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→Highlights of 2019
==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==
==Highlights of 2020s:==