Difference between pages "Gamma Mu" and "Delta Omicron"

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{{Infobox Fraternity
 
{{Infobox Fraternity
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|Name= Gamma Mu
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|Name= Delta Omicron
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|GreekSymbol= ΓM
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|GreekSymbol= ΔO
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|Image= [[File:Gamma_Mu.jpg|200px]]
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|Image= [[File:Delta_Omicron.jpg|200px]]
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|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1924|06|07}}
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|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1946|05|18}}
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|College= [http://oregonstate.edu/ Oregon State University]
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|College= [https://www.iastate.edu/ Iowa State University]
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|Location= Corvallis, OR
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|Location= Ames, IA
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|Homepage= [http://chapters.kappakappagamma.org/gammamu/pages/welcome.php Gamma Mu Homepage]
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|Homepage= [https://iastate.kappa.org/ Delta Omicron Homepage]
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|Media= [http://wiki.kappakappagamma.org/index.php?title=Category:Gamma_Mu Media related to Gamma Mu Chapter]}}
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|Media= [https://wiki.kkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Delta_Omicron Media related to Delta Omicron Chapter]}}
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'''Formerly Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts established in 1858, Ames, Iowa; Iowa State University of Science and Technology'''
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'''Oregon State University (formerly Oregon State Agricultural College) established in 1868 in
 
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Corvallis, Oregon'''
 
  
  
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'''Gamma Mu founded June 7, 1924'''
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''' Delta Omicron Founded May 18, 1946'''
  
  
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'''2,479 initiates (as of June 2018)'''
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'''1,906 initiates (as of June 2018)'''
  
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'''Charter Members:'''
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Dorothy Elizabeth Bonnell, Elizabeth Faye Collins, Dorothy M. Crawford, Barbara Ferguson, Lorraine Lee Guernsey, Betty Lou Hall, Patricia Ann Hedge, Helen Marie Hochriem, Myrllin Lee Huff, Eleanor Anne Lagoni, Carolyn Ann Mitchell, Nancy Nix, Ethelyn Julia Scott, Evelyn Marie Scott, Virginia Sharp, Rosalie Fergueson Thomas, June Marie Welch, Ruth Noi Wright.
  
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'''Some of Delta Omicrons’s Outstanding Alumnae:'''  (If you have chapter alumnae who have received recognition in any of these three categories, please list them with the date(s) of recognition.)
  
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'''Charter Members:'''
 
  
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Louise Arnold, Enid Beal, Flossie Mae Blackburn, Ruth Cleland, Edna Belle Cobbledick, Wava Farley, Ida Granbreg, Cleda Hilderbrand, Frances Jones, Ann H. Karlson, Dolores Kelsey, Doris Elnor Lake, Helen Leonard, Ruth Lyon, Jessie McDonald, Vida McKern, Marie McNair, Helen Edythe Miller, Thelma Jean Miller, Edna Morback, Ruth Price, Mary May Swarm, Eleanor Thomas, Irma Van Hollebeke, Mildred Wallace, Kathryn Wightman, Zelia Zigler.
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'''Fraternity Council Members'''
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Colleen Blough (Tallman), Traveling Consultant 1986-1988; Jill Lansing (Edsen), Traveling Consultant 1997-1998; Kylee Deterding, Traveling Consultant 2001-2003; Allison Bernard, Leadership Consultant, 2011-2012; Mattea Rainforth, Chapter Consultant, 2014-2015, Province Director of Chapters- Epsilon North, 2015-2016
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'''Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:'''
  
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'''Fraternity Council Officers:'''
 
  
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Susan McGinty Riches, Director of Alumnae 1998-2000
 
  
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'''Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:'''
  
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Janice Lutjen Kreamer, 2002, Civic leader;
  
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'''Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:'''
 
  
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Additional Outstanding Delta Omicron Alumnae: Elva Allen, Graduate Counselor 1965-1966; Morgan Hulick, Leadership Consultant 2018-2019, Ritual/History Specialist 2018-
  
  
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'''Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:'''
 
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Gladys Miller, 1956, Author, consultant, educator and editor in home building and interior design;
 
  
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Zelma Reed Long, 1996, Winemaking expert, CEO of Simi Winery;
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-------
  
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Dr. Carrie Case Worcester, 1996, Director of neonatal intensive care at Children’s Hospital, Orange County, Calif.;
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==The Early Years==
  
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Lou Seibert Pappas, 1998; writer and pioneer in the field of cooking
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Delta Omicron’s history seems to bring simultaneous memories of national officers, three Kappa graduate counselors, a small group of unchartered Ames alumnae, the effects of World War II, Iowa State College President Charles E. Friley, and the Panhellenic spirit on Iowa State’s campus.
  
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Mary Carlin Yates, 2002, U.S. Ambassador to Republic of Burundi;
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The first recorded Kappa Kappa Gamma event was a tea held at the Pi Beta Phi house in honor of Graduate Counselor Wilma Winberg (Johnson), Massachusetts, on September 23, 1945. Wilma was sent to Iowa State by the Fraternity with the idea of starting a chapter there. Among the honored guests were the members of the Extension Committee; Fraternity President Ruth Kadel Seacrest, Nebraska; former field secretary and Extension Chairman Martha Galleher (Cox), Ohio Wesleyan; and Frances De Puydt, Iowa. Residence directors, presidents of all organized houses on campus, and faculty members also attended.
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Ruth Shellhorn Kueser, 2006, Architect, urban planning expert (First received the award in 1960)
 
  
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Obviously impressed with the situation at Iowa State, the extension committee unanimously recommended that active chapters vote for the colonization of a new Kappa chapter at Iowa State. The Grand Council endorsed the colonization and work was started in the fall of 1945.
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Two more graduate counselors had been sent to Iowa State by winter quarter, 1946. They were Patricia Pillar (Shelton), Kansas, and Arma Jo Smith (Northup), Kansas State. The first rush party was on January 3, 1946, at the home of Ruth Shaw Gilman, Drake. The Ames alumnae, girls from Beta Zeta at Iowa, and Gamma Theta at Drake assisted the graduate counselors.
  
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Seventeen girls were rushed and pledged. The pledge pin was a gold “ΔΟ.” The new pledges continued to live in various dormitories on campus and they met at the Memorial Union. Delta Omicron was now a reality and finding housing was the next goal.
  
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==The Early Years  (From The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma 1870–1976)==
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World War II was over, but the effects were still very evident. Most of the men between 20 and 44 had been eligible for military service. Lumber, scrap metal and all building materials had been rationed. Therefore, labor and materials for construction were non-existent, certain food items were limited, and the college enrollment was low. However, between 1944 and 1946 military men started to return to school and Iowa State’s enrollment tripled.
  
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At the end of World War I when servicemen returned to Oregon State University, Corvallis, in the heart of Willamette Valley, there was a major housing problem.
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The start of winter quarter, 1946, was delayed a few days because more than 500 unexpected students overloaded the administrative machinery. Virtually overnight the college faced a critical shortage of classrooms and housing. It was at this time that the ΚΚΓ alumnae started to look for chapter housing.
  
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Small groups of men and women were encouraged to organize. One such group of coeds, living in Waldo Hall, carefully studied Baird’s Manual and Banta’s Greek Exchange. They decided to work toward the goal of becoming a Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter, regardless of the time and effort required. They pledged themselves to accept no other affiliation if Kappa did not accept them.
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Installation took place in 1946 with the Grand Council and members of Nebraska, Drake and Iowa University chapters attending. A banquet certainly was in order even though some food rationing was still in effect. A place to seat that many people also presented a problem. President Charles F. Friley, personally came to the rescue. He made sure that the Memorial Union was available for the banquet and adequate food was served.
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It was in 1917 that this group took the name Gamma Iota. Gamma for the Gamma of the Fraternity and Iota for Iota Province, the province in which Oregon State was located.  
 
  
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Lorna Collamore Jessup, who gave the fledgling group her wisdom, enthusiasm, and help, found a house for them to rent at 530 NW 11th Street. They floored the attic, which was then filled with two rows of cots to be a dormitory for 20 girls.
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The initiation for the 18 charter members (one girl pledged after the original 17) took place in the Memorial Union. Executive Secretary Clara O. Pierce, Ohio State, presided over the initiation and Gamma Theta was the installing chapter. It would be hard to say which event was the highlight of the installation weekend: the silver punch bowl presented to the chapter by the Iowa State Interfraternity Council, the silver dish presented by Panhellenic Council or the cake made with rationed butter and sugar. It was at the same time that Wilma Winberg presented a scholarship ring to the girl who showed the greatest scholarship improvement. The tradition still continued in 1975.
  
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==Highlights of the 1920s==
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Installation was over and all efforts could be aimed at the housing problem. Again, President Friley came to the rescue and made available an old house that the college owned at 128 Lynn Avenue. Delta Omicron could rent the house for $200 month. The house had been used for graduate students, but now the Kappas could call it home for a few years. Beds and study desks were provided with the house, but all of the kitchen equipment had to be purchased. Dishes and glassware were easily acquired, but when a stove and refrigerator had to be obtained, the effects of World War II were again felt. The Kappas were able to purchase a used refrigerator from the ΣΑΕs for $300. Records show that the kitchen was equipped for less than $ 550.
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In the fall of 1946, rush was conducted in this temporary house. The physical aspects of the house were certainly no help in rushing. The carpeting in the house was so bad that one rushee caught her heel and fell.
  
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Gamma Iota members were especially active in debate, music, and dancing. From the beginning, emphasis was on scholarship and character. On Homecoming Weekend in 1921, when the big football game between Oregon Agricultural College and the University of Washington was played, the group hosted visiting Kappas and alumnae. The house was in perfect order, the girls gracious and poised, and the guests impressed. They wondered how this small group in a modest house could carry out an extensive program of after-game courtesies, dinner, overnight guests and breakfast without flurry or confusion. The answer was that the members of Gamma Iota were making every effort to show the visitors how hard they were working toward their goal of receiving a Kappa charter.
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The search for permanent housing continued and in the fall of 1947 the lot at Ask and Sunset was purchased for $13,500. The Fraternity architect drew plans for the new house and in the fall of 1948, these plans were presented to the active chapter. However, the lot, which was next door to the Tau Kappa Epsilon house, was later sold to the Tekes for their expansion program.
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Meanwhile, life continued at 128 Lynn and that year Kappa Alpha Theta came to the campus. The Kappas invited the Thetas to combine spring formals for a “Kite and Key’ dance.
  
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The petition was presented to the Fraternity in March of 1924 and, in June of that same year, word came that Gamma Iota would become Gamma Mu Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma!  F. Marie Leghorn, Washington, was the installing officer and Oregon, the installing chapter. Twenty-seven charter members were initiated.
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In 1949 Iowa State’s Panhellenic Council invited officers of eleven national sororities to gather on campus. Delta Omicron’s President was elected president of the conference.
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After the plans for the chapter house at Sunset and Ash had been changed, the decision was made to purchase the Roger Williams Baptist Student Center at 120 Lynn Avenue in May, 1949. Remodeling was to begin as soon as school was out. Again the Kappa architect and interior decorator made all the plans for the remodeling and sizeable addition.
  
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In 1922, the College Committee on Student Housing approved plans for Gamma Iota to purchase a $24,459 house, using $1,000 the girls saved as a down payment. It took courage to sign on the dotted line. The group moved from the 11th Street house in 1923 to 242 NW 10th Street. This house was in use at the time the charter was acquired and remained the Kappa house until 1935 when the “Castle” was purchased. Often renovated, it is still the house today.  
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Remodeling began before the new Baptist Church was completed, so the minister and his family moved to 128 Lynn and the Kappas moved to Oak Hall for fall quarter of 1949. Rush was held at the Memorial Union and the church was completed by the end of fall quarter. The girls moved back to 128 Lynn until the remodeling was finished. Mother’s Day, 1949, was “Move Day” and this time the move was permanent.
  
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This particular house was financed entirely by the fraternity of Tau Delta and was ready for occupancy by fall term of 1928. The house was truly a castle to the men, and virtue they emphasized in their petition to the national fraternity Chi Phi in 1929. Designed by the Portland architectural firm of Thomas and Mercer, and constructed by Portland contractors Hanson and Hammond, it is one of the largest and most impressive Greek living group houses in the college neighborhood. It was constructed at a cost of $45,000 and accommodated 40 men.
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Even though the decorating was done by an interior decorator, it was several years before she saw the end result. In the meantime, the ΚΚΓ house was frequently visited by Iowa State’s interior design classes as an example in the “utmost of poor taste.” Delta Omicron had been sent the wrong living room furniture.
  
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It appeared that a temporary move might again have to be made in May, 1971. The city’s Building Inspector asked that five rooms in the northeast corner of the house not be used due to structural weakness in that corner of the building. The girls doubled up, but continued to live at 120 Lynn until major repair was done to the corner of the house.
  
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==Highlights of the 1930s==
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Delta Omicron’s history includes a letter written in 1970 by Dr. E. W. Peterson, professor of political science, who had lived on Lynn Avenue and had watched the Kappas come and go since 1946. He had always been an “adopted Dad” and attended the Dads’ Weekends. The letter was full of his appreciation for the thoughtfulness of the Kappa chapter, of his high opinion of the girls’ abilities in class and on campus, and of the other neighbors’ enjoyment of Delta Omicron. The page was called, “A Brief History of the Kappas as Seen Through the Eyes of Appreciative Neighbors” and it ended, “. . . from the whole neighborhood I bring thanks . . .”
 +
Dr. Peterson pointed out that the chapter had always been active in campus affairs. In 1955 there were so many Delta Omicrons in key Veishea (an all-campus event) positions that the Veishea Central Committee installed a special Veishea phone at the Kappa house.
  
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In March of 1931, Tau Delta became the Epsilon Delta Chapter of Chi Phi fraternity, but the group only lived in this house through the 1934–35 school year. The following year, the house was turned over to Kappa Kappa Gamma.
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The alumna of the chapter also have been outstanding in activities. In 1970, Iowa State University awarded the Outstanding Young Alumnus award to one alumna and another was named to a special Iowa Governor’s Committee. In 1973 an alumna was the first woman to pass the Air Force Survival test.
  
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The Kappa Kastle is one of the finest examples of the Tudor style for fraternity houses in Corvallis. It has changed very little since it was first built; the most noticeable changes are in the mature landscape that surrounds the house. The house maintains very high integrity and is a prominent landmark in architecture in the immediate neighborhood. Its association with the prominent architectural firm and Thomas and Mercer adds to its significance.  
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At the 1972 Fraternity Convention Delta Omicron received the Edith Reece Crabtree Panhellenic Award and the Rheva Ott Shryock gavel was presented to the alumnae club for its work with the chapter. Without the Ames Alumnae Club and its loyal members, it is doubtful that either Delta Omicron or the written history of Delta Omicron would be a reality.
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The previous information was excerpted from The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity, 1870-1976. The information that follows has been gleaned from available resources including Chapter History Reports, chapter meeting minutes, letters and comments from chapter members and alumnae, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity Archives, and The Key. Each chapter is expected to update its history record annually. Contact Fraternity Headquarters at kkghq@kkg.org with questions.
 +
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In the chapter’s selection of Mrs. George Leekley as House Director in the fall of 1938, the House Board demonstrated remarkable insight for she stayed for 14 rewarding years. Her name became synonymous with good taste and graciousness. Her warmth and competence seemed to personify Kappa ideals to everyone who entered the Kappa Castle. Her hallmark of perfection showed in the lovely teas and the “touch-of-home trimmings” for holiday dinners. She was always compassionate and knew the perfect time for a treat of hot cocoa,. With the help of finance advisers Fern McCroskey Price, Peggy Mulligan Blackledge and Mrs. Leekley’s wise management, the mortgage was ceremoniously burned on March 23, 1944.
 
  
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==Highlights of the 1970s==         
  
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==Highlights of 1940s and 1950s==
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Bell-bottom pants and and long hair were the trends that started off the 1970’s but by the latter part of the decade, the “preppy” look became popular. Turtle necks with corduroy pants was the in look and everything was monogrammed! Disco was the music of choice and Motown artists, such as Michael Jackson were becoming well known. In Iowa, the drinking age was eighteen, which made socials easy to coordinate as you didn’t have to worry about minors. The main issue in the chapter was excessive drinking and several members had to meet with the Standards Committee. Anorexia and Bulimia were just beginning to be a problem in the house. Microsoft was founded in 1975 and the only computers on campus were giant mainframes in campus buildings.
  
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War risk insurance was discussed during the early months of World War II, and desserts replaced dinners during Membership Recruitment. Elaine Kollins Sewell (Jones) and a Gamma Phi Beta friend co-edited a newsletter for all Oregon State servicemen.
 
  
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The Kappas won second place in the 1947 homecoming contest with the theme “Reunion After Tokyo,” which treated all the years to follow as post-war years.
 
  
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The Kappas were the first chapter at Oregon State to install a dishwasher when the outdated kitchen was remodeled in 1950. The dining room’s capacity was increased to 90, and Mrs. Leekley’s suite was improved.
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==Highlights of the 1980s:==
  
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A “appreciation” reception was given for Mrs. Leekley in 1953. A check was presented to her, and a fund for small emergency loans to individuals was set aside and named for her.
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The 1980’s was a decade where the women of Delta Omicron continued their strong involvement in a myriad of activities and events. They were always up to the challenge and frequently placed in the top three of the various sorority and fraternity events. It didn’t matter if it required athleticism, creativity or talent, somehow Delta Omicron women always shined. Popular activities were: Homecoming, Veisha, Varieties, Greek Week, Derby Day’s and “Yell Like Hell”, just to name a few.  
  
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The years 1940–1958 have been called Gamma Mu’s Golden Age. During those years, the chapter scholastically ranked first, seven times; second, five times; and third, four times. High grades were emphasized at banquets each term with presentation of awards and a cup honoring Blanche Hinman Smith, Syracuse, longtime Scholarship Adviser.
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The chapter continued to experience years of strong recruitment and outstanding pledge classes. Kappa was a well respected chapter on campus and the members were very involved in Panhellenic and Greek life.
  
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Carrie Case (Dully), Zelma Reed (Long) and Nancy Austin (McCoy) were scholastically the top three women in the 1965 graduating class. All three were Mortar Board; Zelma was chapter President; Nancy was president of AWS; and Carrie was the only coed ever to win both the coveted Chi Omega and Drusilla Shepard awards. To recognize this trio, the alumnae tapped them for “Hoo’s Hoo” and presented them with scrolls, sterling silver owl charms, and owl glasses. These members sound exceptional, yet the whole chapter was of similar caliber, sharing honors such as Mortar Board, Girls of Achievement, student leaders, scholars, fraternity sweethearts and Homecoming attendants.
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The fashion in this decade was bold. Women started donning leg warmers, side pony tails, acid washed jeans and Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses. Most jackets, blouses and dresses had shoulder pads in them and hair was often permed and big.
  
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Busy Kappas always find time for fun … whether at a Friday afternoon exchange or a solemn initiation ceremony. Black paint, applied to the big engine at Avery Park, good food, and helping hands turned a service project into a date dinner. The chapter maintained a “Rush Closet” … a small room where members could leave outdated clothes. Before a house dance with a “Fifties” theme, eager girls rummaged through it, asking with a laugh, “Did they really wear these?”
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In 1986, a Delta Omicron member, Colleen Blough (Willoughby) was chosen to be a Fraternity Field Representative. This was an honor for both Colleen and the chapter.  
  
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One time a love letter was found from one of the long-gone Kappas to her swain. The contents of the closet were a longtime source of delight and were used to dress up for a rushing skit, a scholarship dinner, or even a special date.
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The 80’s were also filled with challenges. The State of Iowa raised the legal drinking age from 18 to 21years of age. This meant that the majority of the house was no longer of legal drinking age. Much education and training was implemented to keep the women of the chapter on the right track. During this decade the chapter had several years when its chapter G.P.A. declined. A new emphasis on scholarship was implemented.  
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The previous information was excerpted from The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity, 1870-1976. The information that follows has been gleaned from available resources including Chapter History Reports, chapter meeting minutes, letters and comments from chapter members and alumnae, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity Archives, and The Key. Each chapter is expected to update its history record annually. Contact Fraternity Headquarters at kkghq@kkg.org with questions.
 
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==Highlights of the 1970s==
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When Omicron Deuteron was re-colonized at Simpson College in 1989, the women of Delta Omicron answered the call to help with Simpson’s fall rush. The Delta Omicron members demonstrated the sisterhood of Kappa and shared songs and skits from their rush parties. It was incredibly helpful to the women of Omicron Deuteron.
  
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The chapter celebrated its golden anniversary on October 5, 1974, with a luncheon and program. Nine of the original 27 members appeared for a picture, and two others arrived too late. More than 900 Gamma Mus of the 1,100 initiated members were still living then. Mary Lou McKay Green was chairman and Heloise Lee Stewart was toastmistress. Charter members sat at the head table. Gladys Miller spoke of Gamma Iota’s origin and presented the original petition to the chapter for its archives. Jessie McDonald Acklen, first chapter President, read from the Gamma Mu history, revealing the emotion of the day Gamma Mu was chartered. Fashions from 1924 to 1974 were modeled with Eleanor Francis Fouch as commentator. Special honor awards were presented to Peggy Mulligan Blackledge, Fern McCroskey Price, Mary Kollins Reed, and Irene Hazlett Saling for their long service to the chapter.
 
  
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'''Housing:'''
  
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Mom and Dad Miller became the house parents of the Delta Omicron house in 1984. In 1986 the chapter underwent a 3,000 square foot renovation which included additional space for the Millers. During the remodel, Dad Miller had to shower at a local fraternity three blocks away. The renovation added a formal living room, chapter/study room, eleven bedrooms, pajama lounge, four baths and a laundry room. The women were thrilled to move back in to their newly renovated house. In 1987, the Millers were chosen as House Parents of the Year during Greek Week.
  
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==Highlights of the 1980s:==
 
  
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Gamma Mu was very involved on campus and in the Greek system, holding many offices and winning many awards.
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'''Philanthropy:'''
  
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A new tradition was started in the late 1980s of developing a chapter goal and motto for each year. Gamma Mu also changed their initiation G.P.A. requirement from a 2.0 to a 2.25 to strengthen their emphasis on scholarship. The chapter also worked to achieve more unity within the house, to be more active on campus, and to improve their relationships within the Greek system. In the fall of 1988, Gamma Mu organized an alcohol awareness workshop for the Greek system. One member won the Miss OSU pageant, and another won Greek Woman of the Year.  
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The members of Delta Omicron always seemed up to the task of rolling up their sleeves and either staging its own fundraiser or participating in other philanthropic events. There is no doubt that their efforts made an impact on their community. They held exciting events like Car Smash where participants had the opportunity for a fee, to take a swing at a beat up car with a sledgehammer and their annual Hitting for the Homeless softball tournament. They participated in the Balloon Derby to help support the Ames Emergency Residence Project and graciously accepted the invitation to join the efforts of other Greek organizations. In the community they supported Meals on Wheels, local blood drives and other philanthropic efforts.  
  
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Several members of the chapter enjoyed attending the 1987 Pi Province Meeting hosted by Pi chapter at the University of California – Berkeley. A highlight was a ritual workshop presented by Fraternity Ritualist Jean Hess Wells, Georgia, and the Candlelight Banquet. Gamma Mu received the Outstanding Chapter Program award for the second consecutive time. At the 1989 Pi Province Meeting, Gamma Mu received an Award of Merit for Outstanding Achievement in Communications.
 
  
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An unusual program for the Greek system in 1988 was the “Swap-a-Sis” where girls from each sorority would go live in a different house for a week. The chapter also saved one weekend each term for a house retreat to focus on being good sisters and improving unity.
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'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''
  
  
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'''Housing:'''
 
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In 1983, the chapter welcomed a new House Director. Gamma Mu was busy fundraising to pay for a new roof that was put on the “Kappa Kastle” chapter house in 1987. Rooms were repainted and the TV room furniture was repaired and recovered. The House Board successfully encouraged contributions to the chapter by holding a drawing for gifts in three categories. Alumnae were able to use the chapter house for class reunions during the summers.
 
  
  
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'''Philanthropy:'''
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==Highlights of the 1990s==
  
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Gamma Mu hosted a Balloon Derby as a fundraising event for the Oregon Lung Association. They also competed in the Sigma Chi Derby Days, and earned money for the United Way. Another project was to carve Halloween pumpkins for a local retirement center. Money was raised for the Y-Round Table children and Christmas gifts were given to them. Following the earthquake in San Francisco, the chapter sent money to Kappas in that area that needed help. In the spring of 1989, Gamma Mu participated in a community-wide service project of building a children’s park by providing meals for workers during their breaks.
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The women of Delta Omicron continued to be incredibly active in campus and Greek Life organizations. When one looks at the list of organizations the members were involved in, it’s impressive. They also continued the tradition of excelling in campus events such as Varieties and VEISHEA. Awards and recognitions were frequent. It was especially rewarding for them to win the 1991Veishea People’s Choice Award for their Our Backyard float that they built with the men of Delta Tau Delta.
  
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During the early part of the 1990’s Delta Omicron maintained its focus on improving academic excellence. They kicked off the decade with the theme of S.O.S., Save Our Scholarship, and as the decade moved on, the scholarship improved and the goals shifted to improving participation levels at events.
  
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'''Convention Awards:'''
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In 1995, the chapter received the Golden Key Award for achieving the third level of Kappa’s Challenge to Excellence. It was an honor to receive the award during Kappa Kappa Gamma’s 125th Anniversary.
  
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The chapter celebrated it’s 50th anniversary in 1996. They hosted an open house in October and had a wonderful turnout.
  
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Delta Omicron continued to have strong membership drives during the 1990’s. Year after year, they welcomed in another class of outstanding young women who quickly excelled in a myriad of activities.
  
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==Highlights of the 1990s==
 
  
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Gamma Mu chapter continued to be active in campus and community activities and events during this period. They had members in honoraries Panhellenic executive council, ASOSU student government, MUPC student event planning council, Rush Counselors, and volunteer work for local schools and children’s organizations. They also improved the chapter’s GPA, and worked to meet the requirements for the Challenge to Excellence.
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'''Housing:'''
  
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At the 1991 Pi Province Meeting held in Eugene, Gamma Mu received the Outstanding Chapter Award. The chapter continued to participate in the Greek system’s Swap-a-Sis program where sororities exchange several members for a week. The chapter members were very involved in campus activities ranging from student government to sports. Other traditional chapter events were the Dad’s Weekend during winter term, and Mom’s Weekend in the spring that included a fashion show.  
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In 1996, the Theta Chi Fraternity’s chapter house burned to the ground. Fortunately, no members were injured, but it was a tragic loss for the men. The incident united the Greek community to rally around their fellow brothren, but it also sent a ripple of panic within the various house boards. The Kappa house started holding fire drills every semester and the House Board made sure all fire alarms and security systems were up to code and inspected regularly.
  
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Scholarship became a focus to increase the chapter’s G.P.A. The chapter received the Greek system’s Sorority of the Year award in both 1996 and 1999. Gamma Mu hosted the Pi Province Meeting in 1999.
 
  
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'''Philanthropy:'''
  
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'''Housing:'''
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The Hitting for the Homeless softball tournament continued to be one of the chapter’s biggest philanthropic endeavors. They also dedicated many hours to Meals on Wheels and other local philanthropies. When it came to supporting their Greek partners, the women of Delta Omicron were glad to offer a helping hand, sing, dance, run, or do whatever needed to raise money and awareness for a cause.
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The Gamma Mu chapter room was redecorated with new carpeting, wallpaper, paint, tables and lamps, and new upholstery. The second floor study rooms were also repainted, and a second sleeping porch was added. Alumnae class reunions held in the Kappa Kastle continued to be popular.
 
  
  
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'''Philanthropy:'''
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'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''
  
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A Balloon Derby philanthropy continued in this decade as a means to raise money. The annual Kappa Kristmas party continued to benefit a local children’s organization. In 1999, the chapter held a Kappa Klassic golf tournament as a fundraiser. The tradition of Halloween pumpkin carving with the Boy’s and Girl’s Club continued. For another philanthropy project, the chapter invited three local retirement centers to the chapter house to share Thanksgiving dinner.
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06/30/96 Public Relations Award
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Convention Awards:
 
  
  
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==Highlights of 2000-2010==
 
==Highlights of 2000-2010==
  
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(Information from chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:)
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Delta Omicron Kappas demonstrated their tradition of leadership by participating in a variety of different clubs, organizations, honor societies, employers, and athletic activities on campus and in the community. Some of these include, but are not limited to Greek Week, SALT Company, Homecoming, Dance Marathon, Freshman Council, Jr. Greek Council, Panhellenic, Cyclone Alley, ISU Pom Squad, Colleges Against Cancer, and Blood Drive. In 2007, at the end of Greek Week the women of Delta Omicron were honored with the President's Award at the Vespers greek award ceremony. This honor acknowledged the chapter for meeting a minimum of 90% of the Collegiate Panhellenic Council's criteria throughout the calendar year. 
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At the end of the decade the chapter discovered that some of their “fun” activities were considered hazing. It was a wake up call for them to understand that they were making several of their new members uncomfortable. The chapter implemented education and training to ensure the members understand all aspects of hazing to overcome this issue. They prided themselves on sisterhood and leadership, so were working together to make sure all of the members had a positive Kappa experience.
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'''Housing:'''  
 
'''Housing:'''  
  
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By 2010 there were 15 sororities and 27 fraternities on campus. Kappa was well-known and respected and had a strong name in the Greek and campus community.
  
  
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'''Philanthropy:'''
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'''Philanthropy:'''  
  
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Springtime was associated with the annual philanthropy - Kappa Kakes. The all you can eat pancake breakfast generally raised between $1,100 to $1,600 to benefit the Children's Miracle Network. In the fall the chapter hosted Kappa Fiestas which annually generated thousands of dollars to support Reading is Fundamental and the Rose McGill Fund.
  
  
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'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''
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'''General Convention Awards:'''
  
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2002 – Recruitment Honorable Mention
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2006, Academic Excellence Honorable Mention;
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Philanthropy Honorable Mention
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2006 Panhellenic Honorable Mention;
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Greatest Scholarship Improvement Honorable Mention
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2008, Most Improved Academic Excellence Honorable Mention;
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2004 – Chapter/Advisory Board Relations Award
 
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2006 – Standards Honorable Mention
 
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Panhellenic Honorable Mention
 
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Greatest Improvement Honorable Mention
 
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2008 – Sally Moore Nitschke Lifelong Education Honorable Mention
 
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Recruitment Award
 
  
  
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==Highlights of 2011-2019:==
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'''Province Meeting Awards:'''
  
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(Information from chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:
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2007, Chapter/Advisory Board Relations Award
  
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==Highlights of 2012==
 
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The past year for the Gamma Mu chapter of Kappa Gamma has been a busy one as usual. It is nice that a majority of our girls are involved in Kappas but also in a lot of other organizations in the community. It helps bring a lot of diversity and knowledge into the house.In winter 2012, we welcomed a new chapter council and that had a lot of goals. Hilary Drake and Maddie Kaufman made up or President and vice president of standards. Some of the goals that our chapter excelled in was incorporating carpooling to chapter meetings for the new members, enforcing our 5 hour per term community service requirement and changing our communication throughout the house to a blackboard page.
 
  
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One thing Gamma Mu continues to work on is achieving first in grades. While our overall GPA is higher than the all greek average, we are striving to achieve an overall GPA of 3.02. We are determined to make it happen and all the girls are motivated. Our VPAE has done a great job of creating study tables at the library for an allotted amount of time so girls in our chapter can get studying done in a productive environment. This past year we participated in a numerous philanthropies. Our chapters favorite philanthropy, Kappa Delta’s Mock rock, which occurred in March. While we did not place first in the competition, our house raised the most money for CARDV which is also the local organization we support as well. One fun sisterhood event we did on April 21st was an MS walk that our house participated in. It was meaningful for everyone because a girl in our chapter is dealing with that particular condition and I know it meant a lot to her to have us all support and walk for her. We also did a community service project last spring with Sigma Pi in which we did a park clean at Avery Park in corvallis. There were people who painted park benches, picked up trash and got rid of weeds on the walking path.We had philanthropies in spring and fall 2012.
 
  
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Our spring term philanthropy, Kick it with Kappa, was brand new to our sorority. Even though it was our first year of the philanthropy it went very well. It consisted of a soccer tournament between sororities and fraternities on campus on Saturday as well as a 5K run on Sunday. We raised quite a bit of money for Center against rape and domestic violence (CARDV). In the fall, we held our Reading is Fundamental philanthropy and that was a success as well. We had a book drive as well as read children in our community. We rewarded the highest placing fraternities with an ice cream social, thanksgiving dinner, or christmas themed meal. This past fall term we also paired up with the corvallis Phi Gamma Delta chapter and helped walk dogs at the local humane society on Sundays. Every year Gamma Mu participates in the all-university sing competition between fraternities and sororities on campus which happens during Mom’s Weekend. We were paired with Theta Chi and received the theme of Beauty and the Beast. Each house worked extensively for months long working on their performances and working through the audition process. Although there were some bumps in the road, our chapter ended up coming in first place! Our house always takes participation in sing very seriously. The last time we had won first place was in spring 2010, in 2011 we got second and in 2012 received first again. A lot of the girls were happy to have the trophy back in its rightful home! During fall term we voted for our 2013 partners and we voted to do it with Phi Kappa Psi who are our neighbors which will be very convenient.
 
  
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Recruitment this year was also a success for Gamma Mu. For formal recruitment in the fall a lot of changes were made as far as the process of recruitment. They included a philanthropy day which is something that I know a lot of the girls enjoyed very much. Our PDC Amanda Ruffo also was with our chapter for the recruitment process and the girls in the house got to form a close relationship with her. Overall, we received 46 new members and initiated 44 of them! We were so excited to welcome a group of women who embraced Kappa and everything it stood for as well as a group determined to help our grow and thrive.
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==Highlights of 2011-2019==
  
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Our chapter is still located at 14th and Van Buren making it very close to campus which is convenient for a lot of the girls in our house! The overall nature of our chapter is positive motivated. A lot of the girls in our chapter are working hard to not only make Kappas better but also the community that we live in better. Having a lot of motivated girls in the house also pushes other girls to get involved which is never a bad thing! One of the major things that happened on our campus in 2012 was that Oregon State University became a smoke free campus on September 1st.
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From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:
  
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Another big thing that happened in September was that a new University student success center opened on campus which serves OSU students with study rooms, tutoring as well as many other academic advantages. Oregon State also passed a bill in March of 2012 that is going to allow them to build a new residence hall that will open as early as 2014.
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==Highlights of 2012==
  
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==Highlights of 2013==
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The 2012 calendar year was very eventful and exciting!  We started out the new year with the transition of the new officers to the chapter council.  At this time, most of the chapter was busy with Varieties (a short musical).  We were paired with the men of Delta Tau Delta, the women of Alpha Delti Pi, and the men of Acacia.  Many of the girls in our chapter also helped out with Dance Marathon which raises money for the Children's Miracle Network.  After Varieties was over, Greek Week was quickly approaching.  We were paired with the men of Lambda Chi and Phi Delta Theta. We did very well in Lip Sync and earned the People's Choice Award.  We also participated in tournaments, olympics, Polar Bear Plunge, and banner.  We ended this eventful week with our annual philanthropy Kappa Kakes.  As always, it was a huge success and the proceeds went to the Children's Miracle Network.  Shortly after our philanthropy, we had Mom's weekend.  It took place at our chapter house where our moms and us participated in a fulfilled weekend that included different things such as brunch, a silent auctioning, and jewelry making.  We ended our year by earning one of the highest honors, Presidents Award.
  
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The past year was a very exciting one for the Gamma Mu chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. We have been expanding, growing, and becoming more involved with the community. Last Fall of 2012, one of our members became the Judicial chair for Panhellenic council. This was a huge success and really set off a great year for our chapter. In Winter 2013, we welcomed Kamelyn Bovinette and Alyssa Rollins as our President and Vice President of Standards. With the start of our new chapter council, we came up with a very effective list of goals to help bring our chapter together and work better as a whole. We want to increase our member involvement, encourage each other, and become more academically driven.  For the past few terms our chapter has been below the all sorority average. Gamma Mu wants to raise our overall GPA from a 2.93 to a 3.1. With the help of our VPAE, we have set up quiet hours for studying in the house and have reserved rooms in the library for midterms and finals. As a chapter we are determined to raise our GPA and all the girls are motivated.  
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Our fall semester started off great with Formal Recruitment.  We were honored to add an amazing new pledge class of 39 girls to the chapter.  Homecoming started off quickly as we came to school.  We were paired with the men of Pi Kappa Alpha and Beta Theta Pi. Our pairing participated in Yell like Hell and earned the People's Choice award.  We also placed first in community service and first in tournaments. Shortly after homecoming, our annual fall philanthropy was held, Kappa Fiesta.  This was very successful and the proceeds went to Reading is Fundamental. This year was also the third year for Kappa Carnival at Collins - Maxwell elementary school. During this, all of our chapter travels to their elementary school and participates in different kinds of games and activities with them. Kappa Karnival is a great way for our chapter to become involved in the community and put a smile on the little kid's faces.  We also had Dad's weekend which was a success. We put on a tailgate for one of the Iowa State football games that all the dads were invited to as well as an auction we held at our chapter facility.  The year ended with officer transitions and passing on the different rituals to the incoming leaders of Delta Omicron.  
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Iowa State University has a beautiful campus, thriving in a variety of activities, organizations, and clubs that are large led by the student body.  Iowa State provides endless opportunities for students to get involved in leadership positions. Iowa State also has a very strong Greek community that offers 15 different sororities and 27 different fraternities for students to become a part of.
  
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Over this past year we participated in many philanthropies as well as community service projects. Kappa Delta’s Mock Rock was once again our chapters’ favorite, and this past year we won third place! Since their philanthropy supports CARDV, which is the local organization we raise money for as well, all the girls love to get very involved. Last winter and spring term, we teamed up with another fraternity, FIJI, and walked dogs at the local humane society. This was a great community service project because it benefited the animals and the girls! Along with the dog walking, we volunteered with Habitat for Humanity several times. The girls got to paint a few houses and help build the front patio. We also got to support Kappa at the University of Oregon in their philanthropy last winter.
 
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Our spring term philanthropy was Kick It With Kappa, and it was a huge success. We had a two-day soccer tournament between sororities and fraternities, as well as daily check-ins and activities. Our Kappa sisters from the University of Oregon came up to participate in the tournament and they tied for first place! We raised about $3,000 for Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence (CARDV).
 
  
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Every year Gamma Mu participates in the all-university sing competition during Mom’s Weekend. We chose to work with Phi Kappa Psi for the years show and got to perform songs from the band Styx. Phi Psi had only participated in Sing once before, but the coaches and members worked very hard over the long months. For the past three years Kappa has placed in the top two, and this past year was no different with a second place win! Our house always takes the competition very seriously and it shows in the final performance. This year we decided to partner with Lambda Chi Alpha, who we have previously won first place with. We have high hopes for this year’s performance and hope to bring the trophy back home!
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==Highlights of 2013==
  
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Recruitment this year was also a success for Gamma Mu. Overall we received 48 girls and got to initiate 43 of them! We were thrilled to welcome a group of young women who were eager to learn what being a Kappa means and help us in our goals for involvement and growth.  
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This previous year, Delta Omicron chapter received a cumulative 3.23 GPA, which increased from 3.12 the past semester. Along with this, we had 52 girls on Dean’s list as well as four girls with a 4.0 GPA. We participated in Yell Like Hell for Homecoming and received 2nd place overall, and won first place in community service. In the Spring, we also were involved in Lip Sync and Varieties and these were very fun for our chapter to be involved in. This year we held our annual philanthropies, which are Kappa Fiesta in the Fall and Kappa Kakes in the Spring. Both of these events were successful, and the money raised goes towards Reading is Fundamental as well as the Children’s Miracle Network. Challenges this year included re-vamping all of the chapter council positions and adding new and exciting programs that would get our chapter members involved and engaged.  
  
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Our chapter is still only two blocks from campus, which is convenient for a lot of the girls in our house! Oregon State just started their Freshman Experience campaign, which requires all freshmen to live on campus. Having the Chapter house so close to campus makes it easy for all the New Members in the dorms to come over. In light of this new change, OSU has started building a new dorm on campus, which hopes to open in 2015. They also have continued work on the new Business building and the Student Success Center which both plan on opening later in 2014. Our chapter is a very positive place, and having very motivated members keeps the house involved with Greek life and the community. We hope to keep the momentum of last year going within our new pledge class and the house as a whole.
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There have been no drastic changes on our campus recently, besides our VEISHEA weeklong celebration of the various colleges of Iowa State University. This celebration will be re-vamped and changed in the future to promote Iowa State University tradition and community. As for the overall nature of our chapter, we are moving forward in leadership as well as friendship, and are trying to work towards overall respect of one another and more involvement in general from the chapter members.
  
  
 
==Highlights of 2014==
 
==Highlights of 2014==
  
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The year of 2014 was an exciting and busy year for the Gamma Mu chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Our chapter takes pride in being involved with the other chapters at Oregon State as well as the community. Last fall, two of our members were selected as the president and vice president for Panhellenic council. These girls represent our chapter wonderfully, along with Kappa Kappa Gamma as an organization. Our new chapter council worked together to make chapter goals and how they would go about accomplishing them. Member involvement and encouragement, academics, and committee use are a few examples of the goals they set. We started off the year with the GPA of 2.99, which is below the all sorority average, and ended the year with an improved chapter GPA of 3.12, which is above the all sorority average and ranked us fourth in the panhellenic rankings. Our VPAE did a fantastic job going above and beyond by meeting with girls, setting up study tables during midterm and finals weeks, and establishing quiet hours in the dining room to give the girls a quieter place to study in the house. As a chapter, we are determined to continue improving our study habits and GPA.
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Over the past year, Delta Omicron has accomplished very much. We have set many goals throughout the year, and one by one we are meeting and exceeding these goals. One of our goals was to raise our chapter average GPA. We increased our chapter GPA by .07 to reach a chapter average of 3.32. Another goal was to become more involved in the Greek and Iowa State community. Since this goal has been set, we have had many members of our chapter join Blood Drive Committee, STARS, dance marathon and many more. Four Delta Omicron members were even elected to be Rho Gammas in the upcoming formal recruitment, which is double the amount we had in the previous formal recruitment! We have participated in many Greek Events including LipSync for Greek Week and Yell Like Hell for homecoming. Our philanthropies are said to be the best on campus. At our fall all-you-can-eat nacho bar philanthropy, Kappa Fiesta, we raised over four thousand dollars to go towards the Reading is Fundamental organization and Kappa Foundation. We also raised a large amount of money for The Children's Miracle Network at our spring philanthropy, Kappa Kakes. Our chapter also attended an elementary school carnival and played games with young children who received tickets that they could redeem for children's books we donated to the carnival.  
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Our participation in other chapter’s philanthropies and community service continues to be a priority at Gamma Mu. Mock Rock, a huge philanthropy of Kappa Delta’s, has always been a chapter favorite and gets the girls excited to raise money for such a great cause. This year, we won the philanthropy with our outstanding participation and fundraising.
 
  
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We had two philanthropies this past year. During winter term, our philanthropy was a hot wing-eating contest called Too Hot To Handle, which we hosted in our chapter’s parking lot. Despite the cold temperatures, we had a great turnout and time, and raised $2500 for Reading is Fundamental. For spring term, we did Kick It With Kappa, a soccer tournament between sororities and fraternities, as well as daily check-ins and activities. The sunny day and good spirits made it a great day to be a Kappa and raise another $2500 for our chosen charity, the Center of Rape and Domestic Violence (CARDV).
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We hold our chapter meetings in our chapter room in our chapter owned facility. Delta Omicron is fortunate enough to have a very nice house with yearly renovations thanks to our awesome parent foundation's donations :)
  
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Every year, Gamma Mu participates in an all-university competition called Sing. Sing is held during Oregon State’s designated Mom’s Weekend, and is similar to a Broadway production where coed groups, usually sororities and fraternities, team up and sing three songs all while dancing and stunting to routines. Sing is taken very seriously here at Gamma Mu, with a tremendous amount of  hard work, time, and effort put into five months of practicing. Last year, that hard work paid off with a win for both us and Lambda Chi Alpha, the fraternity our house paired up with. We hope to continue this tradition of winning Sing with our freshmen pledge class and many more to come!
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Our chapter house has been around for many, many years. However, within the last decade, a new floor was added to the house allowing more women to live in. Every summer we get new renovations of our choice (within reason). For example, a third level was added, a new wing was added, a patio was added, and other minor changes as well. As of right now, around 65 women can live in our chapter owned home.
  
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Gamma Mu had a successful year of formal recruitment last fall. We received 49 girls and initiated 44 of them. Recruitment is always so exciting because another wonderful group of girls joins our chapter with the same values and morals that we all share.
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==Highlights of 2015==
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One of the biggest challenges that our chapter faced this year is our warning of probation that we were placed on last August. Since then, we have made tremendous growth as a chapter. We made a list of goals at the beginning of the year that we wanted to focus on as a chapter council. These goals consisted of making the chapter more aware of Kappa’s Bylaws and Standing Rules and values, creating more efficient use of committees, and to work on our sisterhood. Since then we have met these goals by having monthly sisterhoods, reading passages of the Bylaws and Standing Rules during chapter meetings, and using delegation in our committees.  
 
   
 
   
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Oregon State University has been rapidly evolving to fit the high demand of becoming an even more prestigious university and adjusting to the increasingly higher number of students that enroll in the university each year. Our campus has been expanding, and also renovating old buildings on campus to keep up with the demand for classrooms, study rooms, etc. In the fall of 2014, Austin Hall had its grand opening in its own brand new, spectacular building on campus for all of the business students. The construction on Austin Hall seemed to last forever, but the final product of the building was a beautifully modern student oriented building with classrooms, study rooms, cafes, and much more. Located right behind Austin is an enormous building made only for classrooms, with a unique lecture hall that is completely circular, seating 600 students. It is said to be the only fully circular lecture hall in the United States. The addition of a new dorm was also completed this fall to help with the increasing number of students living on campus for their first year as part of the First Year Experience the university projected the fall of 2013. A student experience center is currently in its final chapter of construction on campus as well, which will host the beavers news, student leadership associations, and many other organizations and clubs, all with the goals of creating a more broadened and well rounded student body here at Oregon State.  
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Another one of our goals as a chapter was to be more involved in the Greek community and to make a name for Kappa on campus. We had four Rho Gammas from Kappa for formal recruitment, many members on ISU Blood Drive, and many members on the Iowa State Dance Marathon committee. One Kappa was also just elected to be the Vice President of Judicial Affairs on the Collegiate Panhellenic Council. We are continuing to become more involved in the Greek and non-Greek community within the next couple of years as well.
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A recent change in our chapter is the retiring of our beloved Mom Miller. After 31 years serving as the Kappa house mom, she has retired. We will miss her dearly and hope to get a new house mom just as caring and loving as her! The nature of our chapter is positive, involved, and fun. We recruited over 50 new members between formal recruitment and informal recruitment, and many of them spend a lot of time at the house and enjoy being around such a great group of girls.
  
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Gamma Mu is fortunate enough to have a house owned by house board a couple of blocks off of campus where we hold our chapter meetings. Gamma Mu has owned and lived in the chapter house since 1935, marking our 80th year in the house. The house was bought and owned from Chi Phi during World War I when many of their members were drafted for the war. The capacity of the house gives 60 girls the opportunity to live in each year, and is conveniently located two blocks off of campus, allowing for short walks to class. It is usually during a member’s sophomore or junior year when they live in the house.
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One recent change on campus that many girls in the house appreciate is the Starbucks that was just added across the street from Kappa. At any given time, there is a Kappa in Starbucks ordering a drink before class or even studying. Starbucks is a great study spot and being so close to the house, there are always girls studying there. Above that new Starbucks, new apartment buildings have been added. These nice, fully furnished apartments are a popular hangout spot that many Kappas enjoy. A lot of women choose to live in these apartments because they are so close to the house and it makes it very easy for them to stop by any time and just hang out.
  
  
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==Highlights of 2015==
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Chapter Philanthropy:
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What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?
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Delta Omicron has been actively involved in donating money to Reading is Fundamental, Kappa Foundation, and Children’s Miracle Network. We continue to hold our fall philanthropy, Kappa Con Queso, which benefits Kappa Foundation and Reading is Fundamental. This year we raised a record breaking amount (over $7,600.00) to be donated equally to Kappa Foundation and Reading is Fundamental. Our spring philanthropy, Kappa Kakes, partners with Iowa State Dance Marathon to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network. At this event, we invite members of Dance Marathon to come and set up a table for the guests to donate. In addition to that, we also have a lot of women participate in Dance Marathon, raising even more money for the Children’s Miracle Network. We also participate in a smaller service event, Kappa Karnival, at a local elementary school where we play games with kids and they receive tickets that they can then cash in for books.
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Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
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We wanted to support Kappa Foundation because of what it does for Kappa Alumni and current Kappa Chapters. We believe that Reading is Fundamental is a very good organization that encourages literacy in children and adults and we think that this is a good cause to donate to because we also have a strong belief in literacy. Partnering with Dance Marathon and donating to Children’s Miracle Network is also something that we have a strong desire to do. Children’s Miracle Network is a great organization and helps a lot of children and their families, and we think it is great to be able to help with that.
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==Highlights of 2020s:==
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From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:
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'''Housing:'''
  
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The year of 2015 has been successful for the Gamma Mu chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. One of our most exciting achievements has been our rise in grade point averages, which went from 3.12 in 2014 to 3.21 this year. Not only were we awarded most improved within the Panhellenic council, we are currently ranked in second place overall for sororities. Our VPAE has put much time and effort into our goal of increasing grades, such as meeting with girls to discuss academics and study plans, organizing quiet study hours for finals week, and overall doing a fantastic job of bringing energy and motivation to academics, inspiring girls to do well in school.
 
  
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In May we held our philanthropy, Too Hot to Handle, to support our national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental. This philanthropy consists of a hot wing-eating contest among other fraternities and sororities on campus, and we received great participation. We held the event in front of Reser Stadium to accommodate more people than in previous years, which provided for a great turnout. Fall term was particularly exciting for our chapter because we hosted Kappa Klassic, a golf tournament that we haven’t had at Oregon State for several years. This brought a new and exciting element for both our members and the participants, and we successfully raised money for our local philanthropy, the Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence (CARDV).
 
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The first philanthropy we participated in during the 2015-2016 school year was Sigma Nu’s lip sync competition, and we won the entire event, kicking off fall term to with an exciting start. Mock Rock, Kappa Delta’s philanthropy, has been a chapter favorite for numerous years, and something we also put a lot of value in because they support CARDV as well. We are extremely proud to hold second place in the competition, given how competitive it is among all houses. We also received second place in Anchor Splash, Delta Gamma’s philanthropy.
 
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One of our main goals this year was to increase participation both in other philanthropies and in the community, and we have been making tremendous strides. Our philanthropy chair has created teams throughout the house, and each team will go to different philanthropy events both to participate and support, which has also helped to motivate members on other teams to do the same. She has done an exceptional job of motivating our members to get involved in the community by continuously informing us about new service opportunities.
 
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Every year Gamma Mu participates in Oregon State’s all-university competition, Sing. This competition consists of fraternities and sororities pairing to create teams, in which they will learn a dance/sing routine to perform during Mom’s Weekend. We have a history of taking this competition extremely seriously, and we have received either first or second place for the previous five years. This year, with the help of Sigma Phi Epsilon, we brought home the first place trophy once again and are hopeful for 2016.
 
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We had the pleasure of welcoming our LC into our home for three weeks during recruitment, and she was wonderful to have with us. She gave us insight to the recruitment process as well as chapter organization in general, and also shared a lot of her knowledge about Kappa Kappa Gamma as a whole. We received 44 new members this year, and were able to initiate 41 of them. This group of women is such a great fit for our chapter, and we are proud to have them carry on our values.
 
  
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Oregon State University is continuously improving in many aspects, both physically and academically. The grand opening of the Student Experience Center was held spring term. The center is designed to foster diversity and cultural engagement, student leadership, and experiential learning. The Learning Innovation Center was a new addition to campus starting fall term, and this holds classrooms and study areas for all subjects.
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'''Philanthropy:'''
  
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The house of Gamma Mu is still located two blocks from campus, which is close and convenient for both members living in and for our newly initiated members who are currently living in their dorms.
 
  
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Chapter Philanthropy:
 
  
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What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?
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'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''
  
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Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence and Reading is Fundamental
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==Highlights of 2016==
  
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Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
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This year, the Delta Omicron house board was fortunate enough to send 11 chapter council members to the National Convention which was held in San Diego, California. At convention, Delta Omicron received an honorable mention for our recruitment.
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Delta Omicron has been working very hard this past year to work towards our goal of being awarded the Fraternal Award of Excellence. This award provides recognition for chapters that excel in a plethora of different areas which are of priority for sororities and fraternities. We will not find out however if we have been awarded this award until the Spring of 2017.  
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We believe that continuous learning is important for everyone, and reading is a large aspect of that. Everyone should have access to books, which is why we take so much pride supporting Reading is Fundamental. We also take the safety of women everywhere extremely seriously, and believe that the Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence does a great job of supporting women who have been hurt and need help.
 
  
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This year there was a new addition to the Iowa State Greek Community. Delta Gamma sorority was added and recruited this Fall. They are in the process now of building a chapter facility in which members will be able to live in starting next academic year. Our chapter is growing very fast. We now hold weekly chapter meetings on campus as opposed to in our chapter facility. In August of 2016 we got a new house mom, Gail Sheluga. She was a Kappa here at Delta Omicron in the 1970's. 
  
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==Highlights of 2016:==
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This year was a major change facility wise for Delta Omicron. We are a fast growing chapter, and this year we were actually too big to host our weekly chapter meetings inside our chapter room here at our facility. Starting in January, we began to host our chapter meetings on campus to allow for more room for members. While this was a sad and tough change to implement, it definitely is worth the change to allow for a more comfortable, spacious chapter setting in a classroom.
  
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2016 was another banner year for the Beta Omega chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. This year we improved in areas of overall grade point average and rank, and also our awareness of college campus issues such as substance abuse and sexual assault prevention. It continued to be a strong year for philanthropy, sisterhood, and recruitment.  
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Delta Omicron for the past few years hosts two annual philanthropies; Kappa Con Queso which is in the fall and Kakes for Kids which is held in the spring. Kappa Con Queso is an event held here at our house, with an all you can eat nacho bar. All funds raised are donated to the Kappa Foundation to help other Kappa's across the nation in need, and the Reading is Fundamental foundation to help children's literacy promotion. Kappa Kakes is our spring philanthropy which is also held here at our Kappa house, and it is an all you can eat pancake bar. All proceeds raised for this philanthropy go towards the Children's Miracle Network. Alongside our two annual philanthropies, Delta Omicron takes a trip out to the local Collins- Maxwell elementary school here in Iowa to help host an event called Kappa Karnival. We put on a carnival for students in the community to come and play games and their prizes earned are books.  
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At the beginning of 2016, Beta Omega once again held our winter philanthropy event, Kappa Dodgeball. We are fortunate to have this event increase every year and continue to be the most attended Greek event on campus. This year raising over 10,000 dollars, Beta Omega was able to donate a full playground to our local philanthropy, Early Childhood Cares, which helps children under the age of five with developmental disabilities. Our most successful aspect of philanthropy this year was creating groups within Kappa to attend other Greek life philanthropic events. This created a huge increase in our Greek community involvement and gave more support to all Greek life philanthropic organizations.
 
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In the spring we held our Barn Dance, Spring Fling, and Mom’s Weekend. This year our mom’s club helped raise even money to renovate our living room to be beautiful and recruitment ready!
 
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In the fall we had another successful recruitment gaining 62 wonderful new members into the chapter. Our Bid Day Theme was “Go Kappa Went Kappa” and decorations and food of all shades of blue and blue filled our house as the new members ran to their new home.
 
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On October 13th, we held a Founder’s Day with a dessert celebration and time capsule activity. The members of Beta Omega wrote down their favorite memories and blessing that Kappa has given them, to be opened by the new freshmen on their senior Founder’s Day. It was a sweet idea that gave the graduating seniors time to think of all they have gained from Beta Omega, while the new members were excited to experience Kappa Kappa Gamma for the next few years.  
 
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Overall, 2016 proved to be another year of growth for the Beta Omega women, who consistently strive to be good examples of women and sisterhood, and who wear their letters proud.  
 
  
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Delta Omicron believes it's important to support organizations local to Iowa State. One way we do this is through  one of Iowa State’s largest student organizations, Dance Marathon. As it ties with Reading is fundamental, Dance Marathon supports children in need that are located specifically in Iowa. The University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital directly affect families at Iowa State in our Greek Community and so we have developed a strong relationship with Iowa State Dance Marathon. Our annual spring philanthropy is continuously successful due to our support of DM and our pancakes are anticipated throughout the Greek community. Many Kappas attend the event in January and as our chapter puts an emphasis on participation, our membership genuinely enjoys fundraising and attending the big event.
  
 
==Highlights of 2017==
 
==Highlights of 2017==
  
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2017 has been a year of notable advancement for the Gamma Mu chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. For the winter term of 2017, we had many fun activities for our members to attend. One of the most fun events was our house dance, which was a Great Gatsby themed Sapphire Ball. We all had a great time and thought the theme was creative. We also participated in many philanthropies this term to support the causes of our Greek Community. For Sigma Alpha Epsilon, we had a many members participate in their field day, which included the always-muddy tug of war competition. We also participated in Phi Kappa Psi’s philanthropy, which the main event was a game show themed event called Phi Psi feud. An added bonus this term was winning the Barre3 Corvallis Instagram competition, which gave us all a free month of Barre3 classes.
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This past year, Delta Omicron has accomplished many goals throughout our greek community, and within our chapter. Our first recognition as a chapter this year was at Vespers when Kappa Kappa Gamma was awarded the Best Academic Programming out of all other sororities in our community. This award was based off the hard work of the 2016 Academics Committee and advisor. Through their efforts, and continued this year, our Academics Committee help women struggling academically in a one-on-one setting, create positive programming for the entire chapter, and celebrate with a scholarship brunch each semester. Our current Vice President of Academic Excellence, Elizabeth Garzon, continued this academic programming through Major Captains and a motto focused on finding your personal mentor on campus. This hard work truly paid off when Delta Omicron increased its overall GPA by .17 after the spring semester, making us the 4th highest GPA in the community.
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Spring term was busy, yet fun, as always. We hosted our philanthropy, Too Hot To Handle, and the proceeds went to Reading is Fundamental. We hosted this hot-wing eating contest in the Student Experience Center Plaza, and had a lot of chapters from our Greek Community participate. This year we created more of an emphasis on the book drive portion of the event. We donated 250 books and raised $2760 for RIF. We also had our spring Barn Dance this term, which was a great event catered with food and fun. Another highlight of this term was our Mom’s Weekend activities. We hosted our first Mom’s and Mocktails event with food and shopping at the Kappa Kastle. We also participated in Sing with Sigma Alpha Epsilon, which was a great opportunity for our newly initiated members to bond with each other and the fraternity. In June we said goodbye to our lovely seniors and wish them the best in their next stages of life! We also said goodbye to our House Mother, Ms. Liza, and wish her the best as well.  
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At the beginning of this fall semester we participated in primary recruitment, where we maxed out our total, and recruited at record return rates.Throughout the week our membership chairman focused on sisterhood and relationships with one another. This value based recruitment (and lots of coffee) was a huge part to our success of welcoming a new pledge class of 46 sisters.
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A goal of our chapter council at the beginning of our term was to improve our Alumni relations. What started as a goal on a piece of paper, soon was executed by our Public Relations chair with our first ever Alumni Event. This event was held at our university alumni center this fall, and the evening consisted of desert, speeches, pictures, trivia, storytelling, and of course, Oh Pat. Following the event, alumni were welcomed back into our home for a house tour, and a trip down memory lane.
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Our chapter has an amazing shared sisterhood and morale is as good as ever! We were excited to spend more time together in our basement after seeing all the amazing renovation that
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were made over the summer!
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[[File:DO basement renovations 1.png|thumb|DO 2017]] [[File:DO basement renovations2.png|thumb|DO 2017]] [[File:DO basement renovations 3.png|thumb|DO 2017]]
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For our chapter meetings, each monday we meet in a room on campus. We can no longer hold our chapter meetings in our house because we have outgrown our chapter room. The rooms on campus that we our meetings in are typically large lecture halls without windows.   
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Historically, Delta Omicron has held philanthropic events to raise money for Reading is Fundamental, The Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, and Dance Marathon. Not only did we continue to hold successful events for these amazing foundations, but also introduced a Coffee and Donut even to raise even more funds for Dance Marathon. In total, we raised $7,133 for our philanthropies this last year. In addition to our chapters philanthropies, we also raised money with our Greek Week Pairing, Alpha Tau Omega, and Triangle Fraternity, for a total of $24,934 worth of donations to the Iowa Special Olympics.
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[[File:Delta Omicron 2017.png|thumb|DO 2017]]
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[[File:DO Philanthropy.png|thumb|DO 2017]]
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[[File:DO chapter.png|thumb|DO 2017]]
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[[File:DO chapter fun.png|thumb|DO 2017]]
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[[File:DO chapter fun 2.png|thumb|DO 2017]]
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[[File:DO Bid day 2017.png|thumb|DO 2017]]
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[[File:DO football fun 2017.png|thumb|DO 2017]]
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==Highlights of 2018==
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This past year, Delta Omicron has accomplished many goals not only within our chapter, but in the greek community as a whole. Our first recognition as a chapter occurred in the Spring of 2018 when Kappa Kappa Gamma was awarded the title of Best Academic Programming and Best Social Justice Programming out of all of the sororities in the Panhellenic Community at our Vespers ceremony. These awards were due to the efforts of the 2017 Academics Committee and the Social Justice Chairman, who each implemented positive programming in order to better support our members and educate them on how to be successful in different facets of their lives. The Academics Committee continued to help women struggling academically in a one-on-one setting, celebrated academic successes through a scholarship brunch each semester, and implemented the Major Captain mentorship program along with a yearly motto to inspire our Chapter’s academic endeavors for the year. We also had a few of our women receive individual awards in the Spring Katie Nawrocki received recognition as the President of the Year and Elizabeth Garzon received recognition as Outstanding Service Woman. Over the summer, Delta Omicron was given the Standards Award at the Kappa Kappa Gamma National Convention due to the positive standards programming that our Standards Committee has implemented in the past few years. Delta Omicron also participated with Alpha Phi, Pi Beta Phi, and Farmhouse to compete in the annual varieties musical competition where we won first place overall as well as multiple caption awards.
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At the beginning of the Fall semester, Delta Omicron participated in primary recruitment where we maxed out on our total and recruited at record return rates. Olivia Danner, our membership chairman, made both spirit week and recruitment a fun experience for everyone as we focused on values, sisterhood, and relationships with one another. This value based recruitment proved to be a huge success as we welcomed 44 new sisters into our chapter, and managed to have 100 percent new member retention throughout the new member period and the first semester.
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The rest of the Fall semester was full of fun as Delta Omicron held a very successful philanthropy, Kappa with Queso, and performed well in traditional Homecoming activities. Our public relations chair, Julia Beswick, also held our second annual alumni event at the Iowa State alumni center, which consisted of dessert, conversation, stories and lots of laughs.
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Our chapter has a consistently strong sisterhood and morale remains high among the women of Delta Omicron! Greek life on Iowa State’s campus continues to be looked on in a positive light as the members of the sororities and fraternities on campus work hard to change negative perceptions that can sometimes accompany the greek community.
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Delta Omicron supports Reading is Fundamental, the KKG Foundation and Dance Marathon.  Year after year Delta Omicron thoroughly enjoys supporting these organizations. Kappa with Queso, an all you can eat nacho bar, and Kappa Karnival, an elementary game night where children win books for prizes, are put on to support Reading is Fundamental and the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, and Kakes for Kids, an all you can eat pancake breakfast, is put on to support Dance Marathon. Our chapter loves that we are able to experience first hand the difference that we can make in the lives of children through the Karnival and Kakes events.
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[[File:Delta Omicron 2018.jpeg|thumb|Delta Omicron 2018]]
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[[File:Delta Omicron - KKG convention.jpeg|thumb|KKG convention award]]
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[[File:Bid Day 2018.jpeg|thumb|Bid day 2018]]
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[[File:KKG Convention.jpeg|thumb|Chapter awards]]
  
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Fall term came up quick after a summer filled with internships, work, and Kappas abroad. Fall term was an eventful term for our chapter. We hired a new House Mother, Windy, a new chef, and got a new houseboard chairwoman. Our chapter had a very successful Fall Formal recruitment. We had a 98% retention rate and received 37 kappatastic women into our chapter. The theme for bid day was Sapphire City, so all of our members were dressed in their most eye-catching blue outfits. We had four women volunteer as Gamma Chi recruitment counselors for our Panhellenic community, so we were excited to welcome them back into our chapter after months of disaffiliation. This term we hosted our Too Hot To Handle hot-wing eating contest for the second time in 2017. We hosted it at our Kappa Kastle and it was a great success. We were able to donate 1200 books and raised $5000. We also had a fun Dad’s Weekend with the men of Pi Kappa Phi. We had a brunch at the Kappa Kastle, and were able to see our families before heading home for Thanksgiving. Before we all left for winter break, we had a Kappa Khristmas party at our house with holiday treats, gift exchanges, and caroling.
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==Highlights of 2019==
  
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As far as grades for 2017 goes, we were consistent with our GPA. We were above the all sorority average by .08 points for winter term. We also had two members each term nominated as academic scholars of the term. We hope to keep increasing our GPA and look forward to being successful in our studies in the future.
 
  
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==Highlights of 2020==
  
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==Highlights of 2020s:==  
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==Highlights of 2021==
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This year Delta Omicron accomplished a wide array of tasks and continued to grow as a chapter. In the spring semester, we were awarded the second-highest GPA in the Panhellenic community out of 16 chapters. Our academic presence also flourished within the chapter by continuing our Geek of the Week programming, academic progress planning to support our struggling members run by our VPAE Lauren Swegle and her committee, and continuing to be active our kappademics Instagram page to hold contests, support, and motivate members during a trying time. Our chapter having the second-highest GPA was one of our highest/main honors this year. However, we also had 18 members receive a 4.0 GPA in the Spring of 2020.
  
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(Information from chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.)
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Kappa Convention wasn’t held this year, therefore, we didn’t receive any awards. However, some of our members did have the opportunity to attend the Kappa Leadership Conference in January to interact with other chapters and gain insight on how to better our chapter. Our members recognized this as a great interactive opportunity and learned a lot about how to motivate our members, deal with difficult conversations and attend workshops on sisterhoods and burnout.  
  
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Our chapter continued to remember, learn and honor our traditions throughout the year by participating in rituals reviews, celebrating founders day in October, and initiating our newest members. This fall we successfully initiated 29 members into our chapter, spearheaded by our Marshal Lauren Price. We adapted to performing a Combined Service due to COVID-19 restrictions but did everything to make it special and memorable for each and every member. I-Week, or our inspiration period, was another great way to make our new members feel special and involve our initiated members through gift-giving and sisterhoods.
  
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'''Housing:'''
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Our chapter also held and participated in a variety of special events this year such as Initiation, Recruitment, Greek Week, Homecoming Week, sisterhoods, socials, and a fall formal. Greek Week in the spring and Homecoming Week in the fall is a great way for our chapter to get more involved in the Panhellenic community and the Sorority and Fraternity community by being paired up with different chapters and competing in events, raising money for charities, and supporting one another. We had multiple leaders step forward during these times to serve our chapter and the communities at large.
  
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Recruitment in August was another special time for our chapter as we were able to come together a week before to prepare and bond and then successfully recruit 29 members thanks to our Membership Chairman, Sidney Scott. We continued to uphold our valued-based recruitment and hold each other to a higher standard while bonding and meeting hundreds of amazing young women.
  
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We also held multiple sisterhoods throughout the years to come together, boost morale and support each other. These sisterhoods included coffee trucks, trips to the pumpkin patch, DIY spay days, Easter egg dying and so much more courtesy of our VPS Emma Ver Steeg and her committee.
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'''Philanthropy:'''
 
  
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Hosting and attending socials with other sororities and fraternities and formals was reinstated this year after a brief hiatus because of COVID-19. All of these events were fun and engaging thanks to our Events Chairman, Natalie Rock, and executed safely and within all guidelines and restrictions thanks to our Risk Chairman Grace Stepanek and Cameron Quance.
  
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At the beginning of 2021, our Chapter Council established goals of boosting morale, engaging the committees, and getting members more involved in and out of the house. After another successful year in Delta Omicron, I am happy to share we have accomplished that and are excited for years to come in this amazing chapter.
  
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'''Convention Awards:'''
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What local organization does the chapter support and why?
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Children’s Miracle Network. We support this organization because it helps many families and children in need who are going through difficult times. The money we raise for this foundation goes towards Iowa Stead Family Hospital where many children and families stay for treatment. We raised money for this foundation through our event Kakes for Kids in the spring. This event looked a little different this year due to COVID-19 but we were able to host a successful cupcake drive-through to raise funds.
  
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How did the chapter support Kappa’s philanthropy?
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Our chapter supported Kappa’s philanthropy by hosting a philanthropy event in the fall called Chips, Cheese & KKG’s where we raised over $5,000. We donated that money to Mental Health America as well as the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation.
  
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How did your chapter include diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in your programming this year?
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Our chapter included DEI initiatives throughout the year in our social justice programming provided to our sorority by our Social Justice Chair, Brianna Nelsen. A survey was sent out to all of our members to ask what specific topics we are all interested in learning about/what we’re striving to be more educated on. This allowed us to narrow our educational programming and dig deeper into issues we all deal with. Our chair Brianna Nelsen also brought in a speaker from nationals to discuss Diversity, Equity and Inclusion specifically and how we can be better sisters and members of society.
  
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How did your chapter operations change due to COVID-19 
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Our chapter’s operations looked different this year due to COVID-19 but were improved from the previous year. For example, every member of our chapter and the Panhellenic community was required to wear a mask during recruitment and respect the boundaries of others. Regarding initiation, we didn’t invite our new members to sleepover at the house and adapted to a Combined Service to avoid the close quarters of red rooms to make ensure everyone felt comfortable and to do our part in keeping everyone healthy.
  
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'''Note to Chapter Registrar:'''
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[[File:Delta Omicron 1.png|thumb|fall 2021]]
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Please refer to your chapter archives including chapter meeting minutes and back issues of ''The Key'' to fill in any gaps in the above historical highlights. If your chapter archives are not complete, please research your university library, campus newspaper and yearbook archives for newsworthy information about your chapter. Please double check your work for accuracy. Contact chapter Advisory or House Board members, local Alumnae Association members, or your Province Director of Chapters for assistance.  
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[[File:Delta Omicron 6.png|thumb|fall 2021]]
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[[File:Delta Omicron 3.png|thumb|fall 2021]]
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[[File:Delta Omicron 4.png|thumb|9-2021]]
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[[File:Delta Omicron 5.png|thumb|9-2021]]
  
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Your efforts will ensure a complete and accurate history of your chapter for future generations to enjoy!
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==Highlights of 2022==

Latest revision as of 00:06, 16 May 2022

 

Delta Omicron
ΔO
Delta Omicron.jpg
FoundedMay 18, 1946 (1946-05-18) (79 years ago)
CollegeIowa State University
LocationAmes, IA
HomepageDelta Omicron Homepage
Media related to Delta Omicron Chapter


Formerly Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts established in 1858, Ames, Iowa; Iowa State University of Science and Technology


Delta Omicron Founded May 18, 1946


1,906 initiates (as of June 2018)

Charter Members: Dorothy Elizabeth Bonnell, Elizabeth Faye Collins, Dorothy M. Crawford, Barbara Ferguson, Lorraine Lee Guernsey, Betty Lou Hall, Patricia Ann Hedge, Helen Marie Hochriem, Myrllin Lee Huff, Eleanor Anne Lagoni, Carolyn Ann Mitchell, Nancy Nix, Ethelyn Julia Scott, Evelyn Marie Scott, Virginia Sharp, Rosalie Fergueson Thomas, June Marie Welch, Ruth Noi Wright.

Some of Delta Omicrons’s Outstanding Alumnae: (If you have chapter alumnae who have received recognition in any of these three categories, please list them with the date(s) of recognition.)


Fraternity Council Members Colleen Blough (Tallman), Traveling Consultant 1986-1988; Jill Lansing (Edsen), Traveling Consultant 1997-1998; Kylee Deterding, Traveling Consultant 2001-2003; Allison Bernard, Leadership Consultant, 2011-2012; Mattea Rainforth, Chapter Consultant, 2014-2015, Province Director of Chapters- Epsilon North, 2015-2016


Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:


Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:

Janice Lutjen Kreamer, 2002, Civic leader;


Additional Outstanding Delta Omicron Alumnae: Elva Allen, Graduate Counselor 1965-1966; Morgan Hulick, Leadership Consultant 2018-2019, Ritual/History Specialist 2018-


The Early Years[edit]

Delta Omicron’s history seems to bring simultaneous memories of national officers, three Kappa graduate counselors, a small group of unchartered Ames alumnae, the effects of World War II, Iowa State College President Charles E. Friley, and the Panhellenic spirit on Iowa State’s campus.

The first recorded Kappa Kappa Gamma event was a tea held at the Pi Beta Phi house in honor of Graduate Counselor Wilma Winberg (Johnson), Massachusetts, on September 23, 1945. Wilma was sent to Iowa State by the Fraternity with the idea of starting a chapter there. Among the honored guests were the members of the Extension Committee; Fraternity President Ruth Kadel Seacrest, Nebraska; former field secretary and Extension Chairman Martha Galleher (Cox), Ohio Wesleyan; and Frances De Puydt, Iowa. Residence directors, presidents of all organized houses on campus, and faculty members also attended.

Obviously impressed with the situation at Iowa State, the extension committee unanimously recommended that active chapters vote for the colonization of a new Kappa chapter at Iowa State. The Grand Council endorsed the colonization and work was started in the fall of 1945. Two more graduate counselors had been sent to Iowa State by winter quarter, 1946. They were Patricia Pillar (Shelton), Kansas, and Arma Jo Smith (Northup), Kansas State. The first rush party was on January 3, 1946, at the home of Ruth Shaw Gilman, Drake. The Ames alumnae, girls from Beta Zeta at Iowa, and Gamma Theta at Drake assisted the graduate counselors.

Seventeen girls were rushed and pledged. The pledge pin was a gold “ΔΟ.” The new pledges continued to live in various dormitories on campus and they met at the Memorial Union. Delta Omicron was now a reality and finding housing was the next goal.

World War II was over, but the effects were still very evident. Most of the men between 20 and 44 had been eligible for military service. Lumber, scrap metal and all building materials had been rationed. Therefore, labor and materials for construction were non-existent, certain food items were limited, and the college enrollment was low. However, between 1944 and 1946 military men started to return to school and Iowa State’s enrollment tripled.

The start of winter quarter, 1946, was delayed a few days because more than 500 unexpected students overloaded the administrative machinery. Virtually overnight the college faced a critical shortage of classrooms and housing. It was at this time that the ΚΚΓ alumnae started to look for chapter housing.

Installation took place in 1946 with the Grand Council and members of Nebraska, Drake and Iowa University chapters attending. A banquet certainly was in order even though some food rationing was still in effect. A place to seat that many people also presented a problem. President Charles F. Friley, personally came to the rescue. He made sure that the Memorial Union was available for the banquet and adequate food was served.

The initiation for the 18 charter members (one girl pledged after the original 17) took place in the Memorial Union. Executive Secretary Clara O. Pierce, Ohio State, presided over the initiation and Gamma Theta was the installing chapter. It would be hard to say which event was the highlight of the installation weekend: the silver punch bowl presented to the chapter by the Iowa State Interfraternity Council, the silver dish presented by Panhellenic Council or the cake made with rationed butter and sugar. It was at the same time that Wilma Winberg presented a scholarship ring to the girl who showed the greatest scholarship improvement. The tradition still continued in 1975.

Installation was over and all efforts could be aimed at the housing problem. Again, President Friley came to the rescue and made available an old house that the college owned at 128 Lynn Avenue. Delta Omicron could rent the house for $200 month. The house had been used for graduate students, but now the Kappas could call it home for a few years. Beds and study desks were provided with the house, but all of the kitchen equipment had to be purchased. Dishes and glassware were easily acquired, but when a stove and refrigerator had to be obtained, the effects of World War II were again felt. The Kappas were able to purchase a used refrigerator from the ΣΑΕs for $300. Records show that the kitchen was equipped for less than $ 550. In the fall of 1946, rush was conducted in this temporary house. The physical aspects of the house were certainly no help in rushing. The carpeting in the house was so bad that one rushee caught her heel and fell.

The search for permanent housing continued and in the fall of 1947 the lot at Ask and Sunset was purchased for $13,500. The Fraternity architect drew plans for the new house and in the fall of 1948, these plans were presented to the active chapter. However, the lot, which was next door to the Tau Kappa Epsilon house, was later sold to the Tekes for their expansion program. Meanwhile, life continued at 128 Lynn and that year Kappa Alpha Theta came to the campus. The Kappas invited the Thetas to combine spring formals for a “Kite and Key’ dance.

In 1949 Iowa State’s Panhellenic Council invited officers of eleven national sororities to gather on campus. Delta Omicron’s President was elected president of the conference. After the plans for the chapter house at Sunset and Ash had been changed, the decision was made to purchase the Roger Williams Baptist Student Center at 120 Lynn Avenue in May, 1949. Remodeling was to begin as soon as school was out. Again the Kappa architect and interior decorator made all the plans for the remodeling and sizeable addition.

Remodeling began before the new Baptist Church was completed, so the minister and his family moved to 128 Lynn and the Kappas moved to Oak Hall for fall quarter of 1949. Rush was held at the Memorial Union and the church was completed by the end of fall quarter. The girls moved back to 128 Lynn until the remodeling was finished. Mother’s Day, 1949, was “Move Day” and this time the move was permanent.

Even though the decorating was done by an interior decorator, it was several years before she saw the end result. In the meantime, the ΚΚΓ house was frequently visited by Iowa State’s interior design classes as an example in the “utmost of poor taste.” Delta Omicron had been sent the wrong living room furniture.

It appeared that a temporary move might again have to be made in May, 1971. The city’s Building Inspector asked that five rooms in the northeast corner of the house not be used due to structural weakness in that corner of the building. The girls doubled up, but continued to live at 120 Lynn until major repair was done to the corner of the house.

Delta Omicron’s history includes a letter written in 1970 by Dr. E. W. Peterson, professor of political science, who had lived on Lynn Avenue and had watched the Kappas come and go since 1946. He had always been an “adopted Dad” and attended the Dads’ Weekends. The letter was full of his appreciation for the thoughtfulness of the Kappa chapter, of his high opinion of the girls’ abilities in class and on campus, and of the other neighbors’ enjoyment of Delta Omicron. The page was called, “A Brief History of the Kappas as Seen Through the Eyes of Appreciative Neighbors” and it ended, “. . . from the whole neighborhood I bring thanks . . .” Dr. Peterson pointed out that the chapter had always been active in campus affairs. In 1955 there were so many Delta Omicrons in key Veishea (an all-campus event) positions that the Veishea Central Committee installed a special Veishea phone at the Kappa house.

The alumna of the chapter also have been outstanding in activities. In 1970, Iowa State University awarded the Outstanding Young Alumnus award to one alumna and another was named to a special Iowa Governor’s Committee. In 1973 an alumna was the first woman to pass the Air Force Survival test.

At the 1972 Fraternity Convention Delta Omicron received the Edith Reece Crabtree Panhellenic Award and the Rheva Ott Shryock gavel was presented to the alumnae club for its work with the chapter. Without the Ames Alumnae Club and its loyal members, it is doubtful that either Delta Omicron or the written history of Delta Omicron would be a reality.

The previous information was excerpted from The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity, 1870-1976. The information that follows has been gleaned from available resources including Chapter History Reports, chapter meeting minutes, letters and comments from chapter members and alumnae, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity Archives, and The Key. Each chapter is expected to update its history record annually. Contact Fraternity Headquarters at kkghq@kkg.org with questions.


Highlights of the 1970s[edit]

Bell-bottom pants and and long hair were the trends that started off the 1970’s but by the latter part of the decade, the “preppy” look became popular. Turtle necks with corduroy pants was the in look and everything was monogrammed! Disco was the music of choice and Motown artists, such as Michael Jackson were becoming well known. In Iowa, the drinking age was eighteen, which made socials easy to coordinate as you didn’t have to worry about minors. The main issue in the chapter was excessive drinking and several members had to meet with the Standards Committee. Anorexia and Bulimia were just beginning to be a problem in the house. Microsoft was founded in 1975 and the only computers on campus were giant mainframes in campus buildings.


Highlights of the 1980s:[edit]

The 1980’s was a decade where the women of Delta Omicron continued their strong involvement in a myriad of activities and events. They were always up to the challenge and frequently placed in the top three of the various sorority and fraternity events. It didn’t matter if it required athleticism, creativity or talent, somehow Delta Omicron women always shined. Popular activities were: Homecoming, Veisha, Varieties, Greek Week, Derby Day’s and “Yell Like Hell”, just to name a few.

The chapter continued to experience years of strong recruitment and outstanding pledge classes. Kappa was a well respected chapter on campus and the members were very involved in Panhellenic and Greek life.

The fashion in this decade was bold. Women started donning leg warmers, side pony tails, acid washed jeans and Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses. Most jackets, blouses and dresses had shoulder pads in them and hair was often permed and big.

In 1986, a Delta Omicron member, Colleen Blough (Willoughby) was chosen to be a Fraternity Field Representative. This was an honor for both Colleen and the chapter.

The 80’s were also filled with challenges. The State of Iowa raised the legal drinking age from 18 to 21years of age. This meant that the majority of the house was no longer of legal drinking age. Much education and training was implemented to keep the women of the chapter on the right track. During this decade the chapter had several years when its chapter G.P.A. declined. A new emphasis on scholarship was implemented.

When Omicron Deuteron was re-colonized at Simpson College in 1989, the women of Delta Omicron answered the call to help with Simpson’s fall rush. The Delta Omicron members demonstrated the sisterhood of Kappa and shared songs and skits from their rush parties. It was incredibly helpful to the women of Omicron Deuteron.


Housing:

Mom and Dad Miller became the house parents of the Delta Omicron house in 1984. In 1986 the chapter underwent a 3,000 square foot renovation which included additional space for the Millers. During the remodel, Dad Miller had to shower at a local fraternity three blocks away. The renovation added a formal living room, chapter/study room, eleven bedrooms, pajama lounge, four baths and a laundry room. The women were thrilled to move back in to their newly renovated house. In 1987, the Millers were chosen as House Parents of the Year during Greek Week.


Philanthropy:

The members of Delta Omicron always seemed up to the task of rolling up their sleeves and either staging its own fundraiser or participating in other philanthropic events. There is no doubt that their efforts made an impact on their community. They held exciting events like Car Smash where participants had the opportunity for a fee, to take a swing at a beat up car with a sledgehammer and their annual Hitting for the Homeless softball tournament. They participated in the Balloon Derby to help support the Ames Emergency Residence Project and graciously accepted the invitation to join the efforts of other Greek organizations. In the community they supported Meals on Wheels, local blood drives and other philanthropic efforts.


Chapter Convention Awards:



Highlights of the 1990s[edit]

The women of Delta Omicron continued to be incredibly active in campus and Greek Life organizations. When one looks at the list of organizations the members were involved in, it’s impressive. They also continued the tradition of excelling in campus events such as Varieties and VEISHEA. Awards and recognitions were frequent. It was especially rewarding for them to win the 1991Veishea People’s Choice Award for their Our Backyard float that they built with the men of Delta Tau Delta.

During the early part of the 1990’s Delta Omicron maintained its focus on improving academic excellence. They kicked off the decade with the theme of S.O.S., Save Our Scholarship, and as the decade moved on, the scholarship improved and the goals shifted to improving participation levels at events.

In 1995, the chapter received the Golden Key Award for achieving the third level of Kappa’s Challenge to Excellence. It was an honor to receive the award during Kappa Kappa Gamma’s 125th Anniversary.

The chapter celebrated it’s 50th anniversary in 1996. They hosted an open house in October and had a wonderful turnout.

Delta Omicron continued to have strong membership drives during the 1990’s. Year after year, they welcomed in another class of outstanding young women who quickly excelled in a myriad of activities.


Housing:

In 1996, the Theta Chi Fraternity’s chapter house burned to the ground. Fortunately, no members were injured, but it was a tragic loss for the men. The incident united the Greek community to rally around their fellow brothren, but it also sent a ripple of panic within the various house boards. The Kappa house started holding fire drills every semester and the House Board made sure all fire alarms and security systems were up to code and inspected regularly.


Philanthropy:

The Hitting for the Homeless softball tournament continued to be one of the chapter’s biggest philanthropic endeavors. They also dedicated many hours to Meals on Wheels and other local philanthropies. When it came to supporting their Greek partners, the women of Delta Omicron were glad to offer a helping hand, sing, dance, run, or do whatever needed to raise money and awareness for a cause.


Chapter Convention Awards:

06/30/96 Public Relations Award


Highlights of 2000-2010[edit]

Delta Omicron Kappas demonstrated their tradition of leadership by participating in a variety of different clubs, organizations, honor societies, employers, and athletic activities on campus and in the community. Some of these include, but are not limited to Greek Week, SALT Company, Homecoming, Dance Marathon, Freshman Council, Jr. Greek Council, Panhellenic, Cyclone Alley, ISU Pom Squad, Colleges Against Cancer, and Blood Drive. In 2007, at the end of Greek Week the women of Delta Omicron were honored with the President's Award at the Vespers greek award ceremony. This honor acknowledged the chapter for meeting a minimum of 90% of the Collegiate Panhellenic Council's criteria throughout the calendar year.

At the end of the decade the chapter discovered that some of their “fun” activities were considered hazing. It was a wake up call for them to understand that they were making several of their new members uncomfortable. The chapter implemented education and training to ensure the members understand all aspects of hazing to overcome this issue. They prided themselves on sisterhood and leadership, so were working together to make sure all of the members had a positive Kappa experience.


Housing:

By 2010 there were 15 sororities and 27 fraternities on campus. Kappa was well-known and respected and had a strong name in the Greek and campus community.


Philanthropy:

Springtime was associated with the annual philanthropy - Kappa Kakes. The all you can eat pancake breakfast generally raised between $1,100 to $1,600 to benefit the Children's Miracle Network. In the fall the chapter hosted Kappa Fiestas which annually generated thousands of dollars to support Reading is Fundamental and the Rose McGill Fund.


General Convention Awards:

2006, Academic Excellence Honorable Mention; 2006 Panhellenic Honorable Mention; 2008, Most Improved Academic Excellence Honorable Mention;


Province Meeting Awards:

2007, Chapter/Advisory Board Relations Award



Highlights of 2011-2019[edit]

From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:

Highlights of 2012[edit]

The 2012 calendar year was very eventful and exciting! We started out the new year with the transition of the new officers to the chapter council. At this time, most of the chapter was busy with Varieties (a short musical). We were paired with the men of Delta Tau Delta, the women of Alpha Delti Pi, and the men of Acacia. Many of the girls in our chapter also helped out with Dance Marathon which raises money for the Children's Miracle Network. After Varieties was over, Greek Week was quickly approaching. We were paired with the men of Lambda Chi and Phi Delta Theta. We did very well in Lip Sync and earned the People's Choice Award. We also participated in tournaments, olympics, Polar Bear Plunge, and banner. We ended this eventful week with our annual philanthropy Kappa Kakes. As always, it was a huge success and the proceeds went to the Children's Miracle Network. Shortly after our philanthropy, we had Mom's weekend. It took place at our chapter house where our moms and us participated in a fulfilled weekend that included different things such as brunch, a silent auctioning, and jewelry making. We ended our year by earning one of the highest honors, Presidents Award.

Our fall semester started off great with Formal Recruitment. We were honored to add an amazing new pledge class of 39 girls to the chapter. Homecoming started off quickly as we came to school. We were paired with the men of Pi Kappa Alpha and Beta Theta Pi. Our pairing participated in Yell like Hell and earned the People's Choice award. We also placed first in community service and first in tournaments. Shortly after homecoming, our annual fall philanthropy was held, Kappa Fiesta. This was very successful and the proceeds went to Reading is Fundamental. This year was also the third year for Kappa Carnival at Collins - Maxwell elementary school. During this, all of our chapter travels to their elementary school and participates in different kinds of games and activities with them. Kappa Karnival is a great way for our chapter to become involved in the community and put a smile on the little kid's faces. We also had Dad's weekend which was a success. We put on a tailgate for one of the Iowa State football games that all the dads were invited to as well as an auction we held at our chapter facility. The year ended with officer transitions and passing on the different rituals to the incoming leaders of Delta Omicron.

Iowa State University has a beautiful campus, thriving in a variety of activities, organizations, and clubs that are large led by the student body. Iowa State provides endless opportunities for students to get involved in leadership positions. Iowa State also has a very strong Greek community that offers 15 different sororities and 27 different fraternities for students to become a part of.


Highlights of 2013[edit]

This previous year, Delta Omicron chapter received a cumulative 3.23 GPA, which increased from 3.12 the past semester. Along with this, we had 52 girls on Dean’s list as well as four girls with a 4.0 GPA. We participated in Yell Like Hell for Homecoming and received 2nd place overall, and won first place in community service. In the Spring, we also were involved in Lip Sync and Varieties and these were very fun for our chapter to be involved in. This year we held our annual philanthropies, which are Kappa Fiesta in the Fall and Kappa Kakes in the Spring. Both of these events were successful, and the money raised goes towards Reading is Fundamental as well as the Children’s Miracle Network. Challenges this year included re-vamping all of the chapter council positions and adding new and exciting programs that would get our chapter members involved and engaged.

There have been no drastic changes on our campus recently, besides our VEISHEA weeklong celebration of the various colleges of Iowa State University. This celebration will be re-vamped and changed in the future to promote Iowa State University tradition and community. As for the overall nature of our chapter, we are moving forward in leadership as well as friendship, and are trying to work towards overall respect of one another and more involvement in general from the chapter members.


Highlights of 2014[edit]

Over the past year, Delta Omicron has accomplished very much. We have set many goals throughout the year, and one by one we are meeting and exceeding these goals. One of our goals was to raise our chapter average GPA. We increased our chapter GPA by .07 to reach a chapter average of 3.32. Another goal was to become more involved in the Greek and Iowa State community. Since this goal has been set, we have had many members of our chapter join Blood Drive Committee, STARS, dance marathon and many more. Four Delta Omicron members were even elected to be Rho Gammas in the upcoming formal recruitment, which is double the amount we had in the previous formal recruitment! We have participated in many Greek Events including LipSync for Greek Week and Yell Like Hell for homecoming. Our philanthropies are said to be the best on campus. At our fall all-you-can-eat nacho bar philanthropy, Kappa Fiesta, we raised over four thousand dollars to go towards the Reading is Fundamental organization and Kappa Foundation. We also raised a large amount of money for The Children's Miracle Network at our spring philanthropy, Kappa Kakes. Our chapter also attended an elementary school carnival and played games with young children who received tickets that they could redeem for children's books we donated to the carnival.

We hold our chapter meetings in our chapter room in our chapter owned facility. Delta Omicron is fortunate enough to have a very nice house with yearly renovations thanks to our awesome parent foundation's donations :)

Our chapter house has been around for many, many years. However, within the last decade, a new floor was added to the house allowing more women to live in. Every summer we get new renovations of our choice (within reason). For example, a third level was added, a new wing was added, a patio was added, and other minor changes as well. As of right now, around 65 women can live in our chapter owned home.


Highlights of 2015[edit]

One of the biggest challenges that our chapter faced this year is our warning of probation that we were placed on last August. Since then, we have made tremendous growth as a chapter. We made a list of goals at the beginning of the year that we wanted to focus on as a chapter council. These goals consisted of making the chapter more aware of Kappa’s Bylaws and Standing Rules and values, creating more efficient use of committees, and to work on our sisterhood. Since then we have met these goals by having monthly sisterhoods, reading passages of the Bylaws and Standing Rules during chapter meetings, and using delegation in our committees.

Another one of our goals as a chapter was to be more involved in the Greek community and to make a name for Kappa on campus. We had four Rho Gammas from Kappa for formal recruitment, many members on ISU Blood Drive, and many members on the Iowa State Dance Marathon committee. One Kappa was also just elected to be the Vice President of Judicial Affairs on the Collegiate Panhellenic Council. We are continuing to become more involved in the Greek and non-Greek community within the next couple of years as well.

A recent change in our chapter is the retiring of our beloved Mom Miller. After 31 years serving as the Kappa house mom, she has retired. We will miss her dearly and hope to get a new house mom just as caring and loving as her! The nature of our chapter is positive, involved, and fun. We recruited over 50 new members between formal recruitment and informal recruitment, and many of them spend a lot of time at the house and enjoy being around such a great group of girls.

One recent change on campus that many girls in the house appreciate is the Starbucks that was just added across the street from Kappa. At any given time, there is a Kappa in Starbucks ordering a drink before class or even studying. Starbucks is a great study spot and being so close to the house, there are always girls studying there. Above that new Starbucks, new apartment buildings have been added. These nice, fully furnished apartments are a popular hangout spot that many Kappas enjoy. A lot of women choose to live in these apartments because they are so close to the house and it makes it very easy for them to stop by any time and just hang out.


Chapter Philanthropy: What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?

Delta Omicron has been actively involved in donating money to Reading is Fundamental, Kappa Foundation, and Children’s Miracle Network. We continue to hold our fall philanthropy, Kappa Con Queso, which benefits Kappa Foundation and Reading is Fundamental. This year we raised a record breaking amount (over $7,600.00) to be donated equally to Kappa Foundation and Reading is Fundamental. Our spring philanthropy, Kappa Kakes, partners with Iowa State Dance Marathon to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network. At this event, we invite members of Dance Marathon to come and set up a table for the guests to donate. In addition to that, we also have a lot of women participate in Dance Marathon, raising even more money for the Children’s Miracle Network. We also participate in a smaller service event, Kappa Karnival, at a local elementary school where we play games with kids and they receive tickets that they can then cash in for books.

Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?

We wanted to support Kappa Foundation because of what it does for Kappa Alumni and current Kappa Chapters. We believe that Reading is Fundamental is a very good organization that encourages literacy in children and adults and we think that this is a good cause to donate to because we also have a strong belief in literacy. Partnering with Dance Marathon and donating to Children’s Miracle Network is also something that we have a strong desire to do. Children’s Miracle Network is a great organization and helps a lot of children and their families, and we think it is great to be able to help with that.

Highlights of 2020s:[edit]

From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:


Housing:


Philanthropy:


Chapter Convention Awards:

Highlights of 2016[edit]

This year, the Delta Omicron house board was fortunate enough to send 11 chapter council members to the National Convention which was held in San Diego, California. At convention, Delta Omicron received an honorable mention for our recruitment. Delta Omicron has been working very hard this past year to work towards our goal of being awarded the Fraternal Award of Excellence. This award provides recognition for chapters that excel in a plethora of different areas which are of priority for sororities and fraternities. We will not find out however if we have been awarded this award until the Spring of 2017.

This year there was a new addition to the Iowa State Greek Community. Delta Gamma sorority was added and recruited this Fall. They are in the process now of building a chapter facility in which members will be able to live in starting next academic year. Our chapter is growing very fast. We now hold weekly chapter meetings on campus as opposed to in our chapter facility. In August of 2016 we got a new house mom, Gail Sheluga. She was a Kappa here at Delta Omicron in the 1970's.

This year was a major change facility wise for Delta Omicron. We are a fast growing chapter, and this year we were actually too big to host our weekly chapter meetings inside our chapter room here at our facility. Starting in January, we began to host our chapter meetings on campus to allow for more room for members. While this was a sad and tough change to implement, it definitely is worth the change to allow for a more comfortable, spacious chapter setting in a classroom.

Delta Omicron for the past few years hosts two annual philanthropies; Kappa Con Queso which is in the fall and Kakes for Kids which is held in the spring. Kappa Con Queso is an event held here at our house, with an all you can eat nacho bar. All funds raised are donated to the Kappa Foundation to help other Kappa's across the nation in need, and the Reading is Fundamental foundation to help children's literacy promotion. Kappa Kakes is our spring philanthropy which is also held here at our Kappa house, and it is an all you can eat pancake bar. All proceeds raised for this philanthropy go towards the Children's Miracle Network. Alongside our two annual philanthropies, Delta Omicron takes a trip out to the local Collins- Maxwell elementary school here in Iowa to help host an event called Kappa Karnival. We put on a carnival for students in the community to come and play games and their prizes earned are books.

Delta Omicron believes it's important to support organizations local to Iowa State. One way we do this is through one of Iowa State’s largest student organizations, Dance Marathon. As it ties with Reading is fundamental, Dance Marathon supports children in need that are located specifically in Iowa. The University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital directly affect families at Iowa State in our Greek Community and so we have developed a strong relationship with Iowa State Dance Marathon. Our annual spring philanthropy is continuously successful due to our support of DM and our pancakes are anticipated throughout the Greek community. Many Kappas attend the event in January and as our chapter puts an emphasis on participation, our membership genuinely enjoys fundraising and attending the big event.

Highlights of 2017[edit]

This past year, Delta Omicron has accomplished many goals throughout our greek community, and within our chapter. Our first recognition as a chapter this year was at Vespers when Kappa Kappa Gamma was awarded the Best Academic Programming out of all other sororities in our community. This award was based off the hard work of the 2016 Academics Committee and advisor. Through their efforts, and continued this year, our Academics Committee help women struggling academically in a one-on-one setting, create positive programming for the entire chapter, and celebrate with a scholarship brunch each semester. Our current Vice President of Academic Excellence, Elizabeth Garzon, continued this academic programming through Major Captains and a motto focused on finding your personal mentor on campus. This hard work truly paid off when Delta Omicron increased its overall GPA by .17 after the spring semester, making us the 4th highest GPA in the community.

At the beginning of this fall semester we participated in primary recruitment, where we maxed out our total, and recruited at record return rates.Throughout the week our membership chairman focused on sisterhood and relationships with one another. This value based recruitment (and lots of coffee) was a huge part to our success of welcoming a new pledge class of 46 sisters.

A goal of our chapter council at the beginning of our term was to improve our Alumni relations. What started as a goal on a piece of paper, soon was executed by our Public Relations chair with our first ever Alumni Event. This event was held at our university alumni center this fall, and the evening consisted of desert, speeches, pictures, trivia, storytelling, and of course, Oh Pat. Following the event, alumni were welcomed back into our home for a house tour, and a trip down memory lane.

Our chapter has an amazing shared sisterhood and morale is as good as ever! We were excited to spend more time together in our basement after seeing all the amazing renovation that were made over the summer!

DO 2017
DO 2017
DO 2017

For our chapter meetings, each monday we meet in a room on campus. We can no longer hold our chapter meetings in our house because we have outgrown our chapter room. The rooms on campus that we our meetings in are typically large lecture halls without windows.

Historically, Delta Omicron has held philanthropic events to raise money for Reading is Fundamental, The Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, and Dance Marathon. Not only did we continue to hold successful events for these amazing foundations, but also introduced a Coffee and Donut even to raise even more funds for Dance Marathon. In total, we raised $7,133 for our philanthropies this last year. In addition to our chapters philanthropies, we also raised money with our Greek Week Pairing, Alpha Tau Omega, and Triangle Fraternity, for a total of $24,934 worth of donations to the Iowa Special Olympics.

DO 2017
DO 2017
DO 2017
DO 2017
DO 2017
DO 2017
DO 2017

Highlights of 2018[edit]

This past year, Delta Omicron has accomplished many goals not only within our chapter, but in the greek community as a whole. Our first recognition as a chapter occurred in the Spring of 2018 when Kappa Kappa Gamma was awarded the title of Best Academic Programming and Best Social Justice Programming out of all of the sororities in the Panhellenic Community at our Vespers ceremony. These awards were due to the efforts of the 2017 Academics Committee and the Social Justice Chairman, who each implemented positive programming in order to better support our members and educate them on how to be successful in different facets of their lives. The Academics Committee continued to help women struggling academically in a one-on-one setting, celebrated academic successes through a scholarship brunch each semester, and implemented the Major Captain mentorship program along with a yearly motto to inspire our Chapter’s academic endeavors for the year. We also had a few of our women receive individual awards in the Spring Katie Nawrocki received recognition as the President of the Year and Elizabeth Garzon received recognition as Outstanding Service Woman. Over the summer, Delta Omicron was given the Standards Award at the Kappa Kappa Gamma National Convention due to the positive standards programming that our Standards Committee has implemented in the past few years. Delta Omicron also participated with Alpha Phi, Pi Beta Phi, and Farmhouse to compete in the annual varieties musical competition where we won first place overall as well as multiple caption awards.

At the beginning of the Fall semester, Delta Omicron participated in primary recruitment where we maxed out on our total and recruited at record return rates. Olivia Danner, our membership chairman, made both spirit week and recruitment a fun experience for everyone as we focused on values, sisterhood, and relationships with one another. This value based recruitment proved to be a huge success as we welcomed 44 new sisters into our chapter, and managed to have 100 percent new member retention throughout the new member period and the first semester.

The rest of the Fall semester was full of fun as Delta Omicron held a very successful philanthropy, Kappa with Queso, and performed well in traditional Homecoming activities. Our public relations chair, Julia Beswick, also held our second annual alumni event at the Iowa State alumni center, which consisted of dessert, conversation, stories and lots of laughs.

Our chapter has a consistently strong sisterhood and morale remains high among the women of Delta Omicron! Greek life on Iowa State’s campus continues to be looked on in a positive light as the members of the sororities and fraternities on campus work hard to change negative perceptions that can sometimes accompany the greek community.

Delta Omicron supports Reading is Fundamental, the KKG Foundation and Dance Marathon. Year after year Delta Omicron thoroughly enjoys supporting these organizations. Kappa with Queso, an all you can eat nacho bar, and Kappa Karnival, an elementary game night where children win books for prizes, are put on to support Reading is Fundamental and the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, and Kakes for Kids, an all you can eat pancake breakfast, is put on to support Dance Marathon. Our chapter loves that we are able to experience first hand the difference that we can make in the lives of children through the Karnival and Kakes events.

Delta Omicron 2018
KKG convention award
Bid day 2018
Chapter awards

Highlights of 2019[edit]

Highlights of 2020[edit]

Highlights of 2021[edit]

This year Delta Omicron accomplished a wide array of tasks and continued to grow as a chapter. In the spring semester, we were awarded the second-highest GPA in the Panhellenic community out of 16 chapters. Our academic presence also flourished within the chapter by continuing our Geek of the Week programming, academic progress planning to support our struggling members run by our VPAE Lauren Swegle and her committee, and continuing to be active our kappademics Instagram page to hold contests, support, and motivate members during a trying time. Our chapter having the second-highest GPA was one of our highest/main honors this year. However, we also had 18 members receive a 4.0 GPA in the Spring of 2020.

Kappa Convention wasn’t held this year, therefore, we didn’t receive any awards. However, some of our members did have the opportunity to attend the Kappa Leadership Conference in January to interact with other chapters and gain insight on how to better our chapter. Our members recognized this as a great interactive opportunity and learned a lot about how to motivate our members, deal with difficult conversations and attend workshops on sisterhoods and burnout.

Our chapter continued to remember, learn and honor our traditions throughout the year by participating in rituals reviews, celebrating founders day in October, and initiating our newest members. This fall we successfully initiated 29 members into our chapter, spearheaded by our Marshal Lauren Price. We adapted to performing a Combined Service due to COVID-19 restrictions but did everything to make it special and memorable for each and every member. I-Week, or our inspiration period, was another great way to make our new members feel special and involve our initiated members through gift-giving and sisterhoods.

Our chapter also held and participated in a variety of special events this year such as Initiation, Recruitment, Greek Week, Homecoming Week, sisterhoods, socials, and a fall formal. Greek Week in the spring and Homecoming Week in the fall is a great way for our chapter to get more involved in the Panhellenic community and the Sorority and Fraternity community by being paired up with different chapters and competing in events, raising money for charities, and supporting one another. We had multiple leaders step forward during these times to serve our chapter and the communities at large.

Recruitment in August was another special time for our chapter as we were able to come together a week before to prepare and bond and then successfully recruit 29 members thanks to our Membership Chairman, Sidney Scott. We continued to uphold our valued-based recruitment and hold each other to a higher standard while bonding and meeting hundreds of amazing young women.

We also held multiple sisterhoods throughout the years to come together, boost morale and support each other. These sisterhoods included coffee trucks, trips to the pumpkin patch, DIY spay days, Easter egg dying and so much more courtesy of our VPS Emma Ver Steeg and her committee.

Hosting and attending socials with other sororities and fraternities and formals was reinstated this year after a brief hiatus because of COVID-19. All of these events were fun and engaging thanks to our Events Chairman, Natalie Rock, and executed safely and within all guidelines and restrictions thanks to our Risk Chairman Grace Stepanek and Cameron Quance.

At the beginning of 2021, our Chapter Council established goals of boosting morale, engaging the committees, and getting members more involved in and out of the house. After another successful year in Delta Omicron, I am happy to share we have accomplished that and are excited for years to come in this amazing chapter.

What local organization does the chapter support and why? Children’s Miracle Network. We support this organization because it helps many families and children in need who are going through difficult times. The money we raise for this foundation goes towards Iowa Stead Family Hospital where many children and families stay for treatment. We raised money for this foundation through our event Kakes for Kids in the spring. This event looked a little different this year due to COVID-19 but we were able to host a successful cupcake drive-through to raise funds.

How did the chapter support Kappa’s philanthropy? Our chapter supported Kappa’s philanthropy by hosting a philanthropy event in the fall called Chips, Cheese & KKG’s where we raised over $5,000. We donated that money to Mental Health America as well as the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation.

How did your chapter include diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in your programming this year? Our chapter included DEI initiatives throughout the year in our social justice programming provided to our sorority by our Social Justice Chair, Brianna Nelsen. A survey was sent out to all of our members to ask what specific topics we are all interested in learning about/what we’re striving to be more educated on. This allowed us to narrow our educational programming and dig deeper into issues we all deal with. Our chair Brianna Nelsen also brought in a speaker from nationals to discuss Diversity, Equity and Inclusion specifically and how we can be better sisters and members of society.

How did your chapter operations change due to COVID-19 Our chapter’s operations looked different this year due to COVID-19 but were improved from the previous year. For example, every member of our chapter and the Panhellenic community was required to wear a mask during recruitment and respect the boundaries of others. Regarding initiation, we didn’t invite our new members to sleepover at the house and adapted to a Combined Service to avoid the close quarters of red rooms to make ensure everyone felt comfortable and to do our part in keeping everyone healthy.

fall 2021
fall 2021
fall 2021
9-2021
9-2021

Highlights of 2022[edit]

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