|Image= [[File:Sigma.jpg|200px]]
|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1884|05|19}}
|College= [httphttps://www.unl.edu/ University of Nebraska]
|Location= Lincoln, Nebraska
|Homepage= [httphttps://www.unl.edu/kappa.org/ Sigma Homepage]|Media= [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Sigma Media related to Sigma Chapter]
}}
'''3,011 044 initiates (as of June 20172018)'''
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'''Fraternity Council Officers:'''
May C. Whiting Westermann, Fraternity President 1902-1904, Grand Secretary 1919-1902, Fraternity President 1922-1926; Ruth Kadel Seacrest, Fraternity President 1944-1948, Director of Chapter Programs 1940-1944; Kelly Riggs, Field Secretary 1978-1980; Stephanie Nelson (Whiten), Traveling Consultant 1996-1997; Lori Armiger, Traveling Consultant 2002-2003; Lizzie Fraser, Traveling Consultant 2003-2004; Ann Moernius, Leadership Consultant 2009-2010, Amy Johnson Sutton, Fraternity Treasurer, 2018-2020
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==Highlights of the 1970s==
Sigma did not allow seniors to move into apartments, although other Greeks on campus had. The Avant garde trend of the 1960s seemed to die out in the 1970s. In 1975, the first floor was redecorated by Nancy Melchior Matt, Wisconsin, who affiliated with Sigma.
Sigma was honored in 1974-75 when it provided chapter resources for the University’s philanthropic drive. The chapter continued to have campus leaders, members of honoraries, and governing committees.
Change was in the air during the late 60's. Suddenly Kappas and other girls on campus could wear slacks to class..... and soon after that jeans! And the legislature lowered the drinking age to 20. Kappas became more involved in national affairs, even attending the 1968 Chicago Democratic convention and participating in sit ins.
==Highlights of the 1980s:==
==Highlights of 2018==
Throughout the 2018 year, many girls bustled in and out of the big, blue door of the white, Kappa house at the 616. With a total of 168 active women in the chapter many activities, clubs, majors, jobs, and athletics kept Kappa’s members busy. At the beginning of the year, 18 new officers were installed at Formal Meeting, and Summer Baldwin became the 2018 Kappa Kappa Gamma Sigma Chapter President. The new council members became acquainted with their positions and advisors as they met with previous officers. Within the Greek Community at the university, Kappa’s presence was made clear throughout the year. Sigma’s Panhellenic Delegate, Kali Dodd, attended weekly meetings with fifteen delegates from other chapters, acted as the liaison between Kappa and The National Panhellenic Conference, and created opportunities for Sigma Chapter to build relationships with other chapters on campus. For International Women’s Day, Kappa teamed up with Kappa Alpha Theta and handed out goody bags in front of the Student Union in the spring. This event was a huge success, and Kappa plans to do it again next year in 2019! Kappa had the pleasure of being paired with Beta Theta Pi and Delta Delta Delta for Greek Week in the spring. The Homecoming Week theme was “Bringing Tradition Home” in honor of Scott Frost’s first season as head coach of the football team. Kappa had very high involvement in all of the events and placed in the top three for the blood drive and lawn display competitions. Kappa was paired with FarmHouse, Sigma Chi, and Pi Alpha Chi for Homecoming. Sigma Alpha was added to the Panhellenic Community this year, and Theta Phi Alpha is no longer recognized as a Panhellenic chapter. Sigma chapter received an honorable mention for Panhellenic at the National Conference in Denver, Colorado. Kappa’s very own, Andrea Harris, was elected to serve as the 2019 Panhellenic President. During Formal Recruitment in August of 2018 over 1000 women participated in the action-packed week, visiting a total of 16 chapters each. Kelsey Martinez, Sigma’s Membership Chairman, hosted all Potential New Members throughout the week and prepared for their arrival all summer. This year, Kappa had 5 members volunteer as Rho Gammas during the week, mentoring small groups of women and guiding them throughout the week. Bid Day came at the end of the week planned by Emma Tuttle, Sigma’s New Member Chairman. Bid Day was “Kappa Kandyland” themed with pascal colored props, tank tops, glitter, colorful lipstick, hair dye, and many excited new members and actives. Chapter Registrar, Andrea Harris, organized Bid Day photography to commemorate the special day. After 52 women ran into the arms of joyful Sigma Members, 51 of them successfully completed the new member program with Tuttle throughout the beginning of the 2018 fall semester. On October 26th and 27th, alumni came to initiate the 51 new members composed of daughters, sisters, granddaughters, and nieces. Jessica Moore, Sigma’s Marshal, planned a successful, exciting, and well-rehearsed initiation ceremony for the chapter. She emphasized Kappa’s songs and traditions throughout the process. Many changes to the UNL campus happened this year. One was that the Cather/Pound Dorms behind Neihardt Residence Hall were demolished in late December of 2017. The lot on which both buildings resided has been vacant and blocked off for a year after. Just this December, nearly a year after the implosion, there have been workers cleaning up the site and adding sidewalks through the still roped off area. Another change to the atmosphere of UNL is the Tobacco-Free and Smoke-Free Campus Policy. This new policy at the university was approved back in August of 2017, and it was put into full effect starting on the first of the year in January of 2018. In the fall of 2018, the Nebraska Huskers welcomed back one of their own, Scott Frost, to be the head coach of the Nebraska Huskers Football Team. Many excited fans anxiously awaited his influence on the team which has not been performing as well as they would like. After the Huskers finished their 2018 season with only four wins and eight losses, Nebraskans are not as pleased with Frost as they expected they would be. The Husker Volleyball and Basketball teams have been doing well during their 2018 seasons, and other UNL teams continue to exemplify success and embody what it means to be a D1 athlete at UNL. Finally, the Cather Dining Center and College of Business recent builds have been easily accommodating students and contributing to academic success and university comfort this year. Another project that’s projected to be done in the next month or so is the addition to Sigma Phi Epsilon across 16th Street from Kappa. The fraternity has been making an addition on the south side of their house and ensuring that it matches the rest of the house’s old, genuine, brick exterior aesthetic. Fraternity, Sigma Nu, just to the North of Sigma Phi Epsilon, remains abandoned and unkept. Fraternities Phi Gamma Delta, Delta Tau Delta, and Phi Kappa Psi still remain in band standing with the university and are working to rebuild and reconfirm their fraternity values and status in the Greek and University communities. During the 2018 year, Sigma boosted the house GPA to a 3.476 which was above the all-campus GPA of 3.274 and the all sorority GPA of 3.473. With the assistance of Colleen Doyle, Vice President of Academic Excellence, Sigma got a Chegg account in order to provide more academic assistance to all members. Kappa tried monitoring study hours on the GINsystem App to allow for more flexible study hours. This year, Sigma had an incredible 72 active members with a GPA of 3.5 and above. Sigma has also been able to provide tutors for around 14 girls in the house this year. Kappas were extremely involved on campus in 2018. Select senior members were a part of UNL’s Order of Omega, an all-Greek honors society. Many active members played on intramural sports teams, club sports teams, and the chapter had two D1 athletes in the 2018 year: a women’s soccer player and a women’s tennis player. Women in all colleges from Journalism and Mass Communication, to Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, to Business, to Engineering, and many more were 2018 actives. A handful of Kappa juniors and seniors in the 2018 year attended the new UNMC College of Nursing in Lincoln, Nebraska, with some choosing to remain active members on special status instead of going to associates status. Kappa women participated in summer and semester study abroad programs that took them across Europe to places in Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Ireland, and to many more adventurous destinations along the way. In September of 2018, a Kappa senior, Jordyn Koenig, Vice President of the Big Red Chapter of Pheasants Forever at UNL, organized a Youth Mentor Hunt for college students to test out hunting and have the opportunity to learn how to shot from other Pheasants Forever members. Koenig and six other Kappa members participated in the event, creating an awareness and promotion of the sport across campus. In June of 2018, six actives in Kappa accompanied by advisors and Sigma alumni attended the 2018 Kappa Kappa Gamma National Convention in Denver, Colorado. Those who attended were inspired by many generations of Kappas from across the United States. Women expressed their Kappa spirit with little golden keys, blue clothing, owl accessories, and a common theme of fleur-des-lis. Convention had officer training programs and the Sigma actives who attended, all members of the 2018 council, gained insight into their positions and ideas about how to implement changes to their position in the future. Kappas also learned about diversity, inclusion, and made changes to national Kappa bylaws and standing rules. In 2018, Kappa became inclusive of transgender women, a big step in Kappa’s goal of becoming inclusive to all women. Sigma Chapter submitted applications for awards at the Biennial National Convention, where Sigma received honorable mentions in House Board, Advisory Board, and Panhellenic. Attendees of the Convention left Denver with new ideas, forward-thinking minds, and more Kappa merchandise than they had when they arrived... Philanthropies this year were organized by Aly Burd, Philanthropy Chairman. In the spring of 2018, she and her committee planned Mac and Keys benefiting the Alzheimer’s Association. Kappa raised a total of $5,500. In the fall of 2018, Kappa hosted Krispy Kreme and KAPPAcinos benefiting the John Atkinson Lung Cancer Foundation and $5,000 was raised. In addition, Kappa hosted mini philanthropies benefitting various organizations such as the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and to Write Love on Her Arms. Kappa also hosted Reading is Fundamental events, where members would read to elementary school students at underprivileged schools in Lincoln, as well as donate books to them. In the spring of 2018, many of Kappa’s actives participated in the Big Event and Dance Marathon, University organized volunteering and fundraising events that a large portion of UNL’s student population was involved in and excited about. Kappa had many glam formals, special events, and fun sisterhood retreats throughout the 2018 year. Elizabeth Mattern, Event Chairman, and Madison Felix, Risk Management Chairman, kept events organized and fun. Sigma was able to bring back the Sapphire Ball, a Kappa tradition in the fall of 2018. This event was a hit for all members! Events ran smoothly thanks to these two council members and were approved by national headquarters and obliged by Kappa’s sorority contract. Both council chairmen planned events with other Greek Chapters like Crush Formal and Mom’s Day in the spring and American Social, Dad’s Day, and a self-defense class in the fall. Vice President of Standards, Sydney Hawekotte, made sure that all members were following Kappa bylaws and standing rules. She made sure that all members were reaching the standards Kappa has set in place. She also planned many sisterhood events with the help of her committee. Each member planned a sisterhood event, which occurred about every month like the October trip to Vala’s Pumpkin patch during Nebraska’s peak of the fall season. Hawekotte also hosted a public speaker, Ann Brewer, who talked about the danger and realness of sex-trafficking. Education Chairman, Maggie DeGarmo, held both the Celebrate Sigma and Founder’s Day banquets, which both were a success. At Celebrate Sigma, Kappa honored the seniors and celebrated all the achievements of Sigma Chapter within the last year. Scholarships were also awarded to select actives of Sigma Chapter. Kappa also had a program with the seniors and the alumni where Kappa listened to a motivational speaker who was also an alum of Kappa. Kappa got to celebrate the seniors during senior week which was a great way to send them off into the real world. This fall semester, Kappa held the Founder’s Day Banquet to celebrate the founding of Kappa. Kappa also honored alums, house board, advisors, and new members, and it turned out to be a successful night. The 2018 semester ended with a senior program where the seniors did cooking classes with Kappa’s amazing cooks, Donna and Nicole, who have been working at Sigma Chapter for years. Seniors all really enjoyed it and learned a lot about making enchiladas and baked ziti. With a new year comes new changes, and some definite changes occurred at Kappa over the 2018 year. Susan Hirt, Chapter Council Advisor, spent her last year working with Sigma actives and alumni as she prepared to move out of the state to work. However, some other advisors were introduced into the Sigma family in 2018 like Krista Hafez, Registrar Advisor. Diane Stark is still the Sigma House Mother who works hard to keep the big, white house in order and exercises her “handyman” skills, helping to fix nearly everything in sight. Kappa purchased a new blue couch, which actives call “BC”, and large chair for the living room as overseen by Alexa Berry, House Chairman. Another change of 2018 is the transitioning of paper documents to digital documents that will continue to be a change implemented throughout the coming years. President Baldwin gave other council officers a chance to look over Sigma’s bylaws and standing rules, and Sigma was able to make amendments to the way room preference works, as well as live-out parking lot time frames. Sigma also elected smaller positions for a banner chairman and a t-shirt chairman, and those selected were able to involve committees and the chapter in more events. Hannah Sickler, Vice President of Organization, kept the chapter aware of activities and events by updating the chapter calendar. She worked to restructure committee night so that it was more productive than it had been in the past. Her committee helped come up with ideas on ways to keep Sigma Chapter more organized and is working on cleaning up old files and items that are no longer of use to the chapter. Sickler also worked with two separate LCs, Leadership Consultants, from Nationals and helped host them during their visit to Sigma Chapter. Other components of Sigma’s 2018 year included the chapter’s presence in social media. Public Relations Chairman, Sydney Lenarz, and her committee monitored all social media of active Kappas. They created new social media outlets such as VSCO, kept all social medias up-to-date for active members and alumni, put on an all-house photoshoot in the spring of 2018, and hosted a children's Halloween party called “Boo & Boo” for Kappa alumni, friends, and family in fall of 2018. The final accomplishment for Lenarz was sending out a blog/newsletter to Kappa alumni explaining what each council member had accomplished throughout their time on Sigma’s council. Andrea Harris, Sigma’s Registrar, is working to create the 2018-2019 composite, making it a tribute to the 1982/1983 composite design that depicted many mothers of current Kappa actives. Unfortunately, it was broken in the spring of 2018 when it fell off the third floor hallway wall, which lead to the idea of recapturing its design in 2018’s composite. Macie Kubat, corresponding secretary, replaced the mailboxes in the house, so that live-ins would have their own personal space to receive mail. Kubat also sent out holiday cards, gave flowers for chapters in need, and helped with house announcements. Sydney Miller, recording secretary, took minutes and attendance at chapter council meetings and every Monday night meeting. Her committee took attendance during philanthropies this year. Finally, last but certainly not least, Kappa’s finances were managed by Frannie Folson, Sigma’s Treasurer. Folsom continued to use BillHighway for member dues to be paid, was frugal and conscientious of spending, and added to and reduced officer budgets. The Assistant to the Treasurer in the spring of 2018 was Mollie Sperry and in fall of 2018 was Lauren Leapley. The assistants helped Folsom in charging freshman and other visitors for guest meals. As it is built into their dues, many juniors and seniors still eat at Kappa daily. With the ending of 2018 comes the excitement and anticipation of what the 2019 year in the big, white house at 616 at “Dear old Nebraska U” will bring. Wonders of what the future holds for politics, social development, scientific discoveries, artistic innovation, the global community, and, of course, the legacy of Kappa Kappa Gamma keep us attentive. ==Highlights of 2019== The year of 2019 marked another successful and busy year for Sigma Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. At the beginning of the year, 18 new officers were installed at Formal Meeting, and Madison Felix became the 2019 Sigma Chapter President. The new council members had the pleasure of attending Leadership Day bringing new and old officers and chapter advisors together to pave the way for a smooth transition into new roles. The goal was to help promote support between officers as well as motivation for a great year! Within the Greek Community at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), Kappa made their mark at the university. Sigma’s very own, Andrea Harris served as the 2019 Panhellenic President and we could not be prouder! Andrea worked alongside the Interfraternity Council (IFC) to install a hard alcohol ban on chapter events except when served by a licensed third- party vendor which went into effect August of 2019. The policy is in line with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s longtime commitment to reduce high risk drinking among students. The Panhellenic Council also created a new bylaw so that all candidates could be reviewed for a position on their council. Previously, if a member from a sorority was president a member from the same sorority could not be president the following year. Sigma’s Panhellenic Delegate, Samantha (Sam) Barnard, attended weekly meetings with fifteen delegates from other chapters, acted as the liaison between Kappa and the Panhellenic council, and created opportunities for Sigma Chapter to build relationships with other chapters on campus. During the spring semester of the 2019 academic school year, Sam focused on increasing Sigma involvement at campus events. She focused on doing this at UNL Homecoming events including competing in the Lip Sync competition, raising money for the Lighthouse Foundation at the block party, creating a banner, pomping for lawn displays, and participating in Homecoming events overall. Kappa Kappa Gamma placed third overall out of the Greek Community with the help of Phi Delta Theta and Phi Kappa Psi. We also collaborated with Kappa Alpha Theta to help women on campus celebrate International Women’s Day. During the fall semester of the 2019 academic school year, Sam mainly focused on Kappa’s involvement with participating in “Greek Week” events. These events included: banner making, the Lip Sync Competition, making lawn displays, parade participation, and house tours. During Formal Recruitment in August of 2019, over 1000 women participated by each visiting 16 chapters each. Regina Brokke, Sigma’s Membership Chairman, and Maddy Felix, Chapter President, attended Greek preview in March to speak to potential new members about Kappa and give a sneak peek to recruitment. Regina dedicated her summer to redecorating the house with help from her committee and planning out the recruitment schedule. During recruitment, Regina organized recruitment practice with Pi Beta Phi which was lots of fun! Alexa Berry, New Member Chairman, and her committee worked hard to plan bid day which was themed “Kappa Palooza” where we welcomed 52 new members into our arms. On November 23, 2019, we successfully initiated all 52 members with help from Clare Ellerbee, Chapter Marshal, and her committee. Clare worked hard to emphasize the importance of ritual by educating the whole chapter during her Program Night. During the 2019 school year, Sigma had a house GPA of 3.465 ranking 9th out of 51 Greek chapters and earning above the average UNL GPA of 3.149 and the average sorority GPA of 3.455. Lauren Kubat, Vice President of Academic Excellence (VPAE), implemented different academic programs that had not been previously installed. Weekly study nights, individualized approaches to POC, Dead Week study food and incentives, and much more were started. Although we did not improve semester to semester GPA, a deeper appreciation and motivation of academic excellence was found among Sigma’s members. The collaboration with Katie Krzemien, Vice President of Organization, on Dead Week Study Snacks and Prizes was one of the most successful parts of this last year. Over 600 study hours were logged between the Spring and Fall dead weeks. Girls in the new member pledge class used this as an opportunity to come to the house and get to know each other. Another key success from this past year was the purchase of a white board and a white noise machine for “Multi”, Sigma’s silent study room. Lauren Kubat’s main goal was to encourage a strong academic environment for girls to be encouraged to study smarter, not necessarily harder. Sigma Chapter has now been educated about more academic resources on campus and feel more comfortable getting academic support when they need it. In February of 2019, President Madison Felix, Vice President of Standards Kylee Hines, Vice President of Organization Katie Krzemien, Vice President of Academic Excellence Lauren Kubat, Education Chairman Mollie Sperry, and VPAE and House Chairman advisor Kim Miller attended the Kappa Leadership Conference in Dallas, Texas. Those who attended roomed with council members from The University of Kansas and collaborated with council members from across the country to learn and brainstorm new ideas. They had the opportunity to listen to speakers who demonstrated the true meaning of being a woman in the 21st century. The Sigma representatives attended workshops including “Courageous Conversations”, “Life after Kappa” and many others. These members left inspired and were reminded to constantly have the confidence to be independent leaders in their endeavors. Philanthropies in Spring of 2019 were organized by Ann Krause. Ann and her committee planned “Kamp Kappa” which benefitted the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation and raised $3,000. McKenna Bradley took over as Philanthropy Chairman in the fall semester of 2019. McKenna and her committee hosted “Kapiji Dog Days of Summer” with Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji). Sigma Chapter raised a total of $6,500 for the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, setting a new record in fundraising! Sigma members and friends brought their dogs and eat barbeque. In honor of Kappa’s 150th Anniversary, the chapter decided to participate in Kappa National’s 150 Hours of Community Service Initiative. We were able to cumulatively serve over 400 hours in the last two months of the semester! We also hosted a holiday-season toy drive. We collected 116 new toys for HopeSpoke, a local mental health organization that specifically gives resources to struggling kids, families, and young adults. To close out the semester, we partnered with Blaze Pizza to raise money and awareness for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society. It was quite a philanthropic semester for Sigma! Kappa had many glam formals and special events organized by Event Chairman, Brooklyn Housch, and Risk Management Chairman, Brianna Oehm. In January 2019, they planned a Masquerade Ball with Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Alpha Phi. In April 2019, there was a formal themed 80’s dress/workout. The semester was filled with dinner exchanges, socials, and study nights with various Greek chapters on campus. Mom’s Day was held at Kappa as a spa night with massage chairs, polaroid pictures, face masks, nail stations, and lots of food. The fall semester began with a Stampede Formal in September with Delta Gamma, Alpha Gamma Pho, and Farmhouse. The second formal was the annual Sapphire Ball in November. Trying something new, Mom’s and Dad’s Day was combined this semester for a Parents Weekend. We had a barbeque on a Friday evening and a brunch the Saturday morning following. A favorite social of Sigma Chapter was going to the Pla More for swing dancing with Alpha Gamma Rho. The freshman attended several introductions with fraternity freshman where they got to know one another, strengthening our Greek bonds on campus. Vice President of Standards, Kylee Hines, worked to establish more transparency and communication between the chapter and the Standards committee all while maintaining confidentiality. Kylee educated the chapter on probation and what nationals allows for terms of probation that benefit members most. Kylee’s mission statement for the term was comprised of guiding members to grow and develop as women, and she worked hard to achieve that. The Standards committee also put together several sisterhood events and a Program Night. The night consisted of two therapists sharing information on eating disorders, how to spot a potential disorder, and what the best next steps are to help the person being treated. One sisterhood event was “Kappa Kanvas”. This event included several artists guiding the chapter on how to paint Sigma’s signature white house. It was a fun and memorable event for all in attendance. Education Chairman, Mollie Sperry, facilitated many chapter events and programs for the current chapter members and local alumni association. Mollie worked closely with the 2019 graduating seniors, their parents, and alumni to plan the end of year celebration called Celebrate Sigma. Mollie worked with our adored cooking staff to build the annual senior gift, a Kappa Cookbook with original chapter recipes. Mollie facilitated a senior sisterhood cooking event where they got to learn from cooks Donna and Nicole on how to make our legendary Kappa enchiladas! Mollie facilitated an all-house program through nationals to discuss mental health issues that affect college students. House Chairman, Chloe Discoe, was in constant communication with our kitchen staff, house board and director, chapter council and chapter members to maintain our beautiful home. Chloe, Maddy, and Lauren attended house board meetings once a month to discuss the foundation of the “616” (our nickname for the chapter house), potential remodels, and other various financial aspects. Chloe worked with House Director, Diane Stark, to schedule fire drills, inspections and handle any issues that arose in the house. Chloe planned a wonderful staff appreciation dinner to thank our wonderful cooking staff and house director. Chloe also managed live-in room selection and contracts for both live-in and live-out members. Public Relations Chairman, Anna Mantini, worked to maintain the chapter’s overall image to the community and alumni through various public events and publicizing chapter activities. Anna focused on social media webpages, the main ones being Twitter and Instagram. Her committee put on a public relations events for Saint Patrick’s Day to cheer up students during midterms. They also planned the all-house photos in April which took place at the Nebraska Capitol building. In the fall, she planned “Kool Off with Kappa” for students to grab a free snow cone outside of the Kappa house. She also held our annual Boo and Boo where alums bring their children to trick or treat and play various games at the house. Maddie Mallisee, Recording Secretary, took minutes and attendance at chapter council and Monday night chapter meetings. She made sure members were held accountable in attending events that were required and encouraged attendance for optional ones. Maddie held a drawing and gave out gift cards to 10 of the 84 members who did not miss a single chapter meeting. Olivia Hartnett, Corresponding Secretary, replaced the mailboxes in the house so that live ins could have their own personal space to receive mail. Sigma’s Treasurer, Lauren Leapley, managed chapter finances and continued to use Bill Highway for members to pay their dues. Lauren allocated more of our dues to officer budgets in order to make more efficient use of our annual funds. The elected Treasurer Assistant, Ellie Hellman, worked to charge freshman and associate members for guest meals at the house and Kappa apparel. Kappa began using Venmo to accept philanthropy donations which increased the amount donated. To balance this, new elements of checks and records were implemented to keep track of our funds. The last in her position, Chapter Registrar Amanda Malashock organized bid day photos, the chapter composite, and reports. With 2019 coming to an end, Sigma Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma continues to grow and develop, looking forward to the upcoming year at the big white house! ==Highlights of 2020== The year of 2020 marked a time of hardship, change and growth for Sigma Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). At the beginning of the year, 16 new officers were installed at Formal Meeting – 2 less officers than prior years since of Historian and Recording/Corresponding Secretary were absorbed into other positions. The new and old council members and chapter advisors had the pleasure of attending Leadership Day, hosted by prior Vice President of Organization (VPO) and current Vice President of Standards (VPS) Katie Krzemien, to ensure smooth transitions. The goal was to build a support network which was utilized greatly in 2020 to counter unprecedented challenges faced by Sigma Chapter. The new counsel faced the loss of the SigmaChapter House Director of 8 years, Diane Stark, in January followed by unexpected difficulties with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln shutting down due to COVID-19, affecting many events planned byChapter Council. Newly installed Chapter President Lauren Kubat, fondly called “Kubat”, set a goal at the beginning of her term to update Sigma’s Standing Rules. She hosted the first ever Council Retreat with Vice President of Organization Riley Cossen to help the council revise the Standing Rules and bond as a group. Due to the sudden strike of COVID-19, the chapter was unable to vote to pass updates on theStanding Rules. The live-in members of the Kappa House were required to move out due to this. In spite of the abrupt change to Kappa life, Kubat hosted weekly council meetings and monthly house boardmeetings via Zoom, even helping interview and hire Sigma’s new House Director Stacia Anderson. Throughout the second semester of her term Kubat updated the bylaws and standing rules to adjust tothe new COVID-19 reality. Traditional Monday night meetings were moved to a zoom format, where all members would join on their own device via zoom. This offered a safe, socially distanced alternative toour normal meeting structure. Announcements continued as normal, as council members would read from the power point that was shared to everyone’s screen. Katie Krzemien began her term as VPS with a mission to rebrand Standards at Sigma Chapter as a safe space for members to grow. Katie held a mock Standards meeting during her program night toshow transparency among her committee as well as assigning more responsibilities to the elected members on her committee. She created a monthly “Sunshine Sister” program to show support toindividual Kappas where members nominate each other anonymously to receive personalized care- packages and letters from the Standards committee (continuing via mail during COVID-19). Katie hosteda “Galentine’s Day” Sisterhood event with Panhellenic Delegate Ericka Knapp to bring Delta Gamma and Kappa together over a spa night, cookie decorating, and more in February. One of the most importantKatie had to do this year was enforce all of the COVID-19 protocols in the fall semester of 2020. This included making sure all live-in members were socially distanced at all times, and wearing their maskthroughout the house. Some of the socially distanced protocols included only allowing 4 people at each dinner table, socially discanced markings in “BC” and “pink”, and allowing no visitors into the house. Katie did a great job of making sure everyone followed these new rules. Riley Cossen is the Vice President of Organization (VPO) at Kappa, one of three women by the same name on council this year. She started her term out strong by helping host the first ever CouncilRetreat, bringing food and games to help everyone bond. She began laying out the Kappa calendar in regard to events and meetings months in advance and stepped up in light of changed due to COVID-19.Riley welcomed our Leadership Consultant (LC) Jenna Patton virtually. It was Jenna’s first virtual visit as an LC since she was scheduled to come to Sigma Chapter the week universities shut down across thecountry in response to the pandemic. Riley continued to meet with her committee via Zoom and plans to make themes for Committee Chapter Meetings at Kappa. After elections Riley was in charge oforganizing the transitions for the new council. Riley had to help ensure the new council members had two, one-on-one sessions with their old council counterpart to help the transition go smoothly. The Vice President of Academic Excellence (VPAE) Mia Soulierre set the goal of raising Sigma Chapter’s grade point average (GPA) from a 3.49 to a 3.5 for the spring semester. Alongside this, shetransitioned the Academic Excellence program at Kappa for members who struggle academically from “Period of Concern” (POC) to “Academic Progress Plan” (APP). This new program enables a moreempowering approach to academics. Since COVID-19 forcing UNL to move to digital learning, Mia’s committee has been doing Zoom check-ins with APP members to aid them in this time of transition andhelp them in response to changing university policies. One of the most successful parts of Mia’s VPAE position was during the fall 2020 finals week. The girls in the house logged their study hours for deadweek on the Omega One app. The three girls with the most hours got gift cards, and all the other girls were entered into a drawing for other study prizes. This was a great way to encourage the girls in thehouse to study for finals, and was very successful in the end. The first Sigma Secretary since removal of Corresponding/Recording Secretary is Bethany Meyers. At the beginning of her term, she organized and transferred chapter rosters into the RecognizedStudent Organization (RSO) Portal in response to changing UNL policies regarding how sorority life functioned on campus. She worked with her committee to promote attendance at meetings and events,researching ways to make taking attendance more efficient. She created a concise version of meeting minutes called This Week in Kappa (TWIK) to keep the chapter up to date on council plans and actionssince Sigma could no longer meet in person with COVID-19 and in place of any kind of digital Zoom meeting. During COVID-19 the composite planning presented challenges for Bethany, however, in theend she was able to successfully Ellie Hellman is the Treasurer at Kappa after serving as the elected Treasurer Assistant in the year prior. She managed member balances, updated the budget, and helped to ensure timely paymentsof chapter dues. Ellie had the difficult job of calculating and organizing refunds to chapter members in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She worked with House Board to refund dues and live-in expenseswith the shut down of UNL housing and the Kappa house. She is working on creating educational programming for the future regarding Kappa and personal finances. Ellie had to work on finding asolution for the refunds to members due to COVID. She worked hard to organize a system to ensure members got back the money that wasn’t used in the last part of the Spring 2020 semester. The nextsemester she organized monthly payments just incase the members had to be refunded again, so it was a simpler system. The first Marshal since Historian was absorbed into the position was Elise Gamble. She ensured that all meetings, voting, attire and meeting decorum adhered to Kappa guidelines. Elise made formalmeeting more efficient by implementing suggestions from her District Specialist and emphasized the importance of Kappa ritual and history at meetings. She updated Key Reports, completed this annualchapter history report, and purchased a speaker and mics for the chapter room. Due to COVID-19, she was unable to perform graduating senior ceremonies. One of the most important things was using zoomfor Monday night meetings. She was able to find a way to get all the members on meetings so we could have our weekly discussions, and google forms for voting. We celebrated Founders Day/the 150th withthe alumni. They were in-person, the chapter joined via Zoom. The chapter was treated to a cinnamon roll breakfast and the Marshal had a banner made to commemorate the event. Elise had to do virtualpledging for the new members, and pinning ceremonies. The in person initiation shifts were at the student union using the All-in-One service, and alumni and advisers were able to attend with no linkedCOVID-19 cases. Kappa families were able to eat dinner together the week of, provided by the Marshal, New Member, and Event Chairmen. Education Chairman Dalia Nabulsi held many programs such as Harm Prevention in the beginning of her term. She oversaw new monthly program nights for chapter meetings and coordinatedspeakers such as a police officer from the Omaha Police Department and a UNL employee who spoke on resume building. Dalia was unable to have Celebrate Sigma due to COVID-19 but found a way to honorgraduating seniors despite this. She sent them care packages including a special cookbook from Sigma Chapter’s beloved cooks and highlighted them individually through social media spotlights. FoundersDay was a success on zoom, where alumni and all members attended. the Education chairman had a program night with a Kappa Alumni from Arbon, where she educated members about healthy eating.Kristen Louden, House Chairman, took on many responsibilities with the Kappa House this semester. She served as a liaison between House Board and the chapter while everyone mourned theloss of our House Director Diane. While searching for a new House Director, Sigma’s active alumni network took turns staying the night at the house, revisiting their college days while getting to know theactive members. Kristen was part of the committee that helped to hire our new House Director Stacia and worked to ensure general upkeep of the house. When the house shut down due to COVID-19, shehelped live-ins move out quickly and efficiently. Kristen was able to assign move in times to all the live ns so we could have a safe, socially distance move in. This was spread out over two days. There weresubsequent bathroom assignments where girls were assigned a toilet, shower, and sink to reduce touch points. Membership Chairman Emily Evans worked during the Spring Semester to plan Formal Recruitment in the Fall. She held “Rookie Recruitment” in March before UNL shutdown for COVID-19where the younger pledge classes trained and prepared for Rush. Emily planned to innovate the Recruitment process by having Kappa’s test their compatibility with Potential New Members (PNMs) viathe Enneagram personality test. As well, she planned to revamp Philanthropy Day by active members wearing T-shirts naming their favorite philanthropy Sigma has supported these past years. This year wasthe first virtual recruitment in Kappa history. Emily coordinated recruitment over zoom, and it went extremely smoothly and Kappa received a Pledge Class of 51 new members. We then participated inopen recruitment where we got 10 more members. A standing committee was added to help with recruitment. Brooklyn “Brook” Housh is Sigma’s New Member Chairman. She kicked off the 2020 spring semester by hosting the first ever New Member overnight retreat at Nebraska’s Mahoney State Park.Many Kappa executive officers past and present held a night of fun festivities, one of which the Freshman Pledge Class wrote a letter to their senior selves which they will open in a few years. It was agreat, safe night for the New Members to bond with each other and older Kappa sisters. Following this, Brook planned “Sneak”, a day for Littles to surprise their Bigs with shirts and more to say thank you. Dueto COVID-19, this event was moved to the Fall. Virtual bid day theme was Kappa Disco this year. Bid day boxes were delivered to each girl of the new pledge class that was disco themed. There were Owl Paldates via zoom, and big/little reveal was in waves so it could be in person. The new members participated in a virtual pass the key, and all of the new members were given Valas tickets for a bondingexperience. Sigma’s Philanthropy Chair is Andrea Atkinson, a member whose philanthropy submission was selected by chapter vote in 2019. Her passion for philanthropy was unchanged by COVID-19 eventhough the philanthropy she planned, Mac n Keys, had to be cancelled. Sigma Chapter still raised and donated money despite this to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation in order to honor House MotherDiane Stark. Andrea brainstormed on ways to give back during the pandemic and even began planning the Fall philanthropic events. Andrea did a virtual fundraiser for Lolo’s Angels, one of our philanthropiesthis year, where she sold t-shirts to make money. There was also a toy drive to help with less fortunate kids. Reilly Kortus, Public Relations Chairman, worked hard to represent Kappa Kappa Gamma well on campus and on social media. She did introductory posts on Sigma’s Instagram @kkg_unl for each newmember of council, “takeovers” for members studying abroad, and encouragement posts during COVID- 19. Reilly planned to have a booth on UNL’s campus called “Kiss Me I’m a Kappa'' for Saint Patrick’s Day where Kappa’s would hand out stickers to passersby. Reilly was also in charge of the council photos thatwere taken at the end of the fall 2020 semester. These photos had to be coordinated during thepandemic, and showcased masks and social distancing. Event Chair Claire Andry and Risk Chair Rylee Reggio worked together to plan fun, safe formals where all Kappa protocols and paperwork was followed. They hosted a Crush formal with Alpha Xi Delta, Sigma Phi Epsilon, and Pike. Due to COVID-19, they were forced to cancel their “80’s in Aspen” semi- formal and events through the remainder of the spring semester. Claire and Rylee innovated the formaltransportation system according to Kappa requirements to ensure ease and safety traveling to and from the venue. Rylee also collected driver forms alongside House Chair Kristen to encourage members tosubmit them. One creative way to keep the members engaged during the fall semester of 2020 withoutformals was to create “Kappa Pods”. These pods were composed of 8-10 members of the chapter whohad the same available times. The kappa pods were given money to do fun things around Lincoln, suchas going out for lunch, dinner, or ice cream. Ericka Knapp served as the Panhellenic Delegate, working like no delegate before to make sure all Sigma members had a say in Panhellenic matters and furthering Kappa’s relationships with otherGreek houses at UNL. She held a sisterhood event with Delta Gamma and celebrated International Women’s Day with Kappa Alpha Theta where everyone handed out stickers and succulents together.Ericka’s main event of the Spring, Greek Weekend, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.However, she continued to meet with the Panhellenic Council via Zoom to discuss Recruitment rulechanges for the Fall. Through the entire year of 2020, Sigma’s Chapter Council worked tirelessly to ensure everyone in Kappa had an amazing time despite all the hardships faced. Even throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,Kappa bonded together via endless Zoom calls, text messages, and some hand-written letters. SigmaChapter is a proud representation of the values of Kappa Kappa Gamma, ready to face 2021 even stronger than before. In Memory of Diane StarkSigma Chapter’s House Director, Diane Stark, has been a huge and influential part of Kappa for the past 8 years. Diane was a smart, multi-tasking, strong woman who could do ANYTHING! She loved herflowers and transformed the Kappa house to have the most beautiful yard on campus. She took so much pride in the house itself and the ladies living in it each semester. She prided herself in saving Kappamoney by fixing a multitude of things in the house and streamlining Kappa’s budget. Diane had two sons, Todd and Travis, and their families that lived close by. Her biggest pride and joy were her 4grandchildren, loved by the Kappa girls, that would often visit her at the house. The grandkids would beg to have sleepovers at the Kappa house. After a courageous 3 ½ year battle with breast cancer, shepassed away on January 29th, 2020. Diane never wanted to worry the girls in the house and was very private about her illness. She wanted life to be normal for everyone around her, and she did an amazingjob of that. Kappa was so lucky to have her for 8 incredible years and will be forever grateful for how much she taught us about how to live life to the fullest. Diane Stark will be greatly missed by so many. ==Highlights of 2021== This year marked the year of recovery from Covid-19 for Sigma chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Navigating the new “normal” was an obstacle the 2021 Sigma chapter council had to face head on. However, we were still able to hold events and traditions to keep chapter morale high. At the beginning of the year the new officers were installed at a formal meeting, and the 2020 VPO Riley Cosson helped wrap up transitions for the new officers. The most memorable moment of our year was the fact that we introduced Stevie, our house dog! Stevie is under the direct care of Stacia, our house mom. He loves running around the house when gets zoomies, cuddling with the girls on the couch, and greeting the girls every time they enter the house. Stevie has been one of the most unique, positive, and wonderful additions to our Sigma chapter house. Newly installed Chapter President Ellie Hellmen, helped oversee all operations throughout the 2021 Spring and Fall semesters. Ellie did a wonderful job of making the Sunday night council meetings more proactive by allowing very engaging conversation that included all of the council's opinions. She assisted the recruitment chair with a very successful recruitment the first two weeks of August, and was a wonderful leader and resource for all the new members to talk to throughout the Fall semester. Vice President of Standards, Riley Cosson, kept our chapter connected through multiple sisterhood events. Two examples of events she did this year was “Stevie's Birthday Party” and “Mental Health Study Week. Stevie’s birthday party was an all house event where there was games, bonding, and lots of cake! During dead week we had our “mental health study week” where there were activities every night for girls to voluntarily participate in. This helped the girls with their stress management, and was a great idea from Riley for us to participate in.
Within the Greek Community at the university, Kappa’s presence was made clear throughout the year. Sigma’s Panhellenic Delegate, Kali DoddVice President Organization, attended weekly meetings with fifteen delegates from other chaptersAbby Butler, acted as helped keep the liaison between Kappa and The National Panhellenic Conferencechapter organized through infographics, and created opportunities for Sigma Chapter to build relationships with other chapters on campusscheduling. For International Women’s Day, Kappa teamed up One thing Abby did this year that really helped with Kappa Alpha Theta and handed the chapter's organization was creating infographics that were sent out goody bags in front of to the Student Union in the spring. This event chapter whenever there was a huge success, and Kappa plans to do it again next year in 2019! Kappa had event occurring. This helped keep the pleasure of being paired with Beta Theta Pi chapter organized and Delta Delta Delta for Greek Week in the spring. The Homecoming Week theme was “Bringing Tradition Home” in honor aware of Scott Frost’s first season as head coach of the football teamany events going on. Kappa had very high involvement in all As seen below, I have included an example of the events and placed in the top three for the blood drive and lawn display competitionsan infographic Abby created to stay organized. Kappa was paired She helped with FarmHouse, Sigma Chi, and Pi Alpha Chi for Homecoming. Sigma Alpha was added to the Panhellenic Community annual LC meetings this year, and Theta Phi Alpha is no longer recognized as a Panhellenic chapterwell. Sigma chapter received an honorable mention Since everything was online and over zoom, she helped keep us accountable for Panhellenic at the National Conference our meetings. Along with this she assisted in Denver, Colorado. Kappa’s a very own, Andrea Harris, was elected to serve as smooth transition for the 2019 Panhellenic Presidentincoming council of 2022.
During Formal Recruitment in August of 2018 over 1000 women participated in the action-packed week, visiting a total of 16 chapters each. Kelsey MartinezVice President Academic Excellence, Sigma’s Membership ChairmanSarah Rpgoz, hosted all Potential New Members throughout the week and prepared for their arrival all summer. This year, Kappa had 5 members volunteer as Rho Gammas during the week, mentoring small groups did an excellent job of women and guiding them throughout managing our APP girls the weekpast two semesters. Bid Day came at the end of the week planned by Emma Tuttle, Sigma’s New Member Chairman. Bid Day Along with this she was “Kappa Kandyland” themed with pascal colored props, tank tops, glitter, colorful lipstick, hair dye, and many excited new members and actives. Chapter Registrar, Andrea Harris, organized Bid Day photography able to help raise our all house GPA to commemorate the special daya 3. After 52 women ran into the arms of joyful Sigma Members, 51 of them successfully completed the new member program with Tuttle throughout the beginning of the 2018 fall semester623. On October 26th and 27thShe accomplished this through weekly study nights, alumni came to initiate which included bonding in the 51 new members composed of daughtersSigma house basement doing homework, sisters, granddaughtersstudying, and nieces. Jessica Moore, Sigma’s Marshal, planned eating snacks all while encouraging a successful, exciting, and wellhealthy school-rehearsed initiation ceremony for the chapter. She emphasized Kappa’s songs and traditions throughout social life relationship with all the processgirls.
Many changes to the UNL campus happened this year. One was that the Cather/Pound Dorms behind Neihardt Residence Hall were demolished in late December of 2017. The lot on which both buildings resided has been vacant and blocked off for a year after. Just this DecemberSecretary, nearly a year after the implosionJordan Kuhn, there have been workers cleaning up the site organized meetings half in person and adding sidewalks through the still roped off area. Another change half online during covid to the atmosphere be conscientious of UNL is the Tobacco-Free social distancing and Smoke-Free Campus Policyothers health while encouraging people to go with gift cards. This new policy at the university was approved back in August of 2017, She took attendance for all events including recruitment and it was put into full effect starting on the first of the year in January of 2018meetings. In the fall of 2018, the Nebraska Huskers welcomed back one of their own, Scott Frost, When meetings had to be the head coach of the Nebraska Huskers Football Team. Many excited fans anxiously awaited his influence on zoom for events, she overlooked the team which has not been performing as well as chapter to make sure they would likewere there and engaged. After Jordan also organized the Huskers finished their 2018 season chapter composites with only four wins GreekYearbook including our house dog Stevie on it and eight losses, Nebraskans are not as pleased with Frost as they expected they would be. The Husker Volleyball and Basketball teams have been doing well during their 2018 seasons, and other UNL teams continue to exemplify success and embody what it means to be a D1 athlete at UNL. Finally, ordered new member keys in the Cather Dining Center and College midst of Business recent builds have been easily accommodating students and contributing to academic success and university comfort this yearthe supply shortage.
Another project that’s projected Treasurer, Sydney Holsinger, faced issues with the house not being filled and working with council to be done in brainstorm ideas to either cut the next month budget or so is the addition supplement it with other sources. Sydney came together with house board to Sigma Phi Epsilon across 16th Street from Kappa. The fraternity has been making an addition on cut the south side of their house and ensuring budget accordingly so that it matches the rest of the house’s old, genuine, brick exterior aesthetic. Fraternity, Sigma Nu, just we don’t have to the North of Sigma Phi Epsilon, remains abandoned cut out our important events and unkeptexperience for our members. Fraternities Phi Gamma Delta, Delta Tau Delta, She also managed the chapter budget and Phi Kappa Psi still remain in band standing member billing statements as usual but also helped the house chair with preventing the university and are working to rebuild and reconfirm their fraternity values and status same situation in the Greek and University communitiesfuture years.
During Marshal, Jamie Guszak,led different ritual events in the 2018 most “normal” way possible this yearto try and navigate state and local COVID 19 guidelines. In the Spring there was a senior fireside service, Sigma boosted and in the house GPA to fall she led a 3.476 which was above combined initiation for the all-campus GPA new member pledge class of 32021.274 and We were able to do the all sorority GPA of 3.473. With combined service in the assistance basement of Colleen Doyleour Sigma chapter house, Vice President of Academic Excellence, Sigma got a Chegg account in order to provide more academic assistance to all memberswhich helped restore tradition after last year's initiation. Kappa tried monitoring study hours on the GINsystem App Bringing tradition back to allow for more flexible study hours. This year, Sigma had an incredible 72 active members with a GPA chapter was one of 3.5 and above. Sigma has also been able to provide tutors for around 14 girls in the house most important parts of initiation this year, and it was successfully achieved through ritual at monday night meetings and initiation.
Kappas were extremely involved on campus in 2018. Select senior members were a part of UNL’s Order of OmegaEducation, an all-Greek honors society. Many active members played on intramural sports teamsRiley Miller, club sports teams, and the chapter had two D1 athletes in planned a wonderful celebrate sigma getting it approved by the 2018 year: a women’s soccer player and a women’s tennis player. Women in university following all colleges from Journalism and Mass Communication, covid guidelines sadly not being able to Agricultural Sciences have all the alumni and Natural Resources, to Business, to Engineering, and many more were 2018 actives. A handful parents of Kappa juniors and seniors in the 2018 year attended the new UNMC College of Nursing in Lincoln, Nebraska, with some choosing to remain active members on special status instead of going to associates statusthere. She organized senior week and founders day incorporating Kappa women participated in summer and semester study abroad ritual, planned monthly programs that took them across Europe to places in Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Ireland, and to many more adventurous destinations within the chapter along the way. In September with organizations outside of 2018, a Kappa senior, Jordyn Koenig, Vice President of and worked with the Big Red Chapter of Pheasants Forever at UNL, organized a Youth Mentor Hunt district specialist for college students to test out hunting and have the opportunity to learn how to shot from other Pheasants Forever members. Koenig and six other national Kappa members participated in the event, creating an awareness and promotion of the sport across campusprogram that is put on every semester.
In June House chair, Hadley Hiatt, collaborated with houseboard throughout the year on a variety of 2018, six actives in Kappa accompanied by topics including raising dues for live outs and guest meals for next year and working with advisors and Sigma alumni attended to fill the 2018 Kappa Kappa Gamma National Convention in Denver, Coloradohouse. Those who attended were inspired by many generations She held an amazing staff dinner to recognize the hard work of Kappas from across the United States. Women expressed their Kappa spirit with little golden keysour cooks Donna, blue clothingNicole, owl accessoriesand Trent, and a common theme of fleur-des-lishouse director Stacia. Convention had officer training programs and Throughout the Sigma actives who attendedsemester, all members of Hadley worked weekly with the 2018 council, gained insight into their positions cooks and house director with meals and ideas about how to implement changes to their position in the futurecreated a weekly cleaning list. Kappas also learned about diversity, inclusion, and made changes She was able to national Kappa bylaws and standing rules. In 2018, Kappa became inclusive of transgender women, gather a big step in Kappa’s goal ton of becoming inclusive to all women. Sigma Chapter submitted applications volunteers for hashing for awards at the Biennial National Convention, where Sigma received honorable mentions in House Board, Advisory Boardevery Monday night dinner, do room pref and Panhellenic. Attendees of draw people for the Convention left Denver with new ideas, forward-thinking minds, and more parking spots on Kappa merchandise than they had when they arrived...
Philanthropies this year were organized by Aly BurdMembership chairman, Philanthropy Chairman. In Dalia Nabulsi led a very successful recruitment in the spring acquisition of 2018, she and her committee planned Mac and Keys benefiting the Alzheimer’s Associationnew member pledge class of 2021. Kappa raised Recruitment week followed a total of $5,500. In the fall of 2018very long work week where girls spent many hours preparing, Kappa hosted Krispy Kreme and KAPPAcinos benefiting the John Atkinson Lung Cancer Foundation and $5practicing for recruitment,000 was raised. In addition, Kappa hosted mini philanthropies benefitting various organizations such as the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and to Write Love on Her Arms. Kappa which all paid off! Dalia also hosted Reading is Fundamental events, helped with COB recruitment (continuous open bidding) where we welcomed even more new members would read to elementary school students at underprivileged schools in Lincoln, as well as donate books to them. In the spring of 2018, many of Kappa’s actives participated in the Big Event and Dance Marathon, University organized volunteering and fundraising events that a large portion of UNL’s student population was involved in and excited aboutour house.
Kappa had many glam formalsNew Member, special eventsLily Parizek, and fun sisterhood retreats throughout welcomed the 2018 year. Elizabeth Mattern, Event Chairman, and Madison Felix, Risk Management Chairman, kept events organized and fun. Sigma was able new member to bring back the Sapphire Ball, Kappa with a Bid Day theme of Kappa tradition in the fall of 2018Kloud 9. This event was a hit for all members! Events ran smoothly thanks to these two council members and were approved by national headquarters She met with New Members every Sunday evening discussing Kappa valuesand obliged by Kappa’s sorority contractMinerva. Both council chairmen planned events Lily did several bonding activities with other Greek Chapters like Crush Formal and Mom’s Day in the spring new members and American Social, Dad’s Day, and a self-defense class in the fallmet with other chapters on campus creating sober social activities to meet more people.
Vice President of StandardsPanhellenic chair, Sydney HawekotteMaggie McCabe, made sure that all members were following Kappa bylaws collaborated with other chapters delegates to promote greek life and standing rulescampus involvement. She made sure that all members were reaching the standards Kappa has set in place. She also planned many attended meetings every other Thursday to learn of other Panhellenic chapters activities and plan sisterhood events with the help of her committee. Each member planned a sisterhood event, which occurred about every month like Maggie led Sigma chapter during greek week in the October trip to Vala’s Pumpkin patch during Nebraska’s peak of spring and homecoming week activities in the fall season. Hawekotte also hosted a public speaker, Ann Brewer, who talked about the danger and realness of sex-trafficking.
Education ChairmanPhilanthropy chair, Maggie DeGarmoJessi Burd, held both worked tirelessly on multiple philanthropies throughout the Celebrate Sigma and Founder’s Day banquets, which both were a successyear. At Celebrate Sigma, Kappa honored chapter continued with our tradition to vote on the seniors and celebrated all philanthropies we want to raise money for throughout the achievements of Sigma Chapter within the last year. Scholarships were also awarded to select actives , that way all of Sigma Chapter. Kappa also had a program with the seniors and girls in the alumni where Kappa listened to house get a motivational speaker who was voice. However, Jessi also an alum of Kappaincorporated voting on our new national philanthropy mid semester. Kappa got This allows Sigma chapter to celebrate support the seniors during senior week which national philanthropy of mental health, but also our own. Jessi was a great way able to send them off into execute our big philanthropy in the real worldface of COVID restrictions with the University. This fall semester, Kappa held the Founder’s Day Banquet Through this she was able to celebrate the founding of Kappa. Kappa also honored alums, house board, advisors, and new members, and it turned out lead our philanthropy to be a successful night. The 2018 semester ended with a senior program where raise $5300 for the seniors did cooking classes with Kappa’s amazing cooks, Donna and Nicole, who have been working at Sigma Chapter for years. Seniors all really enjoyed it and learned a lot about making enchiladas and baked zitiNational Brain Tumor Society via Krispy Kreme x KKG.
With a new year comes new changes, and some definite changes occurred at Kappa over the 2018 year. Susan Hirt, Chapter Council Advisor, spent her last year working with Sigma actives and alumni as she prepared to move out of the state to work. However, some other advisors were introduced into the Sigma family in 2018 like Krista HafezPublic Relations chair, Registrar Advisor. Diane Stark is still the Sigma House Mother who works hard to keep the bigRachel Dempsy, white house has done such an amazing job in order and exercises her “handyman” skillsposition, helping to fix nearly everything in sight. Kappa purchased a new blue couch, which actives call “BC”, and large chair she was reelected for the living room as overseen by Alexa Berry, House Chairman. Another change of 2018 is the transitioning of paper documents to digital documents that will continue to be a change implemented throughout the coming years2022 council year. President Baldwin gave other council officers a chance Rachel updated all social media accounts to look over Sigma’s bylaws and standing rules, and Sigma was able to make amendments to the way room preference works, as well as live-out parking lot time framescohesive by posting regularly. Sigma also elected smaller positions On these social media accounts she made special posts for a banner chairman and a t-shirt chairman, and those selected were able to involve committees and the chapter every single new member in more events. Hannah SicklerPC 21, Vice President of Organization, kept the chapter aware of activities and events by updating the chapter calendar. She worked to restructure committee night so that it which was more productive than it had been in the past. Her committee helped come up with ideas on ways a great way to keep Sigma Chapter more organized and is working on cleaning up old files and items that are no longer of use to the chapter. Sickler also worked with two separate LCs, Leadership Consultants, from Nationals and helped host make them during their visit to Sigma Chapterfeel special.
Other components of Sigma’s 2018 year included Event and Risk, Tauhni Willenborg and Natalee Noble, lead the chapter’s presence way in social mediacreating fun and safe events for the chapter this year. Public Relations Chairman, Sydney Lenarz, and her committee monitored all social media In the heat of active Kappas. They created new social media outlets such as VSCO, kept all social medias up-to-date for active members and alumni, Covid they put on an all-house photoshoot in the spring of 2018Spring Soiree, and hosted which was a children's Halloween party called “Boo & Boo” dinner social for Kappa alumni, friends, our sisters and family the safest way in fall the midst of 2018the pandemic. The final accomplishment for Lenarz next event they helped plan was the American social which was sending out a blog/newsletter to Kappa alumni explaining what each council member had accomplished throughout their time done with another sorority and two fraternities on Sigma’s councilcampus. Andrea Harris, Sigma’s Registrar, is working to create They faced the 2018-2019 composite, making it challenges of a tribute to the 1982/1983 composite design that depicted many mothers low number of current Kappa actives. Unfortunately, it was broken in bus drivers so they went with the spring idea of 2018 when it fell off the third floor hallway wall, party buses which lead to the idea of recapturing its design in 2018’s compositewas a fun/alternative way than we usually do. Macie Kubat, corresponding secretary, replaced the mailboxes in the house, so that live-ins would have their own personal space to receive mail. Kubat They also sent out holiday cards, gave flowers for chapters in needput on Parents Weekend, which consisted of a formal dinner and helped with house announcements. Sydney Millerdance party at Suite 111 followed by candle making, recording secretarypizza, took minutes and attendance at chapter council meetings and every Monday night meetingcornhole the next day. Her committee took attendance during philanthropies this year. Finally, As a last but certainly not least, Kappa’s finances were managed by Frannie Folson, Sigma’s Treasurer. Folsom continued celebration to use BillHighway for member dues to be paid, the end of the semester was frugal the Masquerade formal at Das Haus with Phi Delt and conscientious Beta. Throughout all of spendingthese events, and added to and reduced officer budgets. The Assistant to they completed all the Treasurer in the spring proper paperwork, collection of 2018 was Mollie Sperry COI’s, and in fall approval of 2018 was Lauren Leapley. The assistants helped Folsom in charging freshman and other visitors for guest meals. As it is built into their dues, many juniors and seniors still eat at Kappa dailycontracts.
With the ending ==Highlights of 2018 comes the excitement and anticipation of what the 2019 year in the big, white house at 616 at “Dear old Nebraska U” will bring. Wonders of what the future holds for politics, social development, scientific discoveries, artistic innovation, the global community, and, of course, the legacy of Kappa Kappa Gamma keep us attentive.2022=
==Highlights of 2020s:==