Lambda's Lavender Dawn
The 2015 Fall Newsletter Brought to You by: Active Chapter
Market Wednesdays
Market Wednesday has been a tradition for a very long time not only for the Butterflies of Lambda Chapter but for Florida State itself. As in past years, Market Wednesdays allow not only the Greek community to unite in the heart of the school but other student organizations as well. It has served us a great marketing and networking tool for publicizing our events and becoming aware of others throughout the semester. Coordinating outfits & creating new strolls with the assistance of our Performance Coordinator, Historian, and committees have made Market Wednesdays beyond enjoyable for the butterflies! We look forward to the Spring semester's chilly weather to roll on the yard with our cute sweaters, jackets, and booties!
Article Written By: Natalia Correa
Involvement Fair 2015
The Involvement Fair was an awesome way to start off our Fall Semester of the new school year. It was a chance for Platinum to get out there and network with the members of other organizations as well as introduce themselves to fellow Seminoles especially women who may be interested in our organization. Simply coordinating outfits and touching up makeup, the representation was nothing less than exquisite! Sisters took turns walking around the union, socializing, handing out flyers, introducing themselves, and speaking about our sisterhood to those who approached our table. Every single sister upheld the title of a Theta Nu Women as they shared with others what their letters meant to them, why they chose to join this sisterhood, and how they benefit it from it each and every day. We definitely took advantage of this event and without a doubt started off the Fall semester on the right foot!
Article Written by: Natalia Correa
Butterflies Around The Community
This Fall semester the butterflies of Florida State had the opportunity to work Football concessions each and every game, which was extremely beneficial financially. Three sisters would rotate each game and were responsible for selling sweet treats, which consisted of Otis Spunkmeyer cookies, Snickers, cotton candy, and peanuts. Although the shifts were 7-8 hours long, the steady income proved to be more consistent and more profitable than a fundraiser at a restaurant. Aramark made the training and paperwork extremely doable, and the checks were easily direct deposited. Although there are no football games this spring, we are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work baseball concessions. Baseball concessions are much shorter, 2-3 hours long but are much more frequent than football games. We are extremely enthusiastic about the extra income.
Concessions were not the only source of fundraiser this semester! We also were able to clean up the stadium after football games through ROTC. Bright and early on Sunday mornings the entire chapter would get gloves, trash bags and pick up the remains of footballs games. This would last about 2-3 hours and again, proved to be extremely beneficial financially. This semester’s weekends were action packed with fundraisers which were well needed! Chapter has even made a savings account for the National Convention with the extra income! The hard work definitely paid of and we plan on doing concessions next year as well.
Article Written By: Aileen Morales
MGC Month: Streaming Now
Florida State's Multicultural Greek Council held its Netflix-themed month during September which was a great time for everyone to come out and meet all the MGC organizations. On the 9th, a book stipend giveaway signup opened at market Wednesday and announcing the winner would lead us into the bowling social on the 17th, that was held at Crenshaw lanes where many of the organizations including your Exquisite butterflies were found tabling, serving pizza and bowling. It was a great turnout in which Panhellenic and IFC orgs came to play and support our month. "Meet the Greeks" was held in the Globe Auditorium on September 24th, where organizations proudly presented themselves. To end the month was our 3rd annual Walk as ONE 5K race where all the organizations came to support whether they volunteered or participated in the race. The month was overall a success in bringing all the organizations together and having fun at all the events!
Article Written By: Gillian Wu
Greek Unity
Throughout the semester sisters made it a goal to engage in Greek unity with all Greek councils with an emphasis on our very own, Multicultural Greek Council. Not only did we create bonds with Greeks on Florida State's campus, but at FAMU as well. Social media was used to show support for other organizations such as pubbing their events & in turn they pubbed some of ours. Speaking of social media... we were awarded a Chipotle gift card from the sisters of Omega Phi Beta for receiving the most likes on a picture in which we supported their campaign on Domestic Violence Awareness. We attended Omega Phi Beta and Sigma Lambda Beta’s tailgate which was a blast not only for those in active chapter but for alumni too. Homecoming weekend was also one for the books! We hosted a tailgate with Phi Iota Alpha Latin Fraternity, Inc. which was an absolute success and definitely a highlight of homecoming weekend.
Sisters attended various seminars throughout the semester giving them insight on a variety of issues we may not have been aware of but are common on our campus, in our community, and world. Phiota's Mental Health Seminar and “Who Wore it Best?” hosted by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., provided us with a lot of tips on cultural appropriation and the best ways to ensure mental health for yourself and others. We were able to attend the Pretty in Pink Fundraising Fashion Show hosted by Kappa Delta Chi to raise funds towards Breast Cancer Awareness. We were also invited to and attended the Faculty Appreciation Luncheon at the Center for Leadership with the Lambdas.
Every year Homecoming gives us the time and events to build relations with our partners. As we prepared for Homecoming we spent as much time possible with our partners Sigma Delta Tau and Zeta Beta Tau. We also made it a note to support other Greeks on homecoming court.
Sharing the same birthday, Jessica and Ana celebrated their birthday with many members from the MGC council building our personal relationships aside from the professional relationships we have. We hosted pumpkin painting with the Lambdas to spend some leisure time together outside of business. For Thanksgiving we cooked for and enjoyed an MGC's Friendsgiving Feast.
During probate season we were present for and congratulated the newest members of the Lambdas, Phi Iota, Betas, and KDChis. We hope to build and strengthen this unity by continuing with our efforts in supporting each council as its members.
Article Written By: Alicia Deen
MGC Friends Giving Feast
"Who Wore It Best?" Seminar
FAMU Iotas in the Union
OPB awarding us a Chipotle Gift Card
TNX & Phiota Homecoming Tailgate
Phiota Mental Health Seminar
University of Florida MGC Showcase
As we all know sisterhood is one of our five tenets, and we were so happy to expand on it beyond the boundaries of Tallahassee. We were ecstatic to receive an invitation to go watch our sisters in the Alpha Alpha chapter perform in their MGC Showcase. With RSVPs and plans in place, five of our Florida State sisters went to support them: Alex, Luby, Sabrina, Natalia, and Kaitlyn. Once we arrived we were warmly greeted by our Sorors and took our seats. The show was amazing, educational and inspiring. It made us really appreciate our council and strive to make our council better. It also taught us that MGC is bigger than what we are exposed to at FSU. After the show we made our way to the house of this sister we were staying with and got ready to go out. Overall it was an enjoyable night. ONE in which both our sisterhood and Greek unity was strengthened, regardless of our rivalries (GO NOLES). We plan to continue expanding by personally extending invitations to other chapters when we have big events as well as asking them to notify us of their events.
Article Written By: Kaitlyn Pommells
Sisterhood Retreat 2015: A Tale of Two Cities
This year the sisterhood retreat theme was “To be a butterfly” and each day had it’s own characteristic that represented a little of what it means to be an exquisite butterfly! The first day’s theme was “Butterflies are BOLD”. On Friday September 18th ten active chapter sisters headed down to Jacksonville, FL in 3 cars. Each car was given lavender and Carolina blue goodie bags filled with snacks for each passenger. The girls were asked to discuss BOLD ideas to improve chapter on the ride down, which we all shared later on. Once we arrived, we all dressed in bold all black outfits to enjoy a dinner and a show at Hamburger Mary’s. We were given a real VIP treatment seated in the back booth with a perfect view of the show. Alumni in Jacksonville Kiari Morales-Singleton (Spr 2012) and Jennifer Montano (Spr 2011), and Active Chapter Sisters Ana Durant (Spr 2014) and Luby Cabrera (Spr 2014) in town for a course were able to join us and make the night even more special! After dinner we all stayed at Carrie Norton’s home. The next days’ theme was “Butterflies are Timeless”. Early that morning we packed up and cooked a big breakfast, then headed for St. Augustine, FL. As many of you know St. Augustine is the oldest city in our nation and has many beautiful historical sites. To enjoy the theme we all wore something from another decade, in our tie–dye shirts, neon outfits, and floppy hats we all headed out and explored the city. Later that night when we got back to the hotel we all enjoyed the timeless treats of ice cream sundaes, and bonded with games, a craft, and a movie. The Last day’s theme was “Butterflies are MY SISTERS”. We all wore our favorite TNX shirts, talked about what we love most about Theta Nu XI as we made a canvas painting for sisters to take home that morning. We then all took a final farewell picture, and loaded up the cars and headed back to Tallahassee so that sisters could get some homework time in before the start of the next week.
Article Written By: Carrie Norton
3rd Annual Walk as ONE
The Lambda Chapter of Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Inc. hosted its third annual “Walk As ONE”, which is a is a 5K that aims to raise funds for our national philanthropy Girls for a Change. Girls for a Change’s mission is to empower young women to create social change while providing educational and financial aid to inner city children. Girls for a Change teaches young girls how to make positive changes in the world by becoming passionate leaders and engaged citizens.
Organizing this event involved countless hours of planning, making calls and sending emails. As Community Service Chair, I wanted the event to be the best it could be. After hundreds of emails, we finally solidified a total of eleven co-sponsors for the walk: MGC, Globally Empowering Women, FAMU Sigma Lambda Gamma, Sistuhs, FAMU Iota Phi Theta, Alpha Phi, CSA, Sigma Gamma Rho, Sisters2service and both FSU and FAMU’s PBM.
The “Walk As ONE” was held on Sunday, September 27th, 2015 at Florida State University and began at the Integration Statues at 9:00am. With the donations from Bagel Bagel, Brooklyn Water Bagel, Krispy Kreme, Madison Social, and Maple Street Biscuit, we were able to provide plenty of food for our 5k participants. Over one hundred 5k participants allowed us to raise nearly $500 dollars. All the money will be donated to Girls for a Change. The unwavering help and dedicated of my sisters allowed me to put on such a fulfilling and successful event! I truly enjoyed the beautiful event and loved its rewarding purpose. I cannot wait for our next community service chair to put together the next “Walk As ONE”!
Article Written By: Sabrina Ishaque
Oh Snap TNX - Fall Week 2015
This semester’s week took place from September 27th-October 2nd and was was themed around Snapchat, a popular social media platform that has been growing in popularity in the past couple of years.
Our first event was our annual Walk As ONE 5k on Sunday. Our community service chair, Sabrina Ishaque, put forth a tremendous effort in organizing this event and we are very grateful. This was one of our biggest 5ks yet, with over 100 runners participating. We were able to reach this goal by having a lot of cosponsors including Sistuhs, Sisters2Service, Alpha Phi, Sigma Lambda Gamma, Iota Phi Theta, Sigma Gamma Rho, Empowering Woman Globally, and the whole Multicultural Greek Council at FSU. With the funds we raised we were able to completely cover our donation to Girls for a Change this year.
The week continued with our fundraiser at Panda Express on Monday, “Snapcash”. We enjoyed being able to have a fundraiser at this location, they were easy to work with and gave us a higher percentage of the money than other locations around Tallahassee usually do.
On Tuesday we presented our “What’s their Story?” educational seminar. Our guest speaker, Lorena Vollwrath-Bueno, is a state attorney specializing in human trafficking, which she spoke about in the seminar. It was a very enlightening and interactive seminar, and many of the people who came commended us for educating them on an issue which many people overlook.
For our “Live at the Union!” yard show on Wednesday was executed flawlessly, even with the unfortunate occurrence of the fire alarm going off in the middle of our main step. We showcased many different cultures in our show and promoted our last couple of events. The informational later that day was a success, and we were able to meet and inform many new interests about our wonderful sisterhood.
On Thursday night we took a break from many of the other serious events occurring throughout the week and hosted a night at Recess, a popular club in Tallahassee.
Our 6th Annual Theta Nu Boo pageant, “10 Seconds of Fame”, took place on Friday. Our three contestants, as well as our fundraising/external social chair, Kaitlyn Pommells, worked tirelessly in order to execute an event that was funny, tasteful, and definitely entertaining. Our 6th Theta Nu boo, Lance Markeith, definitely wowed the crowd with his captivating monologue, and is sure to make a lasting impression on campus as an active member of the Black Actors Guild and CYPHER at FSU.
This fall week was definitely innovative and well-executed, and we are very pleased with the results.
Article Written By: Alexandra Cabrera
All Hail the Princess !
Fear the spear, for this was the year one of our very own butterflies made Lambda Chapter history. Theta Nu Xi’s very own Jessica Dueno was not only nominated for homecoming court, but was crowned the title as Florida State University 2015 Homecoming Princess. Alongside here Chief, Derrick Scott, she was awarded this title at Pow Wow 2015. As a head strong leader and lady of grace, Jessica has worked her way up to this position and continues to strive as a role model. This is a woman who takes every academic opportunity that comes her way while staying involved in multiple activities on campus. As the new face of FSU, she is able to represent herself as a sister of Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority Incorporated, a Nursing major, a member in the Reserve Officer Training Corps, a resident of the Southern Scholarship Foundation, a member of the Multi-cultural Greek Council, and a student in the C.A.R.E. program. Being the first Latina to win Homecoming Princess at Florida State has been a huge accomplishment along with the ability to inspire other minority students. Jessica has indulged in many on and off campus opportunities such as studying abroad, becoming a C.A.R.E ambassador, and volunteering at Kids Incorporated. Ms. Dueno has mastered the ability to maintain a healthy balance of her education and social life here at Florida State. A homecoming princess is much more than a pretty face. Jessica is someone who has gone above and beyond the standards here at FSU. The Unconquered Statue has a conjunctive meaning of pride, joy, happiness, rebel, fighter, and education which are all qualities Jessica has surpassed. We are beyond proud of Jessica and all she has accomplished during her journey as a sister. We can’t wait for her to continue on building her success and persevere as mentor. As women of Theta Nu Xi, it is important for us to continue to build a legacy, and form traditions that will encourage women to thrive in a world of adversity. Jessica was able to set another bar, in hopes that this accomplishment is repeated. Never underestimate the power behind beauty and brains. Congrats Jess!
Article Written By: Cassandra Thompson
Partnering Up for Homecoming
Homecoming 2014 was definitely a year to live up to. We won the Osceola Category with Alpha Phi and Theta Chi, both organizations that were a pleasure to work with. My big and former University Relations Chair, Luby Cabrera, had given me a warning as to how difficult Homecoming could be regarding communication with other councils and getting enough sisters to attend pomping and events. It was what I had expected but I am disappointed to say that our partners this year weren’t a pleasure to work with. Zeta Beta Tau and Sigma Delta Tau had Homecoming Representatives that were beyond "difficult" to communicate with. Both representatives (which had been changed twice) failed to answer my text messages and belittled our council (in the lightest terms). I attempted numerous times to go out of my way to make it clear that we were there to help in any way possible. I believe that our biggest obstacle with participating in Homecoming is that the larger councils see us merely as extra points towards their category and fail to make an attempt to connect with the sisters at events. You would think Homecoming would be a fun way to connect with different councils and show your Seminole Spirit, but to the Panhellenic and Interfraternity Council, it’s all about winning. Due to ordering issues pomping started three weeks late and skit night rehearsals were also postponed until two nights prior to the show. Luckily I had our sisters practice their part weeks before then.
The theme for this year’s Homecoming was “Our Age is The Golden Age” and our chosen theme was specifically Nickelodeon in the 90’s. Our skit was inspired by the infamous The Amanda Show and our charismatic sisters: Aileen, Natalia, Cassandra and Kaitlyn all took on the roles of The Dancing Lobsters. They wore red shirts, shorts, combat boots and Lobster Hats that Chapter purchased and were the highlight of the skit. The skit was cute but had the potential to be 10 times better if more practices were enforced.
As for the float, it was vibrantly appealing to the audience and thankfully was finished on time. Sabrina and I dressed as the Dancing Lobsters and wiggled our arms, legs and claws around to get the crowd hyped up during the parade. People enjoyed our float but I think having the Dancing Lobsters on the float tied everything together and brought our theme to life. The other Homecoming events like Renegade Recess, Karaoke for a Cause, The Spear-it Talent Show all were a success and a joy to attend. Even though our partners were a disappointment we were able to pull it together in the end.
I think next year we should consider participating in a smaller category. Not to say this year wasn’t successful, but I believe participating in a smaller category will allow us to have a more rewarding and successful Homecoming experience that is fair for our Chapter.PowWow was probably the whip cream and the cherry on top of Homecoming, hearing Jessica Dueno’s name be announced for Homecoming Princess. Even though we didn’t win our Homecoming Category, Jessica winning was more than enough for our Chapter.
Article Written By: Samantha Garcia
Homecoming & Alumnae Weekend
Homecoming Weekend is a time for the present to unite with the past and enjoy in harmonizing Seminole pride. As Alumnae Relations Chair holder, I had the pleasure of putting together this weekend full of events. Homecoming weekend was honestly one of the best weekends of my life. I had an insane amount of fun all weekend and I had the opportunity to build a relationship with many prophytes who came into town.
Friday was kicked off with the Homecoming parade in which some of our sisters participated as Dancing Lobsters & others as spectators. Friday night consisted of several options depending on the preference of crowd. There were sisters who went to Rokbar, Downtown Get Down, and others who went Topflight. Overall there was a play for everyone.
Saturday was GAAAAAMEEEE DAAAAAAAAAY! Bright and early we hosted a tailgate with the Phiotas starting at 10 o'clock. It was the epitomy of a reunion. Lots of old and new friends and whole lot of reminiscing to the college days for some. Everyone had a chance to grab some pizza and drinks just before they made their way to Doak. The game was a blast and of course we won *brushes shoulder* (: Saturday night was even BETTER! It started off with a pregame at Samantha's house. Stroll songs were played and it was amazing to see all of us sync with just the touch of a button. Sisters carpooled to the Moon soon after and everyone had a great time some sisters were even able to dance on stage!
Sunday was pretty traditional with a brunch. This time we tried to change it up. Instead of going to Primetime we tried a new restaurant that had good reviews but unfortunately it wasn't the best experience. Despite the terribly long wait and not so delicious food, all the sisters were able to bond just before the end of our crazy weekend. Prior to the weekend I put together Superlative Awards consisting of nominations and then voting with Ana and Kiari's help. It was a lot of fun to see who won some of the silly titles. Although not everyone attended, it was enjoyable. As we said our fairwells, sisters were able to take home thankyou cards, goody bags, and cake for the road! I hope everyone had as much fun as I did! I look forward to next Homecoming!
Article Written By: Natalia Correa
Suplerative Winners!
Most Talkative - Jazmin Armstrong
Most Likely to Show Up Late - Cassandra Thompson
Most Likely to Be Famous - Vianessa Syed
Most Likely to Pass Out On a Road Trip - Alexandra Cabrera
Best Dressed - Baylie Robinson
Best All Around - Jo-Anna Nieves
Best Personality - Andrea Urban
First Person to Come to Any Sister'S Rescue - Natalia Correa
Most Likely to Bust a Move - Gillian Wu
Most Likely to Turn Up the Party - Aileen Morales
Most Athletic - Arica Halila & Cristina Segredo
Little Miss Dr. Phil - Joycelyn Albury
Queen of Groupme - Christiana Carnot
Most Llikely to Be A Talk Show Host - Esteffania Najera
Most Likely to Represent TNX On The Daily - Kiari Morales - Singleton
Best Laugh - Samantha Garcia
Best Dancer - Amber Toye
Most Likely to Be Next President - Jam Holt
Most Creative - Angelica Martinez & Carrie Norton
Most Likely to Become a Crazy Cat Lady - Luby Cabrera
Most Dramatic - Christina Davis
Most Likely to Be Down for an Adventure - Jessica Dueno
Selfie Queen - Ana Perez
That Sister You Always Call “The Real MVP” - Cheryl Edwards
Most Supportive Prophyte - Charee Williams
Butterfly Kisses To Our Graduates
Congratulations to our five Fall 2015 graduates!
Aubrianna Kress graduated with two bachelor degrees in Media Communication Studies and Editing, Writing, and Media and has plans to move to Atlanta to begin a career in public relations. Her future goals consist of becoming a project manager for a major broadcasting company in either Los Angeles or New York City!
Keandra Brown-Davis graduated with a bachelors in Communication Science and Disorders and intends to work for the next 6 months in Tallahassee and continue on to graduate school in Fall 2016 to complete a masters in health administration with a concentration in global health and hopes to gain opportunities to study health systems abroad. Her future goals are to be a hospital administrator for a not-for-profit hospital as well as philanthropically working on the health system of a third world county.
Joycelyn Albury completed a bachelors in Psychology and plans to work at an eating disorder treatment center as a therapy assistant. Her goals are to begin graduate school next fall at Nova Southeastern University to complete a masters degree in Mental Health Counseling and continue to get a Psy.D in psychology and become a mental health and substance abuse licensed psychologist.
Gillian Wu completed a bachelors degree in Food and Nutrition Science and has received two full-time job offers as a dietary treatment assistant and a dermatologist medical assistant. Gillian will likely take the medical assistant job and begin working on her clinical hours for PA school, hoping to do medical mission trips as well during summer or winter. She hopes to join a GAP chapter, get into FSU's PA program with the goal to become a Physician Assistant.
Cassandra Thompson graduated with a degree in sociology and plans to get an internship or shadow in a hospital during the spring semester and start nursing school in next fall in South Florida. Her goals are to attain her Bachelors of Science in Nursing then go on to get her masters and become a nurse practitioner and possibly live in Georgia.
Good luck grads! We wish you nothing but the best on your future endeavors.
Article Written By: Ana Durant
Alumni Spotlight
Kiari Morales - Singleton
This year’s Alumnae Spotlight is focused on the sister that truly commits her time and love for this organization day in and day out. She goes hard for this sisterhood and really puts forth the effort to reassure our tenets are upheld and our values are maintained. By receiving the Regional Director position for Southeast Region really goes to show that Kiari Morales-Singleton is determined to advance this sorority and continue to mold young women in becoming greater beings. Raised through the Lambda chapter, Kiari continued her involvement in Theta Nu Xi by attaining membership in the Xi Lambda GAP chapter. With her past experience and innovative thoughts, she never hesitates to add suggestions and guide newer sisters on improving their skills. This bold butterfly is always ready to keep it real and tell it how it is when she needs to. She voices her opinions with substance and knows how to give the type of advice that will benefit this chapter. Kiari has a way with words and speaks up in situations that need to be critiqued. Involvement from alumni is crucial and greatly appreciated in this chapter. Suggestions and guidance from sister’s like Kiari should always be used to full advantage in order to keep this organization growing. So we thank you Kiari for showing us what “Theta Nu Xi for all my life” really means and being a BOSS while doing so. Another congratulations for receiving the position of Southeast Regional Director. There’s no doubt in our minds that you’re going to dominate and make some great things happen!
Article Written By: Cassandra Thompson
Happy New Year Butterflies!
Butterfly Gallery
Thankyou for staying updated!
Created, Designed, and Edited by Natalia Correa.
Feel free to leave comments, questions, responses below!
Special Thank you to all the alumnae that visited this semester <3