Epsilon Upsilon

Epsilon Upsilon
EY
Founded	November 25, 1873 (1873-11-25)
College	Baylor University
Location	Waco,TX
Province	Theta
Homepage	Epsilon Upsilon Website
Media related to Epsilon Upsilon Chapter

Baylor University, established in 1845, Waco, Texas

3,116 initiates (as of June 2018)

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Charter Members: Kathryn Ann Bledsoe, Tamara Jane Cox, Debra Ann Edens, Suzanne Maniss Craig, Sharron Williams Cutbirth, Debra Ann Edens, Patricia Ann Jansky, Elizabeth Dorrett Keitt, Susan Grace King, Molly Grace Meredith, Sara Lynn Miller, Judith Annette Rose, Mary Douglas Seabury, Gena Lynn Smith, Karla Gay Smith, Sabrina Lynn Walker, Helen Liana Wiggins, Sharron Kay Williams and M. Donise Wilson, chapter President.

Fraternity Council Members:

Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:

Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:

Additional Outstanding Epsilon Upsilon Alumnae

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History of Baylor University

The Texas Baptist Education Society then petitioned the Congress of the Republic of Texas to charter a Baptist university in the fall of 1844. Republic President Anson Jones signed the Act of Congress on Feb. 1, 1845, officially establishing Baylor University. Reverend James Huckins, the first Baptist missionary to Texas, was Baylor's first full-time fundraiser and the third founding father of the university. Although these three men are credited as being the founders of Baylor University, there are many others who worked to see our university established in Texas.

After the University was chartered on February 1, 1845, four communities made bids to be the location: Travis, Huntsville, Shannon's Prairie and Independence. Independence was selected, and classes for preparatory students began in May 1846 with college courses offered the following June. In 1886, Baylor and Waco University consolidated to form Baylor University at Waco.

From humble beginnings in Independence, Texas, the campus has grown to approximately 1,000 acres in Waco, Texas, annually educating more than 15,000 men and women to pursue their individual life callings.

These are exciting times in the life of the University - a period in which our institution is striving to remain both a relevant institution of higher learning for the coming years and to continue to fulfill our original mission laid down by our founders: to be a Christian University "fully susceptible of enlargement and development to meet the needs of all ages to come." In a world where faith is often the casualty of a serious pursuit of academic achievement, Baylor is a special place.

The ability and willingness of Baylor to adapt and change to achieve continual progress can be traced throughout its history. It has endured and survived hardships, from financial difficulties, to the Great Depression, to world wars. It made a historic and critical decision to move from Independence to Waco, its current home. It divested its medical and dental schools at a time when that proved to be the most prudent decision for the success of each program. It even had the foresight and fortitude to change its very charter to insulate the institution from denominational struggles.

Baylor University is a private Christian university and a nationally ranked liberal arts institution. Our rank of alumni include missionaries and pastors, heads of Fortune 500 companies, governors of Texas and professional athletes. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating university in the state.

The Early Years (From The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma 1870–1976)

Largest Initiation! During September 22–24, 1977, Kappa Kappa Gamma Installed Epsilon Upsilon Chapter at Baylor University. Everyone knows Texas is a big state and Texans “think big,” so it was only fitting that this was the biggest Initiation yet for Kappa Kappa Gamma!

Beginning on Thursday and culminating in a formal banquet on Saturday evening, a total of eight Initiation services were held and close to 400 Atheneans became Kappas.

The Athenean Club The Athenean Club was founded in 1935 when four freshman girls felt a need for more social contact between “dorm girls” and “town girls.” Each of the four chose a friend, and the eight of them formed a sorority based on high ideals, which grew strong and loyal with approximately 1,500 initiates between 1935 and 1977. The name Athenean was suggested by their first sponsor, Sarah Lowry. It was chosen because of the intellectual qualities and cultural attainment associated with the people of ancient Athens.

Installation Weekend Serving as the installation chairman was Becky Stone Arbour, Delta Iota—LSU, with co-chairman Penny Hight Richards, Beta Xi—Texas, who made sure that out-of-town guests were housed at the Old Main Lodge in Waco, and the First Presbyterian Church was ready for the ceremonies, and the Student Union was available for the lovely formal banquet and Sunday afternoon campus reception. Installing officers were Jean Hess Wells, Delta Upsilon—Georgia, Fraternity President; Kay Smith Larson, Beta Pi—Washington, Director of Chapters; Gay Chuba Barry, Delta Alpha—Penn State, Director of Alumnae; Patricia Boyd Adams, Theta Province Director of Chapters; and Shirley Younkin Shreve, Theta Province Director of Alumnae. Executive Secretary, Betty Sanor Cameron,along with Jean Ebright Elin, and Diane Miller Selby, Beta Nu—Ohio State, Editor of The Key, came from Fraternity Headquarters as the expert “set-up crew.”

Kappa alumnae in Waco worked tirelessly to assure the success of this venture—bringing flowers, hammers and smiles every day. Kappas from Fort Worth, Houston, Dallas, Richardson and other areas came to help during the Initiation ceremonies. Beta Xi—Texas, served as the sister chapter for Epsilon Upsilon.

Among the initiated were many relatives—mothers and daughters, younger sisters and older sisters and other relatives. In a club as old and strong as the Atheneans, it was fitting that the oldest initiate was honored—Cornelia Marschall Smith, born October 15, 1896. She entered Baylor in 1915, earned an AB, and then a MA from the University of Chicago, and her Ph.D. in 1928 from Johns Hopkins. She was a member of Mortar Board and other honoraries. Her husband was a professor of English at Baylor, and Cornelia was a professor emeritus of biology.

The 17 young women who chose to become charter members of Epsilon Upsilon Chapter were initiated in the first service. A large group of former Athenean presidents as well as many other Athenean alumnae were initiated in subsequent services.

The installation banquet was held in the Barfield Room of the Student Union Building. Peggy Hicks McGregor, Gamma Phi—SMU, served as toastmistress, and Virginia Dodson Crump, the associate dean of students, provided a warm welcome. Sara Stewart, Beta Xi President and Donise Wilson, Epsilon Upsilon President, spoke as well. An inspiring speech by former Fraternity President Louise Little Barbeck, Gamma Phi—SMU, was enjoyed by all.

The new chapter received many gifts and showed their appreciation by singing an original song, which seemed likely to become a Kappa favorite. Field Secretary Karen Hungerford, Mu—Butler, and Graduate Counselor Nancy Trimble, Delta Sigma—Oklahoma State, appeared every bit as excited as the newly initiated Kappas when the final banquet song ended and all realized that this big dream was a reality—the Atheneans were Kappas in the finest sense!

At the time of Epsilon Upsilon’s founding, Baylor University was owned and operated by the Baptist General Convention of Texas, and had a student enrollment of 8,000 in its 240-acre Waco campus. The university was founded in 1845 and was chartered by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. One of Baylor’s first benefactors was Sam Houston.

Highlights of the 1980’s

In the 1980’s Baylor’s freshman classes were continuously getting much larger meaning that “rush” was as well. In 1985 Baylor had an especially large freshman class with 200-300 over the typical enrollment. Consequently, almost 1200 girls registered for recruitment and 487 pledged (we took 50 girls totaling the chapter to 173). In 1987 Baylor began exploring adding another Panhellenic group to campus (at the time they had 9 organizations) because of the amount of women that were interested in Greek Life. Throughout the 80’s we had our new members do their own philanthropy event and our class of 1985 chose to visit a nursing home two different days with the KOT pledge class.

Recruitment did look a bit different back in the 80’s though. In 1985 part of our recruitment consisted of taking potential new members to different Kappa Apartments – “Apartment Hops” – and themes were Halloween and Christmas. This year we also began using our computer to tabulate votes which really helped to speed up the process.

Some regular events we held were Kappa Dads Day, a scholarship banquet, Founder’s Day, Kite and Key with Kappa Alpha Theta, Homecoming events, Mystery Masquerade (annual Halloween/costume dance), Swingaton with Sigma Alpha Epsilon benefiting Waco Firefighters, All University Sing, and more! One annual event that they started in 1984 was a Powder Puff football game with the new members against Pi Beta Phi’s new members. The Kappa Pickers were of course around to sing at many of these events.

We also created a clear goal each year that we really wanted to focus on. In 1985 this goal was “Unity” which stood for Understanding, No Hazing, Involvement, Time with God and Your Sisters. Each officer incorporated this theme into their goals for her office and committee. In 1987 we decided to have the goal Kappa Kommittment each month. Every month Kappa had a new commitment to strive towards (Scholarship, Pledges, Friendship, etc), but in the fall of this year we received a letter from headquarters with concerns regarding our scholarship standing and we then switched all of our focus to overcoming this dilemma.

Highlights of the 1990’s

Epsilon Upsilon started out the 1990’s wanting to be remembered for our achievement in philanthropy in 1991. During this year we sponsored the all university walk-a-thon which let every sorority enter and raise money for their individual charities. Among other service projects were visits to nursing homes, the Methodist Home and serving dinner at the Salvation Army. In 1991 we also received the Most Improved Chapter awards at the Kappa Kappa Gamma Convention. This year our Chapter President was also named Baylor Homecoming Queen!

In the early 90’s one of our biggest challenges as a chapter (which continued on from the 80’s) was scholarship. We continued to work on trying to raise our chapter GPA through study halls for different GPA categories, a reward system to encourage others, and raising our grade requirement during recruitment. By 1995 we had raised our GPA above the Kappa national average, but we didn’t want to just maintain this so we continued to add new ways for members of our chapter to focus on scholarship together.

With our scholarship improvements throughout the early 90’s, the late 90’s we realized we needed to start focusing more on ways to increase fraternity education and ritual. We did this through short facts during chapter meeting and weekly information sessions. We even gave our entire chapter pre-tests and post-tests in order to measure the increase in knowledge.

Epsilon Upsilon continued to stay involved on the Baylor campus in the 90’s – participating in All-University Sing, Pigskin, Greek Week, intramurals and more. In 1993 we also started an annual Easter Egg Hunt for faculty and alumni children which proved to be a big success.

We also consistently focus on bonding with our sisters and one way we did so was through an annual fall chapter retreat. In 1994 we escaped to Camp Balcones Springs in Marble Falls on beautiful Lake Travis. It was a wonderful weekend for the entire chapter to relax, bond, share and get to spend quality time together. One thing we did during this retreat was a “pair share” time. This is a time when every Kappa in the chapter is paried with another Kappa they do not know very well and get a chance to talk and then share with the chapter what their learned about their sister. Prayer has consistently been important to us at Epsilon Upsilon and in anticipation of rush in 1996 we implemented a 24-hour day of prayer. Each chapter member signed up for a time slot and continually prayed for our chapter throughout the 24 hours.

Highlights of the 2000’s

Epsilon Upsilon celebrated the millennium with a special “It’s a New Year In Kappa” theme on the first day of recruitment, which began January 3, 2000. The slide show presentation ended with grand fireworks giving all present the feeling of ringing in the new millennium together. A monetary gift was given to the Panhellenic Building Fund to celebrate the ground breaking of the Stacy Riddle Panhellenic Forum.

In the 2000’s Epsilon Upsilon continued our on-going support of their community – local charities, university-wide events, and other campus organizations alike. We regularly participated in and looked forward to the Kappa Omega Tau Fishery which is a unique service project that allowed us to serve the mentally and physically handicapped individuals in Waco. We also continued our annual Easter Egg Hunt tradition for the community. Back in 1999 we started a new philanthropy – Kappa Klassic Golf Tournament. This tournament continued throughout the 2000’s and we raised significant amounts of money for charity. We also began a partnership with a local elementary school (Parkdale Elementary) where we not only tutor the children, but members also have the opportunity to sign up for Parkdale Pen Pal.

We continued to have many event such as Kappa Country, Kappa Krush, and Kappa Krawfish Boil. While many events we have are with other members of Greek Life at Epsilon Upsilon “Kappa Backs the Bears” so we had many fun take-a-dates and mixers with the football, basketball, and baseball teams.

Homecoming is consistently important at Baylor and to us in Epsilon Upsilon. Throughout the 2000’s there were multiple times that a member was elected Homecoming Queen and we are always very involved with all the activities. In 2008 the Homecoming theme was “Hanzel and Gretel” and we built a fantastic homecoming float titled “Brew Mizzou”.

As it was in the early 90’s, the early 2000’s were a time for us to focus on strengthening our chapter GPA. We worked hard to update Kappa test files and provide members with tutoring so that older and younger members within the same fields of study could pair and help each other. In 2006 this proved to be very helpful in that our chapter GPA rose from sixth out of nine sororities to fourth out of nine. In 2008 our chapter was placed on a letter of warning from the fraternity which created many changes within our chapter, but also united us to work together to comply with the recommended areas of improvement.

Prayer continued to be an important aspect our chapter throughout the 2000’s and especially during the time of September 11, 2001. Throughout the days following the tragedy, Baylor conducted several prayer services. Another University-wide action was a moment of silence the next day at 12:00 noon, so that every student and professor could take to opportunity to reflect and pray for the victims and their families. Our Kappa chapter also held a prayer session for us to unite and support those in need.

Highlights of 2012

Two Thousand Twelve was an outstanding year for the Epsilon Upsilon chapter. Last January, we had another successful recruitment and were blessed with an incredible new member class. Our Sing chairs created a breath-taking first place masquerade act, which will now appear in Pigskin Review.

The event chairs planned date dashes, the annual Sapphire Ball, pledge dance, and a take-a-date. There was our spring Swing-a-thon and afternoons spent at Parkdale Elementary School serving as mentors to second graders. The chapter participated in established traditions, such as organizing the 62nd Annual All-University Baylor Beauty Style Show and arranging an Easter egg hunt for children of faculty, but we created new traditions as well.

To celebrate our founding sisterhood, we hosted the first Late Night at Monmouth Pancake Breakfast with the ladies of Pi Beta Phi. Together, we raised $2,960 for charity water, a non-profit organization that seeks to bring clean and safe drinking water to those in developing countries.

Spring finals arrived too quickly, but summer did not bring the end to Epsilon Upsilon’s involvement. A few members of our Chapter Council participated in the Fraternity’s 69th Biennial Convention in Jacksonville, Florida. We attended seminars, workshops, and educational events, as well as enjoyed spending time with alumnae, advisers, and Kappas from around the world. Together, members studied abroad, interned across the country, and took summer classes. Regardless if we are meeting each week, it is never hard to find a Kappa!

Before we knew it, August arrived, and summer came to an end. We started the year with Greek Week events, intramurals, and an All-American themed crush. Even amidst the chaos that fall semester brings, it is truly wonderful to see our chapter come together to celebrate both Kappa and Baylor traditions. The seniors have enjoyed “seniors only” social events, while our new members have continued to learn pledge songs for recruitment.

We honored Founders Day with our Waco Alumnae Association. Partaking in our ritual together was a great reminder that Kappa truly is for a lifetime. We got to know each other’s families at our lovely Parents’ Weekend luncheon. Epsilon Upsilon has continued to volunteer weekly at Parkdale, held the fall Swing-a-thon, hosted a Kendra Scott Jewelry Trunk Show benefiting Reading is Fundamental, organized a Halloween carnival at Compassion Ministries, and kicked off our annual book drive. Nights have been spent with the men of Alpha Tau Omega at our float site and dancing with the Kappa Sigmas at Pigskin practice. Both of these ventures were very successful by winning Judge’s Choice Award for float and performing our First Place act in Pigskin.

We are gearing up for another exciting recruitment, getting to know many potential new members and legacies. We ended the semester with the Kappa Pickers performing at multiple functions. Our final Kappa event for the semester was Kappa Kountry in which we two-stepped the night away!

There have been many recent changes on the Baylor campus during this year. Baylor University is building a new stadium that will be on campus. The stadium will not be completed until the 2014 season. Baylor is also building a new dormitory that should be ready for for the incoming freshman. Multiple projects are going on around Baylor University at all time.

Highlights of 2013

Two Thousand Thirteen was another great year for the Epsilon Upsilon chapter. In January, we had a wonderful recruitment and were able to take an incredible new member class. The new member class was initiated and has been a blessing to the whole chapter. Our Sing chairs created an imaginative act called Topsy Turvy which was performed for Baylor University. The social chairs planned date dashes, our Sapphire Ball, pledge dance, and a take-a-date. Our spring Swing-a-thon and afternoons spent at Parkdale Elementary School allowed our chapter to give back to our community. The chapter participated in many established traditions, such as the 63rd Annual All-University Baylor Beauty Style Show and an Easter egg hunt for children of faculty. Late Night at Monmouth Pancake Breakfast was a success for the second year where we raised money for charity water, a non-profit organization that seeks to bring clean and safe drinking water to those in developing countries.

The spring semester came to an end, but summer did not bring a pause to Epsilon Upsilon’s involvement. Our chapter was able to organize a mission trip to Antigua, Guatemala, which a handful of members participated in. Those members served the people of Guatemala with loving hearts and were able to contribute much more than time and money during their stay there. We attended seminars, workshops, and educational events, as well as enjoyed spending time with alumnae, advisors, and Kappas from around the world. Together, members studied abroad, interned across the country, went on mission trips and took summer classes at Baylor.

Before we knew it, August arrived, and summer came to an end. We started the year with Greek Week events, Welcome Week events, a take-a-date, and intramurals. Our chapter found the time to celebrate Baylor and Kappa traditions in the fall semester despite our busy schedules. The seniors enjoyed “seniors only” social events, while our new members continued to learn pledge songs for recruitment. We honored Founders Day with our Waco Alumnae Association. Partaking in our ritual together was a great reminder that Kappa truly is for a lifetime. We paired with several fraternities at football games to have tailgates before the games. We got to know each other’s families at our lovely Parents’ Weekend brunch.

Epsilon Upsilon has continued to volunteer weekly at Parkdale Elementary School, hosted a Kendra Scott Jewelry Trunk Show benefiting Reading is Fundamental, and organized a Halloween carnival at Compassion Ministries. Our chapter created a new event on campus, Kappa Karnival, which was a great success. Nights were spent working with the men of Alpha Tau Omega at our float site for the homecoming parade. The Kappa Pickers performed at many events including Christmas on 5th. We just had another successful recruitment and are preparing to initiate our 89 new members!       Baylor University’s new football stadium is close to being finished. There is construction on it constantly and it should be open for the fall 2014 football season. The new dormitories that opened this past fall on campus have been a great blessing to the freshmen this year. Baylor is also currently preparing to build a new business school on campus.

Highlights of 2014

Two Thousand Fourteen was an outstanding year for the Epsilon Upsilon chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Last January, we had another successful recruitment and were blessed with an incredible new member class. Our Sing chairs worked really hard to create a great Sing Act called “Running Wild”, which was shown in Pigskin Review in the Fall of 2014. The social chairs planned date dashes, the annual Sapphire Ball, pledge dance, and a take-a-date. There was our Spring Swing-a-thon where we raised and donated money to a local halfway house in Waco, Compassion Ministries. Last Spring was also full of many afternoons spent at Parkdale Elementary School serving as mentors to second graders. The chapter participated in established traditions, such as organizing the Annual All-University Baylor Beauty Style Show and arranging an Easter egg hunt for children of faculty, but we created new traditions as well.

Spring finals arrived too quickly, but summer did not bring the end to Epsilon Upsilon’s involvement. A few members of our Chapter Council participated in the Fraternity’s Convention in Houston, Texas. We attended seminars, workshops, and educational events, as well as enjoyed spending time with alumnae, advisors, and Kappas from around the world. Together, members studied abroad, interned across the country, and took summer classes. Regardless if we are meeting each week, it is never hard to find a Kappa!

Before we knew it, August arrived, and summer came to an end. We started the year with Greek Week events, intramurals, and a dodgeball crush event. Even amidst the chaos that Fall semester brings, it is truly wonderful to see our chapter come together to celebrate both Kappa and Baylor traditions. The seniors have enjoyed “seniors only” social events, while our new members have continued to learn pledge songs for recruitment. We honored Founders Day at a local country club with our Waco Alumnae Association. Partaking in our ritual together was a great reminder that Kappa truly is for a lifetime. We got to know each other’s families at our lovely Family Weekend luncheon. Epsilon Upsilon has continued to volunteer weekly at Parkdale, held the Fall Swing-a-thon benefitting a local animal shelter in Waco, Texas; Fuzzy Friends, organized a Halloween carnival at Compassion Ministries, volunteered at the Parkdale Halloween carnival and kicked off our annual book drive. Nights have been spent with the men of Phi Kappa Chi at our float site, where we ending up winning 1st place out of all the Homecoming Floats. We also performed “Running Wild” in Pigskin Review. We also hosted our second Kappa Karnival this year, it was very successful. Throughout the Fall we spent time gearing up for another exciting recruitment, getting to know many potential new members and legacies. We ended the semester with the Kappa Pickers performing at multiple functions.

Our Campus has a new football stadium, McLane stadium. It is beautifully designed. Baylor is currently building a new Business School, which will be opening in Fall 2015. There are also many other changes going on in the growing Baylor community. The nature of our chapter is very positive, growing, graceful, friendly, loyal, and loving. There is a strong focus on RIF, supporting other chapters, including all Kappa chapter members, and University related events (SING, Homecoming Float, Steppin Out, Pigskin etc.).

We hold chapter meetings in our Kappa suite in the Stacy Riddle Panhellenic Forum. This suite is rented.

Highlights of 2015

Two Thousand Fifteen was an outstanding year for the Epsilon Upsilon chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Last January, we had another successful recruitment and were blessed with an incredible new member class. Our Sing chairs worked really hard to create a great Sing Act called “Weird Science”, which was shown in Pigskin Review in the Fall of 2015. The social chairs planned date dashes, the annual Sapphire Ball, pledge dance, and a take-a-date. There was our Spring Swing-a-thon where we raised and donated money to the Waco Humane Society Last Spring was also full of many afternoons spent at Parkdale Elementary School serving as mentors to second graders. In the Spring of 2015, our chapter won an award for partner of the year (2014-2015) for Waco ISD. The chapter participated in established traditions, such as organizing the Annual All-University Baylor Beauty Style Show and arranging an Easter egg hunt for children of faculty. Spring finals arrived too quickly, but summer did not bring the end to Epsilon Upsilon’s involvement. Together, members studied abroad, interned across the country, and took summer classes. Regardless if we are meeting each week, it is never hard to find a Kappa! Before we knew it, August arrived, and summer came to an end. We started the year with Greek Week events, intramurals, and a dodgeball crush event on campus. Even amidst the chaos that Fall semester brings, it is truly wonderful to see our chapter come together to celebrate both Kappa and Baylor traditions. The seniors have enjoyed “seniors only” social events, while our new members have continued to learn pledge songs for recruitment. We honored Founders Day at McLane Stadium with our Waco Alumnae Association. Our chapter was so excited to celebrate the 145th year. Partaking in our ritual together was a great reminder that Kappa truly is for a lifetime. Epsilon Upsilon has continued to volunteer weekly at Parkdale, held the Fall Swing-a-thon benefiting the Waco Humane Society, volunteered at the Parkdale Halloween carnival and kicked off our annual book drive. Nights approaching Homecoming weekend were spent with the men of Phi Kappa Chi at our float site. We also performed “Weird Science” in Pigskin Review Homecoming weekend. We hosted our third Kappa Karnival this year, it was very successful. Throughout the Fall we spent time gearing up for another exciting recruitment, getting to know many potential new members and legacies. We ended the semester with the Kappa Pickers performing at multiple functions. Baylor built a new Business School, which opened Fall 2015, it is very nice. There are also many other changes going on in the growing Baylor community. The nature of our chapter is very positive, growing, graceful, friendly, loyal, and loving. There is a strong focus on RIF, supporting other chapters, including all Kappa chapter members, and University related events (SING, Homecoming Float, Steppin Out, Pigskin etc.).

Chapter Philanthropy:

Our chapter supports RIF, Kappa Foundation, Parkdale Elementary, Compassion Ministries, Waco Humane Society, and Hannah’s House.

We have supported and worked with Parkdale Elementary and Compassion ministries in years past and want to continue that relationship with both of them. We started supporting Waco Humane Society and Hannah’s House more recently. There is a huge stray animal problem in Waco and our local humane society helps curb that issue. Our chapter thinks it’s really important to help the community of Waco in that aspect. Hannah’s House is a nonprofit organization created to raise funds to build a children’s village with 8 homes in Zambia through Family Legacy in honor of Hannah Butler, a member of our chapter who recently passed. She was such a joy and so loving, and the village will be built in her honor once the funds are received.

Highlights of 2016

January: 9- Bid Day: 96 girls pledged Kappa 29- Social Event: Sapphire Ball Formal 30- New Member Luncheon with Waco Alumni

February 6-Participated in KOT Fishery: A philanthropy event; 9- Academic Excellence Dinner in the Kappa Room 13- Initiated 96 members into Kappa; Initiation luncheon at The Baylor Club 27- Competed in All-University Sing: Our act "Come Dance with Me" was performed with Kappa Sigma and advanced to Pigskin.

March 23- Kappa put on our Annual Easter Egg Hunt for Faculty and Staff's kids

April 3- Legacy Tea; 9- Baylor's Steppin Out: University Philanthropy Event; 10- Mom's Day with Practically Picasso in the Kappa Room; 16-Crawfish Boil Fundraiser with Kappa Sigma; 19- Kappa hosted our annual Event- Baylor Beauty; 21- Social Event: Take-A-Date Game night in Waco; 27- Kappa and Chi Omega hosted a faculty appreciation event: Cupcakes with Chi O

May 2- Luncheon at Parkdale Elementary: Our Philanthropic Partner; 15-24: Mission trip to Antigua, Guatemala

August 26- Recruitment Event: Late Night at the SLC

October 1- Social Event: Take-A-Date to the Texas State Fair; 13-15: Homecoming Weekend: Kappa had 5 members nominated for Homecoming Court, Created and Showcased a float built with Phi Kappa Chi, and performed "Come Dance with Me" at Pigskin

November 4-Philanthropy Event: Reading is Key at Parkdale; 5- Social Event: Tailgate with Sigma Chi;16- Philanthropy Event: Monmouth with Pi Phi; 17- Kappa and ADPi Worship Night; 18- Social Event: Dad's Day; 30- Kappa Social Event: Kappa Christmas

This semester we have also implemented "Key Girl of the Week" which is a way to recognize members of our chapter who have gone out of their way to support other members. A member is nominated each week and then our VPS picks the winner who gets to wear a KKG necklace for the week.

Taylor Adams, our president during 2015, won the Greek Leader of the Year award.

We received the silver award for our HHR Binder. At convention, we received awards for PR and Risk Management. Our chapter hosted a Trunk Show this year that featured work from our members. There were jewelry items, art, flower arrangements and more that all benefited RIF. We also partnered with Pi Phi again this semester to celebrate Monmouth with a pancake dinner. Last spring, we hosted a crawfish boil with Kappa Sigma and the proceeds went to RIF.

Baylor has undertaken some beneficial changes during the last year. The biggest one is Title IX awareness across campus and especially for Panhellenic women. Baylor has provided multiple speakers and an online course to bring awareness to this issue. Although Title IX coordinators have changed, Baylor is still promoting awareness and safety for the issue. Another big issue in Panhellenic is that are need of a new chapter on campus to accommodate all the girls who go through recruitment. This year we started a Panhellenic philanthropy in order to show our support for other chapters and Baylor Panhellenic. Circle of Sisterhood, the philanthropy, has had several events throughout the semester that our chapter has attended.

Our chapter raises money for Reading is Fundamental. However each week we work directly with Parkdale Elementary, a local elementary school. Each week members go into second grade classrooms and read with the students.

This year we continued our partnership with Parkdale Elementary because our existing relationship has proved very effective. Our members love going each week and it's really fun to continue working with the same teachers and occasionally seeing some of the kids you've worked with before. We wanted to make sure we continue to establish a relationship with the Waco community.

Our chapter holds meetings in the Stacy Riddle Panhellenic Forum in our own Kappa room .

We recommend Tommye Lou Davis for the Oral History Project

Highlights of 2017

January 6- Bid Day January 27- Sapphire Ball February 11- Initiation February 16-18; 23-35- Competed in All-University sing: our act "Fountain of Youth" was performed February 21- Academic Excellence Dinner March 1- New Member Dance April 6- Baylor Kappa holds the annual easter egg hunt on Baylor University's campus in honor for the faculty and staff and their children. We have an egg hunt, snacks, and pictures with an Easter Bunny. April 2- Moms day: Pop-up shop April 7- Take-A-Date: Oasis in Austin, TX April 9- Legacy Tea in the Kappa room for PNM Baylor Legacies April 11- Kappa hosted the 66th Baylor Beauty Charity Style Show, where ladies nominated campus wide competed against each other to be named baylor beauty. All ticket proceeds went to our philanthropy. April 28- Parkdale Partner Lunch May 14-21: Baylor Kappa goes on mission trip to Antigua, Guatemala August 25- Recruitment Event: Late Night at the SLC: all university event for PNMs that are interested in recruitment September 29- Semi-Formal October 10- Founders Day including scholarship recognition of the chapters members. October 16- Spaghetti Not So Formal with ATO; an all university event and proceeds go to our philanthropy October 19-21- Homecoming Weekend: Kappa had members nominated for Homecoming Court. Created and showcased our 1st place float, and performed our sing act in Pigskin. October 28- Dads Day November 8- Kappa Karnival is an all university event benefiting Reading is Fundamental. We have raffle prizes, free dessert, bounce houses, and carnival themed booths run by fraternities. November 10- Reading is Key event at Parkdale Elementary December 1- Social Event: Take-A-Date to the exhibit "ICE!" at the Gaylord Texan Hotel Describe the recent changes on your campus and describe the overall nature of your chapter. The nature of our chapter is very friendly, very diverse yet we are all so alike and the personality of the chapter is fun and unique but responsible.

Chapter Philanthropy: What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community? Our chapter raises money for Reading is Fundamental. However each week we work directly with Parkdale Elementary, a local elementary school. Each week members go into kindergarten grade classrooms and read with the students. Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support? This year we continued our partnership with Parkdale Elementary because our existing relationship has proved very effective. Our members love going each week and it's really fun to continue working with the same teachers and occasionally seeing some of the kids you've worked with before. We wanted to make sure we continue to establish a relationship with the Waco community. Chapter Facility: In what kind of a facility does your chapter meet? Please attach a clear photo of where you typically hold chapter meetings – whether in a classroom, chapter house or elsewhere. Our chapter holds meetings in the Stacy Riddle Panhellenic Forum in our own Kappa room Oral History

Tommye Lou Davis

Highlights of 2018

January 7- Bid Day: 97 girls pledged Kappa 27- Social Event: Sapphire Ball Formal February 4- Participated in KOT Fishery: A philanthropy event 7- Academic Excellence Dinner in the Kappa Room 10- Initiated 97 girls into Kappa 17- Competed in All-University Sing: "Carwash" was performed and received 2nd place and a bid to Pigskin March 16- Social Event: New Member Dance 25- Take-a-Date: Dallas Mavericks Basketball Game 28- Kappa hosted annual Easter Egg Hunt for faculty and staff children pril 7- Baylor's Steppin Out- University Philanthropy Event 8- Legacy Tea 11- Kappa hosted annual event: Baylor Beauty 12- Kappa and Chi Omega hosted a faculty appreciation event: Cupcakes with Chi O 22- Mom's Day May 27- Mission trip to Antigua, Guatemala August 24- Recruitment Event: Late Night at the SLC October 8- Social Event: Dad's Day 24- Celebrated Founder's Day with Alumni at the Baylor Club 27- Take-a-Date: Austin Park in Austin, Texas November 2-4: Homecoming Weekend: Kappa had 2 members nominated for Homecoming Court, Created and showcased a float built with Alpha Tau Omega, and performed "Carwash" at Pigskin Revue 8- Kappa Karnival: All-University Event raising money for Reading is Fundamental 10- Baylor's Steppin Out: University Philanthropy Event 16- Philanthropy Event: Reading is Key event at Parkdale Elementary December 1- Social Event: Kappa Kristmas Semi-formal This semester we implemented "Bravo" which recognizes a member each week who has gone above and beyond in their way to support fellow members.

At convention, we received awards for PR and Risk Management. Our chapter hosted Outdoor Voices for a pop-up shop to raise money for Reading is Fundamental.

Baylor has undertaken several changes in the Greek community this year. Through this election of Alpha Phi to join Baylor Panhellenic the chapter has had the opportunity to strengthen unity with other chapters. Epsilon Upsilon looks forward to officially welcoming Alpha Phi to Baylor's campus this spring and working to encourage the growth of their chapter. The nature of the chapter is positive and excited for this season of change and the idea of building a stronger unity with other old and new chapters on Baylor's campus.

Our chapter supports Reading is Fundamental but works weekly with Parkdale Elementary.This year we continued our partnership with Parkdale Elementary because our existing relationship has proved very effective. Our members love going each week and it's really fun to continue working with the same teachers and occasionally seeing some of the kids you've worked with before. We wanted to make sure we continue to establish a relationship with the Waco community. This provides the chapter with the opportunity to raise funds for Reading is Fundamental but also an opportunity to work weekly with local students who need extra assistance in reading.

Our chapter meets in the The Stacy Riddle Panhellenic Forum in our own Kappa room.

Oral History

Tommye Lou Davis

Rene Taylor Beth Musgraves

Highlights of 2019

January 12- Bid Day: 98 girls pledged Kappa February 1 - Social Event: Sapphire Ball Formal February 2- Social Event: Sapphire Ball Formal Participated in KOT Fishery: A philanthropy event 5- Academic Excellence Dinner in the Kappa Room 15- Initiated 97 girls into Kappa 21- Competed in All-University Sing: "Come Fly With Me" was performed and received a bid to Pigskin March 16- Social Event: New Member Dance 23- Take-a-Date: Dallas Mavericks Basketball Game 28Kappa hosted annual Easter Egg Hunt for faculty and staff children April 6- Baylor's Steppin Out- University Philanthropy Event 7- Legacy Tea 11- Kappa hosted annual event: Baylor Beauty 18- Kappa and Chi Omega hosted a faculty appreciation event: Cupcakes with Chi O 21- Mom's Day May 27- Mission trip to Antigua, Guatemala August 24- Recruitment Event: Late Night at the SLC October 12- Social Event: Dad's Day 15- Celebrated Founder's Day with Alumni at the Baylor Club November 1-3: Homecoming Weekend: Kappa had 2 members nominated for Homecoming Court, Created and showcased a float built with Alpha Tau Omega which won "Best in Class," and performed "Come Fly With Me" at Pigskin Revue 8- Social Event: Winter Semi Formal 19- Kappa Karnival: All-University Event raising money for Reading is Fundamental 22- Philanthropy Event: Reading is Key event at Parkdale Elementary December 1- Social Event: Kappa Kristmas Semi-formal

This semester we implemented "Kisses" which is a game we will play at the end of chapter where 3 people are given Hershey's kisses and they pass them along to someone who made them happy that week or they think is great.

At convention, we received awards for PR and Risk Management.

Our chapter hosted Outdoor Voices for a pop-up shop to raise money for Reading is Fundamental.

Baylor has undertaken several changes in the Greek community this year. Through the selection of Alpha Phi to join Baylor Panhellenic the chapter has had the opportunity to strengthen unity with other chapters. Epsilon Upsilon looks forward to officially welcoming Alpha Phi to Baylor's campus this spring and working to encourage the growth of their chapter. The nature of the chapter is positive and excited for this season of change and the idea of building a stronger unity with other old and new chapters on Baylor's campus.

Chapter Philanthropy Reading is Fundamental but works weekly with Parkdale Elementary This year we continued our partnership with Parkdale Elementary because our existing relationship has proved very effective. Our members love going each week and it's really fun to continue working with the same teachers and occasionally seeing some of the kids you've worked with before. We wanted to make sure we continue to establish a relationship with the Waco community. This provides the chapter with the opportunity to raise funds for Reading is Fundamental but also an opportunity to work weekly with local students who need extra assistance in reading.

Chapter Facility The Stacy Riddle Panhellenic Forum in our own Kappa room.

Oral History

Tommye Lou Davis Rene Taylor Beth Musgraves Gretchen Eichenberg

Highlights of 2020

Pre-covid chapter events of 2020 read as follows. January 11: 89 new members pledged Kappa. January 30: Big little reveal. January 31: New Member Dance with theme “Kappa Kappa Glow” where new members and dates and active members dressed in neon clothing, danced, and performed new member songs. February 1: KOT Fishery, philanthropy event. February 7: Sapphire Ball Formal. February 9: beginning of Inspiration Period for Initiation. February 14/15: Initiation of 89 new members. February 29: Participated in All-University Sing paired with Kappa Sigma for our act, “Ship of Dreams.” Received first place and a bid to Pigskin. Following spring break, we did not return to campus due to COVID-19. We began to adapt in the spring semester by sending out news letters to encourage and engage the chapter. Our social media presence during this time became another way for our chapter to stay connected. Our PR chairs created a beautiful postcard to mail to each of our members to the location in which they were quarantined. We began social media campaigns to encourage one another and stay connected, including “What we miss Wednesday,” “Sister Spotlight,” and “Senior Saturday.” Each of these were intended to highlight a particular member and share about what makes our chapter special to them. In addition, we began posting Instagram Stories for every members birthday, as we were not able to sing to them in meeting like normal. When we returned to campus in the fall, we began to hold virtual meetings every Tuesday at 5:15pm over Zoom. Our Philanthropy week took place November 8-14. This included a book drive for our local elementary school, Parkdale Elementary. We had profit shares all week at popular Waco restaurants which we promoted through our social media, including Andy’s Frozen Custard and Mamaka Bowls. On Thursday we had a Zoom Zumba class where participants paid $3 which went to RIF. On Friday we had a virtual raffle with amazing prizes including $100+ gift cards to local restaurants, football tickets, gift cards to local boutiques, and many more.

Reading is Fundamental, works with Parkdale Elementary weekly, reading to second grade students. This weekly practice was put on pause with COVID.This year we continued our partnership with Parkdale Elementary because our existing relationship has proved very effective. Our members love going each week and it's really fun to continue working with the same teachers and occasionally seeing some of the kids you've worked with before. We wanted to make sure we continue to establish a relationship with the Waco community. This provides the chapter with the opportunity to raise funds for Reading is Fundamental but also an opportunity to work weekly with local students who need extra assistance in reading. Even through COVID where we could not continue to meet with our students weekly, we participated in a drive-by at the beginning of the school year to encourage the students and show our support. To support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within our chapter, we elected two officers to support this effort. One officer’s responsibilities included communicating with Baylor’s Panhellenic community to support our community’s DEI efforts. Our second officer was elected to internally implement DEI within our chapter. Through chapter discussions and training, we have continued to make strides with DEI and look forward to continuing this growth and understanding in our community.

To celebrate Kappa’s 150th anniversary in a safe, socially distanced manner, we held a

virtual Founders Day ceremony over Zoom. In addition to the Zoom ceremony, we

delivered Chick-Fil-A to our member’s houses/apartments so they could enjoy dinner with

roommates while watching the ceremony. In addition to the ceremony and dinner, we

painted a banner and hung it for photos, as well as had a Snapchat filter for members to

celebrate and take photos. This made us feel close with one another as we celebrated from

a distance. Photos of the banner will be attached!

Disclaimer: all photos attached were taken before COVID-19 or are taken following social

distancing guidelines. Photos attached of members without masks are roommates.

Baylor pics

Highlights of 2021

This past year, our chapter has had the incredible privilege of welcoming in our New Member class, rebuilding traditions following the COVID-19 pandemic, and continuing to grow our chapter’s impact on the Waco community with our new philanthropy supporting children’s mental health. While the spring semester of 2021 was mostly virtual, our new members were given the chance to grow closer together with their member class and be a part of our organization amidst a global pandemic. Our chapter is proud to have had so many girls join Kappa during the spring semester, and with the start of the fall semester, we have begun to implement more in-person events again. Starting this fall, we hosted several sisterhood events specifically for MC 21, held our Lock-and-Key semi-formal in the fall, as well as showcasing our winning Sing performance, titled “Ship of Dreams” in Baylor’s Pigskin Revue which takes place every homecoming. Our float chairs also put together a beautiful NASCAR-themed float along with the help of our friends in the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity that was a hit in the homecoming parade. Our philanthropy chairs have led the charge in supporting Parkdale Elementary School, which has been a partner of Kappa at Baylor for nearly 30 years. We are proud to say that while there have been limits placed on how we can support the students at Parkdale, we have continued to assist them in any way we are able to and we are looking forward to continuing that relationship we have held with Parkdale Elementary for so many years. While this was an unprecedented year in our chapter’s history, we are proud to say that the Epsilon Upsilon chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma has come out stronger because of it. Chapter Philanthropy What local organization does the chapter support and why? Our chapter has been in the process of continuing our long-standing relationship with Parkdale Elementary School located in Waco, Texas. Starting in August, our chapter council voted to support a new organization focusing on children’s mental health, especially considering the impact that the pandemic has had on all elementary-aged children. The organization we voted to support is the Children’s Health and Mentorship Program, otherwise known as “CHAMP,” which focuses on supporting all aspects of children’s mental health and giving them a healthy environment to learn and thrive, especially following the mental strain that COVID-19 has had on all students, especially elementary-aged students such as those in Parkdale. How did the chapter support Kappa’s philanthropy? Due to the COVID protocols that Parkdale Elementary School has put into place, our chapter was not able to attend Parkdale on Fridays like we normally would during a year without social distancing policies. In order to accommodate for this lack of in-person support, our chapter held a “Drive-Boo” where we had a drive-through Halloween party for the students, a profit-share to raise money for CHAMP, and our philanthropy chairs have been working to continue fundraising events in the spring. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Our chapter has implemented a Diversity, Equity,and Inclusion chair in our chapter council. Our current DEI Chair, Kelsey Womack, has done an outstanding job in educating our chapter on how we can uplift our community at Baylor and act in such a way that is respecting and honoring to everyone who is on our campus and in our Waco community. Kelsey, along with her committee, shared devotionals about inclusion in our weekly chapter meetings and helped lead a worship night with a local fraternity on campus to grow closer as a Baylor community with the intention of growing in diversity and inclusion. Operating in a Pandemic In the spring semester, our chapter had virtual new member period, initiation, and chapter meetings. Along with the help of our Panhellenic council, we were able to have a socially distant event outside in April, where our new members were able to sing the songs they learned virtually from our recruitment chairs. This fall semester has held a strong desire to be back in-person, and our chapter council has held several in-person chapter meetings and social events in order to grow closer as a chapter. While we are supporting our philanthropy in a virtual setting, we intend to be back helping out on their campus as soon as they lift social distancing policies. Additionally, we are preparing to have a virtual open house day for our spring recruitment with in-person days following the virtual meetings. The lack of in-person events has certainly helped our chapter grow closer together and appreciate the time we now spend together outside of zoom!

Sisterhood