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--------Diversity, Equity, and InclusionOur chapter took several initiatives this year to implement diversity, equity, and inclusion inall of our programs, events, ideals, and leadership. Our chapter elected our second DEI officerthis year who educated our chapter on important information, conducted workshops focusedon DEI, weekly meetings discussing meaningful topics to our community, and constantlypromoted an inclusive environment within our chapter. She brought to light the celebrationsof heritage month, and each week highlighted positive female role models of differentethnicities and their accomplishments. Our DEI committee members as well as the DEI Chaircreated a weekly DEI newsletter which includes articles written from various members aboutanything relevant or they feel passionate about educating the chapter about. With our fallFleurish this year we raised awareness and supported CDLF who focuses on the underservedand underrepresented minority populations, taking care to provide culturally appropriate andrelevant services. Our DEI Chair worked closely with our Membership Chair to lead ourchapter in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout our recruitment process andeducated our members on how to be the most inclusive and welcoming to any potential newmember, or anyone we speak to. The implementation of DEI initiatives within our chapter hasled all members of Eta Sigma to become more educated about other cultures, appropriatelanguage, and inspired the Panhellenic community at Chapman to be more passionate aboutdiversity, equity, and inclusion. The Eta Sigma chapter is excited to create more DEI initiativesthis upcoming year and continue to lead our chapter with ideals of diversity, equity, andinclusion.Operating in a Pandemic
'''Note The pandemic this past year affected our chapter’s ability to Chapter Registrar:''' be in person, but did not stop usfrom connecting, recruiting, bonding, and maintaining our sisterhood. During spring 2021, wePlease refer to your held all of our chapter archives including meetings virtually. In addition, recruitment and initiation were heldover Zoom. Even though our recruitment was held virtually, our chapter meeting minutes put in extra efforts tomake it just as exciting and special, and back issues we were still able to welcome home 45 amazingwomen who we felt embodied the ideals of The Key kappa and formed great connections during therecruitment week. Our big-little reveals, as well as initiation, were virtual ceremonies but westill found ways to make our new members feel celebrated through special letters writtenfrom the bigs, shipping the littles their letters jacket, and some Greek families met up withmasks to fill in any gaps celebrate in person. At the above historical highlights. If your end of Spring 2021, our chapter archives are not completewas able to hold ourphilanthropy event, please research your university libraryFleurish, campus newspaper in person by following our university’s health and yearbook archives for newsworthy information about your chaptersafetyguidelines. Please double check your work for accuracy. Contact chapter Advisory or House Board membersAt this event, everyone wore masks, local Alumnae Association memberssocially distanced, or your Province Director of Chapters for assistanceand remained outsidethroughout the event. Your efforts will ensure a complete This was our chapter’s first event back in person and accurate history the excitement of your everyone to be back together radiated. During Fall 2021, our chapter for future generations was able to enjoy!hold ourevents in person again with masks and following our university’s COVID regulations.[[File:Chapman2.jpg|thumb|New Member]][[File:Chapman3.jpg|thumb|Philantrophy]][[File:Chapman5.jpg|thumb|DEI Newsletter]][[File:Chapman6.jpg|thumb|Phil/Big]]
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{{Infobox Fraternity|Name= Eta Sigma|Image= [[File:Chapman.jpg|200px]]|Founded= {{start date and years ago|2013|04|19}}|College= [https://www.chapman.edu/index.aspx/ Chapman University]|Location= Orange, CA|Homepage= [https://chapman.kappa.org/ Eta Sigma Website]|Media= [https://wiki.kkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Eta_Sigma Media related to Eta Sigma Chapter]}}
'''260 441 Initiates (as of June 20152018)'''
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This badge is worn by Kelsey Leach, it was her grandmother’s pin from 1952 from the Gamma Alpha Chapter at Kansas State.
==Highlights of 2016== Eta Sigma has had a fabulous year. From our New Orleans French Quarter Semi Formal to our surprise date party Kappa Gone Country, our events were a blast. Our Spring Retreat was at Ronald Reagan Park with the goal of having a meaningful conversation with someone that you haven't before. The entire standards committeehelped facilitate bonding activities. We hosted our first annual Golden Key Gala, raising over $6,000. It was a night to remember as we were able to showcase all the philanthropic work our chapter has done thus far. In regards to academics, from fall 2015 to spring 2016 our GPA went up from 3.381 to 3.407. Eta Sigma had 13 4.0’s in Spring 2016 and 61% (117) of the women maintained or improved their GPA’s. In union with the Greek community, Eta Sigma participated in Chapman University'sannual Skit competition. We won 5th place overall and 3rd place for sororities with our performance to Mamma Mia. At the 2016 Biennial convention, we are honored tohave won the Recruitment Award for campuses with 8-11 Panhellenic groups and received Honorable Mention in Chapter/Advisory Board relations, Excellence inChapter Management, and Standards. During Labor Day Weekend we held our second annual Kappa Kamp. This weekend was a key factor in furthering our sisterhood as we kicked off the Fall semester. Kappa Kamp was filled with stories, inspiration, bonding, and all things Kappa! Another exciting event for Eta Sigma was our philanthropy event that was completely new to Eta Sigma: Fleurish. It is a week dedicated to bringing the Chapman community and surrounding areas together to create a space that fosters conversation on important topics. This year we chose to focus on the topics of empowerment and respect. The week consisted of daily self empowerment activities on campus; these events were used to tackle some of the problem that college students face on a regular basis, all leading up to our keynote speaker on that Thursday evening. We were fortunate enough to host the founder of I Am That Girl and Kappa Kappa Gamma, Delta Tau alumnae Alexis Jones. The event was a huge success as we had over 530 people attend, the majority of which were not involved in Greek life. We look forward in hosting this event every fall semester! To wrap up the semester, we had our Winter Wonderland Semi Formal and a Parent's BBQ during Homecoming weekend. We are so excited to welcome our new members next semester! One of the most recent changes on our campus is deferred recruitment. Chapman University's Panhellenic Council has moved formal recruitment from the Fall to Spring. This is the first year our chapter is having formal recruitment in the Spring. We are adjusting well and Chapter Council is extending positions to go through recruitment so the upcoming officers can shadow throughout the two month transition. Our fundraising is split between Kappa’s national philanthropies. Our fall event “Fleurish” raises funds for the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. And our Spring event “Golden Key Gala” raises money for Reading is Fundamental. We volunteer with over 50 different organizations in the area! In the past some of our repeat organizations have been the Ronald McDonald House of Orange County, Operation School Bell, and local elementary and middle schools. We hope to be rebuilding our mentorship program, in partnership with Reading is Fundamental of Southern California, where we will be paired with a local school to meet with some of theirstudents. We donate to the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation and Reading is Fundamental because they are the nationally supported philanthropies for Kappa, and because their values closely align with those of the Eta Sigma chapter specifically. Additionally, we choose to volunteer for a variety of local organizations to helppromote community relations, but specifically seek out organizations that focus on empowerment; whether that be academic or personal empowerment. We also loveorganizations that focus on the theme of promoting literacy and a love for learning. The Eta Sigma chapter holds meetings as well as our events on Chapman's campus.The chapter does not have a house. ==Highlights of 2020s:2017== This year our chapter was proud to successfully put on our annual event Fleurish for the second time. Fleurish was designed to bring the community and students together to raise discussion about important topics affecting our society. As it is more important now than ever to build one another up, this year we focused on a platform of love, respect, and desire to seek common ground despite our differences. We wanted to empower one another by practicing intentional acts of love. In addition to Fleurish, our chapter actively participated in philanthropy events of other greek chapters on campus and was proud to place first in Kappa Alpha Theta's annual event KATwalk, supporting Court Appointed Special Advocates, (CASA), and place second in Gamma Phi Beta's Airbands, supporting Girls on the Run. We gladly initiated 2 women into our chapter who transferred from other chapters. Another special event our chapter held again this year was Kappa Kamp, a weekend spent at the UCLA Kappa house full of meaningful bonding to continue to grow as a chapter and strive towards goals we created. A recent change on our campus is a change to deferred recruitment. Chapman University’s Panhellenic Council moved formal recruitment from the fall to the spring the last academic year. This is the second year our chapter will hold formal recruitment in the spring. It is a hard adjustment, but it will get easier year by year. We have extended Chapter Council position transitions, so that upcoming officers work with their outgoing officer through this period. This is largely beneficial to the incoming membership chairman because she is able to participate in recruitment with an outlook that she will be in charge the following year. She has the opportunity to play a significant role in the recruitment process, so she has a better idea of her role and expectations. Additionally, we must modify the budget to accommodate this change. It was a challenge the first year, but it was much easier this time around. Whether it be a fundraiser to support one of our sisters such as Relay for Life or a beach clean-up on a Saturday morning, the Eta Sigma Chapter is always looking for new ways to give back. In support of our national philanthropy, we have fundraised nearly $1,000 for Reading is Fundamental in the Spring of 2017 while partnering with the Friendly Center for our first Reading is Key Event. We were able to donate books to over 130 children from grades K-8. The Friendly Center provided us with a list of the reading levels, helping us cater to each child' Information s needs. There were different shift sign-ups throughout the week allowing Kappas to pair-up one-on-one with a child. There were fun games and activities to help promote a love for reading. Further, we hosted our second annual Fleurish event this October. Fleurish was designed to bring students and the community together to raise discussion about important topics. The theme for this year was “Choose Love” with keynote speaker Houston Kraft. Houston talked about how we could increase our capacity for compassion and choose love in the hardest of situations. We had over 500 students, high schoolers, and community members join us in this conversation. It was a night where we all could laugh, be honest with ourselves, and come together to better ourselves and better those around us. All while raising $2,000 for GIRLS Academy this coming April. As detailed above, Eta Sigma has established itself as a chapter dedicated education and empowerment. We choose organizations that members in our chapter can connect to. With events such as Reading is Key, Fleurish, and our upcoming GIRLS Academy experience, it is important that our members can see the effects of their efforts. Not only are we encouraging members to explore their passions, but we are creating more hands-on opportunities and ways to build relationships within our local community. The Eta Sigma chapter holds all of our chapter meetings, as well as the majority of our events, on the Chapman campus. ==Highlights of 2018== An exciting highlight for 2018 Eta Sigma was taking First Place in our university’s annual Skit competition put on by the Greek Life community. It was our first time winning and our video actually went viral online. It is a choreographed presentation of The Parent Trap condensed down to six minutes. All hands were on deck for this huge event, with Kappas stepping up to make the show happen through everything from planning the dance to designing costumes, music, and lighting. Our favorite part about Skit is the fact that it allows so many members in the chapter to step into different leadership roles that allow them to utilize their gifts and strengths. Numerous members are nominated from the floor and voted into positions such as “choreography chair,” “costume chair,” and “skit chair.” All positions have the opportunity to work together in creating the set, sound design, lighting effects, costumes, as well as working on administrative responsibilities and communication efforts. They develop their teaming skills while developing their leadership skills and presence in the chapter as well. Our chapter was honored to have been recognized at Kappa Convention for earning one of the top five for “Most Outstanding Chapter,” a “Lifetime Education Award,” and six honorable mentions (finance, chapter management, new membership, membership, standards, and public relations). We feel blessed to have been able to send seven actives, and were blown away by how much they got out of their experience. They came back with new ideas, new passion, and a renewed sense of focus and excitement about their involvement in Eta Sigma. We were proud to debut a brand new event this past semester. On the weekend of October 13th, we held a combined Parents Weekend and Founder’s Day brunch in which we highlighted all of the important reasons that we call Kappa home. Here we held a silent auction to raise proceeds for our fall philanthropy event, Fleurish. It was incredible to hear current active members speak as well as alumni who were being honored for their years of devotion. We found that by combining our Parents Weekend event with our Founder’s Day Celebration, we were better able to convey the meaning and value that Kappa holds in our lives while honoring our founders. We were also able to increase chapter and parent buy-in regarding our annual philanthropy event, Fleurish (details below). It was amazing to see and hear the parent and alumni reactions to the unveiling of our Fleurish theme for 2018 – “Turn On a Light.” We are also proud to have had Kaitlin Wong, an active member, serving on the 2018 Chapman Panhellenic council as Vice President of Recruitment. We found that having one of our members on the council increased our chapter’s allegiance to the Panhellenic community as a whole, and we are looking forward to two new active members serving on the council in 2019. Another notable event from the year included Kappa Kamp, a 3-day sisterhood retreat held at the UCLA kappa house. Each year we find that Kappa Kamp instills a renewed sense of pride and excitement for the coming year in each and every one of our members lives. We are also able to define our values and priorities as we enter into recruitment season, and get to know sisters we may not know as well while deepening the bonds we have with our good friends as well. Our Chapter Council held a retreat during January of 2018 and set forth 5 strategic goals for the year. They included the following: 1. Improve timeliness of programming. 2. Increase chapter history reportsmember retention. 3. Utilize committees more. 4. Improve Ritual and Chapter History Knowledge. 5. Increase Accountability and Compliance with Bylaws and Standing Rules. While we truly saw improvement in each and every one of these aspects of the chapter, we especially saw improvements in numbers 1, 2 and 3. Programming was bettered through the VPO role which created a within-chapter-council calendar that allowed us to communicate dates, times, and events far in advance before releasing them to the chapter to avoid potential over programming. This, in turn, had a positive effect on attendance at chapter events. We also saw an increase in chapter member retention. We believe that this is primarily due to the betterment of the sisterhood within our chapter as a whole, scholarshipthe establishment of a more fluid and bonding new member program, and the intentional programming that we put forth for the chapter. We also saw many members step into leadership roles within their committees. We felt that this could be attributed to the pre-set and thought through agendas for their meetings, and different group honorschats that were created to increase communication between committees. Additionally, with some of our committees, we were able to nominate/awardsassign different roles that were larger to girls looking to take on semi-big leadership positions in the chapter. We saw many of these girls step into chapter council positions for the 2019 year. We look forward to continuing to improve on our goals in 2019 as well. We have adjusted to Chapman Panhellenic’s switch to spring deferred recruitment, traditionsas historically recruitment was always held in fall at the beginning of first semester. With two sessions under our belt, we feel confident stepping into this next recruitment and are proud of the goals and values we uphold as a chapter and look forward to adding new members. Our chapter is dedicated to supporting a number of philanthropies. Fleurish is Eta Sigma’s annual fall philanthropy event that is focused around the keynote performance of a motivational speaker. However, it is so much more than that. From October 22nd to 25th, the women of Eta Sigma set up a table in the Piazza to lead our community in meaningful activities and fundraise money. This year’s theme was mental wellness, prompting our community to think empathetically about our mental health and consider it in the same light we think about our physical health. The tabling activities asked students to sign a pledge committing themselves to mental wellness, share things that help them get them through the day, reframe everyday intrusive thoughts and worries in a positive light, and consider how they can individually turn to our Chapman community for support. Then, on Thursday, October 25th, award-winning mental health advocate Ross Szabo gave his keynote speech about mental health in Memorial Hall. He shared his story of being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in high school, in a community where resources and education about mental wellness were scarce, and how building a platform for him to be vulnerable and share this story has helped him and others heal. He spoke in a candidly and uplifting manner, finding a way to make the audience laugh while asking sincere questions about how we treat ourselves every day. In addition to this programming, Eta Sigma fund raised $21,000 for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Orange County chapter. This donation will help provide free support groups and educational resources for individuals in our community who struggle with mental health, as well as their families. This is a record amount of money fund raised for Eta Sigma chapter! Overall, Fleurish was a representation of the values of the women in our chapter. We gave our community a platform to open up, be vulnerable, and support each other, and the results of this have surpassed the week of Fleurish. As a result of this event, our community has barriers and stigmas broken down so people feel more comfortable asking for help when they need it, even if it just means talking to their friend about something difficult. Additionally, we raised funds for Reading is Fundamental and spent a week tutoring students at the Friendly Center in Orange and were able to donate over 100 books to them. Also, we raised money for the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. We chose to have Fleurish this year focus on the issue of mental wellness, something we see affect our own sisters, the Chapman community, and beyond, and felt it imperative to foster positive conversations for how we can acquire tools to increase our mental health. We selected the local chapter of NAMI to fund raise for because they provide mental wellness resources to the nearby community. ==Highlights of 2020== Although we faced unprecedented times, Eta Sigma had a great and memorable year. We began our eventful year at recruitment! Throughout recruitment, we were able to create a stronger bond and bring high energy to each day. On day one, the theme was ‘Go Greek’, where we are able to show off how we participate in Greek life and how exactly Greek life has positively impacted our lives. On day two, the theme was philanthropy, which is when we are able to discuss what specific organizations and causes we support, more specifically Fluerish! On day three, the theme was values, which is when we are able to discuss what exactly Kappa’s value are and how each of our members embodies them. The last day, day four, is preference day, which is when the PNM’s receive an invitation to come back to Kappa and get to know us on a deeper level. Most members will tell you that preference day is the most special because we have very heartwarming speeches, we have some of our Kappa sisters sing, and we of course share a small piece of ritual and the value of the key with the potential new member. We successfully welcomed 67 new members, and welcomed them with a pink cowgirl themed bid day hosted at Kappa alumna, Mary Silzel’s house! Soon after, we celebrated our Inspiration Week, in anticipation for Fireside and Initiation on March 15th. Unfortunately, the week before initiation, we were sent home due to COVID-19, and unable to hold initiation in-person. We rescheduled Initiation to be on May 3rd. Our virtual initiation was very special eventsand memorable for our Chapter, especially for our Theta Class. Although we could not all be together, we were able to have members of the Ritual and History committee to help facilitate the ceremony and make it special for our newly initiated members. To kick off spring semester, we began to hold virtual meetings, where we created themes for each meeting in order to keep everyone involved and excited! One of our biggest accomplishments was welcoming our newest committee, known as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and creating a new chapter council position for the chairwoman of the committee. During the spring, we were unable to put together our annual philanthropic event, Fluerish. We instead started a brand new virtual mentor ship with the Big Brothers and Sisters of Orange County, and have fund raised for many different causes and organizations. We were also able to be apart of a virtual version of Skit, changes an event put on campus by Greek Life where chapters have to create a six minute performance based off of a movie or TV show. Eta Sigma placed as first with an Annie theme! Our members worked very hard and had a great time putting on a socially distanced skit. We also celebrated Kappa’s 150th anniversary with a virtual Founder’s Day celebration. We welcomed all of our family members, and celebrated the founding of Kappa Kappa Gamma through many heartwarming speeches, videos, and even honored our founding members through a special ritual. As the semester went on, we held virtual meetings every Sunday, and held a sisterhood nearly every week. Some of our most memorable.. We virtually held trivia night’s, a pumpkin carving celebration, study room’s, and so much more. Our president, Charlotte Cavanaugh-Kerr was awarded president of the year, which was such an exciting accomplishment for Eta Sigma and for Charlotte! We also received honorable mentions from the annual Kappa Kappa Gamma National Convention for our new member program, a heritage award, a gracious living award, and a public relations award. We were awarded New Adelphe Level, House Award for unhoused chapters, and a financial award for unhoused chapters. Although our year looked different, we all continued to learn, grow, and flourish amongst one another and because of that our bonds as Kappa sisters grew stronger than ever. Chapter Philanthropy Eta Sigma supports many different organizations and causes. We have taken the time to truly study, inform, and raise money for several different organizations. We chose to start a brand new virtual mentorship with the Big Brothers and Sisters of Orange County. We have been given the opportunity to be the first group involved in their pilot college bigs program; and we hope to continue it every year. In lieu of fundraising, we raised $250 for Orange County United Way Local pandemic relief for low income individuals and families, $658 for Seal for Lebanon Beirut Emergency to fund Lebanon, $3000 for A Place Called Home, an organization that provides an array of services to local children and their family, and $500 Black Women's Blueprint, an organization dedicated to placing black women and girls’ lives, as well as their struggles, squarely within the context of the larger racial justice concerns of the black communities. We chose to support these different organizations and causes because Eta realizes how important it is, especially in a time like this, to give back and help the community, so that’s what we’ve been striving to do all year. We felt that it was an important time to truly study, inform, and raise money for these several organizations that are in need due to unprecedented times. We had the pleasure of appointing Roxy Amarizzi into our new DEI role in June of 2020, she was excited and prepared to implement values of diversity, equity, and inclusion to the Eta Sigma chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma! She began to attend meetings with other Greek Life DEI chairs, Greek Life advisors, as well as meetings with our own chaptercouncil members to brainstorm for the fall. She also conducted weekly informational sessions about a culture, overall nature religion, or topic that a sister felt passionate about, allowing for many of our new members (and older members!) to present on things that they felt were important to them. Then, for the fall semester, we created the DEI Committee consisting of liaisons between this role and other Chapter Council roles. We had weekly DEI Meetings with open forum topics about topics like body positivity, mental health awareness, the importance of self care, and more. The DEI role also worked with our Vice President of Standards to make hate speech a standards issue as well as implementing a reporting form for the chapter. We also worked with other chapters like Tri Delta, Gamma Phi Beta, and Alpha Phi to raise money for Lebanon over the Summer as well as conducting individual chapter fundraising for organizations like The Conscious Kid. Overall, this new role was rewarding to the chapter because we were able to construct it to fit the needs of our chapter. We were able to assess the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion and found that Eta Sigma truly does promote this values and envision a sisterhood with these principles. Eta Sigma was able to celebrate Kappa’s 150th anniversary in many ways! We were lucky enough to have the Minnie Stewart van visit us during our bid day in January! The Minnie Stewart Van allowed our chapter to enjoy exhibits and experienced Kappa’s founding firsthand through virtual reality. Our chapter loved every second of it, and found it to be such a special way to celebrate Kappa’s anniversary. We also were able to put together a virtual founders day and celebrated with our entire Chapter and their family members. We had multiple of our members speak about the history of Kappa, and we were able to put together a virtual founders day ceremony. ==Highlights of 2021==The Eta Sigma chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma engages in a unique philanthropy at ChapmanUniversity called Fleurish. Fleurish is an event held in the spring and the fall where ourchapterpartners with a local organization to raise money and awareness for a specific causethat we find meaningful to us and our community. In the spring at our Fleurish event, wepartnered with the Orange County Therapeutic Arts center and fundraised over $4,300through venmo boards and selling art that members of our chapter goalscreated. On Friday May 6,we threw an event on Musco lawn with live musicians and tables with art, fun games such ascornhole and face painting. Over 500 people from the Chapman community attended theevent and the executive board of the Orange County Therapeutic Arts spoke about theirprograms. We choose to support this organization because they provide innovative, artistic,educational and therapeutic programs that inspire and transform children, at-risk youth, challenges and their families to fulfill their highest potential. This event was our chapter’s first in-personevents coming out of quarantine, so we wanted to focus on how they were overcomewe could reunite whilerecognizing how the arts can help you come out of a crisis with something good that you’vecreated.Our fleurish event in the fall supported Casa De La Familia (CDLF), whose mission is to providevictims of trauma in SoCa with support services, counseling, and awareness. We fundraisedfor CDLF from October 18th through October 22nd by tabling on campus, selling t-shirts andstickers, and running a penny wars competition between the Greek chapters on campus. OnFriday, October 22nd we held an event on Musco Lawn with live musicians, and tables tomake self care packages or do a self care activity such as painting vases. The event on muscolawn had 5 representatives from CDLF who spoke about their organization and we hadaround 300 members from the Chapman community attend. We chose this organizationbecause our chapter felt it was so important to raise awareness for mental health servicesand felt empowered by Casa De La Familia’s mission statement to ensure the long lastingmental health success of individuals of all ages who have experienced trauma. For ourfleurish event in the fall we engaged with the other Greek organizations on our campus andraised over $6,500. Our chapter is excited to support Kappa’s national philanthropy, the Kappa Kappa GammaFoundation, and the new mental health and well being initiative next semester. During thispast year, we have focused on our chapter’s philanthropy, Fleurish, etcbut have been planningthis semester on how to take action and support these organizations next semester. Ourchapter discussed what organization felt most meaningful to us and we choose to support theJED foundation who works to promote emotional health and prevent suicide in teens andyoung adults. This foundation inspired our chapter and we are excited to raise money andawareness for them this upcoming year.