Toast Masters - Ice Breaker Speech (#1) - "An Aggie Introduction"

10-18-2011

Toast Masters Speech

Ice Breaker Speech (#1)

"An Aggie Introduction"

given in 5 minutes and 45 seconds

Howdy!  … Some of you might not be familiar with this greeting in a group setting.  At Texas A&M University, when a speaker gets in front of a crowd and says, “Howdy,” the group answers “Howdy” right back.  I’ll try again:  “Howdy!”

The word HOWDY is used to greet visitors constantly at Texas A&M.  If you go visit, and I think you should, you are likely to hear “Howdy” just about everywhere, and especially at the beginning of a group address.  If the group speaker is a student, you will also likely hear her give a brief, common introduction.  When I was in college, I would have introduced myself something like this:

Howdy!  My name is Catherine Stanford and I am an Industrial Engineering major from Carrollton, Texas.  But most importantly, I am a proud member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Class of 2007!

This introduction is brief but delivers a surprising amount of information!  You hear my name, what I am studying, where I am from, and my class year.  Today, I would like to tell you about the different components of that Aggie introduction, how they have evolved over the years, and what mine might sound like today.

My name is the first component of the introduction, and you might not recognize the last name I used.  Although my last name is “Dierschke” now, I spent 23 years as a “Stanford.”  I have been married for about three and a half years but still was still caught a little off guard at the Charter ceremony when my name was one of the first ones called… I was still expecting to be called towards the end of the list.  I guess old habits die hard.  I am very proud of the Stanford legacy and all of the wonderful people that are a part of it.  I love that my maiden name is on my diploma in part because it highlights the Stanford family history at Texas A&M; my grandfather graduated in 1941, my father graduated in 1976, and I graduated in 2007, making me a third generation Aggie.  Although my children won’t be able to be a fourth generation of Stanfords at Texas A&M, I hope they will consider continuing the new Dierschke tradition.  My husband Brandon is a first generation Aggie and we met on an engineering study abroad trip to Germany in 2005.  Yes, we drank a lot of beer.  And yes, it was very good.  Brandon and I got married three years after we met and I happily took his last name, along with the requirement that I constantly coach people on how to spell and pronounce it.

My name is Catherine Dierschke.

The next part of my Aggie introduction describes my area of study in college:  Industrial Engineering.  When applying to Texas A&M, I knew that I wanted to study engineering because I had always been strong in math and science, and because my mother said that engineering is a highly marketable skill, but I wasn’t sure which type of engineering I should pursue.  I began perusing the course catalog and as soon as I thumbed to the Industrial Engineering section, I knew I had found my match.  It said, “Industrial engineers determine the most effective ways for an organization to use the basic resources of production.”  I thought that I would be a perfect fit in this department because I am always looking for a better way to do things.  Four and a half years later, I graduated and took those process improvement and problem solving skills to Fujitsu Network Communications, where I was hired by the Production Control department in the Operations group.  For the last three and a half years, I have worked as one of the last steps in the supply chain, planning production and providing scheduling guidance for manufacturing.

My name is Catherine Dierschke and I am an FNC Production Planner.

The next introduction component is the description of my hometown.  I grew up in Carrollton, Texas, a suburb in North Dallas, graduating from Newman Smith High School in 2003.  My parents have since moved a few miles North to Allen, but I still consider Carrollton my original “hometown.” College was a transient time for me, as it is for most people, and I moved every 4-6 months, at the end of each semester and at the end of summer employment opportunities.  When I graduated from college and got married, I finally settled in Rockwall.  My husband works in Greenville and I work here in Richardson, so we wanted to live somewhere in the middle, splitting the commuting distance roughly in half.  One thing I love about Rockwall is that it still seems like a small town despite the quickly growing population; there is a strong sense of community as people support the local high school teams, and everyone flocks to the ONLY movie theater in town every Friday and Saturday night.  I am glad to now call Rockwall “home.”

My name is Catherine Dierschke and I am an FNC Production Planner from Rockwall, Texas.

The final introduction component communicates the basic information that I am a member of the class of 2007.  But it also tells you about my community ties.  Part of our tradition at A&M is to cultivate camaraderie with the students who started college together as freshman.  There is a joke that you can either graduate on time (in four years), or with your class, whenever that might be. It is this spirit of community that I think is the most important aspect of the introduction, and one of the most wonderful things about being an Aggie.  I don’t need to update this part of my introduction because it will always be true and important to me.  But as the years go by, there are more communities to add.  After graduating from college, I got married and had two children.  Therefore, first and most importantly, I am in community with my immediate family.  Additionally, for the past year and a half, I have been a member of a small church in Rockwall called FaithBridge.  It is a wonderful group of people that have become like a second family.  And of course, I am a part of the Toast Masters community now.  I joined Toast Masters to improve both my prepared and impromptu speaking skills, but I found the added bonus of a supportive and encouraging group of peers.

In the almost 4 years since I graduated from college, my name, hometown, area of study, and community have changed significantly.  Now my Aggie introduction goes something like this:

My name is Catherine Dierschke.  I am an FNC Production Planner from Rockwall, Texas.  But mostly importantly, I am a wife and mother, member of FaithBridge Church, charter member of the Toasting Texans, and very proud member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Class of 2007.

Thanks and Gig ‘Em. ... Mr. Toastmaster.