This. Must. Be. POP!

Feb 7

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WOW!

Sorry for the long distance relationship we’ve created with this blog.  Second semester is absolutely crazy for ODK, but we LOVE it!

First and foremost, congratulations to all of the newly-accepted members of Omicron Delta Kappa!  We are so excited to have you all join our circle!

Second, way to go, Executive Board!  We SMASHED it at the Third Annual Maryville Series of Pop Culture!  The event was awesome and though we saw some hiccups, we pulled it off like pros!

Thanks again to Matt Hopper, the ODK Fellow, for joining us at our Pop Culture event and for traveling to Fontbonne University for our Summit on Leadership Development (SOLD).

We’ve still got a lot going on.  Last Lecture with Peter Green is in just a few weeks and our first class of Fourteen Finest Freshmen will be selected VERY soon!  Keep up to date with us and we’ll surely do the same!

It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year…For ODK Members!

Jan 8

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The first week of January is always a special time for the Maryville University Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa!  For the next two months, things will be extremely busy for us – but that’s the way we like it!!!

First off, a big “CONGRATULATIONS” should be in order to all of the Maryville students that reached eligibility for Omicron Delta Kappa initiation this year!  We look forward to receiving your applications and hope you all see the significance of being a member of ODK!

Second, the first-year students should look forward to applications for ODK’s Fourteen Finest Freshmen – to become available soon!  This is a brand new program for the university and we can’t wait to launch it and see how well it goes!

Finally, the countdown is on for the Third Annual MARYVILLE SERIES OF POP CULTURE!  February 5th is sure to be an exciting evening of pop culture trivia, costumes, and fun!  The questions are written, the prizes have been donated, and the special guest host, Director of Student Involvement, Zach Lewis, is ready to go!

Keep up with all ODK is doing throughout the next few months and get ready for even more excitement before the year ends!

Becoming a Rake-ist Extraordinaire!

Nov 15

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No leaf was safe.

On November 7th, 2010, members of Omicron Delta Kappa and friends from the Maryville University Community loaded their rakes and bags into cars and headed out into St. Charles County to participate in O∆K’s newly-adapted program, Drive-By-Raking.

The program allowed for members of the Maryville community to help members of our surrounding community by voluntarily raking yards.  While doing so, participants were able to enjoy some great company and awesome activity from some of the most dedicated members of the university family.

This was an excellent opportunity for Omicron Delta Kappa to branch out into the community that houses the university.  It also gave the community the chance to see how dedicated Maryville students are to helping others.

Last Lecture follow-up: After “The End”?

Oct 4

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First, thanks to ODK, Joel Herman, Kaylee Yates, and everyone who came to the first Last Lecture.  I would have looked pretty silly up there by myself.  On the other hand, if no one showed up, then no one would have known that no one showed up.  Quack quack, which makes sense of you were there.  Really.

When the last lecture was first over, I was thrilled that nothing went wrong:  not the auditorium’s sound or light systems, my PowerPoint, or my instruments; I didn’t do anything egregious, and again, people were there.  Plus, the cappuccino dessert was excellent.  All in all, simple math: no disaster=great night.

By the next day, I was already imagining what I could do better next time: more about how songs and stories overlap, more on how poems and narratives differ, more about the ways in which dreams are supposed to change, and more electric guitar, just for the hell of it.  Then I realized that, unlike my teaching and my writing, there was no next time.  When or where could I possibly present this lecture again, and for whom?  The Last Lecture was really a First-and-Last Lecture, a one-night-only performance that, like hot soup or a well-wrought snowman, lasted long enough only for the people present.

Today, four days later, I’m glad to realize that I can enjoy this kind of second guessing, my l’esprit d’escalier, only because my “Last Lecture” wasn’t really my last lecture.  In the end, I got to enjoy a rare privilege.  Not just yakking on and on about what I think for an hour—I’m a college professor, so I do that all the time.  Instead, I got to present my life—my songs and my story—to say something about mortality and endings, but then reflect on it, after The (supposed) End.  I only hope now that in some ways, this last lecture will also be a lasting lecture for those who were kind enough to be there.  Thanks again.

Time Flies When You’re Busy & Having Fun!!

Sep 19

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I can’t believe that four weeks of school have already gone by…especially since it is my senior year!  For those of you who don’t know me, I am pretty involved on campus and worked all summer long to plan New Student Orientation for the incoming first-year and transfer students.  This task was defnitely challenging but a very positive learning experience!  I worked with two other girls to plan Orientation as well as worked with an amazing team of approximately 80 leaders to execute the weekend. 

This was a great leadership experience for me, and hopefully the team members as well, as I learned much more about how to successfully be a leader while also balancing out being just another student on the team and on campus.  All the new students seemed to have a great time at Orientation even though all the leaders were exhausted and delirious…this is where the ‘busy’ part of this blog post title comes into play!

Since Orientation has ended, I am continuing to work in the Center for First-Year Experience and Advising where I get to learn a lot about the needs of first-year students as well as serve as a peer mentor for the University Seminar course that all new students are required to take.  I absolutely love my work study position and being  a peer mentor because it allows me to meet so many new people while also learning more about myself and how to become a better leader!

I have also been working very closely with my fellow ODK Executive Board on coming up with some exciting and creative new events for the year!  Our first event, which also happens to be a completely new series for our ODK chapter, will take place next week and is an adapted version of Randy Pausch’s “Last Lecture” where we invite our own faculty members to give their “last lecture” for our campus.  We are extremely excited about this new series – check back soon for an update on how it went!  We have a great year planned out and hope that everything is successful and that we continue to build our chapter!

This past weekend I attended the 1st Annual Student Leaders Retreat on campus where we got to hear from Paul Deegan, an extraordinary mountaineer and a successful Mt. Everest climber, on how we can dream big and incorporate some of what he discussed into our leadership experiences and in our organizations.  It was a very fun retreat and I got to know some new people that I had never met before!

Well, I think that’s about all for now – back to homework (yuck)!  Stay tuned for more updates from the Executive Board and our members on what we are doing around our campus and how we are and being role models for the ideals of ODK!

Don’t Miss the First “Last Lecture” with Dr. Jesse Kavadlo!

Sep 15

Posted by Joel Hermann in Executive Board Updates, Joel's Blogs | No Comments

We are really excited to launch our new event series on September 30th at 7 PM in the Auditorium!

The Last Lecture is a famous speech given by Randy Pausch.  He wanted to provide his students and colleagues with an excellent lecture on the topic of his choosing before leaving his university due to illness.

Inspired by Pausch’s words and sentiments, Maryville University is excited to launch our own Last Lecture series on campus! 

The series will kick off with Dr. Jesse Kavadlo.  His lecture is titled “Songs, Stories, and the Meaning of Life” and will begin at 7 PM on September 30th.  After the lecture, all are invited to join Dr. Kavadlo and the members of ODK for a reception in Pfaff Lobby to celebrate Dr. Kavadlo’s experience at Maryville University.

And as hour five comes to a close…

Aug 8

Posted by Joel Hermann in Executive Board Updates, Joel's Blogs | No Comments

On Friday, August 6th, the exec board gathered in the CSE to discuss or plans for the 2010-2011 school year.  And believe me, discuss we did…

Our agenda was pretty daunting, but we hammered through it, and I’m really excited to talk about the year ahead! 

My favorite part of the exec board this year is witnessing all the excitement between our members.  At the meeting, we were able to celebrate one member’s engagement, another’s job offer, another’s surgery healing, and so much more!  And that’s outside of the updates we actually discussed in regards to the circle and our future!

After the National Leadership Summit and Convention, all five of us had ideas flying out of our mouths.  We wanted to accomplish so many different tasks and really become that “ideal circle” as an effort to stand out across the nation.  Coming together at this exec retreat, we realized that it is more important to condense these ideas and focus on a few new projects that we, along with our general board members, can make outstanding.  Quality, not quantity, right?

I’m excited to say that O∆K is finally going to form committees!  This means that work will be delegated and spread out throughout all of our members – versus having the exec board take on everything!  I’ll be overseeing the Campus Events committee – our job includes programming the Maryville Series of Pop Culture 3, the Last Lecture Series, and bringing the National Day of Service to campus!  Jess is taking on the communication committee – which will be in charge of keeping our Facebook page and this blogsite up to date, working on a connection with the alumni, and establishing a scrap book.  Julie will be overseeing the Recognition and Selection committee.  This committee will focus on establishing our 14 Finest Freshmen program, the selection process for Circle Leader of the Year and Member of the Month, and working to make our induction ceremony stronger.  Lindsay is going to take on Organizational and Leadership Development, a committee designed to take our organization to a new level, working with other circles on programs like SOLD (Summit on Leadership Development), keeping up with the Adopt-A-Highway program, and connecting with St. Louis High Schools to reward senior leadership with a special recognition breakfast.  Kaylee will work with all four committees so that, as President, she can know everything that is happening at all times.

We have some amazing stuff coming up and members of the circle will be sharing each step of our journey on this blog.  Look for lots of great updates!  And don’t forget to come see us at the Involvement Fair!

Faculty Secretary!!

Jul 18

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I am so excited to announce that Tammy Gocial is very interested in becoming our Faculty Secretary! I plan to meet with her when my life slows down a little bit, but she seems very excited and willing to take on this role. I will post again after the meeting with her to confirm everything!

Looking Back on Houston

Jul 18

Posted by Jessica Sagartz in 2010 National Leadership Summit and Convention, Jessica's Blogs | No Comments

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, due to coming back to reality, but I haven’t gotten our experience in Houston out of my mind.  While the five of us on the exec board at Maryville are very different from each other, I learned that weekend how alike we are and how our differences are going to allow us to build off of each other in the coming year.  As I look back on our trip, I think about all of the incredible people we met, and how much I want to continue to stay in touch with them, sharing ideas and goals.

On our drive home, we brainstormed about the things that we wanted to accomplish this year, coming up with several ideas that I believe are very obtainable.  We hope to have a retreat shortly to finalize our plans.  All of us agreed that it would be beneficial to begin “advertising” ODK to high school seniors as well as our freshmen and sophomores.  This could lead to us having a larger and more involved group, which would allow us to do a lot more on campus! 

Although we had an incredible trip, I am looking forward to meeting with the exec board again very soon to start working together on our goals and ideas for the future.  I learned so much about our organization that I didn’t know before that weekend, and I also learned a lot and grew closer to my other members of the exec board.  I can’t wait to start organizing our events for the year and getting to know the members of ODK even better!

What Would Elle Do?

Jul 6

Posted by Julie Krebel in 2010 National Leadership Summit and Convention, Julie's Blogs | No Comments

Coming back from the trip and getting settled back in to my normal routine has really shown me how much I gained from this trip.  I have to admit that before heading to Texas, I was a little down in everything that I had going on and wasn’t sure that this would be the one thing that would pull me out of it.  However, I was definitely wrong.  It has inspired me to give everything my all no matter how big or small it is.  I found a renewed sense of motivation and interest in what I am doing on campus this summer and hope this continues as I am about to begin my last year of college which will hopefully lead in to a career in higher education and/or non-profit organizations.

The amazing people we met at this conference from all over the country showed me how we should embrace our differences and openly accept challenges that we all are facing on our campuses whether it is programming, student concerns, etc.  I learned just how little some of my personal issues were when I listened to other people’s stories and heard how hard they had to work to get where they are.  I am ever thankful for the opportunities I’ve been given due to my hardwork and the dedication of the most important person, supporter, and friend in my life…my mom.

I want to thank the other members of my Exec Team for opening my eyes to new possibilities and encouraging me to think outside the box on how we can implement some new things on our campus even if they don’t go over so well the first year.  I think we should embrace the fact that we could potentially start the next big Maryville tradition from our determination and amazing, unique skills that we all bring to the table.  Between the five of us, we cover an array of disciplines including psychology, graduate studies, art education, health professions, etc.  Although we may face some roadblocks and have some conflicts, I think it will be beneficial to our campus that we all bring different backgrounds to the table.

I’d also like to thank some of the young leaders that we met at this conference that truly showed us that young people like ourselves can make a HUGE impact on a national organization like ODK.  Melena Frett, Matt Hopper, Christina Martin and many others have left large footprints in the journey of ODK for up and coming leaders like us to fill.  I was truly amazed and inspired by their accomplishments and want to leave something great behind for other leaders after me like they did.  Also, a silly conversation one night out about the movie “Legally Blonde” with Melena has given me a whole new outlook on how I want to lead.  After a long debate, Melena convinced us that Elle was a great icon to live by because she works hard to get what she wants and always stays positive and nice.  I am trying to be more Elle-like and hope it will alter the way I lead!

I hope that we all can reflect on this experience and use what we’ve gained in leading our ODK Circle to being bigger and better in the years to come.  Thanks y’all!