Epic Weekend

This last weekend was definitely a contender for best weekend of my college career. I was reminded how blessed I am with the friends and opportunities I have here at PSU. Friday capped off Sigma's week of sisterhood with our spring initiation ceremony. Saturday, I spent the morning participating in Hearts and Hammers. It is a community service project the technology department runs to help with building projects and fixing up houses in the community. My group helped a woman by painting her home and fixing her deck. That afternoon we celebrated our Founders Day with Tri Sigma. I was given the Golden Violet award for being a leader in Sigma and throughout campus. I was also given the honor of the Mabel Lee Walton award which is the Outstanding Tri Sigma Sister of the Year. After the Founders Day celebration, it was time to get ready for my last Sigma Formal as a collegiate member.
I must say, this was the best Sigma formal I have ever been to. Maybe because one of my best friends planned it, maybe because we had an awesome group of people in attendance, maybe because I had an incredible date, or maybe all of the above! I was so happy to be able to dress up and spend a fun night with my closest friends. Dinner was delicious, and the people at my table kept me laughing the whole night. Here we are posing for a picture with our dates.One of the things that made this formal extra special was that I did not find my dress in a department store or boutique. I actually designed my dress and my mom sewed it for me! I had to pose for a full dress shot with my fashionista friends Mandy and Sarah.Lucky for me, several of my friends who had graduated were invited back to join us for our special evening! I was super excited to see my friend Jordan back in town. All in all, I had an absolute blast.Sunday we had our last Crimson Club meeting of the year. We welcomed the new members for the 2010-2011 school year. We shared our favorite memories of Crimson Club and ate our last meal with Dr. Scott and his wife. Mandy and I posed with the Scotts before we left. This experience with Crimson Club has been a pleasure. Having the chance to spend time with the President and his family, and learn more about PSU has been unforgettable.

Here, There, and Everywhere

This semester has been crazy busy, so I have lots of updating to do! This is my final semester at Pitt State and I am amazed at how fast it is slipping away from me. In just two short months I am off to the "real world." I am looking forward to everything ahead of me, but there is still so much to do here at PSU before I leave.
On January 30, Presidential Emerging Leaders Program hosted their annual Basic Leadership Training. BLT is an all day event for any student, but encouraged for any officer or leader on campus. The day consists of seminars and activities to promote better leadership skills and finding personal leadership styles. It is a fun opportunity to get to know people in your organizations better and build connections with other leaders on campus.
BLT provides lunch for everyone in attendance. I ate lunch with the Officer team for Sigma Phi Epsilon. These characters had just finished a leadership session about communication. Those headbands were previously blindfolds that they used during the session!The first week of February was Tri Sigma Sisterhood week. Each semester, the sisterhood chairs plan a week of fun activities that allow us to get away from our busy lives and spend some time as sisters. The first night was a game night at the sorority house. Everyone brought their favorite board games and the competition was intense! The competitive vibe continued into the second night when we went to the bowling alley!
The third night we decorated Valentine's Day cookies and distributed plates of decorated cookies to all of the other Greek houses on campus. The last night, we relaxed and curled up at the Sigma house for a movie night.That weekend I continued all things Greek by going to Greek Conference in Omaha, Nebraska! Each spring, Campus Crusade for Christ holds a conference for Greek students only. There were students from Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri. It was fun to meet other Greeks and find out what is going on in their houses and on their campuses. AJ, Kaylee and I had a blast meeting everyone and getting to know each other better. We definitely came back with all sorts of inside jokes, and new ideas for our sorority!
Last week was Gamma Epsilon Tau initiation. GET is an honor society for people in the Graphics and Imaging Technologies department. My friend Michelle and I got initiated along with about 20 other students. The organization is currently working on planning the annual department banquet that is coming up this weekend, and recruiting more students to come to Pittsburg State.

Winter Wonderland!

The end of fall semester kept me super busy and I am just now calming down to update everyone on my crazy life! During the last week of school, University Student Ambassadors held our last meeting of the semester with a tacky Christmas sweater theme! It was fun to see everyone out of their ambassador polos and in some funky outfits for a change. We feasted on cookies and hot cocoa, and finished our semester business before heading out on our winter break.
I got to spend some time with friends and family at home but then headed back to Pittsburg on New Years day to load up in a carpool, destination Denver, Colorado! Campus Crusade for Christ hosts an annual event called the Denver Christmas Conference. Crusade students from Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico all join together for a week of fun and fellowship! This year Pitt State made up 10 of the 2,000 students in attendance. One of the days we were there, we had an opportunity to go out and serve the community. My group got to paint a stairwell and hallway for an elderly woman that could not do it for herself. Below is a picture of us with our finished masterpiece!
This year's theme for the conference was Glory. We were also lucky enough to catch a little winter wonderland glory on one of the last days of the conference. It snowed all day the last two days which made for some fun snowball fights in the courtyards outside of our hotel.
On the last night of the conference is a $5 prom. That means everything you wear must come out of your suitcase, or cost you less than $5. Lauren and I managed to make some semi tacky outfits to fit in with the crazy costumes everyone created. I think our hair was the best part of the whole ensemble!
As soon as I returned from Denver, I was back in action in Pittsburg. As Vice President of Student Activities Council, I am in charge of recruitment and training. Each semester I host a large training event for the executive council. I host smaller training events each month for all members. Our executive council can be pretty crazy at times, but our retreat to kick off the spring reassured me that we have a fun-filled semester ahead of us!

Nice to Meet You

My name is Melissa McDonald. I am a commercial graphics major with an emphasis in photography. Basically that means my schedule consists of graphic design and photography classes.

I am a city girl at heart, but I have found a home here in Pittsburg. I thought that I would be bored living in a small town like Pittsburg, but I have found that this campus thrives on student involvement, and I have taken advantage of that. With the opportunities I have been given, there is never a dull moment.

When I am not in class, I spend a lot of time on campus participating in 8 organizations. I have learned that sometimes the best lessons are taught outside the classroom in the clubs and organizations I am involved in. The best way to get a glimpse of my life is to understand where I spend my time.

I am a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority. The Greek system makes up about 7% of our campus, but their involvement with the campus and the community is very apparent. I was very active with community service in high school and the sorority has helped me to continue that in college. Not to mention we have loads of fun participating in Greek and school wide competitions and social networking opportunities.

I am also secretary of University Student Ambassadors. Ambassadors work through the admissions office to give tours to prospective students. I get to learn all of the fun facts about campus. Each week when I give tours and tell people about all of the awesome things Pitt State has to offer, I remind myself why this school was the best choice for me.

I am often found in the Student Activities Council office. As vice president of SAC I am in charge of recruitment and training. My favorite way to describe SAC is that they are the main source for all the fun, free stuff on campus. We host everything from hypnotists and comedians to musicians, speakers, movies, and more. The best part is that all of our events are free for students.

I am also a member of Crimson Club. Crimson Club members are the student face of Pittsburg State University. We work closely with Dr. Scott, the university president. We get to help host alumni events and any event that goes through the President’s office. When alumni come to town, they want to know what the student’s are doing, and Crimson Club is there to be the representatives for the student body.

Another organization I am passionate about is Campus Crusade for Christ. My faith is very important to me and Pitt State is home to multiple religious organizations, but Cru is where I found I fit. Cru offers lots of opportunities to travel and connect with students from other schools. It is always fun to interact with students from other schools and share with them what is going on here at Pitt.

The rest of my time is spent with Order of Omega, Omicron Delta Kappa, and Gamma Epsilon Tau. Order of Omega is the Greek honor society. ODK is a junior/senior leadership and honor society. GET is a graphics honor society. All three organizations focus the majority of their efforts on community service and academic achievement.

A motto is my sorority is “To receive much, you must give much.” I have found this to be so true. The more I involve myself, the more I seem to get out of it all. As for the experiences I have had so far at Pitt… I would not trade them for the world!

I can’t wait to keep you updated about my life as a student!