Running for Sara

Growing up I was always immersed into sports and the outdoors. My two older sisters started the trend, the middle one taking it to new heights by becoming a collegiate diver for the University of Louisville and participating in triathlons and ultra-marathons (which she placed in without much training). However, even though both my older sisters picked up a love for running starting really young, it had never been my thing. I hated running so much that in soccer I made sure I was the goalie just so I wouldn’t have to run. It wasn’t until college that I really found my love for running.

What truly got me started in running was feeling lost at the gym. I’m the girl who needs to have someone to work out with because I need to be told what to do (one of the reasons I love workout videos and personal trainers). When running I could avoid the gym altogether. I refuse to do treadmills unless forced (bad experience as a kid, my tip for you: don’t see how fast the treadmill goes and then hop on at that high speed, you will regret it) and running in circles bores me so running is only enjoyable for me if it’s outside.

I don’t really remember falling in love but, knowing me, I probably just told myself how much fun I was having while running (even though I probably hated it) and I started to believe it. Once I fell in love though I realized how perfect of a workout it was for me. I’m a very non-confrontational person when it involves sports. Example: when I play flag football I feel bad for grabbing the other person’s flag (I wish I could give them the ball and let everyone score but I don’t think my teammates would appreciate that). I just want everyone to have fun and not be frustrated and when I run I am having fun. Over time it has also turned into “me time” and a chance to get away from daily stressors.

When I started college I “run a marathon before I graduate” to my bucket list. My first three years flew by while I developed my love/hate relationship for running (loved it more than I hated it) without any marathon opportunities. Well then summer 2015 rolled around and I realized how close I was to graduating without crossing that one goal off my bucket list. I started researching marathons religiously and I stumbled upon the Disney marathon. Immediately I knew it was the one and my parents signed me up as a birthday gift.

If you’re a senior, you know how hectic your schedule can get. With 18 hours and an internship on my plate, I pushed my training to the back burner. I had set a half marathon as a checkpoint for me. On Halloween I ran the Monster Dash Half. Training hadn’t really been a thing and I ended up getting injured for my stupidity. Nothing serious but I was in a boot for the month of November. December came around which meant finals were happening, break happened, and no training was done over this period other than my regular runs for pleasure. I talked to my parents about it and after discussing it, we all believed it would be best if I didn’t run the Disney marathon.

January 1st came and we lost a friend, a sister. Out of all the people I had told about my marathon, Sara seemed the most excited for me. She kept telling me I was going to have so much fun and that she was really impressed that I was going to do it. After she died, I knew I had to run this race. I couldn’t let all the support I had received from her go to waste! Then before I knew it I was on a plane for Orlando (still without any training).

I’m a child at heart so I loved this marathon. This marathon lets all the runners run through all the parks in Disney with characters along the way to take pictures with and if you’re really fast (which I am not) you can even hop on a ride and then get back to the race. The castle was lit up as well and it was so magical and cheesy and wonderful. I had a blast running the race up until about mile 20 when my lack of training kicked in. I started hobbling and wanted to quit but I remembered Sara’s words of encouragement (they just popped into my head, it was kind of weird) and that’s what kept me going.

Running across the finish line, I felt so accomplished. I had turned something that I initially hated into an accomplishment without any training. (But by the way, train if you’re going to run a marathon. Trust me.)

After taking one item off my bucket list, I’ve added another. I hope to run a half marathon distance or more in all 50 states. I’ve checked two states off already and in April I’ll fly back home to Kansas and do another half marathon (it’s Wizard of Oz themed, how ironic). This means that my journey of running includes at least 47 more long distance runs. Although this is a big goal to accomplish, I am excited to see where it takes me and I’ll always be running for Sara.

Rachel Knapp, PC Spring '13

We Live the Creed

There is so much beauty, and life, and goodness in the world but it is sometimes buried deep and can be hard to find. This line of our creed has always meant a lot to me because when I was growing up, I didn’t always see the value in myself. It’s something I’ve always struggled with and it’s held me back from great opportunities more than a few times (in fact it almost kept me from joining Greek life at all) because I just thought I wasn’t good enough. But every day I see my sisters live by our creed and embody this line. I have never met a group of more diverse and openhearted young women. They saw the good in me when I struggled to and they welcomed me with open arms.

In our chapter not only do we look for the good in everyone, we help them find it within themselves. We come together to find the good in everyone, to empower each other, to see beauty with its enriching influence, and to be humble in success and without bitterness in defeat. As Zetas, we find the good in everyone to better ourselves, our sisterhood, and the world around us. And we find the good in everyone because we know Love is the greatest of all things.

The world get tough but with sisters to support you every step of the way it can be greater than you ever imagined. You just have to look for the good.

Maud Jones Horner, Risk Reduction 

The St. Bernard Project

I spent my spring break in New Orleans, Louisiana and it was one adventure filled week. At first glace you might think I went to NOLA for bourbon street, St. Patrick’s Day and all the spring break festivities however, I decided to go to New Orleans for a different reason.

  I made the 8.5-hour trip (well actually 11 because the rain caused floods) to the gulf town with UNT Alternate Spring Break, more specifically with UNT Greek Life. Our community partner was St. Bernard’s Project, which is a nonprofit aimed at the rebuilding of devastated homes from hurricane Katrina and Rita. They have two categories of rebuild: owner occupied and opportunity housing. With all of the homes ruined during these disasters, one of the most affected populations was the low-income renters. New Orleans is still unable to supply the demand of housing, so rent has nearly tripled since 2005. A new project through St. Bernard’s Project called “opportunity housing” fixes homes for these low-income families to purchase a home at a reduced price with options of renting and rent-to-own as well. Their motto is “to bring people home” because their sole goal is to provide someone affordable housing that was displaced in the aftermath of a disaster. It has been over 10 years since Katrina but there is still a great need in the area of New Orleans. As you drive you can still see vacated homes, destroyed buildings and water lines over ¾ on homes and city buildings.  

*Fun Fact: St. Bernard’s Project is now a national nonprofit partnered with AmeriCorps that has stations in Texas, Missouri, Louisiana, New York and New Jersey that rebuilds affected homes in the wake of hurricanes, floods and tornados.*

Reading this you might wonder why someone would give up time I could be at the beach to go on a service trip. For me though, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I decided to apply for this trip first because it was with Greek Life. The people I ended up going with are from IFC, PanHellenic, MGC and NPHC representing 9 chapters in total. I wanted to get connected with people form all branches of Greek life and to meet new people I otherwise wouldn’t get the opportunity to. 

The second reason I went on this trip was to help learn about disasters, their impact on communities. As an emergency planning major, I was excited to see if this is something I can see myself working with more in the future. The actual work is something I never have experienced before. Our Site-Sup, Anna, taught us how to tile floors, hang doors, and clear grout lines. I was teamed up with Barrett and our job for all 4 days was to finish tiling the shower and the floor of the downstairs bathroom. By the end of each day, cement was all over us (tiling is a lot harder than you would think). But through it all, we had fun and I learned a lot about myself. I am so proud to have left that house better than we found (especially that bathroom because it is beautiful).

            We worked in the mornings and had a chance to adventure around NOLA giving the trip a great balance of heard work and great fun! Getting to know everyone on the trip and exploring a city I have never been to made the trip even better and I would recommend the program to anyone in the future. I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my spring break any other way and can honestly say it has changed my life and perspective on the world.

Roni Fraser, PC Fall ‘15

We Live the Creed

For me, the line of our creed speaks about walking a mile in each other’s shoes. To understand means to listen to each other and genuinely try to see other people's perspectives instead of staying in your comfort zone and being open to what others feel and have to say. Being able to experience the world around you and be open to what it has to offer gives you the opportunity to be wise in the decisions you make. It also means being understanding with your sisters. If we are ignorant to the differences between people we cannot expect to gain positive experience in the world. We all come from such different backgrounds and with the right attitude we can achieve great things. Everyone has something fun and new to offer and as we explore the details of the ideals and founding of our chapter in our Zeta journey we have to be open to thinking of the world through different lenses.

Ethel Coleman van Name, Ritual

We Live the Creed

"To prepare for service and learn the nobility of serving, thereby earning the right to be served," is probably the line of the creed that has always most resonated with me. I am definitely known for being active in the community and always want the opportunity to give back. It is so rewarding and amazing to watch what you do benefit someone else.

This is also a line from the creed that I see my chapter uphold on a daily basis. Of course being in Greek Life is fun, but if anyone thinks that all we do is have date parties and formal, they have something to learn. Our philanthropy, Breast Cancer Education and Awareness, is part of the core of who we are nationally and something our sisters are incredibly passionate about. Every semester we do as much as we can for the opportunity to educate other young women and raise money for the cause.

Through it all, my favorite part of our philanthropy would definitely have to be when we get to be active in philanthropy events like ACS walks where we get to be survivor ambassadors and interact with those directly effected by breast cancer. The women I have had the honor of meeting are so strong and have overcome so much more than I could ever imagine. As women, this is something that touches us all in some way and at the end of the day we are truly working to better the world for each other. 1 in 8 women will be affected by breast cancer in their lifetime meaning that out of the 109 women in the Gamma Phi chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha at UNT, statistically about 14 of my sisters will get breast cancer. A sad but serious fact but something that makes the philanthropic work we do even more important.

Even apart from our nationally philanthropy, my sisters take every advantage of the volunteer opportunities in our communities. Each semester, we complete over 1,200 hours of volunteer work aside from the time we spend raising money and awareness for breast cancer. This week is spring break and as many college students around the US are partying on beaches, a group of my sisters are volunteering as a part of the Alternative Spring Break program. They are dedicating their one week away from classes to help rebuild homes in New Orleans and I think that is miraculous. 

I don’t truly believe that anyone can earn the right to be served but I do believe that if we do as much as we can, we can hope for our future sisters and the women around us to help us in our own times of need. There are few people in my life that I have seen work as hard as my sisters and I am so proud to be a part of such a dedicated organization and support group.

Kayla Piper, Academic Achievement