Changes
2018 Highlights
On Oct 14th Presents were held in our backyard and all the New Members were able to introduce their new big sisters to the rest of their families. Formal was directly after Presents, and everyone had a blast dancing the night away. At the next formal meeting an extra special lavaliering ceremony was held for our sister Makenzie Thornsberry because she was proposed to right after our fall formal! On October 22th we had our other annual philanthropy, Kappa Splash where a record breaking 40,000 books were raised for Hurricane victims and their local libraries. On October 24, Hannah Balleza, Mara Farrand, Katy Lewis, Cheyenne Stokes, and Kaitlin Windfelder were recognized for having a GPA of 4.o and Riley DeZavala, Emma Feitshans, Lauren Fox, Balpreet Gill, and Krissy Rivard were inducted into Gamma Sigma Alpha. On November 11th, we held Initiation, where 39 amazing women were formally initiated and welcomed into Kappa Kappa Gamma Epsilon Xi Chapter. On November 30th we had an amazing bussed exchange with the gentlemen of Tao Omega Rho, where we sang our hearts out at a Karaoke restaurant. On December 9th our sister Quetzal was named SAE’s newest Violet. This was an amazing year for Kappa Kappa Gamma, Epsilon Xi Chapter.
==Highlights of 2018==
2018 has proven to be a memorable year for Epsilon Xi chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Our year started off with a lavaliering ceremony for Nicolina Redmond and her little Hillary Winston, who both got engaged over Winter Break! The next week we had another lavaliering ceremony for Lesley Reyes, who was lavaliered by her boyfriend in December at the Sigma Phi Epsilon Formal in San Diego. In February, we had our sports themed date party in which we all drafted dates for the night. On the twenty-third, we visited Tulsa Elementary school for our Reading Is Key philanthropy event, where we spent the day reading with kids. Each child was given a book and goodie bag at the end of our visit. Just the next week, we bonded at our sisterhood event, where we all got our popcorn ready as we rented out a theater to ourselves. We began the month of March by winning first in Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s Patty Murphy philanthropy. We then held our annual KKGlee philanthropy event, in which the fraternities competed in a talent show raising money for Cystic Fibrosis in honor of a fellow member of our Greek community, Sammy Cassidy, who sadly passed away. We also gave proceeds to Route 91 Strong, a foundation that is dear to our Kappa sister, Amanda Bell, after her experience at the Las Vegas shooting. We also participated in multiple fraternity philanthropies including Zeta Beta Tau’s powderpuff and Sigma Phi Epsilon’s Sigep Salute. Our sisters Gioia D’Andrea, Nashra De Leon, Rebecca Grinberg, Sara Johnston, Kayla Kirkpatrick, Jennifer Putterflam, Kaeli Shaw, and Hillary Winston were inducted into the Greek honor society Gamma Sigma Alpha. In addition, Kayla Kirkpatrick, Kaeli Shaw, and Hillary Winston were also inducted into Order of Omega.
April was a busy month, starting off with inviting our favorite faculty and staff to an event celebrating their influence on our sisters. Our Sapphire Ball took place on April 6th, where we Oh Patted our seniors goodbye. We had another sisterhood event in which we all went bowling together. On April 16th, we held our Candyland themed Kappa Kookie Gathering philanthropy event at the Kappa house. The entrance fee was one children's book or toy, and guests were provided with unlimited desserts and a fun time. The items collected were donated to My Stuff Bags Foundation. Our sporty sisters won first in CSUN’s intramural volleyball championships. Also in the month of April, we decorated our house with new outdoor furniture- blue of course. And on the 30th, we held an exchange with Phi Mu, our sister sorority of the semester. We had an amazing time enjoying the plethora of food and listening to our sisters’ sing karaoke. We spent the 5th of May with the brothers of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, delighting in various water games to keep us cool from the heat. Over the summer, our sisters spent time with their families, traveled around the world, and attended various music festivals. Our favorite part, however, was winning the Most Improved Academic Excellence Award at Kappa’s 72nd Biennial Convention in June.
We had our annual retreat at the UCLA Kappa house on August 17th through the 19th. For three days, accompanied by our Leadership Consultant, we had numerous informative presentations, several recruitment practices, and plenty of bonding games. We left the Gamma Xi house feeling closer than ever and much more prepared for the fall recruitment ahead of us. Kelsey Fonseca attended Kappa’s Leadership Academy on September 13th through the 16th,
and learned a lot about herself not only in Kappa, but in life. She stated “It was a fun weekend of fun outdoor adventures and bonding with Kappa sisters from all over.” Our Blue on Blue dinner was September 14th, in which we had one last night to bond and stuff ourselves with food before the long weekend of recruitment came. On September 18th, we ushered in our new pledge class of Fall ‘18. Our retro ‘90s themed Bid day was a blast, and needless to say, those forty women were definitely “saved by the bid.” Not long after, we held our first philanthropy event of the semester, Kappa Splash. We watched fraternity boys prance around in wigs and wardrobe as they competed in a diving competition, all the while raising 15,347 books. In October, our house was painted a lovely dark blue hue that proved to be very popular with the chapter. On the 12th, we had our “Kappa Kouples” date party, in which we all dressed as our favorite tv twosome. We also won first in Tau Omega Rho’s philanthropy for breast cancer awareness on the same night we won volleyball championships yet again.. Presents was held at the Kappa house on October 27th. Our new members’ parents were invited for brunch as they learned all that Kappa is about and got to meet their daughters’ big sisters.
Both our front and backyard were redone in the month of November. In addition, our new members bonded during their retreat on the 3rd, where they played mini golf and participated in team building exercises. The week after, we had a great time at our masquerade themed fall formal. We held yet another sisterhood event, only this time we raced around and crashed into each other on a go-karting track. Even more of our sisters- Balpreet Gill and Karen Ramos- were inducted into Gamma Sigma Alpha. Along with Morgan Anderson and Ally Medina, who were inducted into Order of Omega. On the 17th, we initiated our pledge class, officially welcoming them into our chapter and finally having the pleasure of calling them our sisters. On Monday, November 26th, we received another visit from a Leadership Consultant, who stayed with us throughout the week and gave us constructive advice for our Leadership Training Day. She even got to take part in our exchange with Sigma Phi Epsilon. We all dressed up in ugly holiday sweaters and spent the night decorating ornaments and gingerbread houses. Our last meeting of the semester took place on the third of December, in which we installed our new officers and prepared for winter break with our families. Overall, this year has been one for the BOOKS (Get it? We raise books!). 2018 has brought Epsilon Xi endless friendships, an abundance of opportunities, and everlasting memories.
