President's Farewell

How daunting it is to attend a university that compels you to “change the world.” The steps we take on campus today are on a 130 year old foundation established before us by distinguished alumni, like Lady Bird Johnson, Tom C. Clark, and Michael Dell. Needless to say, it is only natural to render ourselves insignificant in comparison to such prestige. W. Clement Stone once said, “Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them.” For an environment that will dare me to have overachieving goals, I chose the University of Texas at Austin. For friends that will assist me in attaining these goals, I chose Texas Sweethearts.

It has been my greatest honor and privilege to serve as President of Texas Sweethearts for the spring semester of 2014. Since the time I joined this organization two years ago, we have raised over $20,000 for non-profit organizations, contributed a down payment to build a school in a third world country, conducted over 1,000 random acts of kindness throughout the Austin community, been voted as the Best Student Organization by the Daily Texan and the Longhorn Center for Civic Engagement, expanded our organization to two other Texas universities, and accomplished many other feats unattainable by a single individual. From this organization, I have witnessed the power in numbers, the power in sisterhood, and the power in determination. To all the strong, beautiful, and intelligent women of this organization and our newest alumnae – Know that we can indeed change the world, because not only are we Texas, we are also Texas Sweethearts.

Thank you for an unforgettable semester and for giving me the opportunity to serve an organization that has forever changed my life.

Sweetheart Love,

An-Vi Nguyen

Spring 2014 President

President's Welcome

Hello, Everyone!

My name is An-Vi Nguyen, and it is an honor to introduce myself as the Spring 2014 President of Texas Sweethearts. I cannot even express to you all my excitement for this semester and the great things that are in store for us. Backed by an incredible officer board and a thriving active body, the Texas Sweethearts are looking forward to continuing our service to the community, supporting University of Texas athletics, and opening our arms to welcome new members to our blossoming sisterhood.

They said, “Don’t go to UT, because you’ll just be another number in their system.” Before attending the University of Texas at Austin, I came from a smaller city just north of the area and attended a 4A high school. I was a cheerleader, a mentor, and an officer or member of as many organizations I could get my hands on. My principal and teachers actually knew my name, and the students that walked the hallways of my school were all at least familiar faces. I was convinced that I could thrive in any environment I put myself in, but nothing prepared me for feeling so lost and nameless in an incredibly large and competitive public university. So then they said, “Join organizations, because it will make campus seem smaller.” And so I did. I attended virtually every student organization fair and attended the first few meetings of every flyer that was shoved in my hands at Gregory Plaza. Although I found great intentions in all of the organizations I looked into, it was not until I started attending Texas Sweetheart smokers that I suddenly found what I was looking for. The actives that I met throughout the recruitment process were so genuine and down to earth that I knew they were the type of people I wanted to be around throughout my college career. As they say, “You are who you surround yourself with.”  The friends that I have made through Sweethearts have accompanied me through countless all-nighters in the PCL, driven hundreds of miles to see me on my birthday, gorged pizza with me while watching the Bachelor, and traveled to Costa Rica to do volunteer work by my side. I am forever grateful for all the Sweethearts I am blessed to call my friends and the unforgettable memories that I have shared with them all. They said that I would “meet [my] lifelong friends in college,” but they never told me that I would meet the sisters I never had.

To all prospective members, nothing would make me happier than to share my love for this organization with you all. Joining Texas Sweethearts was easily the best decision I made in my college career, and I encourage you to take the same leap of faith I took my freshman year and join us for one of our recruitment events. Our recruitment is truly a mutual selection process. As much as we want to get to know you, we also want you to be able to feel comfortable and assured that Texas Sweethearts is the perfect organization for you.

On behalf of the ladies of Texas Sweethearts, I would like to officially welcome you all to the start of our Spring 2014 Recruitment. For more information, please request to join our Facebook group. We are so excited to meet you all!

Sweetheart Love,

An-Vi Nguyen

Spring 2014 President

Volunteering in Costa Rica

As soon as we heard the wheels of our plane scuff the uneven runway of the Juan Santamaria International Airport of San Jose, Costa Rica, we looked at each other and thought, "What in the world did we just get ourselves into...?" There we were, two 20 year old girls from Texas, blindly entering a foreign country with a pamphlet and a few instructional e-mails as our only form of guidance. Suddenly, the only familiar thing we had was each other.

In the midst of studying for finals, interviewing for jobs, and preparing for recruitment as the President and Recruitment Chair of Texas Sweethearts, we decided to quit our crazy lives for a week and a half to do volunteer work in Costa Rica during this winter break. During our time abroad, we had the opportunity to work with several orphanages and elderly care facilities, as well as hike mountains, zip line through the jungle, carbo-load on beans and rice, and navigate the city with our pathetic Spanish knowledge from high school. From Canadians and Australians to Chinese and Nepalis, we met people from all around the world and became known as "Chinita and Gringita," the "Cowgirls," "Texas," and "the-girls-that-say-'y'all'-after-every-other-word." Sooner or later, these strangers became our friends, and we finally became known as "An-Vi and Kristi." What started off as an intimidating trip with just two friends, eventually became an experience of a lifetime shared with new friends across the globe.

Throughout our trip, a common question we received was, "What are Texas Sweethearts?" Considering the fact that half of our closets consist of Texas Sweethearts merchandise, a few T-shirts from our past recruitments naturally landed in our suitcases for Costa Rica and instigated this frequent question. Having to describe what Texas Sweethearts is to strangers eventually put into perspective what Texas Sweethearts means to us. Not only did Texas Sweethearts give us our only friend to start this trip with, it also gave us the confidence and courage to step out of our comfort zones to make new friends in a foreign country. In retrospect, we are both so grateful to have gone through the Texas Sweethearts recruitment process, because it gave us the opportunity to meet new people from all walks of life and truly appreciate where they come from. Applying this experience to our trip, we walked away from Costa Rica with a family of new friends and an understanding of new cultures.

On our last night in Costa Rica, we stayed in a hostel near the airport in San Jose. As we walked down the hall wearing more Texas Sweethearts shirts, we passed a tall guy outside of his room and heard him say, "Texas Sweethearts...?" "Here we go again..." we both thought. As we prepared to start our usual speech to explain what Texas Sweethearts is, he stopped us and said, "No, I know what the Texas Sweethearts are. I was a Blazer when I went to UT!" We were baffled. Meeting this Blazer in a completely different country made us feel so fortunate to be Sweethearts, to come from Texas, and to attend the greatest university in the nation.

So in addition to being the "Chinita and Gringita," the "Cowgirls," "Texas," and "the-girls-that-say-'y'all'-after-every-other-word," we are also best friends and proud Texas Sweethearts. We hope you all will consider joining our sisterhood and making memories like these with us. We look forward to meeting you all!

Pura Vida,

An-Vi and Kristi
President and Recruitment Chair
Texas Sweethearts Spring 2014

Meet Our Fall '13 Executive Board!

We have officially transitioned our new officers into their respective positions, and are so excited about Fall 2013! Thank you to Spring '13 President Stephanie Jean and the entire Spring '13 Exec Board for all of their hard work and dedication and for providing us with an incredible spring semester. 

Texas Sweethearts Fall 2013 Executive Board

President: Alisha Patel

Hometown: Hamlin, TX

Major: Government & Sociology Honors/LAH/Pre-Law

Fall '10

Vice President: Hayley Feichtinger

Hometown: Dallas, TX

Major: Early Childhood Education

Spring '12

Recruitment Chair: Jackie Ortiz

Hometown: Laredo, TX

Major: Communication Sciences & Disorders

Fall '10

Service Co-Chair: An-Vi Nguyen

Hometown: Cedar Park, TX

Major: Marketing

Spring '12

Service Co-Chair: Keely Long

Hometown: Frisco, TX

Major: Biology/Pre-Dental & Philosophy

Spring '12

Social Co-Chair: Kelli Wolf

Hometown: Houston, TX

Major: Geosystems Engineering and Hydrogeology

Spring '12

Social Co-Chair: Candace Pope

Hometown: Corsicana, TX

Major: Computer Science

Spring '12

Spirit Chair: Chandler Miracle

Hometown: McKinney, TX

Major: Civil Engineering

Fall '11

Treasurer: Katelyn Knippa

Hometown: Austin, TX

Major: Civil Engineering

Fall '11

Secretary: Rita Collier

Hometown: Austin, TX

Major: Mechanical Engineering

Fall '11

Relations Chair: Briana Denham

Hometown: San Antonio, TX

Major: Radio-Television-Film

Spring '12

Creative Director: Regan Lewis

Hometown: Austin, TX

Major: Advertising

Fall '12

Sweethearts Spring into 2013!

Texas Sweethearts has kicked off the first two months of the semester with a packed schedule of spirit, social and service events. Thanks to Spring ’13 Spirit Chair, Mayela Barreda, we have been able to cheer on our Longhorns at baseball tailgates with the Iron Spikes, basketball games, and watch parties for away games! We even got together to watch SuperBowl XLVII and we are also preparing to compete in IM soccer after Spring Break! It’s been a spirit packed semester thus far!

Hook 'em!

Social Chairs, Jena Deitrick and Sholeh Abedinzadeh, have been hard at work organizing social events for Sweethearts including Date Skate, the Thrift Shop Mixer with the Texas Wranglers, and tonight we’re super excited about a St. Patty’s themed Tri-Mixer with Absolute Texas and Texas Iron Spikes at the Love Goat!

Texas Sweethearts dressed as super heros at Date Skate

Jessica and Christina dressed as Spiderman and Buttercup

Texas Sweethearts dressed up for our Thrift Shop Mixer with the Texas Wranglers

Texas Sweethearts poppin' tags!

In addition, under the the supervision of Service Chairs, Alisha Patel and An-Vi Nguyen, we have found time to give back to the community through volunteering at the LiveStrong marathon, SURE Walk, Mobile Loaves & Fishes, Feed My People, Explore UT, and of course, our philanthropy, BeHive. A highlight in service this semester was delivering our $10,000 donation from the Dream Date auction held last Fall. As we take off for spring break, we are looking forward to what’s in store for the rest of the semester.

Texas Sweethearts keeping Austin beautiful at Pease Park with the Texas Wranglers

Texas Sweethearts supporting peace in the Middle East

Texas Sweethearts at the LiveStrong Marathon

Fall 12' Service Co-chairs excited about delivering our donation

Texas Sweethearts with the children of Behive

Spirit Group Breakdown: Texas Sweethearts

Felicia Fitzpatrick of Her Campus Texas featured Texas Sweethearts in her spirit group break down this week! Check out what we're all about!

It's no secret that spirit groups are a huge deal here at UT, and with a school as amazing as ours, there are plenty of ways to show your school spirit. We wanted to catch up with some of the campus' most notable spirit groups to see just what these girls are up to. Now, we chat with Stephanie Jean, president of the Texas Sweethearts to find out what these tailgating girls are all about. 

HC Texas: Why did you join Texas Sweethearts? 

Stephanie Jean: I came to college with hardly any friends from home, so when I arrived on campus, I felt so incredibly lost and out of place among the 50,000 students at Texas. I wanted so badly to have the same type of friendships that I had in high school, so I began looking into the several different spirit organizations on campus. I immediately found something special and unique in Texas Sweethearts. I felt at ease with all the members, and I could tell that nothing was forced and that there was a genuine friendship among each and every one of them. They were dedicated, enthusiastic, and ambitious, and I knew that I just had to join.

HCTX: What makes your organization different from other spirit/service organizations? 

SJ: Texas Sweethearts is unique in that we truly strive to equally fulfill all three of our pillars- spirit, service, and social. First and foremost, we are students at THE University of Texas, which means we bleed orange and do everything we can to support Texas athletics. We are the only female organization on campus to host our own tailgates, and we are fortunate to have several loyal sponsors in the Austin area. In addition to our intense school spirit, we are passionate about serving our community. Whether it is volunteering with underprivileged children at our main philanthropy, BeHive, or feeding the homeless at Feed My People, we love to give back in every way that we can. Lastly, we have a wide array of social events throughout the semester to keep our actives busy. These include a trip to TX/OU weekend in Dallas, Big/Lil events, Cocktail, Winter Formal, Parents' Weekend, mixers with male spirit groups and athletic teams, and many, many more.

HCTX: What events do the Texas Sweethearts have? Any coming up?

SJ: In the fall, our biggest event is our annual Dream Date auction. Dream Date is a charity auction, and in 2012, we were fortunate to have record-breaking attendance and we raised over $10,000 for our philanthropy, BeHive. We were ecstatic to hand over 100 percent of the proceeds to the deserving kids at BeHive! An exciting event that we have coming up this spring semester is Senior Call. We hold this event every May to honor our graduating seniors- it is definitely a tear fest for all!

Photo taken by: Briana Denham

HCTX: What's something students may be surprised to find out about Texas Sweethearts?

SJ: Many students may not know that when Sweethearts was founded, we were affiliated with the Texas Wranglers and were called the "Texas Wrangler Sweethearts." Although we are no longer formally associated with the Wranglers, we continue to have a great relationship with them and enjoy supporting them at service and social events!

HCTX: Tell us something that people should absolutely know about Texas Sweethearts!

SJ: Texas Sweethearts is one of a kind. There are not enough words to explain how incredible this organization is. We are filled with the most committed, fun-loving, and genuine girls who support when you're reaching and love if you fall. Being a Texas Sweetheart has absolutely defined my time at the University of Texas, and I have no doubt that it has the potential to do the same for every female on campus.

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You can view Felicia's original article here. Visit Her Campus Texas' Facebook Page for more and to share Texas Sweethearts' featured post.