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Our chapter meets weekly in the living area of the chapter house. Each year 4 sisters among the officers live in the house. It is a great opportunity to get girls more involved with the organization and nurture friendships. These girls live in our University owned house, which has a common area that all sorority members are welcome in at any time of the day. Epsilon Nu did not have a house when it was first colonized and then formally installed in October 1973. At that time, the chapter was given a single room in the basement of Branscomb Quadrangle. The chapter was able to have some fall recruitment there but the freshman recruitment remained in St. Augustine’s Chapel for several years. The chapter’s second home was what is now the Cuninggim Women’s Center on historic West Side Row. We finally were able to build and open our lovely house in 1979.
==Highlights of 2015==
Throughout the 2015 calendar year, the sisters of Kappa Kappa Gamma have continued to excel academically, support philathropic events, and strengthen the relationship between Greek members and the rest of campus. Among the many scholarships that sisters won were a Full Tuition Dean's Achievement Award, National Merit Scholarship, Vanderbilt Varsity Athletics Scholarship, Moeller Company Scholarship, Panhellenic Scholarship, CEA Academic Merit Scholarship, and the Poarch Scholarship. Sisters also earned many honors and awards including the Greek New Member of the Year, Order of Omega, Top 10 Outstanding Senior, MHS Honors Thesis Candidate, Academic Excellence in International Business, SEC Academic Honor Roll, Mortar Board Honors Society admission into the Society of Collegiate Leadership and Achievement. Finally, of the active members, 122 girls made the Dean's List after the Spring semester!
In addition to these honors and awards, the women of Kappa Kappa Gamma have gotten involved with various events and clubs on the Vanderbilt campus. A few of the outside groups and events that girls supported were Dance Marathon, the Camp Kesem Vanderbilt Fall Benefit Concert, The Afterschool Program, Life to Love, Moneythink, Vanderbilt Alternative Winter Break, Students Against Modern Slavery, Relay For Life, Nashville Dolphins, New York Cares, Animal Care and Control Center, Spoon University, VSVS, Project Bridges, Society of Women Engineers Community Service, Tour Guides events, AIPAC Student Leader Dinner, Park Center South, and Manna Project International. The sisters also volunteered with our Kappa sponsored philanthropies, Reading is Fundamental, Paso a Paso, Sports 4 All, and TAP.
The Spring semester began with formal recruitment, where the sisters welcomed a new pledge class of wonderful women to the Kappa Kappa Gamma house. Soon after, the old chapter council welcomed a new team of sisters into their positions during turnover and we hosted our formal date party. The Spring wrapped up by wishing the seniors our the best as they graduated and entered a new chapter of their lives. The fall kicked off with Founders Walk as our sisters represented the chapter and cheered on the incoming Freshman class. Our chapter hosted our annual GLOW date party and as well as cohosted the annual Kite & Key date party with our fellow greek house, Kappa Alpha Theta. The newest pledge class also choreographed and performed 3 talented dances at the revamped Kappa Kappa Gamma Gala to benefit our philanthropies, RIF, Paso a Paso, and TAP.
Our sisters have been continually working to achieve our goal of strengthening relations with outside leaders and organizations. The chapter frequently hosts interactive professor luncheons and dinners in order to connect with our academic leaders and integrate them further with our chapter and Greek life as a whole. Another goal our chapter set was to connect the chapter more and focus on realizing the potential and acomplishments of the women in our chapter. In order to connect our girls professionally, our chapter council created a history of internships and jobs for the girls to use for guidance and support in their own internship and job hunts. Additionally, our chapter created a shared google document detailing the classes that girls have taken with specific professors to help girls tailor their academic path at Vanderbilt to their specific interests and ensure valuable class experiences. Finally, our chapter created a separate document to share abroad experiences and advice to aid younger girls in making the huge decision of whether or where to study abroad.
Last year, Greek organizations set the goal of improving relations between Greek life and other organizations. Panhellenic implemented a new point system with this goal in mind. All sisters are required now to attend a certain number of events in various categories. Through this system, our sisters have had the chance to be exposed to so many interesting and enlightening events with organizations all across campus. The point system encourages attendance to events, but sisters still select the specific event and organization that interests them to fulfill their point. The best way to improve relations with faculty and other organizations is through these genuine interactions and hopefully future collaborations! Each week our president sends an email out letting the house know of all the great events that will occuring on campus that week. As active and passionat women, the KKG ladies can take advantage of our power as Greek Women and support various causes on campus. Through the point system, continued awareness, and set goals, our girls continuously seek to strengthen our relationships and presence on campus and show our support for the many great events, causes, and organizations at Vanderbilt.
In light of recent diversity conversations both on the Vanderbilt campus as well as on college campuses nationally, our chapter has also set goals to strengthen and improve both the diversity amongst the girls in our house and the inclusivity felt by all members once welcomed into the house. Although our house has girls of vastly different backgrounds and experiences, our chapter continually seeks to expand its horizons and absorb dynamic girls from all corners of campus. During recruitment, we pride ourselves on giving each girl who steps through the door a genuine chance and continually seek to find "hidden gems" or stand out girls who we had never met until recruitment. Change begins through an open mind, conversation, and setting goals relating to the values that we seek in girls when shaping the pledge class that will join next Spring.
The Epsilon Nu chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at Vanderbilt Universtiy has a very vibrant and loyal sisterhood. Some of the words that sisters used to describe what the house embodied were driven, authentic, supportive, sisterly, dynamic, compassionate, spunky, inspiring, motivated, and energetic. The most frequently mentioned words, and accurately defining words, were passionate and caring. Our Kappa Kappa Gamma women are bright leaders, active supporters, dedicated scholars, and wholeheartedly dedicated sisters. From the light we derive from the sisterly support and bonds found in the house, our sisters spread their warmth, levity, and energy to all ends of campus. Aligning with our chapter goals, our house wishes to continue integrating and strengthening relations with non-Greek organizations and professors, and recruit to a pledge class of genuine, inspiring, and passionate girls who will lead the generations to come.
Where does your chapter hold chapter meetings? In the chapter owned or rented facility? In a university owned facility, house, dorm, lodge or classroom?
Our chapter meets weekly in the living area of the chapter house. The house is owned by Vanderbilt University.
What is the history of your chapter’s housing? Have your members had the opportunity to live together in any way? Does your chapter have a house, lodge, apartment or suite? If yes, is it chapter owned or rented, or university owned? How many sisters can live there? Has your chapter owned or lived in more than one house during its history?
Each year officers live in the house. This integrated approach is a great opportunity to get girls more involved with the organization and nurture friendships. These girls live in our University owned house, which has a common area that all sorority members are welcome in at any time of the day. During this past calendar year, the house underwent an amazing redecoration to update and polish the look. The house is styled in a more modern way while still remaining loyal to the traditional space that we were endowed with.
Epsilon Nu did not have a house when it was first colonized, but was formally installed in October 1973. At that time, the chapter was given a single room in the basement of Branscomb Quadrangle. The chapter was able to have some fall recruitment there but the freshman recruitment remained in St. Augustine’s Chapel for several years. The chapter’s second home was what is now the Cuninggim Women’s Center on historic West Side Row. We finally were able to build and open our lovely house in 1979, where it has served as home to hundred of women who have been lucky enough to pass through its doors.
