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Eta
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|Image= [[File:Eta.jpg|200px]]
|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1875|02|02}}
|College= [httphttps://www.wisc.edu/ University of Wisconsin]
|Location= Madison, WI
|Province= Epsilon North
|Homepage= [httphttps://chapterswisc.kappakappagammakappa.org/eta/ Eta Homepage]|Media= [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Eta Media related to Eta Chapter]
}}
'''3,171 453 initiates (as of June 20132018)'''
Agnes Allis Haskill, Carrie (Caroline A.) Hobart, Elizabeth Antoinette Meyer, Juliet Meyer, Helen Remington, Helen Dougal Street, Fannie Walbridge, Fannie West
'''Fraternity Council Members:'''
E. Josephine Sarles (Simpson), Grand Secretary 1882-1884; Florence C. Moseley, Grand Treasurer 1888-1890; George Challoner Tracy, Grand Treasurer 1904-1906; Grand Secretary 1906-1908;
Georgia Hayden Lloyd-Jones, National Director of Provinces 1924-1926; National President 1926-1928, 1928-1930, National Panhellenic Delegate , 1930-1932; Almira Johnson McNaboe, Director of Provinces 1932-1934; Grand Vice President 1934-1936, 1936-1938, 1938-1940; Gail Guthrie (Valaskakis), Field Secretary 1962-1964; Laurie Schmidt (Severino), Field Secretary 1982-1984; Janet Meinheit, Traveling Consultant 1988-1989; Barbara Gerlinger Quilling - Province Director of Chapters 2010 - 2014, Province Director of Alumnae 2014 - 2016, Ritual & History Specialist 2016 - 2021
'''Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:'''
The 1930s were years of happy harmony. Kappas were in Phi Beta Kappa, Mortar Board and Crucible; active in Women’s Student Government Association and Union Committees; and listed as prom queens and in courts of honor. Always stressing academic achievement as a primary goal, the chapter maintained a commendable scholastic record.
==World War II Years==
The health of beloved Carrie Ruden, who had gone into a nursing home, declined and it seemed to some as if Carrie and Eta would be leaving the world together. Carrie died in October 1972, but not Eta. That fall, Eta was renewed in the form of a large and talented pledge class and the renewal seemed permanent.
Letter to New Initiates written by Eta House Board Secretary Mary Parkinson Rehfeld in 1950 -
“Kappa Initiates -
This is a very happy occasion for me to welcome 23 girls into Eta Chapter - especially when one is my daughter Ann. I have waited 20 years for this - but it was worth waiting for. Ann is the 14th Kappa in our immediate family, and I hope there will be many more. Ann has aunts, great aunts, 2nd cousins, 1st cousins, etc. Kappa was Ann’s choice, and I was so glad the actives chose her to be a Kappa too. As you know, often it doesn’t work out that way. (As of 2020 there are now 25 members of this family who are initiated members of Kappa Kappa Gamma. I am #19, and my daughters are numbers 24 & 25...Barbara Gerlinger Quilling)
My biggest wish for you initiates is that you will be as happy in Kappa as I have been - Kappa has stood the test of time now that we are 75 years old. Kappa lasts a lifetime.
There are few things in life that do last a lifetime that are worthwhile. Marriages break up - friendships break up - but not Kappa. Kappa will endure if you make it mean something. Kappa is what you make it. It may be a wonderful experience, or just another club to join and more expense. Enjoy your sorority - keep up your friendships when you leave school. You will never regret it. Make Kappa proud of you on the campus, socially, or in the classroom - you now not only represent yourself, but also your family and Kappa. Your actions speak for Kappa - make them represent the best in you. There have been many Kappa greats. Who knows we may have many Kappa greats among you here tonight - a second Mrs. Herbert Hoover (Kappa from Stanford); Dorothy Canfield Fisher, the writer; Helen Wills, tennis player; Nancy Olson Lerner, Bing Crosby’s leading lady who has starred in 3 films and recently married to Allen Lerner - writer - author of “Brigadoon”; Margaret Weisendorn, Chief of Repatriation returning Polish Children in Munich and Bavaria; Ann Dean Childs, civic leader and philanthropist.
There are other Kappas - who may not be Kappa greats, but they are Kappa personalities - as Wm. Lyn Phelps said, “You may not all be Personages, but you can all be personalities”.
This last week I received a registered mail letter. It was from an attorney in Minneapolis who had enclosed 50 shares of Kappa stock bequeathed to Eta Chapter in the will of Josephine Sarles Simpson - at 85 she had died and was still thinking of Kappa. How many of you will remember Kappa in your will? Yes, Kappa can last a lifetime. Flora Mears - oldest Eta alumna - never missed monthly meetings - left Eta a picture - as it as one of her treasured possessions.
I want to tell you a few things about your Kappa house. It will take you back to 1927. For 4 or 5 years the active girls had been pleading for a new house. The Thetas, Gamma Phis, & DGs were now in new houses on Langdon Street (old Theta House was on corner of Henry and Langdon kitty corner from Kappa House). The trend for the sorority and fraternity row was now to live on Langdon Street. Our house, 27 years old, housed 20 girls, & the chapter had grown to 35 - 40 girls. (Former Kappa House was on the corner of Park and University where Humanities is now). A Building Committee was formed consisting of a Fund Raising Committee, House Furnishings, & Building Committee. Carolyn Chadbourne and I worked on the Fund Raising Committee. We wrote 500 letters to Eta Kappas and heard from 200. We raised $26,000. The Building Committee considered several lots on Langdon & finally chose this as the best. The lot with a house on it cost $45,000 - which is a lot of money even in this day. The house on it had to be torn down & it cost $1200 & there was very little salvage. Then the old Kappa House was sold to the University for $58,000 - of which $5,000 alone was paid in profit tax, because the original investment had only been about $1800. Because the the original stockholders had invested their own money in the first Kappa House as a good business proposition & had received dividends on it, we felt it was only right to pay back any stockholders who wouldn’t care to get into the new undertaking, as we knew there would never be dividends paid on their money again. We bought back about $7200 worth of stock (Books recording all of these stockholders and how much stock they owned are in Eta’s archives.). At this time Mrs Marling as President of the Board & I as Secretary reissued all of the old stock for new stock in the new Chapter House. It was a terrible job - Mrs. Marling had a card table set up in her bedroom, and we took months to do this. The new house was now incorporated for $50,000, and we took out a mortgage for $50,000 from the Guardian Life, & and then it was held by Mary North later.
This house cost $72,000 - land $45,000 & new furnishings $9,000. The Madison Alumnae Association (a lot of rummage sales!) gave $!,116.00 toward the furnishings, the Milwaukee Alumnae Association $250., and the North Shore Eta Kappas $100. There were many individual gifts as well as purchase of stock in the new house to make up the $26,000. Mr. Magnus Severson was our Godfather with his gift of $5,000.
Kappa, besides being the first sorority at Wisconsin, owned the 1st sorority house. The sale of the 1st house was the down payment on this house. So we are indeed grateful to our older Kappas who gave us this heritage.
In 1928 the moving from Park Street to our temporary quarters was no easy job. It took movers 2 1/2 days to get us out of the old house & into the new. We only lived 1 year at the temporary house (the old Phi Gam home) before our new house was ready. It was at this time that a very loyal and faithful employee of Kappa came into the picture & she has been with us ever since - Karen Rude (Carrie).
In December 1928 we broke ground for the new house & in August 1929 moved in. It was a marvelous occasion. Mrs Mowry & Mrs. Davies had done a wonderful job. It was truly a house to be proud of.
For 17 years we have been paying off our mortgage of $50,000. There has been a terrible depression, but Kappa came through. In 1946 the paying off of our mortgage is due to the contributions and efforts & time of many Kappas. The town alumnae here carried their burden by serving on the House Board, & a great deal of thanks is due each one who has served. Mrs. Eager, Murphy, Meloche, & Rikkus have served as President during these years. Mrs. Parkinson, Mary F. Davies, & Anita Noer have served as Treasurer, and a great deal of praise is due them. Mrs. Gonge, Mrs. Noer, & Mrs. Porter have served as Secretary until I came on.
We have been proud of our active girls in this house. You too have done your part in helping to pay for the house, by taking care of it, and by contributing to the House Purchase Fund. We are very grateful to our chaperones who have guided you girls& helped to make living here pleasant. Mrs. Jolly, our first chaperone here, then her sister - then Mrs. Rainey & now Mrs. Fry - they too have made a great contribution.
Kappa to me has been like a mark of sterling on silver. May it mean the same to you girls of the future generation. A beautiful house does not make the chapter. It is only the harmony, happiness, and character of the girls within the house that makes Kappa. May Eta Chapter always be as fine as this lovely house we have built for them.”
==Centennial==
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The previous information was excerpted from The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity, 1870-1976. The information that follows has been gleaned from available resources including Chapter History Reports, chapter meeting minutes, letters and comments from chapter members and alumnae, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity Archives, and The Key. Each chapter is expected to update its history record annually. Contact Fraternity Headquarters at kkghq@kkg.org with questions.
==Highlights of the 1970s==
Greek membership was very low at the University of Wisconsin in the early 1970s. During the Vietnam War, there were many campus protests, tear gassing, and riots. Sterling Hall was bombed and a physics professor killed in 1969. Members of Greek organizations did not wear their letters or badges in public. It was a time of campus unrest. Eta's House Mother was tear gassed on the front lawn of the Kappa House, forcing her to retire after many years. Eta hired Houses Parents for the first time and had a man living in the house. The first House Couple did not work out well, as the male tried to run things not only for the house but also for the chapter. A second House Couple (Rick and Peggy Daluge) were hired in 1973 and quickly became Kappa favorites. They spent several years there. One of the best ideas was having a different chapter member each week sit down with the House Parents and the cook and help to prepare menus. Kappas were even allowed to bring their favorite recipes from home. For the few who chose to join sororities and fraternities, they found a safe haven.
Recruitment was held all during the school year with formal recruitment in both September and January. Informal recruitment was ongoing. In 1971, Kappa Kappa Gamma was down to 33 active members, and the beautiful large chapter house was forced to take on borders. Several other sororities had to shut down or sell their chapter houses and recruit from apartments. Pledge classes ranged from 1 member to about 8 members with informal pledges added as quickly as possible. Eta began to implement many of their recruitment ideas that Barbara Gerlinger brought from Miami University, and things began to turn around in 1973. By the spring of 1974, Eta had 120 active members! Eta and the rest of the sororities still on campus continued to strengthen and grow. The Sally Levis Gerlinger Scholarship was established for Eta sophomores by the Milwaukee Alumnae Association and the Parkinson/Levis/Gerlinger families in 1978.
In spite of the campus issues, Eta had two formals each year with pre-parties at local members' homes. The drinking age in Wisconsin was lowered from 21 to 18 in 1972, so things were different then. Buses were always hired for events, so that no one ever had to drive. Eta also held 2 "Activation" dances each year, Parents' Weekend celebrations, as well as many socials with different fraternities. In 1974 Eta and Theta Chi were partnered and won "Best Homecoming Float". They also hired a bus to take Kappas and Theta Chis to the University of Michigan for the Wisconsin/Michigan football game. All of the Eta women stayed overnight in the basement of the Beta Delta Chapter House of Kappa at the University of Michigan. Many fraternity pinnings and engagements were celebrated with Candle Passing circles! One memorable evening while Kappas were in the basement chapter room holding a meeting, the Betas snuck into the Kappa House and placed limburger cheese under the radiators and then let mice loose in the house! The screaming was unbelievable! Men were not allowed above the first floor, and they had to use a system of Morse Code (ex. long, short, short, long) on a buzzer to let the women know that they were there. Women did not have phones in their rooms, and there was a "House Phone". Pledges took turns being on phone duty in the "lemon room" to answer the phones and to find the Kappa being called.
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==Highlights of the 1980s==
In 1987 a 167 women belonged to the ETA Eta chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Eta received 44 pledges in the fall. On October 15 the chapter marked its 118th founder’s day. Alumnae, actives, and pledges gathered to talk about old times and plan for new, while enjoying coffee and dessert. For philanthropy the chapter participated in a program called Head Start. For this philanthropy the chapter planned a Christmas celebration for underprivileged children. In the spring ETA Eta won awards of merit for pledge programming, communications and fraternity education at province. In 1988-89 Eta received 52 pledges during fall recruitment. The chapter celebrated Founders Day at the Tamarack Condominiums Clubhouse for a catered dinner with 81 actives and 25 alumnae in attendance. In addition to participating in Head Start, the chapter also put on a triathlon to benefit the Special Olympics.
==Highlights of the 1990s==
==Highlights of 2000-2010==
Eta chapter did not commemorate September 11, 2001 by doing anything in particular to memorize memorialize the tragedies, but the campus did recognize it in a couple of ways. Classes were canceled on September 12, 2001 and candle lights were set up throughout Memorial Library.
'''2004 –05:''' Eta Chapter had a very successful year. Eta has been striving to strengthen and improve since being put on a letter of concern. Behavior at the social events has improved greatly and the chapter held a number of sisterhoods throughout the year that strengthened its sisterly bonds. In the spring, Kappa received an award for the highest new member grade point average, which led Eta to obtaining the highest sorority grade point average.
One challenge that Eta Chapter has experienced is promoting all actives to participate as much as possible. Because Eta Chapter is a large Chapter, we are faced with the challenge of hosting events and sisterhoods that are able to include the entire Chapter. Although our sisterhoods are wonderful and successful, they have become more and more sparse. As a Chapter, we are striving to strengthen this particular issue and plan to see improvement within the next semester. Another chapter challenge that Eta Chapter is currently dealing with is the fact that we finished the year off with the fourth highest overall GPA in the Pan-Hellenic community. Although all of the members are working extremely hard, Eta Chapter would like to regain the highest GPA. Eta Chapter is currently planning new academic events that go above and beyond study tables and other current academic opportunities for our members. Eta Chapter is very proud of all of its members, especially when it comes to our academic standings, but there are still areas that need some improvement and we, as an entire Chapter, plan to address such issues and collaborate to promote and raise our overall GPA for this next semester.
==Highlights of 2011-2019==
==Highlights of 2011==
Throughout 2011, the Eta Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma has focused its energies trying to build strong relationships within the Greek community at UW- Madison as well as the forming stronger sisterly bonds within our chapter. Our dedication to academic and scholarly excellence placed us once again at the top of the Pan-Hellenic “Study Table” competition. The Eta chapter logged the most study hours at libraries around the campus.
Eta Chapter was unfortunately placed on Social Probation for the last half of the Fall 2010 semester. The entire chapter evaluated its performance and really strove to uphold our values as a chapter and improve our position in the Greek system, and can proudly say that we were successful and are no longer on probation. Eta Chapter came together as a whole and accomplished our goals throughout the year.
==Highlights of 2012==
Eta Chapter has had an extremely thrilling and fun filled year. It consisted of several exciting events that have helped strengthen our bond as sisters and better the name of Kappa Kappa Gamma itself. Our members are very dedicated to their work and strive for academic success. Throughout the year, we had sisterhoods every week where members could become closer while also getting work done with each other.
Eta Chapter has continued to promote the Greek Community as well as our individual sorority campus wide. The chapter consistently displayed its focus on academics through study tables and other various activities. Everyone shares their majors and classes so people can find others for help. Sisterhoods consisting of studying and snacking in the house are weekly where upper classmen can help freshmen with similar majors to be as successful as possible. Eta Chapter’s philanthropy, Hoops for Hope, is a campus wide event available to all students that raises funds for the Children’s Hospital. A new philanthropy we tried this past fall was Kappa Karaoke. People were invited to come and sing karaoke while we welcomed donations. It was a successful event, which not only raised money for a great cause but also brought our chapter closer together. Eta Chapter continues to strive to increase our participation throughout our campus and community.
This passed past fall, Eta Chapter initiated 51 amazing women. Our New Member Chair, Ali Niemann, did an outstanding job welcoming the new members into Eta chapter. The new members have been well educated on the chapter itself and are encouraged to participate in both Kappa related and campus wide activities. All new members were required to attend a sexual assault and alcohol seminar hosted by the Greek Community to educate them and promote. The organization, called P.A.V.E., consistently benefits our chapter continuing good behavior and awareness on campus. The new members have further strengthened Eta Chapter and are enthusiastic to become even more involved every semester.
Eta Chapter has had some difficulties in the past following certain rules and regulations. However, the year of 2012 was very successful full of several events and activities that made our chapter one of the strongest on campus. Eta Chapter continues to mature and learn from its mistakes, making every year better than the last. Our bonds as sisters continue to strengthen. We cannot wait for all the new, exciting things to come.
==Highlights of 2013==
Eta Chapter has had a very fun and exciting year. It has consisted of several enjoyable events that have helped strengthen our bond as sisters and better the name of Kappa Kappa Gamma. After a relatively tough academic year, our members strived for and dedicated themselves to academic success. Throughout the year, we had sisterhoods every week, academic or philanthropic, where members could bond while also getting work done with each other.
In addition to our strong focus on academics, Eta Chapter also has dedicated much of its time and activities to philanthropic events. Once again, the chapter participated in Humorology, a musical performance competition that raises money for an all-Greek philanthropy. Humorology is one of the oldest traditions at the university and has become the largest non-profit student service organization in Wisconsin. The cast made it to the finals and received awards for “Best Female Lead” and “Best Villain”. The chapter came to watch, and it was a great time for both the people involved and the audience. The entire chapter was extremely proud of the time and effort participants dedicated to support Camp One Heartland
In addition to Humorology, Eta Chapter also participated in Trick or Treat with the Greeks, where kids from local schools come to our campus and trick or treat to different sorority and fraternity houses on campus. Last year we again hosted “Trick or Treat with the Alumnae Kids”, where Kappa Alum in the Madison area bring their children to the house for candy and games. This was a great way to meet new people and for Kappa alums to reconnect and spend time together. We also organized a new philanthropy even we titled “Grabba Grabba Doughnut” where we sold Krispy Kream doughnuts in library mall during fall midterms. It was a success and everyone enjoyed participating.
Eta Chapter has continued to promote the Greek Community as well as our individual sorority campus wide. The chapter consistently displayed its focus on academics through study tables and hours with other various activities such as academic sisterhoods. Everyone shares their majors and classes so women can find others in similar classes and receive tutoring or help. Sisterhoods consisting of studying and snacking in the house are weekly where upper classmen can help freshmen with similar majors to be as successful as possible. Eta Chapter’s philanthropy, Hoops for Hope, is a campus wide event available to all students that raises funds for the Children’s Hospital. Eta Chapter continues to strive to increase our participation throughout our campus and community.
This past fall, Eta Chapter initiated 59 wonderful women. Our New Member Chair, Emily Bruksch, did an outstanding job welcoming the new members into Eta chapter. The new members have been well educated on the chapter itself and are encouraged to participate in both Kappa related and campus wide activities. All new members were required to attend a sexual assault and alcohol seminar hosted by the Greek Community to educate them and promote. The organization, called P.A.V.E., consistently benefits our chapter continuing good behavior and awareness on campus. The new members have further strengthened Eta Chapter and are enthusiastic to become even more involved every semester.
This past year the existing chapters at Wisconsin Madison voted to welcome a new sorority chapter to our campus. Alpha Xi Delta will be joining our campus next year and we are looking forward to expanding the Greek presence at Madison. Here at Kappa, our bonds as sisters continue to strengthen. We cannot wait for all the new, exciting things to come.
==Highlights of 2014==
2014 was an extremely exciting and enjoyable year for the Eta Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. This year consisted of many fun events that have strengthened our bond as sisters and bettered the name of Kappa Kappa Gamma itself.
Continuing to strive for academic success, our members have worked to dedicate themselves to their studies. The chapter consistently displayed its focus on academics through academic sisterhoods. Everyone shares their majors and classes, so members can seek help from fellow sisters. We even employed a tutor to come to the sorority house and assist members with their studies. Also, our members participated in “Letters at the Library,” The weekly Greek-wide event has helped to promote the Greek System’s academic excellence and standing throughout our campus.
In addition to our strong focus on academics, Eta Chapter has dedicated much its time this year to philanthropic events throughout campus. Once again, the chapter participated in Humorology, a musical performance competition that raises money for an all-Greek philanthropy. Existing as one of the oldest traditions at the university, Humorology has become the largest non-profit student service organization in Wisconsin. This year the event raised over $86,000. In addition, our chapter was second runner up, and received awards for “Best Costumes” and “Best Dance Break.” The chapter came to support our cast, and it was a great time for both the people involved and the audience. The entire chapter was extremely proud of the time and effort participants dedicated to support Camp One Heartland.
Eta Chapter once again participated in Trick or Treat with the Greeks, where children from local schools come to our campus and trick or treat to different sorority and fraternity houses on campus. Also, our chapter organized a new philanthropy event called “Kappa Karamel Apples,” where we sold caramel apples outside of our sorority house. The event was a great opportunity for our sisters to bond while raising money for our nationwide philanthropy- Reading is Fundamental.
Eta Chapter continues to strive to increase our participation throughout our campus and community. This past year, two of our members were chosen to be on the Panhellenic Executive Board. Also, a large group of our members were initiated into the Greek honor society- Order of Omega. Furthermore, we are proud to have won the Best Philanthropy Award at the All Greek Awards this year, along with 3 other awards. Our chapter remains a strong presence in the Greek community.
This past fall, Eta Chapter initiated 53 wonderful women. Our New Member Chair, Samantha Miller, did an outstanding job welcoming the new members into Eta chapter. The new members have been well educated on the chapter and are encouraged to participate in both Kappa-related and campus wide activities. All new members were required to attend a sexual assault and alcohol seminar hosted by the Greek Community to educate them and promote. The organization, called P.A.V.E., consistently benefits our chapter continuing good behavior and awareness on campus. The new members have further strengthened Eta Chapter and are enthusiastic to become even more involved every semester.
2014 was overall a very fun and successful year for our chapter. We were able strengthen our philanthropic involvement, academic excellence, and overall participation in our community which made us one of the strongest chapters on campus. Eta chapter continues to learn and progress, making every year better than the last and strengthening our sisterly bonds. Eta chapter is eager to begin another exciting year and see what new, fun things are to come.
Our chapter holds its chapter meetings in a chapter owned house. In 1901, Kappa Kappa Gamma was the first sorority on the UW-Madison campus to build its own house on North Park Street. In 1926, The University bought the North Park Street house, and the chapter made plans to build a new house on North Henry Street. The chapter moved into this house in September of 1929, and it has remained the house that our members reside in today. Currently, 55 sisters of Eta Chapter live in our chapter owned house. We are fortunate enough to have one of the few houses that can hold this many members. It's a great aspect of Eta chapter that majority of our members have the opportunity to live in the house. It allows us to strengthen our bonds and grow together as sisters.
==Highlights of 2015==
2015 turned out to be another exciting and eventful year for the Eta Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma! Once again, we focused on maintaining our academic excellence as well as our strong presence on campus.
In regards to scholarship, our chapter had an extremely strong year academically. At our academic banquet, many of our members were recognized for maintaining a 4.0 GPA over the course of the spring academic semester. In addition, the Panhellenic Association awarded two of our members with Panhellenic Scholarships. The Eta Chapter recipients were selected from a large number of applicants across the entire Panhellenic Association. We were so excited to see our sisters win the Outstanding Panhellenic Senior Scholarship and the Outstanding Panhellenic Member Scholarship! Our chapter has also continued to participate in “Letters at the Library.” The weekly Greek-wide event has helped to promote academic excellence and standing within the Greek Community throughout our campus.
Members of our chapter participated in many fun sisterhood events. These events strengthened our sisterly bonds with one another. We rented out a local movie theatre, which made for a fun movie viewing experience. In addition, we made a trip to a Wisconsin State Park- Devil’s Lake. Hiking and taking in the beautiful scenery with our sisters was an amazing experience. These were just some of the many sisterhoods that we had throughout the year. The memories we made during these events have made a lasting impact on us.
Describe the recent changes on your campus and describe the overall nature of your chapter.
Our chapter house underwent some exciting new renovations this summer! We redecorated our chapter room in the house and got beautiful new furniture. It was a great surprise to all of our members, when we returned from summer vacation.
This past fall, Eta Chapter initiated 61 wonderful women! The chapter executed an amazing recruitment this year, and we were extremely to welcome all of these amazing ladies into our sisterhood! Our New Member Chair did an outstanding job welcoming the new members into Eta chapter. The new members have been well educated on the chapter and are encouraged to participate in both Kappa-related and campus wide activities. All new members were required to attend a sexual assault and alcohol seminar hosted by the Greek Community to educate them and promote. The organization, called P.A.V.E., consistently benefits our chapter continuing good behavior and awareness on campus. We are all so excited to see what the new members will contribute to our chapter!
Overall, Eta Chapter succeeded in making 2015 an outstanding year. From our philanthropic events to our sisterhoods, there were a plethora of amazing memories made this year. Our chapter continues to improve itself in every single aspect of our sorority. We are looking forward to see what is in store for us in 2016, as every year seems to be better than the last!
Chapter Philanthropy:
What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?
As always, Eta Chapter held philanthropic involvement at a high importance this year. In the Spring, our chapter had our annual philanthropy, “Hoops for Hope.” The event has been a longstanding tradition within our chapter for many years. The event was a 3-on-3-basketball tournament benefiting the UW Children’s Hospital. The philanthropy continues to be an amazing opportunity to raise money for the local hospital. It is also amazing to see members of many different chapters throughout Greek Life come together to support a common cause, and have fun doing it! In the Fall, our chapter organized a new and exciting philanthropy called, “Grabba Grabba Pizza.” Members of Eta Chapter sold pizza outside our house on a Friday night. All of the proceeds from the event benefited our national philanthropy- Reading is Fundamental. The philanthropy was executed seamlessly, and has been one of our most successful philanthropy events to date! In addition to our two philanthropy events, our chapter organized a philanthropy sisterhood this year. A large group of our members spent the afternoon volunteering at a local food pantry. It was a great opportunity to spend time with one another, take a break from schoolwork, and contribute our time towards helping those less fortunate than us in our community. We look forward to organizing more philanthropy sisterhoods in the future!
For the 66th consecutive year, the chapter participated in Humorology, a musical performance competition that raises money for an all-Greek philanthropy. Existing as one of the oldest traditions at the university, Humorology has become the largest non-profit student service organization in Wisconsin. This year the event raised over $116,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County making the organization the largest student donor to the Boys and Girls Club in the nation! The chapter came to support our cast, and it was a great time for both the people involved and the audience.
Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
Our chapter continues to support organizations within our community- such as the UW Children’s Hospital and the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County. Our philanthropies are a great opportunity to give back to the community and help those in need around us. It is always gratifying to actually get to see the effects of our service in the community.
==Highlights of 2016==
2016 was a very exciting and eventful year for the Eta Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma! This year, Eta Chapter was especially strong in regards to academics. We moved up in the GPA rankings from ninth place all the way to fourth place! Additionally, one of our New Members was selected to receive the New Member Panhellenic Scholarship, so we were so excited to see our sister win! Our chapter still continues to participate in "Letters at the Library," the weekly Greek-wide event held to help promote academic excellence within the Greek community. We also participated in many fun sisterhood events throughout the year.
We started "Cookie Mondays," a sisterhood event where girls could stay after chapter, eat cookies, and chat with other sisters. One of our chapter goals was to better promote the history of Kappa and we addressed this goal by bringing up old pictures and archives to display during chapter as well as implementing a time capsule for the New Members that they can recover after they graduate. Another chapter goal was to turn Founder's Day into a bigger and more recognizable event. This year, Founder's Day was hosted at Blackhawk Country Club and turned out to be a very successful event.
This past fall, Eta Chapter initiated 52 outstanding women! We held an excellent recruitment this year and were thrilled to welcome our wonderful New Members. Our New Member Chair did an excellent job of educating these New Members on both the opportunities available in Kappa as well as Greek life as a whole. All New Members were required to attend an alcohol and sexual assault seminar hosted by the Greek community, which benefits our chapter immensely. Another big change that Eta Chapter underwent was transitioning house-moms after having our previous house-mom for over 15 years. While Karen is greatly missed, Mary Ann is doing a great job of keeping everything running smoothly at the house.
Between our academic improvements, fun sisterhood events, successful philanthropies, and everything in between, Eta Chapter is constantly improving year after year. Our chapter is doing a nice job of recognizing where we need to improve and setting goals for the betterment of the chapter. We see this mindset of constant improvement transferring over to the new Chapter Council, as they are already setting goals of their own for their time as leaders of the chapter. We think that they will do a great job of continuing better our chapter every single day.
Eta Chapter held philanthropic involvement at high importance this year. In the spring, we executed our annual philanthropy, Hoops for Hope. This event is a 3 on 3 basketball tournament and all proceeds go to the UW Children's Hospital. Not only does this event raise money for the Children's Hospital, but it is a nice opportunity to get many members of Greek life together to support a common cause. This fall we held our second annual "Grabba Grabba Pizza" philanthropy to benefit our national philanthropy, Reading Is Fundamental. For this event, members of Eta Chapter stood outside the Kappa house as well as on State Street and sold slices of pizza to those walking by. Unfortunately, a thunderstorm led us to cancel the event one hour earlier than expected, but we still were able to raise over $1,000 to donate to Reading Is Fundamental. Both of these philanthropies were incredibly successful and we are hoping for continued success in the years to come.
Our chapter continues to support organizations within our community such as the UW Children’s Hospital, River Food Pantry, First Harvest Food Bank and the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County. Our chapter chooses to support these organizations because we want to support organizations within our community and see our community thrive. Our philanthropies are a great opportunity to give back to the community and help those around us. We love being able to see the effects of our service and philanthropies in our community.
== Highlights of 2017==
Summary:
Throughout 2017, the Eta Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma has focused its energies on strengthening relationships within the Greek community and planning more sisterhood events to foster even greater bonds within our chapter. Our dedication to academic and scholarly excellence moved our GPA up to the highest its been in years. Additionally, our chapter included members that were awarded three of the seven Pan-Hellenic scholarships. The Eta Chapter recipients were selected from a large number of applicants across the entire Panhellenic Association. We were so excited to see our sisters win the Outstanding Panhellenic Member Scholarship for Samantha Shellen and Madeline Henderson, and the Outstanding Panhellenic Senior Scholarship for Molly Levine!
Chapter Philanthropy:
In addition to our strong focus on academics, Eta Chapter also has dedicated much of its time and activities to philanthropic events. Kappa Kappa Gamma performed in the largest non-profit student service organization in Wisconsin once again! Kappa Kappa Gamma along with Alpha Chi Omega, Beta Theta Pi, and friends performed their show among seven others and were awarded for having the cleanest dancebreak, the best cameo, and the most creative script. The cast consisted of over 60 members that started practicing in September 2016 for many hours a week and performed their final show on April 9th, 2017. Kappa’s show followed the storyline of two long-time best friends auditioning for a spot at Star University. Tensions grow as one of the main character’s, Dereck, is convinced that his best friend, Jenny (played by Mara Nasui), is trying to take the spot for herself when there are actually two spots. The Kappa directors were Carly White, Sabrina Carlins, Maria-Elena Svigos, and Emily Eigler. Throughout the semester, the directors and cast members participated in various fundraising in events such as the Eat Street one, Pie the Directors, and held small auctions. Our cast alone raised $38,000 and combined with the entire Greek Community we raised over $180,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Dan County. This year, Kappa Kappa Gamma is paired with Alpha Chi Omega and Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) for Humorology. The cast has made it to next semester and will participate in the final show sometime in the spring. The directors include Mara Nasui, Jordan Abt, and Simona Khomutov.
Philanthropy events are always a highlight of our semesters here at Eta Chapter. It’s a time for us to come together as a chapter to give back to our community, and remind ourselves how much Kappa has given us and what it has to give to others. In the fall, we held our “Grabba Grabba Donut” fundraiser in an effort to raise money for Reading is Fundamental (RIF). Reading is Fundamental empowers millions of children to read and grow intellectually by donating books and supporting literary sources, and inspires passion for learning and reading around the United States. This has been Kappa’s worthy national philanthropy since 2004, and here at Eta Chapter we are proud to support this impactful effort. We held an annual food fundraiser where we sold donuts outside of College Library and on State Street. We also partnered with the Madison Alumnae Association and held our first Girls Academy this fall.
Chapter Facility:
Our informal chapter meetings are held in the living room of our beautiful chapter owned house. Our formal chapter meetings are held in the lower floor of the house. This past fall, Eta Chapter initiated 57 wonderful women! This year’s recruitment involved many changes that challenged and strengthened our members. We were extremely excited to welcome all of these amazing ladies into our sisterhood! Our New Member Chair, Katie Gache, did an outstanding job making the new members feel at home and established a strong bond with the ladies early on. welcoming the new members into Eta Chapter. We are all so excited to see what the new members will contribute to our chapter!
Eta Chapter transitioned a new house-mom, Janette, who is doing a great job of keeping everything running smoothly at the house. Overall, our chapter has strengthened our philanthropic involvement, academic excellence, and overall participation in the community. We continue to grow as individuals and as a chapter, making progress every year and building relationships that will last a lifetime. We’re eager to begin another exciting year and see what exciting things the future has in store for us.
==HIghlights of 2018==
In 2018, the Eta Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma, experienced a very exciting and eventful year! This year, Eta Chapter focused on maintaining our high academic standards, continuing to strengthen our philanthropic involvement within our community, and fostering greater bonds as a chapter.
As a chapter this Fall, we had some unforgettable sisterhood events! Our VP of Standards planned a movie night for our chapter. We rented out a local movie theater, bussed there together and enjoyed popcorn and snacks while getting to know our new members! Another highlight includes a Kappa Kappa Gamma yoga class. One of our sophomores is a teacher at our local Madison yoga studio and led a Kappa filled yoga class for Eta Chapter.
Academics:
This year, members of Eta Chapter, along with our VP of Academic Excellence, encouraged one another to succeed academically. We participated in “Letters at the Library” where Greek members can study together at College Library and we organized a mentoring. Through our mentoring system, an upperclassmen is matched with a lowerclassmen member according to their majors and experiences. From there, they are encouraged to trade advice, and lowerclassmen are given guidance on classes, internships, and the best study tools. Our chapter GPA has continued to increase in the last year and is currently a 3.507! Scholarships were granted to Nikoletta Economou, and Courtney Morrison.
Chapter Facility:
Our informal and formal chapter meetings are held in our beautiful living room of the chapter owned house. This past fall, Eta Chapter initiated 66 wonderful women! We were extremely excited to welcome these women into Kappa Kappa Gamma. Our New Member Chairman, Hannah Lundquist helped them to feel right at home. The women are all very excited to be able to live in our chapter owned facility in the next academic school year. Our initiation and recruitment process went exceptionally smoothly this year, as we had a Kappa Kappa Gamma LC at both events. They contributed to the ultimate success of these important events a tremendous amount.
Chapter Philanthropy:
In addition to our strong focus on academics, Eta Chapter grew tremendously in our philanthropy. This year we raised over $20,000 for the Kappa Foundation, UW Children’s Hospital, Reading is Fundamental and Mental Health Awareness! This past Spring we held our annual Hoops For Hope basketball tournament to benefit the UW Madison Children’s Hospital. This event also allows us to bring the Greek community together. We even had some UW - Madison basketball players participate! In the fall, we held our annual “Grabba Grabba Pizza” event, where we sell pizza outside of our chapter facility and on State Street in, to benefit our national philanthropy Reading is Fundamental. Additionally, we held a Girls Academy event at a local Madison middle school, where Eta Chapter members led activities with the young women to encourage female empowerment and leadership. This is our second annual Girls Academy weekend and we look forward to many more!
This year has been a great one for Eta Chapter! We just transitioned our new Chapter Council and are very excited to see what the pilot structure has in store for our chapter. Overall, our chapter has continued to uphold our academic excellence, improved our philanthropic involvement, and strengthened the bonds we hold with one another. We will continue to grow individually and as a chapter throughout the coming years and are excited to see what they have in store for Eta Chapter![[File:Eta Chapter Bid Day.png|thumb|Eta Bid Day]]
==Highlights of 2019==
In 2019, Eta chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma has an eventful year! Once again Eta Chapter focused on maintaining high academic standards, participated in many philanthropy events in our community, and continued to stregthen our bonds as a chapter.
As a chapter we held many exciting sisterhood events throughout the year. These sisterhoods include going to a pumpkin patch, having a sister trivia night, a movie night, and a tour of an art museum. These events help our chapter get to know the new members and a to streghthen our bonds with one another.
Academic:
There was a strong focus with maintaining high academic standards through out the year. We continued to participate in "Letters at the Library" where members can study together and grouped members by majors in order to set up a mentoring program. Our overall chapter GPA was 3.468 and many of our members were acknowledged for getting a 4.0 at our academic banquet. Scholarships were awarded to Sami Stroebel, Brynn Tonn, Katya Mikhailenko, Paige Mezzatesta, Lexie Ippolito, and Courtney Morrison.
Chapter Facility:
Both our informal and formal chapter meetings are held in our beautiful living room of our chapter owned house. This past fall, Eta Chapter initiated 77 women, and we are extremely excited to welcome them into Kappa Kappa Gamma. Our New Member Chair, Alexa Vogel, educated the new members on the chapter and helped them fit into the chapter.
Chapter Philanthropy:
In addition to strong academics, Eta chapter contined to grow in our philanthropy. This past year we held our annual Hoops for Hope tournament and raised over $18,000 to benefit the UW Madison Children's Hospital. This event was a 4 v 4 basketball tournament that allowed many people in the Greek community to come together to support a great cause. In the fall we held our "Grabba Grabba Pizza" fundraiser where we stood outside of our house and sold slices of pizza to people on the street. This event raised over $12,000 for our national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental. Kappa Kappa Gamma performed in Humorology, the largest non-profit student service organization in Wisconsin. Kappa Kappa Gamma paired with Alpha Chi Omega, Beta Theta Pi, and Acacia to perform along with five other casts and were awarded best acapella, funniest script, and best one liner. The Kappa Kappa Gamma directos were Maia Hentges and Sami Stroebel. Throughout the year there were many events to raise money and our cast alone raised over $78,000 out of $405,000 to benefit Badger Childhood Cancer Network.
The panhellenic community is currently in the process of getting a new chapter on campus that has yet to be determined. Eta Chapter prides itself in our academic exellence, our sisterhood events, and our overall community involvement. We continue to work to improve overall as a chapter. "
Eta Chapter supports Reading is Fundamental, UW Children's Hospital, Badger Childhood Cancer Network. We chose these philanthropies because it is a great way to benefit local organizations and give back to the community.
The chapter celebrated Founders Day by having a dinner planned for the entire chapter as well as a few alumnae. The alumnae then went through and introduced themselves and told them what Kappa meant to them. We had the Minnie Stewart van stop by our chapter house which allowed our members to experience part of Kappa's history.
==Highlights of 2020s:==
While we weren't able to be together in person this year, we worked hard at finding ways to stay connected virtually! Being fully virtual presented unusual challenges for our chapter, but here are a few ways we were able to do so. Sisterhood: As a chapter, we had to adapt how we handled sisterhood events, and come up with new ideas for virtual sisterhood events. These virtual sisterhoods included virtual yoga lessons taught by members of our chapter, having a virtual bid day (themed outfits and all), and going on social distanced “key sister” dates in order to form bonds between our new members with their future bigs. While this was not not our usual calendar full of fun events, these events helped our chapter get to know the new members, and to strengthen our bonds with one another all while making sure everyone stays safe and healthy. Academic: There was a strong focus with maintaining high academic standards throughout the year. We continued to participate in "Letters at the Library''where members can study together and grouped members by majors in order to set up a mentoring program. Our overall chapter GPA was 3.6. We weren't able to hold ceremonies or recognize those who showed outstanding academic achievement, but there are plans to do so when we return to something close to normalcy! Chapter Facility: Both our informal and formal chapter meetings were held virtually this year. We had to add an unofficial “Technical Director” position to our executive board, which was Lily Holscher. She set up Zoom links, and handled any problems we had with technology. We are very thankful for her stepping up as she was a huge asset! This past fall, Eta Chapter initiated 78 women, and we are extremely excited to welcome them into Kappa Kappa Gamma. Our New Member Chair, Ellise Bergstrom, educated the new members on the chapter and helped them fit into the chapter by setting up the big little pairings. Chapter Philanthropy:In spite of all the changes this year, Eta chapter continued to grow in our philanthropy. This past year we held our annual Hoops for Hope tournament and raised over $19,000 to benefit the UW Madison Children's Hospital. This event was a 4 v 4 basketball tournament that allowed many people in the Greek community to come together to support a great cause. Our philanthropy chair, Leta Krueger, was absolutely outstanding in adapting our philanthropy to still be successful within this pandemic. Virtual workout classes and Cookie-Grams for purchase to send to anyone on campus were two of the main events held for our fall philanthropy. It is worth mentioning that these yummy cookies were made by our very own house chef Dena! These events raised over $10,000 for our national philanthropy (Reading is Fundamental), $8,000 for the Kappa Foundation, and the last $7,000 to various local organizations. These organizations included Porchlight Madison, Cystic Fibrosis, to the family of a sister of ours whose brother has brain cancer, and to another sister of ours whose friend back home is recovering from a severe car accident. It’s super exciting to look at all the success we had with our philanthropy, and all of the great people/organizations who we were able to help in this time of need. The panhellenic community is currently in the process of getting a new chapter on campus that has yet to be determined, this was delayed because of, yes you guessed it.. the pandemic. Eta Chapter prides itself in our academic excellence, our sisterhood events, and our overall community involvement. We continue to work to improve overall as a chapter. Eta Chapter supports Reading is Fundamental, UW Children''s Hospital, Kappa Foundations, and local organizations to give back directly to our sisters or our community. The chapter celebrated Founders Day this year by attending a virtual ceremony hosted on Facebook Live.
Overall, this year was unlike anything that we could have expected. The way Eta chapter was able to adapt to the circumstances, and find ways to still make Kappa Kappa Gamma meaningful and relevant within a virtual environment is a huge accomplishment. Fingers crossed this pandemic will end before next year's report!
This past year has been anything but ordinary for Eta Chapter! Operating in a pandemic is never a small feat, but we have had yet again another fantastic year. We installed a wonderful new executive board in January with President Blake Burnstine leading us in our endeavors. We have welcomed a new executive board position, the Director of Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and have since partaken in workshops and seminars to enrich our knowledge on the topic. The spring was quiet with our events being virtual, but we took things outside in April for a golf tournament supporting our local philanthropy, the American Family Children’s Hospital. In the fall, we welcomed a record new member class of 82 girls. Our bid day theme was Sweet Home Kappa Gamma—we hosted the event in a pandemic safe fashion outside with masks and cowboy hats! As things have slowly gone back to normal, we have been able to get back to hosting date parties and other special events like Grabba Grabba Pizza, an event at our chapter house. On December 4, 2021, we will initiate 82 new members into our chapter, and we could not be more proud of them. In the year to come, we hope to keep the same passion for our philanthropies, continue to grow our already large chapter, and further our education on DEI.
Our chapter supports American Family Children’s Hospital. Our chapter had a longstanding connection with this organization. We are committed to supporting our community at all age levels.
This year the Eta Chapter introduced its first ever Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The DEI position was important in fostering inclusiveness, creating awareness, leading to conversations and growth in members, the chapter, and the greater community. Some of our first initiatives included hosting a clothing drive for St. Vincent de Paul, giving DEI training before recruitment, and implementing a comprehensive diversity action plan. We are excited to continue to develop this position promote diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout all chapter operations!
Operating in a pandemic is not an easy thing to take on, but our executive board persevered in order to make the most of the situations given. In the spring semester, we hosted chapter each Monday over Zoom, a medium that we have grown to use quite a lot! We used Zoom for workshops, DEI trainings, and Executive Board meetings. When the fall semester came, we moved chapter meetings to in person and partook in recruitment in person, just with the addition of masks. It was great for the members to feel a sense of normalcy once again in the chapter house. Masks have come to be a large part of our day to day.
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'''Note to Chapter Registrar:'''
Please refer to your chapter archives and chapter meeting minutes to fill in any gaps in the above historical highlights. If your chapter archives are not complete, please research your university library, campus newspaper and yearbook archives for newsworthy information about your chapter. Please double check your work for accuracy. Contact chapter Advisory or House Board members, local Alumnae Association members, or your Province Director of Chapters for assistance. Your efforts will ensure a complete and accurate history of your chapter for future generations to enjoy!