Difference between revisions of "Eta Gamma"

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Eta Gamma
HΓ
Founded	October 24, 1997 (1997-10-24) (27 years ago)
College	University of San Diego
Location	San Diego, CA
Homepage	Eta Gamma Homepage
Media related to Eta Gamma Chapter

University of San Diego, established in 1949 in San Diego, California

Eta Gamma founded September 21, 1997

735 initiates (as of June 2014)

Some of Eta Gamma’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:

Brianne Tatarian, Traveling Consultant 2001-2002;

Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:

Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:

additional Outstanding Eta Gamma Alumnae:

Brianne McGann, Leadership Consultant 2011-2012

The University of San Diego is an independent Catholic institution known for its commitment to teaching and the liberal arts. Students live and work in a setting of Spanish Renaissance architecture overlooking Mission Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The university serves approximately 4,000 undergraduates and more than 2,000 graduate students. Close to 90 percent of the freshman and a majority of upperclass students live on campus. The university offers 16 NCAA Division I sports as well as a variety of club and intramural level sports.

Installation

Two trips to the sunny coast of San Diego, Calif., have resulted in a new addition to the Kappa family. The University of San Diego (not to be confused with UC San Diego) became home to Kappa Kappa Gamma's 126th active chapter, Eta Gamma.

An outstanding group of young women became a Kappa Kappa Gamma Colony during a Colonization Recruitment held on campus September 19-21, 1997. Installation of the chapter was held November 7 -8, making these women charter members of Eta Gamma Chapter. Fifty-one colony members were initiated by Fraternity

President Cathy Thompson Carswell, Illinois Wesleyan; Chairman of Extension Juliana (J.J.) Fraser Wales, Ohio State; and the Fraternity's second delegate to the Panhellenic Conference Carol Morrison Sobek, Arizona State, also assisted with the Installation.

Alumnae from the San Diego area and members from Zeta Nu, UC San Diego; Zeta Eta, UC Irvine; Gamma Zeta, Arizona; and Epsilon Delta, Arizona State, participated in Installation activities, as well. Eta Gamma's Chapter Consultant was Anne Kieselbach, UC San Diego; Ragen Bradner, UC San Diego, served as the Coordinator of Chapter Development.

Other Panhellenic groups on campus are Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Phi, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Delta, Alpha Chi Omega, and Kappa Alpha Theta.

Highlights of the 1990s

Eta Gamma Chapter was officially colonized on September 21, 1997 when 53 young women were informed that they were to represent this chapter as part of the Kappa Kappa Gamma fraternity at the University of San Diego. These women were installed as Charter Members on November 8, 1997. At that time, the University of San Diego had 4,000 undergraduate students and 2,000 graduate students. Approximately 23% of the study body was involved in Greek life. There were five fraternities; Phi Kappa Theta, Sigma Chi, Lambda Chi Alpha, Delta Tau Delta, and Sigma Phi Epsilon. There were four sororities; Gamma Phi Beta, Alpha Phi, Alpha Delta Pi, and the newly colonized Kappa Kappa Gamma.

Under the supervision of Anne Kieselbach, the Chapter Consultant, and Regan Bradner, the Coordinator of Chapter Development, the new pledge class took on the responsibilities of continuing the Kappa traditions.

During the first new member Recruitment in 1998 the chapter pledged 30 new members. Party themes included "Kappa Kappa Chino" coffee house, "Kappa Academy Awards," and "Kappa is Your Candle on the Water."

In 1998 Eta Gamma's President, Bridgett O'Neil was honored as the Greek Woman of the Year at USD. Also, that year the chapter reported the highest GPA among the sororities on USD's campus. The chapter goal in 1998 was P.P.U.R.C. - building a meaningful foundation through "Participation, Planning, Understanding, Respect, and Communication." The chapter worked toward this goal through philanthropy, social, fraternity education, sisterhood, and scholarship efforts.

Challenges facing the chapter in the 1990s included low participation and lack of communication. The chapter instituted a variety of ways to improve both of these areas including attendance awards for individual members, email distribution groups, reminders of upcoming events, and personal notes read at the end of meetings.

Eta Gamma members participated in many organizations and honorary societies on USD's campus. Through their newsletter, the Eta Gamma Gazette, they shared events and current activities that the chapter was involved with to the greater Kappa sisterhood of readers.

The chapter incorporated some successful scholarship ideas that included honoring members with high GPAs, hosting Scoops Night by grouping members in majors to assist each other with choosing classes, and treating the members to massages and relaxation sessions during Kappa Relief Days before finals.

Philanthropy:

The chapter participated in a variety of events that raised money and awareness, many of which were co-hosted with other campus fraternities or sororities. These efforts included a book drive, after-school tutoring, volunteering at a resale clothing store, building homes in Mexico, and gift giving to needy families during the holiday season.

In 1999 the chapter members logged more than 2,000 volunteer hours in philanthropic efforts. Some of the organizations that benefited from Eta Gamma's philanthropy included St. Vincent de Paul Center, Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCA, Project Mercy, and the Children's Miracle Network.

Awards:

At the 34th Biennial Province Meeting, Eta Gamma received the Marian Williams-Mitch Pflugh Public Relations Award.

Highlights of 2000-2010

The chapter continued its member bonding through theme parties, sisterhood events, social exchanges with other Greek groups, retreats, campus-wide events, intramurals, Moms Weekend, and Dads Weekend. The chapter also held theme nights for each class (sophomore, junior, and senior) to honor Eta Gamma members from each school year.

Participation continued to be a challenge, and the chapter committees worked on innovative efforts to increase attendance at events. These challenges also had an effect on finances, but the chapter was able to reorganize their budget to accommodate for the deficit. Also challenging the members were standards issues. The Standards Committee, along with other committees/officers on Chapter Council strengthened communication and sisterhood through events and awareness in order to improve morale overall for the chapter.

In 2005 the chapter reported that they received the honorable USD Dean's Trophy for the sixth consecutive year.

The chapter continuously displayed archives for members to see during Recruitment and throughout the year at meetings.

Eta Gamma hosted a successful Province Meeting in San Diego in 2009.

In 2010, the USD campus welcomed a new multicultural sorority; Sigma Theta Psi. Through Recruitment in 2010 the chapter pledged 46 new members. The chapter's many sisterhood activities, including Key Sis themed events, strengthened the relationships between actives and new members.

Scholarship remained a core value, and members were rewarded for logging study hours and maintaining a high GPA.

Philanthropy:

Strong philanthropy efforts continued through the support of AVID, Haiti earthquake relief (UNICEF), breast cancer awareness, St. Jude's Children's Hospital, MS Walk, Rady Children's Hospital, and STEP.

Highlights of 2011-2019

2011

In 2011, 54 new members were initiated - Eta Gamma's largest new member class to date. In 2011, the USD campus welcomed two new Greek organizations; Kappa Delta and Phi Gamma Delta.

2012

Eta Gamma Chapter has had a wonderful and successful 2012. Our spring recruitment brought us a pledge class of over 50 beautiful new members. These new girls have become an amazing asset to our chapter right from the get-go, and have continued to impress ever since. Our Bid Day consisted of an exciting bid reveal, followed by a fun filled trip to the bowling alley with froyo and dinner afterwards. The following weekend was our annual New Member retreat sleepover. New members mingled with actives and the Standards committee to learn traditional Kappa songs and chants, eat food, and bond over their new sisterhood. After that, our annual Presents date dash was held, where new members wore white and actives wore black.

Immediately after their first week in Kappa, new members began getting to know the sophomore pledge class better through "Sapphire Sis" dates. Our chapter's New Member chairman paired each new member with an older girl each week over the course of 6 weeks, so that new members could begin figuring out who they would choose as their Big sisters and who the sophomore pledge class would pick for their Little sisters. The dates were left up to the sophomore pledge class, but usually involved eating out, grabbing coffee, or even activities like bike riding or stand-up paddle boarding. In March, the big sisters give clues to their little sisters over the course of a week, leading up to a small ceremony where the Big sis reveals herself and her family to her new Little Sis.

The time immediately following Big Sis Reveal marks the beginning of Initiation. Girls strengthened the bond with their families as they went through Inspo Week, the week leading up to initiation. Each day was defined by a different color, and new members received gifts from their big sister's with different meanings on each day. This also gave active members the opportunity to explain to new member's exactly why they enjoy being a part of Kappa. On Blue Night, little sisters present handpainted keys to their big sister's, and big sister's give their little sisters pillows. This night helps girls to realize how Kappa has made a difference in the lives of other members. Following Blue Night, we have Fireside the evening prior to initiation at a YMCA in downtown San Diego. The following morning we iniated 54 beautiful new members.

In the past year our Kappa chapter held many philanthropy, social and sisterhood events. After our Presents dance, we held a "Drop It Like It's Yacht" mixer with Fiji and Lamda Chi Alpha fraternities, and our spring formal. This fall we held a mixer with Phi Kappa Theta themed as "High School Cliques", and we also held a "Kappa Klue" date dash, where girls invited guys and dressed as costumed pairs, like Barbie and Ken. We finished off the semester with our winter formal, held outdoors at the Boat House in Pacific Beach. Besides our dances, we held many sisterhood events as well as our annual Mom and Dad's weekends. We spent an entire day at Disneyland in November, and an evening shopping at Brandy Melville in Pacific Beach. We also spent a day at Balboa Park in Mission Beach, getting to bond and know each other better as sisters. Last semester we held a Bunco Night, and had prizes for people who won the Bunco games. We also had a sisterhood dinner, where large groups of girls got to know each other better at restaurants over yummy food. We also had a hypnotist come to campus and hypnotize some of our members, which led to many laughs and fond memories. Last spring also held our annual Mom's Weekend. The weekend began with cake decorating on campus, where girls and their mother's mingled with other girls from different pledge classes. The next morning, everybody met up at Torrey Pines park to go for a hike. To end the weekend, girls and their mother's went to brunch at a hotel in Pacific Beach. In the fall, we held Dad's weekend. The weekend started off with mini golf and a go karts outing, the next day featured a kayaking excursion and then the weekend ended with a beach harbor cruise.

Kappa followed through with its' commitment to philanthropy in 2012 by hosting many philanthropy events. We continued to hold our three main philanthropies: Ballers for Children, Journal Buddies, and Breastival. We held our annual Breastival in the fall. Breastival, a breast cancer themed carnival with activities such as "Nipple Ring Toss", "Milk Pong", and "Guess the Celebrity Cup Size". Throughout the semester we continued to hold our philanthropy, Journal Buddies, with underprivileged school children in the area. Each child is paired with a member of Kappa and they keep a journal throughout the semester in which they can communicate. At the end of the semester, we have a Journal Buddy Party, where the kids can meet the women that they have been writing to. We also held our Ballers for Children basketball tournament in the fall with the men of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. Three on three teams compete in a bracket tournament to raise money for the Children's Hospital of San Diego. We had a great turn out, and many dressed up their teams with themes.

This year, Kappa also held a new philanthropy event with the men of Phi Kappa Theta fraternity. Called Survivor, teams could register to participate in an obstacle course race at Mission Bay Park. Although it was helf on a windy day, we managed to raise over $10,000 to benefit Orange County Children's Hospitals. We also held a raffle that benefited charity with prizes like giftcards to local restuarants and shops. We also participated in Greek Week with FIJI fraternity along with Sigma Theta Psi, the multicultural sorority, where all proceeds benefitted St. Jude's Children's Hospital. We got second place in Greek Week skits overall, and were a heavy contender in Penny Wars, with a light and friendly rivalry with Alpha Phi. Our skits were to the theme and music of the 80's, 90's and today. With the participation of FIJI men, we had a great time doing our skit, with costumes and fun backgrounds.

As always, we were eager to help other fraternity's and sorority's with their own philanthropic causes. We had a team of girls compete in Alpha Chi Omega's Kick It tournament, girls who walked in Alpha Delta Pi's fashion show, and a large team of girls who competed in Alpha Phi's powderpuff football tournament. We also had our president, Kendall Gilmore, be nominated for Beta Theta Pi's Sweetheart,

With so many great accomplishments, our Kappa chapter finished off the year strong. We grew as a chapter, both physically and figuratively, and became a lot closer. We worked hard and celebrated our academic accomplishments as well as each an individual member and the assets that she brings to the chapter.

This year, USD Greek Life was joined by Kappa Delta. Our chapter was eager to support them in their colonization, by attending their socials and informationals. Another exciting change was that our chapter was asked to be the "Big Sister" chapter to Kappa at Chapman University. Sisters are already planning how to help them during their recruitment and are thrilled to have the opportunity to create an entirely new Kappa chapter.

This past year, our chapter was put under an Academic Focus Plan. However, our sisters rose to the occasion and spent countless study hours together in the library and coffee houses on campus. This plan inspired a permanent change in sisters study habits- mandatory study hours became fun in library when groups of sisters were there. We finished the year second in GPA in all sororities on campus and third overall in all of Greek Life. It was a goal of ours to improve academic excellence in 2011 that was accomplished in 2012. It has helped us to become closer and to recognize our sisters' academic strengths.

Our chapter excelled this year on campus, and was awarded University of San Diego's chapter of the Order of Omega's Dean Trophy. This trophy is given to the best chapter on campus based in five different categories: academic excellence, social justice and selfless service, leadership, sisterhood and high social standards. Award winners are evaluated on how well these values are incorporated into the everyday life of our members. With a lot of hard work, our registrar, Kalie Flansberg, compiled a profile of every single member in our chapter to show just how great we are. It was an enormous accomplishment and something to truly be proud of.

Eta Gamma was also awarded the privilege of The Gracious Living Award at Convention this year. It was another achievement to be celebrated in 2012.

Highlights of 2020s:

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:

Note to Chapter Registrar: 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.

Your efforts will ensure a complete and accurate history of your chapter for future generations to enjoy!