for a day. I especially enjoyed the day because it was a chance to get to know my new member class on a deeper level – something about community service naturally brings people together. Overall, Fishery was a great success and an amazing thing to be a part of!

Only at Baylor: Student Christmas Greeting Cards!

Posted on January 28, 2014 by alicroom

By Frances George, a Baylor parent

Welcome to second semester! For the parents of prospective students reading this, I understand how you feel right about now: Huge, life altering decisions are facing your darlings, and you want to make sure the trajectory of their life’s ambitions are perfectly on course when next August rolls around. I know. I’ve been there…twice and still have one to launch from the nest into college just two years from now.

Rest assured, if your student chooses Baylor, they will have chosen well! So many things make Baylor an outstanding academic choice but as you know, college is about more than just the academics. I addressed that in my December blog. Character and legacy are components as well that should enter into your equation.

What, you ask, makes Baylor even more of a stand out than superior academic possibilities and the sense of community the students receive from faculty as well as newly made friends?

A Christmas Greeting Card!

When our daughter came home for Christmas break, her room, with remarkable speed, was so messy it looked like a bomb had gone off. Clothes everywhere, unmade bed, notes and gifts from Baylor friends and Christmas cards – full fledged photographs and professionally printed greetings from “named” dorm rooms and houses where upperclassmen live! I had to take a double take. It was true. Neatly placed on top of all the “stuff” that came from one (big) suitcase, were Christmas greeting cards from classmates with her own house picture on top! The boys had clearly taken time to stage, pose and have printed cards with greetings, addressed and mailed to the girls. Our daughter’s little green cottage of girls had done the same; standing on the porch, tastefully decorated with Christmas lights inside the house and out, were three wrapped “boxed” presents (the three girls) with enormous wrapping bows in their hair. Say “Sic ‘Em”! There was a professionally printed and handwritten greeting along with a beautiful verse of Christmas scripture printed on the back of each card…from the boys as well as the girls. What other school has students who do this? What other school has this kind of community that celebrates the season…the real reason for the season…with “family” members in dorms and in cottages scattered throughout a few streets of the college community? I have never seen this kind of university community. I have seen the lovely cards sent from the university front office (Baylor’s was lovely, for the record) from around the country but none from students to students! It made me smile.

When I mentioned this to our daughter, she said, in such casual stride (as if every school in the nation must do this), “Of course we send cards. It’s what family does!”

I hope this cheerful blog makes you smile and gives you a window in the type of university Baylor is and can be for your student.

Praying for you as you begin make life’s trajectory choices! Oh yes, academics are so very important, but a sense of family is very near the top in our house! Baylor accomplishes both and so much more, setting your student on the right course, unlike any other.

Go Greek!

Posted on January 15, 2014 by alicroom

By Torie Abbott

Spring semester brings about all sorts of changes: a new set of classes, a refreshing start following the break, more basketball games, baseball season and beautiful weather. However, spring semester also brings about another buzz on campus: Baylor Spring Recruitment. More than 800 young women, along with the members of all eight Panhellenic chapters, returned to Waco and Baylor University a week prior to classes beginning for rush. As a sophomore sorority woman, it was my first time to participate in the recruitment process from the other side of things.

Coming into Baylor University from high school, spring recruitment seemed like a big disappointment. The first semester of my freshman year, the pictures of my high school friends moving to their respective colleges and immediately joining the Greek system taunted me. It felt as though first semester drug on and on. Over the last year, however, I have been able to get a better understanding of the Greek system here at Baylor and what I have discovered shocks me; second semester recruitment is gift from God!

It is so nice to have an entire semester for PNMs (potential new members) to get to know numerous sorority women from various groups, and for these groups to get to know the PNMs in return. Not only that, but it also gives the PNMs and opportunity to find their own space at Baylor. You develop friendship with all kinds of people and establish a lager network within the university. You also truly find out if going Greek is for you, and if it is, you discover the groups to which you feel you belong.

Another year of recruitment is in the books! A whole new set of new members will embark on their own journey through the Greek system, and believe me…it was worth the wait!

My Baylor Journey

Posted on December 21, 2013 by alicroom

By TJ Partida

So, I only have a couple of days left before I walk the stage at the Ferrell Center when I will receive my diploma from our incredible president and chancellor, Judge Ken Starr. I’ve been fortunate enough to get hired with my housing complex next spring, so I can take some time to breathe and get myself ready for the real world after graduation. Since this blog post will be my last with Baylor Admissions, it’s time to reflect on a few memories. It’s a long one, so bear with me!

I’ll start by saying that one of the best memories I’ve ever had as a student was when we became Big XII Football Champs at our last game in Floyd Casey Stadium! I definitely cried because it was my senior game, and I got to run the Line one last time as we shut down the “Case.”

That’s me on the far left cheering with some of my best friends at the last Homecoming game in Floyd Casey Stadium.

Speaking of which, my first favorite memory of my time here was Line Camp. I still keep in touch with the friends I made that week, and I took that experience with me to the following summer when I served as a Line Camp leader. No matter if you make 20 friends or just one, you’ll definitely have an incredible time learning about our university and its rich tradition.

Here’s a picture of one of my Line Camp groups when I was a leader. My jersey has the 13!

Now, Greek Life at Baylor played a huge role in my college experience here at Baylor. I won’t expand too much on my involvement because you can just read about it here, but I will say that it was an incredible way to view Baylor in a different light. The Greek community is so diverse and an excellent representation of Baylor’s best students. I don’t think going Greek is the only way to enjoy college, but it’s truly is a helpful supplement to your experience.

This is a quick snapshot of me and some of my fraternity brothers at a water crush.

Serving Baylor as a Yell Leader with Spirit Squads was really what provided me with a ton of memories I can carry on after I graduate. As a Yell Leader I was able to cheer on the sidelines for four of our sports teams, make appearances throughout the Baylor and Waco communities and represent the university in more ways than one with my some of my best friends.

There I am in the middle, cheering at my last game in Dallas at the Big XII Women’s Basketball championship game!

And more recently, working for Campus Visits, serving on the Student Recruitment committee with Student Foundation and blogging for Admissions are all experiences that have helped me reflect on my time at Baylor like I’m doing right now. Sharing my experiences with you and other prospective students helps me appreciate my undergraduate experience even more. I’ve come to believe integrity is a leader’s most important attribute. I’ve learned skills I can take to the real world both in Journalism and simply for the work force.

Here I am volunteering at a football game with Student Foundation.

So, by now you’re either exhausted from reading my post or you’re even more excited to get here. Regardless, I hope you make the most of your time in college. Honestly, I hope these aren’t the best years of your life. I do hope they’re the best years to get you ready for the rest of your life. Thanks so much for reading my posts and if you want to stay in touch, add me on social media. You can find my information on my website. I wish you the best on your decision. Sic ‘Em Bears!!!

There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays

Posted on December 9, 2013 by alicroom

By Brooks Goodwin

Well, December has finally arrived. It’s time for bright lights and an assortment of decorations everywhere you look. You can definitely feel the excitement on campus, as students prepare for Christmas on 5^thStreet and look forward to the end of the semester. This time can also be very stressful, with finals looming over you. And somehow, the desire to simply be home for a whole month during winter break seems to grow more each day. So, what I have found to be helpful around this time is to bring a little bit of home with you to Baylor, to give you the little extra push to finish out the semester.

When you think about the holidays, whether that be Christmas or whatever holiday you usually celebrate around this time, there are definitely traditions that you and your family have that make this time of year special. What is pretty cool is to find out the traditions that other people have for the holidays that they feel are special, such as your roommates. This is what I have done with my three roommates from the last two years, and it has been a very nice experience.

My roommates and I talked about the fun things that each of us do with our families during the holidays and decided to bring some traditions to our room here at Baylor. For instance, we were all big on decorating the house, so we all pitched in some money, went out and bought a small Christmas tree, some lights and stockings to bring back to the dorm. We also talked about our favorite Christmas movies and shows and made out a schedule to watch some of them together. We’ve even started some new traditions just as roommates, which is neat in my opinion.

So, here’s the point. Bringing traditions from home and seeing what traditions your roommates have can be a cool experience. It’s fun to see the similarities and differences while also making your dorm/apartment feel more like home. The interesting thing to note is that the place you will live here, and Baylor in general, will become your home too. So, it only makes sense to bring traditions with you, but I also encourage you to make new traditions for your new home with the new people you live with. It makes this time of year so much more fun and rewarding. Not only do I have going home over winter break to look forward to, but I also get to look forward to walking into my room everyday because it really is home. And, there’s no place like home for the holidays.

Serving the Community

Posted on December 4, 2013 by alicroom

By Valonia Walker

I have the awesome opportunity to work where I live. For a year and a half now, I have been a Community Leader here at Baylor. Other schools would call me a Residential Assistant, but Community Leader sounds so much better! When you come into Baylor as a freshman or transfer student your Community Leader (CL) is one of the first people you will meet.

Campus Living & Learning’s definition of a CL is, “a person who serves students in one of Baylor’s residential communities by exemplifying and implementing the policies and values of Campus Living & Learning. The CL provides leadership by fostering community and cultivating relationships, mentoring residents, and facilitating learning through efforts that integrate aspects of diversity, faith development, academics and relationships.”

I have always been very passionate about building relationships with people, and that is the reason I became a Community Leader. College is the best time to meet new people and create meaningful relationships. Since I have been at Baylor, I have had two other work-study jobs, and I think this is by far the best position to have at Baylor.

Even with a full school schedule, I still make time to hang out with my residents. Whether it is having lunch at one of the dining halls or watching The Walking Dead with a few residents on Sundays. Being a CL is much more than “leading the community.” It is being available to your residents when they need you, even if it is 2 a.m. when they are locked out of their bedrooms or 10 p.m. when they want to come over to your apartment to study. Being a community leader has helped me in so many ways. It has helped me grow as a leader, given me practice working with a large staff, forced me to manage my time and allowed me be more intentional with my relationships. All of which are very important in college and in life.

Becoming a CL is probably one of the best opportunities that I have had at Baylor, and I have had some of the best residents. I am sad that this will be my last semester as a CL, but my position has taught me many things that I can take into the real world. And, I am grateful for that.

Miss Green and Gold

Posted on November 19, 2013 by alicroom

By Abby Loop

This month, I had the honor of performing at the first annual Miss Green and Gold Pageant, and it was such a blast! The pageant was founded by Amira Lewally, my roommate. Along with her pageant committee, she worked with the contestants and eventually crowned the first Miss Green and Gold. The girls competed against one another in a talent round, a formal round and an interview round.

This year’s contestants!

It was so much fun to watch from backstage as each girl displayed her talent and poise to the crowd. I was definitely nervous myself as I prepared to perform. I sang “Shake It Out” by Florence and the Machine and had a pretty good performance considering how nervous I was. I’m so glad I got to be a part of history and a part of the first Miss Green and Gold Pageant.

I think many girls are looking forward to participating next year, and I cannot wait to attend again. Anyone can be in it, whether you are a freshman or a senior. It’s a great chance to show the world who you are and what you are about. As I watched the participants practice backstage, I can truthfully say they were having the time of their lives.

The pageant is also a feeder to Miss Texas, so the winner of Miss Green and Gold gets the opportunity to compete at Miss Texas, which feeds into Miss America! I think it’s such a great opportunity, and Baylor is so lucky to have this.

So all you girls coming to Baylor in the future, look into participating in the Miss Green and Gold Pageant! Not only will you make new friends and learn new things, you’ll have the chance to show Baylor what’s special about you.

Baylor Admissions

Who you will become, begins here.

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