Hola from Vanessa!

                                                  (Above: My little Brother and me after she crossed)

Hello Brothers of the Southwest District!!! This is my first post to this blog, actually a blog in general, so I'm new to this but I am super excited to document my experiences,travels, and much more during my time on council this year.

First off let me tell a little about myself. I am a Senior Music Education and Clarinet Performance major and I attend Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma, otherwise known as windmill country. I crossed into this great fraternity in Spring 2011 and since have been extremely active within my chapter as well as within the Southwest District. I served as SWD Co-Member-at-Large during the 2012-2013 year and I now once again have the opportunity to serve my District for the 2013-2014 year. Aside from serving bands, I also enjoy hanging out with my friends, reading, writing, and playing with my cat, Mackey. (Yes, I named him after John Mackey, ha)

To strive, has several meanings for me personally and being a member of this fraternity has shaped the meaning for myself throughout these past few years. Now as I come to know it and going through certain experiences, I believe to strive means to first, better one's self and to achieve their greatest possible potential. Working and being apart of this fraternity allows for us to to reach this potential. Each one of us can do great things if we "Strive for the Highest" in all that we do.

The upcoming year is one going to be awesome and I can't wait to get the ball rolling. Also, I hope to see you all at CLC this Saturday!!

AEA Vanessa Delgado

District Caucus

Take a look at the SWD Caucus at the 2013 National Convention.

We gather again as a district for the last time! The wonderful Toni Castle, our district Governor, has supplied us all with delicious chocolate and we are already ten minutes ahead of time. 

Tonight we will be voting, reviewing national candidates and finishing up our business for the year. These representatives have done a great job this week. Thank you for all of the brothers who have attended this amazing convention. Take everything you have learned back to your chapters and continue to make the Southwest District the best district in the fraternity. :) 

Chapter Leadership Conference is only about a week away! We want ALL of you there. You do not have to be an officer to attend. We will have workshops for everyone while you are here. It will be held on August 3rd at Tarleton State University. If you live a far distance away, we have housing for you. To reserve your spot, contact me (swdvp@kkpsi.org) or Scott Sergeant (swdvpcm@tbsigma.org). There is not a lot of space, so contact us early!

We're the BIGGEST, we're the best, we are the Southwest! AEA

SWD Goals

Your SWD Council has had the opportunity to share and explore our goals with the Student Advisory Committee!

Take a look at just a few of our goals - what are some of the goals that you have for you chapter? For your office?

We're having a great time at National Convention! We are proudly representing the Southwest District!

Josh

iPsi

Josh, Helen, and I took the time to represent the SWD in the Interactive Psi presentation at NatCon! This poster will be taken to various district events through the year for you to see. A big thank you to Nicole Ballinger, president of the Mu Lambda chapter for designing our poster! 

The poster includes information on what we have accomplished in the past biennium and what our plans are for the upcoming year as SWD Council. We highlighted the SWD conventions and listed the fifty-seven chapters that make up the greatest district in Kappa Kappa Psi. 

A Tale of Unfortunate Events

My goodness, what a ride the past day has been. As the six people from HPU were sitting on our first plain out of Austin to Dallas, the pilot speak over the intercom to inform the passengers of an issue. The right engine on the plain will not start. Great. After waiting for about thirty minutes, we were told to exit the plain. Our flight was canceled. From this point on, our day was completely twisted into a complicated mess! Also, we have two NIB participants with us who now are going to miss their auditions. We wait in line to find another flight and were told to drive to Dallas to make a 12:30 flight. So, we are on our way and a wreck has caused a traffic jam in I-35. We miss the second flight. The phone calls commence to schedule another flight. We finally get a plan figured out and begin to prepare. However, only two of our members were actually scheduled to fly. We call again. After an hour on the phone (about 35 minutes of that on hold) we FINALLY book our spot on a plain to Hartford, Connecticut. Our departure was at 7:15pm and we arrived in Hartford at 10:15 (11:15 Eastern time). After a long day, KKPsi - Zeta Beta and TBSigma - Delta Upsilon are finally in Springfield, Mass for National Convention. This, my friends, is a true test of Murphy's Law. For future reference, it is worth the money to fly the day before you need to be somewhere. :)

Though the first flight was completely messed up, American Airlines did a good job accommodating us as we went. Many people helped us along the way and we were truly blessed!

I need to publicly thank Tyler Cox, president of the Alpha Tau chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi, and the many brothers and sisters who contributed for their AMAZING hospitality and service to all of us. Through our entire adventure in Austin, they were there when we called. That is a testament of true brotherhood and we all should strive to be more like that. 

Hope to see you here in Massachusetts. Join The Revolution!!!

AEA,

Allen

SWD VP

DLC Day 1 - 7/21/13

       (National Convention Name tag) 

So with this years' National Convention  in Springfield, Massachusetts, our District Leadership Conference (DLC) was also held here at the Sheraton. First off, I arrived on Saturday to a beautiful location. Everything is really close by and on reach of the hotel. I couldn't have asked for a better location so far. I got to meet some of the other District Presidents and it was off to a great start. I had dinner that night with Toni (SWD Governor), Heather (SWD ΤΒΣ President), Patrick (MWD President) and Jered (active brother from Δ). We ate at this great pizza place about 7 blocks from the hotel called Red Rose Restaurant and Pizzeria. If you ever come to Springfield, which I hope to see a lot of you soon, go to this place. You will be thoroughly pleased.  

(The remains of the pizza from Saturday)

DLC actually started on Sunday around 2 and from the start I began to grow as an active, an officer and a person. Christine Beason and Nicole Sanchez have done a wonderful job in planning this event and keeping it as unexpected as possible. I've learned about myself and my personal goals and how I can bring it all together to better the district. Working with all the present National Council, including IPP Derrick Mills and Dr. Malinda Matney have been great experiences that I will remember for a lifetime and it's only the first day! 

I'm excited for all the things Toni, John and I have been working on this weekend for the district and can't wait to work with Heather on our joint projects. My goal this year is to be as transparent as possible and I believe DLC will help with that. I have truly began a new journey here and have already made lifelong friendships with people all over the country because of our bond...music. 

I can't wait for convention to began and the shenanigans to occur!! Hope to see you all soon in Springfield so we can "Join the Revolution"! 

Always Striving and MLITB,  

Helen 

Swdpres@kkpsi.org

@KKPsiSWDPres

Insights on Allen

(Above: Me pictured at the France vs. Japan Olympic Soccer game)

Greetings, brethren! I hope you will find this blog to be a useful tool for you. As we journey through the year as the SWD Council, we will be sharing the adventure with you. For the first posts, we are introducing ourselves and shedding light on why we call the blog "Five Who Strive."

My name is Allen Andrus and I am your SWD Vice President. I am currently a student at Howard Payne University and plan to graduate in May with a Music Education degree. Alto saxophone is my primary instrument, while I also have experience in flute, voice, and piano. I come from Anson, Texas, a small farm town near Abilene. I have lived in the same house my entire life and have never had to go through the process of moving. 

The word "strive", in the fraternal sense, depicts a never-ending journey. To me, striving for something means you have your heart set upon something and your give everything you have to reach it. Whether it is painful or joyous, striving doesn't cease. Taking from our motto, we have to "Strive for the highest". However, we cannot define where the highest is. Once we reach a goal, we have then set ourselves to another level higher. Which, in turn, makes our perception of "the highest" grow.

As a man of God, my views on what is highest has been given to me. However, the struggle to reach the highest is a constant battle within. 

We want to help you in any way we can. Contact any one of us for assistance whenever you need! I hope to see you in Springfield, Massachusetts at National Convention.

AEA,

Allen Andrus

SWD Vice President

swdvp@kkpsi.org

@swdvp

Blogging Excellence: Striving

(above: My little, Graham, and myself at DCI Denton. Go Cavs!)

 

Brothers of the Southwest District – Welcome to the shiny, new blog! We will use this throughout the year to bring you all information, testimonies, advice, and even enlightening moments throughout the year. Our brotherhood would be nothing without communication, so feel free to comment and discuss along with us!

My name is Josh Stickney. I am a senior Political Science, Pre-Law major at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK. In addition to Kappa Kappa Psi, I am also a member of a social fraternity and  several political groups on campus. I am originally from Edmond, OK and I have two loving parents, Mike and Lynn, and two siblings, Michael and Sarah. I am primarily a clarinet player, but I play saxophone in the Pride of Oklahoma. I am an avid distance runner, coffee connoisseur, and amateur cook.

The word ‘strive’ strikes several emotions for me. First, I will forever and always hear the word and associate it with our great fraternity motto – “Strive for the Highest”. As I’m sure you can all relate, the word is intangible, but there is a satiating feeling I get when I am working, serving, or playing in the name of the fraternity. There is no greater feeling than when we are striving for what we know is good. The second thing I picture when I hear ‘strive’ is the true definition of the word. Dictionary.com lists several definitions, but the most vivid is this:

            To struggle vigorously, as in opposition or resistance: to strive against fate.

This immediately made me think about what in life we as brothers are struggling or fighting against. School? Family? Money? Ourselves? While this is very introspective, it gives us a chance to really reflect on all that the fraternity has given us. Yes, we struggle with chaos every day. Any yet when we circle up to sing, or we are chatting with brothers, or we attend a convention – those struggles leave us. We become focused on something large than ourselves.

As a person of faith, I cannot help but mention the parallels between the teachings of our fraternity and the teachings of my own beliefs. We should continue to strive and battle for the right, the good, the worthy, the worthwhile, the honorable. We should do more than just concern ourselves with our own well-being and consider what is important to those around us. Remember, you are never struggling alone – you have a whole heap of brothers there at your side.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. If you have any topics you’d like discussed, let us know! I’d love to hear your thoughts on any and everything!

AEA

 

Josh Stickney

swdcomal1@kkpsi.org

On Twitter: SWDCoMAL

Greetings from La Presidenta!

Hey ya'll!!! This is my first blog post EVER and it's all about me!!! I'm so excited to serve as your SWD President for the coming year and all the adventures we'll have! So without further a due...

Name: Helen Ruth Moore
Office: Southwest District President
Chapter: Eta Nu (Holstein Cows!!!)
School: Southeastern Oklahoma State University (GO SAVAGE STORM!!!!!)
Major: Instrumental Music Education
Instrument: Horn (because its awesome)
Interesting Fact: I had a pet turtle named Antigone. Should've kept it and given it to the sisters!!!! 

What "Strive" means to me?
To go above and beyond what is expected of you and what you expect of yourself. Only you can hold yourself from the greatness you can achieve. 

I hope you enjoy our random posts and awesome epic awesome adventures and stories will have to tell! Can't wait to see the Southwest represent at NatCon!!

Always striving,

Helen 

SWDPres@kkpsi.org
@KKPsiSWDPres