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edits
Changes
→Highlights of 2016
With the exception of few formal meetings, most of our chapter meetings were previously held in the chapter room in the Panhellenic house. However, starting this October, we have been meeting in a class room in the IONA building on campus, as it provides more space for all of the members.
==Highlights of 2017==
In January, the Gamma Upsilon chapter set out to strive towards a year of building a stronger sisterhood through strengthening the bond between sisters, and overall solidifying our community involvement and empowerment. We plan on improving our sisterhood by creating and planning g sisterhood events throughout each month to encourage sister-bonding and active participation within the chapter. We welcomed 2 new members in our January COB, who became a part of the 2016 pledge class. Throughout January-April, the Chapter focused on our sisterhood through attending sisterhood events and ensuring our sisters maintained academic excellence, great presence at Greek events and philanthropies, and good relations and communication with each other in the chapter.
For the January-April semester, Gamma Upsilon chapter had the highest academic average of any sorority chapter at UBC this past semester with a 74.48%. At the Panhellenic Spring Awards, our chapter received two individual awards for Top Philanthropy, received by Farrah Bui-Turcotte, who is extremely involved with philanthropies and volunteering; Along with Top Leadership, received by Elise Mance, who maintained a double presidency being president of Kappa and president of the AUS (Arts Undergraduate Society). Two of our sisters were recently initiated into Gamma Sigma Alpha, which is a Greek organization for Greek members with averages of above 76%. We have a sister who was granted a UBC Excellence Scholarship for being within the top 10% in her faculty, undergraduate year, and program. We have sisters who are on the Deans Honour Roll, and who have been granted BC Achievement Scholarship awards, the District Authority Scholarship award, and the Maili Wong Award in Finance, to name a few.
Five of our Chapter Council officers were able to attend the Kappa Leadership Conference where they learned skills to implement within our chapter and within council so that the officers are able to be greater leaders, and a newest member of PC16 attended the Kappa Leadership Academy. In September, we welcomed 40 new members into our Chapter, 38 of which were part of Formal Recruitment and 2 of which we welcomed through COB. For Formal Recruitment, we received a 97.5% retention rate after tours, and became the top recruiting sorority of 2017. Our President implemented ‘President’s Key’, which is a member spotlight for two girls who have gone above and beyond in the Chapter and who will be presented with this award at Chapter meeting and will be talked about in a little blurb highlighting the things they are doing for the Chapter, in which they will also receive a little care package. She also implemented ‘Accountabili-KEYS’, which is to maintain commitment and presence at other Greek philanthropies, where girls are in groups of 3, and 1/3 girls must attend and participate in each event.
Our Registrar implemented ‘Owl Bet’cha Didn’t Know’, which is a monthly newsletter presented at Chapter meeting, where information taken from the Chapter History Nuggets are translated into a cute newsletter format highlighting certain historical or ongoing events, and also includes fun facts, and a sister shout out. The goal of this newsletter is to maintain awareness of Kappa history in a fun format. Furthermore, our sister Kennedy Gagnon, just recently became the president of UBC sororities, and will lead our community for the upcoming year.
In the spring, a new aquatic centre opened up for students and faculty members of UBC and the community. There has also been ongoing construction as a new bus-loop is being built alongside another new residence for students.
Overall, the Gamma Upsilon chapter has implemented monthly sisterhood events that have increased both active participation in the chapter, alongside establishing greater closeness among our sisters. We find that recruitment and initiation are always special for members, as these events remind us why we hold Kappa so close to our hearts, and it shows us the unification and the support systems amongst members. This past year, Gamma Upsilon has accomplished our goals and have done so with great pride, and we feel that our Chapter will continue to improve throughout the 2017-2018 year.
'''Chapter Philanthropy''':
Soup Kitchen at the First Baptist Church (Local), every Tuesday night with Phi Delta Theta.
Reading Buddies at University Hill Elementary (Local), every Friday afternoon with Beta Theta Pi.
Reading is Fundamental (International)
The Canadian Brest Cancer Foundation (National)
Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation (International)
Reading is Fundamental is the international organization that all Kappa chapters support, therefore we show support by our weekly local philanthropy at Reading Buddies. We also choose to support the First Baptist Church weekly because it enables members to get out weekly to give back to our community. Our Chapter supports the Canadian Brest Cancer Foundation (CBBF) because as a large group of women, we have all been or known somebody who has been affected by breast cancer, and cancer in general. We choose to support this organization because the money we raised goes towards finding a cure, and supports and brings awareness to each woman affected by breast cancer in their courageous battles in fighting cancer.
Most of chapter meetings are held within our Chapter room, as it was renovated and painted throughout the summer. We find that our Chapter room provides us with enough room and enables us to maintain focus throughout our meetings. We also tend to hold sisterhood events immediately after Chapter meetings every couple of weeks, so it is easy for girls to participate and attend these events as they are in our Chapter room. There are certain occasions we hold our meetings in classrooms across campus, and this is generally for Formal Meetings as this allows more space to perform ritual.
==Highlights of 2020s:==