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'
117 initiates (as of June 2013)
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.
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!
