Eta Pi
| Eta Pi | |
|---|---|
| HΠ | |
 | |
| Founded | November 5, 2011 |
| College | New York University |
| Location | New York, NY |
| Homepage | Eta Pi Website |
| Media related to Eta Pi Chapter | |
New York University, New York City, established 1831
Chapter founded as Eta Pi November 5, 2011'
325 initiates (as of June 2017)
Some of Eta Pi's Outstanding Alumnae: (If you have chapter alumna who have received recognition in any of these three categories, please list them with the date(s) of recognition.)
Fraternity Council Officers:
Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:
Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:
In 1830, Albert Gallatin, the distinguished statesman who served as secretary of the treasury under presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, declared his intention to establish “in this immense and fast-growing city ... a system of rational and practical education fitting for all and graciously opened to all.” Founded in 1831, New York University is now the largest private university in the United States. Of the more than 3,000 colleges and universities in America, New York University is one of only 60 member institutions of the distinguished Association of American Universities.
From a student body of 158 during NYU's first semester, enrollment has grown to more than 50,000 students attending 14 schools and colleges at five major centers in Manhattan and in sites in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. The center of NYU is its Washington Square campus, located in the heart of Greenwich Village. Students come from every state in the union and from 133 foreign countries.
Contents
The Early Years
In 2011, Kappa Kappa Gamma colonized its 138th chapter at New York University (NYU). On September 7, 2011 31 NYU women were initiated into the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity. The Eta Pi Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma complements the growing Panhellenic community at NYU which includes Alpha Epsilon Phi, Alpha Sigma Tau, Delta Phi Epsilon, Pi Beta Phi, Zeta Tau Alpha, and two local sororities. Eta Pi will join the chapters at St. Larence, Syracruse, Cornell, Marist, and Colgate to make six Kappa chapters in the state of New York.
Installation
There are many opportunities for the new chapter on the NYU campus. Laura Osborne, College Panhellenic Adviser, said, “We have high hopes that the addition of Kappa Kappa Gamma to the College Panhellenic Council at NYU will promote stronger leadership, deeper bonds of friendship, increased awareness of service to the community and higher ideals of scholarship among all the members of the fraternity and sorority life community.”
Fraternity President Julie Marine Leshay, Colorado College, led the Installation team of Susanne Wolff Vander Hayden, Washington State, Director of Alumnae; Barb Adams Goettelman, Syracuse, Extension Chairman; Nancy Eyermann Foland, Tulsa, and Kelly Matyas Magyarics, Pittsburgh, Region 1 Directors of Alumnae and Chapters; Kim Heinig Pegg, Vermont, and Jodi Bilotti Howe, Syracuse, Alpha Province directors of Alumnae and Chapters, respectively; Alexandra Vukov, Michigan State, Chapter Consultant; Nicole Pitsinos, South Carolina, Coordinator of Chapter Development; and Rachel Dunlap, Baylor, New York Alumnae Association President. The New York City Alumnae Association President presented a badge, set with light-and-dark-blue stones, to be used as the chapter president’s badge, to the Eta Pi President, Caitlin Geehan.
Visiting the 9/11 Memorial:
On November 3, 2011, Fraternity President Julie Marine Leshay, Colorado College, Susanne Wolff Vander Heyden, Washington State, members of the Eta Pi extension team and many New York-area Kappas visited the 9/11 Memorial to honor and extend deepest respects to: Jean Rogers, Penn State, flight attendant on American flight #11; Jen Kane, Villanova, World Trade Center; Kaleen Pezzuti, Cornell, World Trade Center; Norma Lang Steuerle, Carnegie Mellon, passenger on American flight #77 (Pentagon).
Fraternity President Julie Leshay brought copies of the front cover of The Key, winter 2001 edition, along with a copy of the article, “Honoring Those We Have Loved and Lost.” These items were placed at the name of each Kappa on the memorial. Amanda Brown, Puget Sound, Assistant to the Director of Alumnae, provided irises that were placed by each name with the article. Many 9/11 Memorial visitors stopped to read the information that our group left behind. All assembled were part of our Kappa Memorial Service led by Fraternity President Julie Leshay. It was a very moving experience and something we felt was important to do in connection with our new chapter at New York University.
Highlights of 2011-2019
Highlights of 2011
The Fall 2011 Semester of the Eta Pi Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma was a semester full of wonderful changes. After voting in the previous school year to absorb the Local Sorority Kappa Psi Delta into the National Fraternity Kappa Kappa Gamma, we immediately began to take action in our new roles in our new colony. As a local chapter that had thrived on the New York University campus for 12 years, our transition went very smoothly.
After all of the sisters had adjusted to the new terminology and structure of the chapter, business went on as usual and we had an extremely productive semester. Sisters co-programmed philanthropy events with other Greek Organizations on campus, we remained an active voice in the panhellenic and inter-greek council communities, many sisters attended a Founders Day event with the alumni association in Connecticut, and we had a beautiful initiation ceremony on November 4th with many alumni and Fraternity Officers present.
Successful events included: • a welcome back to the big apple tabling event where sisters gave out slices of apple pie and candied apples • a toy drive in one of the residence halls • Semi-Formal hosted a Cucina de Pesce, a location that was a part of the Kappa Psi Delta history • Stressbusters and cocoa during finals week • Numerous fundraisers to raise money to purchase books for A Place for Kids, an after school program that the chapter had worked with for a couple of years • Volunteering time at A Place for Kids, working on reading skills with a kindergarten class at PS-2 in Chinatown
Campus: Over the past year, there have been many changes to the Greek Community at New York University. Not only did we witness the absorption of Kappa Psi Delta into Kappa Kappa Gamma, but a new chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha was also installed on campus. These two events created an expansion in the Greek community and brought many organizations closer.
Chapter: Obviously the main recent change of the Eta Pi chapter was the transition from local sorority Kappa Psi Delta to the national fraternity of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Since we had already been established and running smoothly on campus and within the Greek community, the transition was not a difficult one. We were able to keep pace with other organizations on campus, despite technically being classified as a colony of new members. We were operating on the same level that we had always operated on and because of this, our transition was quick and painless.
The overall nature of the chapter reflected this attitude that simply because we were changing our letters didn’t mean that we were starting all over completely fresh. We wanted to move at a pace that was probably considered extremely fast for a colony, but we believed that the best way to make the change was to keep progressing forward not to slow down for the process. Because of this, the chapter ran as a cohesive, effective unit of women that were all striving towards our common goal, to absorb successfully into Kappa Kappa Gamma.
One of the greatest challenges we encountered this semester was the actual process of the transition. Each member had to go through the new member process all over again. At the beginning of the year, this seemed a very daunting task. But each member of the chapter took this challenge with great stride, and with the help of our installation team and all of the alumni and advisers that stepped up to assist us, we made a strong transition from Kappa Psi Delta to Kappa Kappa Gamma. Another challenge we faced was keeping traditions of Kappa Psi Delta alive to honor the history of our organization. We are currently incorporating these traditions into some of the programs being planning for the Inspiration week for the Beta class.
Highlights of 2012
Scholarship: Eta Pi supports sisters in their academic endeavors by offering study hours in the library each week and an open study room booked 24/7 during finals week. Chapter members are also encouraged to maintain high grades by participating in the “Wise Owl” program, in which they are entered in a drawing for gift cards each week during chapter if they received an “A” on a paper, exam, or project during the week. Girls with a 3.8 GPA or above are awarded a “Kappa Kappa Genius” T-shirt. For the spring of 2012, these girls were Madeline Aaron, Jillian Fairchild, Elizabeth Green, Ariana Marsh, Madelyn McClung, Meredith Menache, Rebekah Nielsen, Elizabeth Owen Skidmore, Puja Patel, Kristina Rathjen, and Karen Shin. In the Spring of 2012, Kappa received the Outstanding Academic Achievement Program at the Fraternity and Sorority Life Awards.
Group Honors/Awards: At Greek Games 2013, Kappa Kappa Gamma placed 2nd in Free Throws, 2nd in Swimming, 2nd in Volleyball, 3rd in Basketball, 2nd in Variety Shows Skit, 3rd in Basketball, and overall 2nd in Greek Night. Out of 10 chapters, we had 3rd pick for 2012-2013 housing. We received the Outstanding Academic Achievement Program at the FSL Awards.
Traditions: We continued recognition of Kappa Psi Delta's founding anniversary date of December 11th. We also incorporated Kappa Psi Delta traditions into our Big/Little sister reveal ceremonies in both the spring and fall. Following initiation, we continued our tradition of hosting a family brunch inviting parents to celebrate with us and learn more about KKG.
Beginning in the fall of 2012, Eta Pi started the new tradition of “fleur dates” in which initiated sisters and new members each draw the names of different sisters to meet up with during the week. Our annual Thanksgiving Sisterhood Potluck was our first big event after Hurricane Sandy, and displayed the strong bond between our sisters through the good and bad times.
Special Events: Founder's Day was celebrated on Oct 6th, 2012. Kappa Kappa Grandma Sisterhood movie nights occurred each semester, in addition to regularly scheduled events. At the end of the 2011-2012 school year, Eta Pi members gathered in Central Park for our Sisterhood Picnic. Our FSL Housing theme month was “Neighborly November,” during which we collaborated with Alpha Epsilon Pi to host events for the NYU community and held a food drive for Sandy victims.
Philanthropic Involvement: Eta Pi continued our relationship with PS2, a local elementary school in Chinatown, to tutor and provide fun activities for students who do not speak English as a first language. Eta Pi also coordinated a dress drive to provide old prom and homecoming dresses for Operation Fairy Dust, an organization that gives the dresses to underprivileged girls. We also participated in Relay for Life, with almost all girls raising money before the event, and even raising more money throughout the night by selling “Kappa Quesadillas.” Many of the fraternities and sororities on campus participated in our Big/Little Newlywed Game, which raised over $300 for Relay. Chapter Goals: Eta Pi strives to strengthen our sisterhood and increase Greek presence in the greater NYU community.
Challenges and How They Were Overcome: Our chapter has many new goals, as reflected in the LAP report for 2012. With regards to understanding and appreciation of Kappa, we are working to continue discovering Kappa. Our specific goals include implementing more mandatory ritual review and practices, hosting presentations on post-graduate Kappa involvement and opportunities, increasing usage of Kappa’s website as a resource, and increasing support and understanding of the Kappa Foundation.
With regards to interpersonal development, our focus is to strengthen enthusiasm and attendance for events. We did this by using the group system to gather enthusiasm and attendance at Greek-wide events, increasing co-sponsorships with other organizations, more recognition and positive reinforcement of sisters who attend events, and drafting an attendance policy to define commitment for all members. For self-discovery and intellectual development, Eta Pi strove to increase philanthropic and academic focus and involvement. We did this by increasing the number of service events and opportunities, encouraging the use of advisers and professors as resources, maintaining and improving our GPA as a chapter, and encouraging academic buddies to help in course selection and general support. Finally, with regards to leadership and skill building, we worked to use all available tools to improve efficiency, particularly with regards to communication.
We worked to streamline emails and make good use of chapter time, began planning a Chapter Council Leadership Retreat for 2013, worked harder to delegate tasks to committee members, and helped each sister become more confident and comfortable in Chapter Council positions through connections with Advisers and the use of chapter resources.
World/Local Events: Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast in October. New York University was affected by widespread power outages in the dorms and campus buildings. The Eta Pi chapter conducted and exercised our emergency protocols to ensure that each sister was safe. Members, new members, and alumnae housed fellow sisters in apartments and dorms with power. Following the storm, KKG participated in food drives collecting nonperishable goods for people affected by the hurricane, and individual members helped in efforts to clear rubble and rebuild houses.
Recent Changes: In the Spring of 2012, the Eta Pi chapter welcomed and initiated 35 new members. In the fall of 2012, Eta Pi initiated 44 new members. We held elections of the 2013 Chapter Council in November of 2012. As the newest chapter, Eta Pi is still learning about all of the facets of Kappa, but we are enthusiastic about learning and growing.
Highlights of 2013
The year of 2013 was another successful year of growth for the relatively new Eta Pi Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Our chapter was recognized for three awards, Sorority Woman of the Year to Jen Morrisette, Advisor of the Year to Allie Vukov, and Outstanding Recruitment, at NYU’s Fraternity & Sorority Life Awards. Scholarship is very important to the women of Eta Pi, and this year we implemented Owl Pals to foster connections between members studying similar majors. Additionally, we began a Book Club to further explore academic interest, reading books like Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg.
We hosted a variety of successful sisterhood events on campus, like our Chapter Potluck, Canvas Crafting, and Holiday party. We also held sisterhood events at our house, such as the Kappa Film Festival. Eta Pi also initiated a total of 40 new members throughout the year who underwent an easy and informative New Member process. Eta Pi also held both Formal and Semi-formal dance events during the year.
Eta Pi hosted both a Leadership Consultant multiple times throughout the year who we found to be helpful and approachable, as well as a Kappa Trainer who taught us about the fraternity and leadership. We also sent girls to Leadership Academy and Province this year.
Our chapter also increased our participation in Panhellenic and Inter-Greek events on campus, including the NYU Greek Games, in which we placed second, Greek Week, and New York Dance Marathon. Our sisters also gained the maximum number of positions for Panhellenic Council and participate in the Inter-Greek Council. Our networking both on and offline was a big success for our chapter, as we held events with our nearest alumni chapter (including our 2013 Founders Day Celebration) and achieved an incredible increase in our chapter’s PR presence throughout social media.
Eta Pi continued its dedication to philanthropy, contributing to the NYU Dance Marathon, for which our chapter raised $6700, Relay for Life, the New York Cares Day of Service, and the Rose McGill Foundation. We held philanthropy events of our own like those benefiting Reading Is Fundamental and the Be The Match bone marrow drive. We also co-sponsored and participated in philanthropic events such as the Breast Cancer Awareness Runway Show with Zeta Tau Alpha, the Best Buddies Walk, National Hazing Prevention Week, Suicide Prevention Walk, and Greek Allies’ Safe Zone training and Pay Attention project.
With respect to our chapter-wide goals, Eta Pi worked hard to increase ritual knowledge by holding formal chapters every week starting in the fall, and we have seen an overall increase in the chapter’s familiarity with the ritual. Additionally, at the outset of the year we wanted to increase our recognition on campus, in the Panhellenic and Inter-Greek community, and online. We have made great strides in increasing our presence in all of these arenas by participating in more events hosted by different organizations, increasing our attendance and presence in Panhellenic and Inter-Greek council meetings, and by marketing our online footprint successfully enough to gain over 1000 followers on Facebook and similarly increasing our following on other social media websites. We also wanted to work on fostering better, more streamlined communication both within Chapter Council and the entire chapter, and having the Leadership Consultant and Kappa Trainer discuss better communication practices has produced more positive, efficient communication throughout the year.
Eta Pi held recruitment during the Spring and Fall semesters of 2013, initiating five new sisters in the spring and thirty-five in the fall. Our chapter elected the new 2014 Chapter Council in November of 2013. Additionally, our chapter enabled other sisters to hold leadership positions outside of Chapter Council by creating new positions to help streamline necessary chapter processes like Assistant Chairs and the “Kapparel” Chair.
Eta Pi is proud to characterize ourselves as a diverse group of easygoing, approachable women who value academics, philanthropy, and sisterhood. As our chapter grows and learns more about the facets of Kappa Kappa Gamma sisterhood, we are excited to learn the ritual and traditions of our fraternity and create new ones for our own chapter to uphold and enjoy.
Highlights of 2014
The year of 2014 was yet another successful year of growth and development for the Eta Pi Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Eta Pi is a tight knit sisterhood that is made up of girls who exemplify true loyalty and friendship. We have 139 sisters from diverse backgrounds, cultures, states and countries. Our chapter was recognized for House Chair of the Year to Chanele Hemphill at NYU’s Fraternity & Sorority Life Awards. At Convention, our chapter won the Public Relations Award, as well as having honorary mentions in the Academics and Standards categories respectively.
Eta Pi initiated a total of 55 new members Fall 2014 who underwent an easy and informative New Member process. This included a fabulous Bid Day, Big/Little Week, where the Big Sisters gave their Little Sisters personalized gifts each day, and an impeccable initiation. Eta Pi held a Valentine’s Day Invite, Formal and Semi-Formal dance events during the year. Our networking has been a big success for our chapter, as we held events with our nearest alumni chapter, including our very successful 2014 Founders Day Celebration. Our chapter’s PR presence throughout social media has continued to increase: our Facebook page nearing our goal of 1500 Likes. We have completely redone our chapter Pinterest site, adding ideas from chapter members and events.
We hosted a variety of successful sisterhood events on campus and in the KKG Penthouse. This included a self-defense class, in-house spa day with nail painting and facemasks, a holiday party with a cookie contest, and an end of the year picnic off-campus. Eta Pi hosted both a Leadership Consultant who we found to be helpful and approachable, as well as a Kappa Trainer who taught us about the fraternity and leadership. We also sent girls to Leadership Academy and Province this year.
Scholarship remains of great importance to the women of Eta Pi. We had 28 Kappa Kappa Geniuses (3.7+ GPA for Spring 2014 semester), who received ‘KKGenuises’ t-shirts recognizing their hard work. Two sisters got 4.0s for the Spring 2014 and received special pearl dangles for their badges. We have study hours every Sunday in a study room in the Library and, the last two weeks of the semester, we have a study room booked 24/7 for only Kappas. We continued to implement Owl Pals to foster connections between members studying similar majors.
Our chapter has continued to increase our participation in PanHellenic and Inter-Greek events on campus. On campus, we hosted events such as the Lafayette Residence Hall Thanksgiving dinner, Holiday Letters to the Troops, Secret Snowflake party, and Kappaccinos. Our chapter placed fourth in the Spring 2014 Greek Week. We supported the NYU Greek community by participating in NYU's second Dance Marathon (NYDM). It was a celebration that touched our chapter as our B+ Hero, Aubrey, celebrated her last chemo session. Our chapter alone raised over $10.000. Our fund raising efforts included selling "Rush Chi-Po-Tle" tanks bearing a #FTK on the back (For the Kids) and a Panera fundraiser. For the year 2015, Emily Orman will serve as the Vice President for PanHellenic Council while Emily Jewell will serve as the Risk Management Chair for Inter-Greek Council.
Eta Pi continued its dedication to philanthropy, contributing to the NYDM, Relay for Life, the New York Cares Day of Service, and the Rose McGill Foundation. We held philanthropy events of our own like those benefitting Reading Is Fundamental and the Be The Match bone marrow drive. We also co-sponsored and participated in philanthropic events such as the Breast Cancer Awareness, Cupcakes for Literacy with Pi Beta Phi, Haunted Penthouse with Alpha Sigma Tau, and Greek Allies’ Safe Zone training and Pay Attention project. Our most important philanthropy event was the ‘Keyed In’ event in a local school with over 130 kids, where we provided them each with a brand new book and had literacy stations, which included a photo-booth and bookmark-making station. The remainder of the books we brought were donated to the Ferguson Municipal Public Library.
Eta Pi held recruitment during the Fall semester of 2014, initiating 55 new sisters in the Fall of 2014. Our chapter elected the new 2015 Chapter Council in December of 2014. Additionally, our chapter enabled other sisters to hold leadership positions outside of Chapter Council by creating new positions to help streamline necessary chapter processes like Assistant Chairs for certain officers.
Eta Pi is proud to be a diverse group of easygoing, approachable women who value academics, leadership, philanthropy, and sisterhood. As our chapter grows and learns more about the facets of Kappa Kappa Gamma sisterhood, we are excited to learn the ritual and traditions of our fraternity and create new ones for our own chapter to uphold and enjoy.
Chapter meetings are held in a university owned facility, usually a classroom or conference room that can be booked.
Our chapter is given the priviledge of living in the top floor(s) of an university owned dormitory, the Lafayette Residence Hall, along with other Greek organizations. Seven sisters can live there and do so right now.
The Presidential badge was given by the New York Alunmae Association at the chapter's installment. The badge was passed down to Jen Morrisette, then Rebecca Calvo, and now resides with Madeline Jerge. The badge is inscribed with “ΗΠ”, “NYU” and “11/8/11.”
The Philanthropy badge was presented by Allie Vukov on behalf of the Denver Alumnae Association to Eta Pi. It was given to Brittany Pace, then Kelly Naranjo, and now resides with Rebecca Borjas. The badge is inscribed with ΚΚΓ ΑΩΟ on the front, and “ΗΠ Philanthropy Chairman 11/11” on the back.
Highlights of 2015
The year 2015 was yet another successful year for the Eta Pi Chapter at NYU. We are a tight knit sisterhood made up of women who strive to be positive role models for one another while being loyal friends and sisters. We have 164 initiated sisters from diverse backgrounds, cultures, states and countries. Our chapter was recognized at the 2014 Fraternity and Sorority Life awards (February 2015) for Outstanding Academic Achievement, Outstanding Community Involvement, and Lafayette Housing Chairman of the Year. Multiple 2015 graduates were awarded Senior Pillar honors, as well as a Commitment to Change Award. We also sent women to Leadership Academy and Province this year.
We host multiple sisterhood events a month either on campus or in the KKG penthouse. The sisterhood events of 2015 ranged from an in house spa day to an ugly sweater and cookie contest at our holiday party. As an organization, our sisterhood is strong. Our sisters who live in the house go above and beyond to create a warm and welcoming space for all members of the chapter (some even giving up their beds to house our wonderful leadership consultants!). Our bi-monthly chapter programming, Femisphere, created by our Risk Chair Jen Tonti, delves into a tough to talk about issue such as gender and sexuality or girl-on-girl bullying. This programming generates more participation from the chapter than most other events, ultimately creating a safe space for women to be women and talk about things that need to be discussed. Femisphere has done a fantastic job in fostering our sisterhood in 2015, and we hope to continue it into the future.
Scholarship remains of great importance to the women of Eta Pi. We had 32 Kappa Kappa Geniuses (3.7+ GPA for the Spring 2015 semester), who received ‘KKGenuis’ t-shirts recognizing their outstanding academic achievements. We also had four (!!) sisters earn perfect 4.0 GPAs this semester, each of which received special pearl dangles for their badges. Keeping our grades so high is no easy task, so our VP Academic Excellence works with the chapter and her committee to reserve study rooms in the library for after every chapter, and for 24 hours a day leading up to and during exam week.
Also in 2015, Eta Pi was honored to be selected to host a Girls Academy in 2016. We could not be more excited for this opportunity work with the Alumni Association on a cause that is so near to our hearts while increasing our involvement in the greater NYC community.
We initiated 64 new members in the Fall of 2015 after an amazing “Kappa is the Key to Paradise” themed recruitment. The newly initiated women went through an easy and informative new member process, which included a beautiful bid day, and a super fun big/little week all, leading up to a spectacularly beautiful Initiation ceremony.
Greek Life at NYU will welcome Delta Gamma onto campus this spring. We have multiple members involved in the process, and are excited to spread all the PanHellenic love we can. Also over the course of 2015, our chapter has continued its steady participation on the Inter-Greek and PanHellenic executive boards.
Chapter Philanthropy:
Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation: (NYDM) In 2015, Eta Pi had around 40 dancers sign up and raise money for the B+ Foundation’s Dance Marathon at NYU. Headed by Elana Rubin, our team raised over $27,000 for the cause.
American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life: Every year, Eta Pi has a team participate at NYU’s Relay for Life. In 2015, our team captain Kristina Rathjen (2015) worked with sisters all across the chapter to put on fundraisers and raise a significant amount of money for the cause! We have already begun fundraising for Relay 2016 with events such as Kappa Kandy Grams, organized by are house committee.
Reading is Fundamental: Our philanthropy chair, Rebecca Borjas worked with Public School 64 for both tutoring hours in the Spring and our Reading is Key event in the Fall. At Reading is Key, we provide every child with a new book, as well as a full afternoon of literacy crafts and games that encourage the children to read.
NYU does a great job encouraging Greek organizations to participate in student-body wide fundraising events. We participate in NYDM because it began as a Greek only fundraising event, but expanded in 2015 to include NYU residential life. This year, we put into place a new rule stating that all women must participate in a minimum of 5 philanthropy hours over the course of the semester. This has not only increased presence at our Philanthropy events, but has also grown Kappa’s presence on the NYU campus as a whole, for it encourages sisters to attend the philanthropic events of the other Greek organizations.
Highlights of 2016
Re-reading this page has shown me that every year seems to be a successful year for the Eta Pi Chapter of KKG at NYU, however 2016 turned out to be an incredibly special year for many reasons. We have once more proven to be a very close group of strong women who work hard to support each other in every endeavor. We have 178 initiated sisters from a wide variety of backgrounds, cultures, states and countries. At the 71st Biennial Kappa Kappa Gamma Chapter Convention held in June 2016, our chapter was named the Most Outstanding Chapter of the biennium; a huge honor that brought pride to both current chapter members and alumnae. At the FSL awards this past spring, our was named the “Most Improved Chapter at NYU”. Our fifth year on campus was full of wonderful achievements on a local level as well.
Our Vice President of Standards, Sam Granger, has done a wonderful job hosting sisterhood events that are enjoyable, creative and flexible with our sisters increasingly busy schedules! Our events range from a shopping excursion at a Kate Spade store at the new Oculus World Trade Center mall to a sister speed dating event to a day sleepover at our penthouse. Every event serves to bring our sisters even closer and provide some relaxation amidst the stressful school year. As an organization, our new risk chair–Amelia Salsgiver, along with her (biological) sister Katherine–has continued the programming created by our past Risk Chair Jen Tonti, which our chapter has come to know as ‘Femisphere’. We spend allotted time during chapter discussing issues that women of today deal with. In the current political climate, Femisphere allows a space for conversation between a large group of amazing, successful, diverse women; which is truly invaluable. Under the amazing leadership of our indispensible Event’s Chair, Lauren Enes, we have had two beautiful semi-formals, a date party and an unforgettable formal at Hudson Terrace. She also continued our traditional Parent’s Weekend, which featured brunch and a New York Met’s Game for our sisters and their families.
After a very successful housing presentation by our 2015 House Chair, Annais Lopez Sanchez, and receiving first housing pick of the Greek life penthouses, Eta Pi now lives in the most sought after penthouse on NYU’s campus. We have plenty of space for events and the girls who have the privilege of living in the house are very close. Our current House Chair–Jenny DeCandia–plans Kappotlucks semi-regularly to allow girls the chance to visit our penthouse, which also happens to have an incredible view of the city.
The Eta Pi Kappas have always been known around campus for their fastidious behavior towards their academics–this year was no exception. We had 46 Kappa Kappa Geniuses (girls with a GPA above 3.7) and 7 girls with 4.0 GPA’s in the spring. This fall we had 44 Kappa Kappa Geniuses and 8 girls with 4.0 GPA’s. We even had four new initiates into NYU’s Order of Omega. Eta Pi had the true honor to host a Girls Academy in 2016. We as a chapter feel that it’s very important to positively influence a younger generation of women and were thus were very thrilled to have the opportunity to work with 50 middle school girls from Columbia Secondary School as well as the accomplished women of the New York Alumnae Association. Small group facilitators were selected from the chapter by application to participate in this amazing opportunity, and many other women both from Eta Pi and the NYAA were instrumental in volunteering to make the event a success--from helping with food to photographing and so much more, it was an amazing example of Kappas of all ages coming together. Eta Pi and the NYAA are excited to keep their relationship with the school and the participants going strong into the next year, showing our commitment to the girls and their families. We would like to extend a particular thank you to Jean Schmidt for providing outstanding support to the GIRLS Academy program.
We found our lovely new theta class during a Kate Spade fall formal recruitment this year led by Maria Guadagno. Our theme appeared to be an overall hit amongst the PNM’s as we recruited and initiated forty-five new sisters at a beautiful and well run initiation ceremony headed by Beatrice Masih. We plan to initiate another three thetas this spring.
Greek Life at NYU continues to build as a stronger and larger presence on campus. To assist in our own chapter’s involvement, our panhel chair, Zoe Rucker put a requirement into our bi-laws requiring each sister to attend at least one panhel meeting or event, which has proven to be a very positive change for our chapter! At the annual panhel election night this year we had over forty members in attendance!
In 2016, Eta Pi had around 33 dancers sign up and raise money for the B+ Foundation Dance Marathon at NYU known as NYDM. Our team raised over $30,000 for the cause which broke our own personal fundraising goal and our record from last year. We also won the spirit points competition after doing an excellent job with our canning events and having great attendance at other organization’s events. All in all, we were very proud of our team’s efforts.
Every year, Eta Pi has a team participate at NYU’s Relay for Life an event that benefits the American Cancer Society. In 2016, our team was comprised of around thirty chapter members and we raised 1000 dollars! We have already begun fundraising for Relay 2017 with events such as the sale of Kappa Kandy Grams. An event that both supports Relay and spreads holiday cheer!
We held our annual Reading Is Key event this year at the Cornerstone Community Center and had the pleasure of working with 19 first graders and 17 kindergartners at an after school program. They had a great time and each child went home with a new book! The Presidential badge was given by the New York Alunmae Association at the chapter's installment. The badge was passed down to Jen Morrisette, then Rebecca Calvo, then Madeline Jerge and it currently resides with the 2016 Eta Pi President, Annalise Bissa. The badge is inscribed with “ΗΠ”, “NYU” and “11/8/11.”
Approved by the chapter: December 11, 2016
Highlights of 2017
The year 2017 has been another exceptional year for the Eta Pi Chapter at NYU. Our sisterhood continues to be comprised of ambitious and hardworking women who are always there for each other. We have 168 initiated members from diverse backgrounds, cultures, states and countries.
At the 20162017 Fraternity and Sorority Life awards this past spring, our chapter was given the award for Outstanding Community Involvement. We sent sisters to the Kappa Leadership Conference in the spring and Leadership Academy in the fall. Our sixth year on campus has proved to be our best one yet and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for our chapter. Our chapter has a strong sense of community and sisterhood, strengthened by the various sisterhood events held by our Vice President of Standards, Katherine Salsgiver, and our Events Chairman, Monica Spafford. Events ranging from a Spa Day to a Picnic at Smorgasburg to a PopupShop Event had sisters enjoying spending time together while exploring NYC. We hosted an unforgettable Formal, Date Party and Family Weekend Brunch in the spring and a wonderful Semi Formal this fall, organized by Monica. Once again we received first housing pick of the Greek life penthouses. Our House Chairmen, Jenny DeCandia and Hannah Nelson, provided a warm and welcoming space for sisterhood events and Kappotlucks.
Eta Pi’s members have once again shown their dedication toward academia. We had 42 Kappa Kappa Geniuses (girls with a GPA above 3.7) and 11 girls with 4.0 GPA’s in the spring along with sisters initiated to Order of Omega. In order to help our sisters though their academic pursuits our Vice President of Academic Excellence, Angella Jiang, reserves study rooms at the campus library after chapter and 24 hours a day during exam weeks. She also organized our annual Keyed in Networking Brunch which allowed our sisters to network with alumnae and further excel in their fields.
This Fall, Eta Pi welcomed our wonderful new Iota class during formal recruitment led by our Membership Chairman, Ximena Tellez. Our recruitment theme, Start the Spark with Kappa Kappa Gamma, celebrated female empowerment! The new member process began with an outer space themed bid day, showing our newest members that Kappa’s Out Of This World. The new member period continued with an exciting big/little week and weekly new member meetings all planned and led by our New Member Chairman, Acacia Dougan. Acacia prepared the Iotas to become active members and helped them acclimate to life in the chapter. We initiated our fiftyone new members in early November at a beautiful and meaningful ceremony organized by chapter Marshal, Morrisa Cohen. This year’s Initiation Ceremony was made even more special by our incredible alumnae involvement, including attendance by four Kappa moms and a biological sister along with numerous Eta Pi alumnae.
As always, Eta Pi has continued to participate within the NYU Greek Community assisted by our Panhellenic Delegate, Kate Goodman. Going above and beyond, Kate led our chapter through a successful Alice in Wonderland themed Greek Week, planned events with other chapters, and updated the chapter bylaws to allow sisters to fulfil their semesterly Panhel requirement by attending one Panhel GA meeting or by attending two events put on by other chapters. This change has allowed our sisters to support other organizations’ events, spreading even more Panhel love! Additionally, we had many sisters serve in leadership positions within the Panhellenic community, including members who served as Recruitment Guides for Fall Formal Recruitment and two sisters, the maximum number possible, on the 2017 Panhellenic Executive Board. Representing KKG beautifully, Morrisa Cohen served as Vice President of Judicial Affairs and Claudia Yuan served as Graphic Design Chair.
2017 was filled with social and philanthropy events cosponsored with other organizations including sandwich making for the Bowery Mission, game nights, and a Greekwide Assassins Game! Maria Free, our Philanthropy Chairman, held our annual Reading Is Key event at PS64, making crafts and helping the kids write their own short stories. Our largest philanthropy effort of the year has been starting the Eta Pi Scholarship Fund. Thanks to the House Board, Headquarters, and the NYC Kappa network, we are more than halfway to our fundraising goal! In 2017, Eta Pi had over 30 dancers, 20 volunteers and 2 executive board members participate in the 5th annual New York Dance Marathon to raise money for the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation. Led by our NYDM Team Captain, Paris Reise, we hosted chapter fundraisers, sent emails, and participated in fundraising challenges to raise $38,000, contributing to the record breaking grand total of over $603,000 for the fight against childhood cancer! Throughout the year we were also able to spend time with our B+ Hero, Aubrey, thanks to the coordination of our B+ Hero Liaison, Niyousha Ahmadi. We went bowling, played in the park, painted, celebrated her 9th birthday in our penthouse, and even had sisters go to her house in Brooklyn multiple times a week to tutor her. Our sisters have spent countless hours in 2017 fighting childhood cancer through planning, fundraising, and spending time with Aubrey; we are so proud of their hard work.
A highlight of 2017 was our annual Founders Day Celebration, co-hosted with the New York Alumnae Association. With over 180 sisters, both active and alumnae, we celebrated our six incredible founders, 147 years of Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Eta Pi’s fifth birthday! We had the honor of having Fraternity President, Beth Black, as our keynote speaker for the event, which proved to be truly inspiring. It is definitely an event our chapter will remember for years to come!
The Presidential badge was given by the New York Alumnae Association at the chapter's installment. The badge was passed down to Jen Morrisette, then Ivana Rodrigues, then Rebecca Calvo, then Madeline Jerge, then Annalise Bissa, and it currently resides with the 2017 Eta Pi President, Maria Guadagno. The badge is inscribed with “ΗΠ”, “NYU” and “11/8/11.”
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!
