Texas A&M Sigma Delta

After considerable preliminary planning, in which National Secretary-Treasurer James W Bayne and the Texas Kappa Chapter provided valuable assistance, The Texas A&M Sigma Delta Chapter was organized under the leadership of Dr J. George H. Thompson. National President E. Kent Springer, Secretary-Treasurer James W. Bayne, and Regional Vice-President Donald R. Haworth formally installed the chapter on May 21, 1964.

Members of the Sigma Delta Chapter are proud of their contributions to the school which has done so much good for them. The recent presentation of a $1000 check to the Dean of the College of Engineering climaxed twenty semesters of fund-raising. The Dean will purchase a podium for the Engineering College auditorium with the money.

Chapter activities include a smoker during which members and prospective pledges get acquainted, a project through which members or pledges help serve the department, and a social in honor of the graduating seniors. A banquet, attended by student and faculty members and wives, highlights every semester.

ANNUAL SUMMARY REPORTS

2023 - 2024 Isabella Mondelli, President

The Texas A&M Sigma Delta chapter has had a successful year by welcoming seven new members during our fall induction ceremony, and twelve new members in the spring. 

Figure 1. Fall 2023 Pledges

 

Figure 2. Spring 2024 Pledges

 

Our chapter was represented by our president, public relations officer, and faculty advisor at the 2024 National Convention in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

Figure 3. Sigma Delta officers posing with PTS officers from TAMU Qatar and Prairie View A&M, along with our advisor Dr. McFarland
 

At the National Convention, we had a great time meeting Pi Taus from other chapters, especially those close to us in Texas that we can plan events with. Our chapter continued to expand on the professional development of our members through speaker nights, resume workshops, and professional headshot events. 

Figure 4. Industry Night with Los Alamos National Labs

 

In the spring semester we hosted several socials for pledges and actives to spend time together, including badminton, pickleball, and golf socials. At our golf social (see Figure 6), some of our officers even taught the rest of our members how to play golf!

Figure 5. Badminton Social

Figure 6. Golf Social

Throughout the year, our chapter engaged in community service events. Our largest community service project was through Texas A&M University at The Big Event. The Big Event is the largest, one-day, student-run service project in the nation where tens of thousands of students volunteer and give back to the Bryan & College Station community. Our Sigma Delta chapter partnered with Texas A&M’s ASME chapter to do yard-work, clean out garages, paint fences, and clean windows for six different houses in the area.

Figure 7. PTS x ASME at The Big Event ‘24

Figure 8. PTS members volunteering at The Big Event ‘24

Prior to our initiation banquet every semester, we hold a pledge board painting social where pledges cut and paint a shape from a piece of plywood. Pledge boards are a long running tradition for our Texas A&M Sigma Delta chapter. This experience provides pledges an opportunity to work with hand tools (such as a jigsaw) that are common to mechanical engineers. Additionally, at the initiation banquet, the pledges and officers sign the back of the pledge board for everyone in their pledge class. 

Figure 9. Pledge Board Social ‘24

 

Figure 10. Pledge board signing

Figure 11. PTS members posing with their bronze keys at the Spring ‘24 Banquet, and officers handing out keys and t-shirts 

Our chapter is gradually overcoming the challenges of rebuilding our membership after COVID-19. Through our Instagram and increased social events, we’re continuing to spread awareness about PTS and re-establish our chapter presence at Texas A&M. Through partnerships with other organizations and building relationships with industry leading alumni at Texas A&M, our chapter is optimistic for the semesters to come. 

Figure 12. Last officer meeting for Spring ‘24

 

2022-2023 Kaylyn Daniel, President 

The Texas A&M Sigma Delta chapter has had a successful year. We welcomed eight new members during our fall induction ceremony and five new members during our spring induction ceremony. Throughout the academic year, our members enjoyed time together during socials, service projects, and study sessions. Many had virtual/remote options so that all dedicated pledges could complete their requirements. Our chapter was also represented by our president and faculty advisor at the 2023 National Convention in Auburn, Alabama. During the fall semester and our time together in the spring, we hosted several socials where pledges and active members could meet and enjoy time together while doing things like sharing dinner, playing games, and remote study sessions. 

During the semester, the Sigma Delta chapter participated in community service events. Our first service project was a park clean up at Lemon Tree Park in College Station, Texas. We worked together to pick up litter across the entire park. This project took approximately 3 hours and allowed us to clean the entire area. Our largest community service project was through Texas A&M University at Big Event. Big Event is the largest one-day, student-run service project in the nation with tens of thousands of Aggies coming together. The Sigma Delta chapter partnered with Texas A&M’s ASME chapter to pull weeds and lay fresh mulch in gardens. We volunteered for over half a day to help make College Station a better place. 

Throughout the semester, we held multiple study socials. The study socials were held on campus in the engineering building for easy-access for all members to attend. At these events, we encouraged members to come with questions they may have about their classes. The officers all attended and offered advice in the areas of our strengths. We advised each other on ways to succeed in each class and also shared studying strategies. 

Our last event before the banquet is creating pledge boards. Pledge boards are a Pi Tau Sigma - Sigma Delta tradition. Each pledge cuts their own board from a piece of plywood. Their board can be any shape they desire. For example, one pledge cut the carnot cycle from the plywood and painted on part of the Pi Tau Sigma logo. This experience provides them an opportunity to work with tools such as a jigsaw that are common to mechanical engineers. At the banquet, the pledges bring their boards. The officers vote on the best one and award the winner with PTS cords and stole. 

While we continue to face challenges rebuilding our chapter membership, we enjoyed the time we had together to connect with other mechanical engineering students and faculty members, learn from the experiences of members in industry, and serve our community. We have plans to increase participation and encourage more members to join. In the next semesters, we are working on finding more ways to get the Pi Tau Sigma name out there through partnerships with other organizations and creating merchandise such as t-shirts. We are optimistic about the semesters to come. 

 

The figure below is a summary of the events we participated in. The pictures were posted on our Instagram page.

 

2020-2021 Aneil Marathi, President

The Texas A&M Sigma Delta chapter has had a successful year. We welcomed ten new members during our fall induction ceremony and five new members during our spring induction ceremony, despite all the difficulties that come with recruiting and conducting the pledge process during a pandemic. Throughout the academic year, our members enjoyed time together during socials, service projects, and corporate speaker meetings, each with a virtual/remote option so that all dedicated pledges could complete their requirements. Our chapter was also represented virtually by officers and members at the 2021 National Convention. During the fall semester and our time together in the spring, we hosted several socials where pledges and actives could meet and enjoy time together while doing things like trivia, movie and game nights, and remote study sessions. We were even able to host multiple in-person social events following the safety protocols of our university. Our chapter enjoys hosting corporate meetings each semester where we invite someone from industry to make a presentation either about their company or another subject that will help to guide our initiates and actives in their future career. We were able to host companies like Accenture and Shah and Smith Assc virtually in order to show what mechanical engineers can do in non-traditional industries for our major.  In the fall semester, we had to think of ways to conduct service events that were accessible to remote pledges. This led us to our park clean-up event and our canned food drive! We had members pick up trash at local parks and submit pictures as proof instead of one united park clean-up as in past semesters. We also hosted a can drive in coordination with the 12th Can to collect food for a local nonprofit. That food drive was so successful that we decided to repeat it in the spring, along with an in-person service event in coordination with the Bryan/College Station Habitat for Humanity. While our year was definitely challenging with COVID-19 restrictions, we enjoyed the time we had together to connect with other mechanical engineering students and faculty members, learn from the experiences of speakers from industry, and serve our community.