| Eta Omicron | |
|---|---|
| HO | |
 | |
| Founded | March 27, 2010 |
| College | Northeastern University |
| Location | Boston, MA |
| Homepage | Eta Omicron Website |
| Media related to Eta Omicron Chapter | |
Eta Omicron, Northeastern
Northeastern University established in 1898 in Boston, Massachusetts
Founded March 27, 2010
86 charter members
303 initiates (as of June 2016)
Some of Eta Omicrons’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:
Contents
The Early Years:
Northeastern University was established in 1898 as the Evening Institute for Younger Men at the Huntington Avenue YMCA in Boston. Its first class was held October 3, 1898. The institute catered to the needs of the rapidly growing immigrant population in Boston. Within a few years of its formation, it offered classes in law, engineering and finance. In 1909, the school began offering day classes, and it moved to a new location on Huntington Avenue in 1913. The school was officially organized as a college in 1916, and in 1922 it was renamed Northeastern University of the Boston Young Men's Christian Association. In a period of rapid campus expansion, the university purchased the Huntington Avenue Grounds (former Boston Red Sox ballpark) in 1929, but did not build on the land due to financial constraints during the Great Depression.
Northeastern today is a private, secular, coeducational research university. It has eight colleges and offers undergraduate majors in 65 departments. At the graduate level, the university offers more than 125 programs and awards masters, doctoral, and professional degrees. The university is the home of more than 35 specialized research and education centers. Its main campus is located in the Fenway Cultural District of Boston. Northeastern is classified as a RU/H institution (high research activity) by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Among Northeastern's past and present faculty are several Guggenheim Fellows and a MacArthur Foundation “Genius Award” winner, a former Democratic nominee for President of the United Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeastern_University - cite_note-7 and a Pulitzer Prize winner.
Colonization and Installation
Following an open house attended by more than 200 interested women, interviews with Boston-area Kappa alumnae and the colonization team and an invitation-only, iris-adorned brunch, the charter members of Eta Omicron colony were pledged on January 30, 2010.
Eta Omicron was installed March 27, 2010, with 86 charter members. Northeastern’s director of fraternity and sorority life challenged the charter members to continue their excellent work as they begin a new era of sorority life on campus and in the Boston community.
Eta Omicron was the seventh NPC women’s fraternity to be established at Northeastern. The university enrolls more than 15,000 undergraduate and 5,000 graduate students where 9,600 students were residents of the campus dorm and apartment structures. With more resident students than ever, the desire for more students to be part of a Greek-letter community increased. Northeastern’s signature cooperative education program (co-op), as well as student research, service learning and global learning, builds the connections that enable students to transform their lives and the lives of others.
The university’s outstanding support of Greek life was one of many attractions to this institution for Kappa. The charter new member class boasted the highest GPA of any Greek-letter organization at Northeastern. Eta Omicron members were campus and community leaders bringing much to this new chapter as leaders, scholars and philanthropy-focused women.
Installing officers were Fraternity President Denise Rugani, UC Davis; Director of Membership Elizabeth Bailey, Mississippi; Region 1 directors Claire St. Martin Collins, Emory, and Kelly Matyas Magyarics, Pittsburgh; Rho Province Directors Allyson Kinney, Connecticut, and Julie Carley Reilly, Puget Sound; Coordinator of Chapter Development Janice Franklin Larson, Akron, and Chapter Consultant Melissa Shearer, Vanderbilt.
Eta Omicron Chapter was Kappa’s 137th active chapter and complemented the growing, service-oriented campus Panhellenic consisting of seven other NPC groups—Alpha Epsilon Phi, Delta Phi Epsilon, Delta Zeta, Kappa Delta, Sigma Delta Tau, Sigma Sigma Sigma and Sigma Kappa colonizing in Spring 2013.
Highlights of 2011-2019
Highlights of 2012
2012 was an exciting year for Eta Omicron: we focused on involvement in Fraternity and Sorority Life and the Boston community, and on building sisterhood in general. Some of our philanthropic efforts included volunteering at the Roxbury Boys and Girls Club, where we tutored and held workshops such as baking classes. We also made valentines for troops, volunteered at the Greater Boston Food Bank, went to the Astra Zeneca Hope Lodge, and even helped clean up the Franklin Park Zoo! Our variety of sisterhood events this year included movie nights, ice skating, and a trip to the Museum of Fine Arts.
The spring of 2012 proved to be an eventful semester for Eta Omicron. We earned the "Most Improved Chapter" Award for the year of 2011, showing that our efforts to be more involved in the Fraternity and Sorority Life community are being recognized. During Greek Week, we were paired with Kappa Sigma, taking part in Greek Sing and winning Greek Olympics! We also participated in Relay for Life, where many sisters walked laps around our arena all night for cancer awareness and support. The year's formal was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Cambridge. Our semester was wrapped up by our annual Tea Party, where our seniors were sent off after hearing kind words about them from their sisters. Our chapter's GPA for the Spring 2012 semester was 3.361 placing third among all panhellenic sororities.
At the 2012 biennial convention, Eta Omicron earned honorable mention in academic excellence and panhellenic relations.
The fall semester of 2012 started off right with a recruitment retreat in Cape Cod. We stayed overnight at a camp, practicing recruitment skills and getting ready for another great semester. Recruitment was one of our biggest successes this year, as 34 new members joined the one uninitiated member in pledging Kappa Kappa Gamma. During homecoming, we were paired with Alpha Epsilon Pi and placed second in the annual homecoming dance competition, Take It To The Floor. We also took part in in the Light the Night walk, which raised money for leukemia and lymphoma.
On Founder's Day, we attended a luncheon at Harvard and heard alumnae talk about how they continued to stay involved in Kappa. We also sponsored our second annual Kappa Kickoff, where we raised almost $1,000 with nearly 30 participating teams. During I-Week, we had many successful events, including the big-little reveal. The week culminated in 34 new members becoming initiated on December 1, 2012, with one more being initiated in the spring. The semester ended with our semi-formal at the Longwood Bar and Grill. We finished the semester with a 3.4 GPA, placing second among all panhellenic sororities.
Northeastern University is growing rapidly, with over 44,000 students applying for 2,800 spots in the 2012 entering class. This year, the business school received a donation of $60 million and was renamed to the D'Amore-McKim School of Business. Eta Omicron is composed of a wide range of individuals who bring unique personalities and ideas to the chapter. We embrace all of our members and their points of view, striving to create an accepting atmosphere where everyone can thrive and get involved. Through our diversity as a chapter, we challenge ourselves to uphold our values every day and truly live up to Kappa standards.
Highlights of 2013
2013 was a busy and exciting year for Eta Omicron! We continued to increase our involvement both in Northeastern Fraternity and Sorority Life on campus, as well as the greater Boston area. The Astra Zeneca Hope Lodge, which serves as a home away from home for cancer patients and their families, became our local philanthropy focus. We spent two nights a month baking cookies, playing bingo, and talking with guests of the Hope Lodge. Our philanthropic involvement this year also included making Valentine’s Day cards for troops, the Greater Boston Food Bank, and volunteering at the Franklin Park Zoo. Sisterhood events included a Madewell shopping event, Kappa Krumbs baking competition, Owl Pals, and weekly group dinner dates.
Eta Omicron’s hard work and dedication did not go unnoticed during spring semester. At Fraternity and Sorority Life Awards, we were honored to earn the Chapter of the Year Award, as well as the Outstanding Sisterhood, Outstanding Scholarship, and Chapter Excellence Gold Awards. We were also honored that one of our sisters, Vice President of Academic Excellence Margaret Minnig, was named Outstanding Scholar.
Our sister, Emma Caggiano, was elected as the first Panhellenic President from our chapter. During Greek Week, we were paired with the gentlemen of Phi Delta Theta, and won Greek Sing with our “Saved By The Bell” themed dance! We also won overall Greek Week, with our participation in food can collecting, Greek Olympics, and strong chapter spirit at events. Relay For Life was also a great success- our sisters collectively raised over $20,000, more than any other team on campus! At Province, we were honored to earn the New Member Program Award. We also held a Kappa Kaffeine fundraiser during finals week to raise money for the Kappa Foundation, and a Futsal tournament with Alpha Epsilon Pi to raise money for the Yawkey Boys and Girls Club.
Our formal was held on April 13th at the Seaport Hotel in Boston. To recognize one of our largest graduating classes yet, as well as future graduating classes, we created Senior Week, known as S-Week. The week included programming for seniors, as well as a night of speeches from our sisters to the graduates. We concluded the semester with our annual Tea Party brunch. Our GPA for spring semester was 3.39, ranking second among all 8 sororities on campus, as well as surpassing the all-sorority and all-women average.
We started off fall semester with a sisterhood retreat at Camp Burgess in Cape Cod. We prepared for recruitment and bonded as a chapter after a long summer apart. With the addition of another sorority on campus, Sigma Kappa, as well as an increase in the number of girls interested in Greek life, Northeastern’s Panhellenic recruitment structure was changed. Instead of four days in a row, recruitment was spread out across two weekends. Recruitment proved to be very successful, as we welcomed 33 new members of the Epsilon class to our chapter on October 7th.
Founder’s Day was hosted on our campus and alumni, including recent graduates from our chapter, joined us for a brunch celebration. Our annual Kappa Kickoff philanthropy event had its biggest turnout yet, with 47 teams signed up, and raised more than $1,000 for Hope Lodge.
During homecoming week, we were paired with the gentlemen of Sigma Phi Epsilon, and won the annual dance competition, Take It To The Floor! Our new member period was eventful, with programming including a “Kappa Key-esta” for new members to meet actives, a Minute-to-Win-It game night, and a key and pillow exchange for bigs and littles. I-Week included many events such as our yearly Owl Prowl dinner, and culminated in the initiation of 31 sisters on November 24th.
Our philanthropy committee ran a t-shirt fundraiser and donated the money raised to the Kappa Foundation. We ended the semester with our Sapphire Ball, held at the Back Bay Hilton on December 7th. Our chapter’s GPA for Fall 2013 was unavailable at the time this report was submitted.
Highlights of 2014
2014 was an exhilarating and action-packed year for Eta Omicron! Some of our main focuses this year were to strengthen our sisterhood and further our philanthropic efforts. We continued to go to our local philanthropy AstraZeneca Hope Lodge twice a month to play Bingo, bake cookies and talk to the patients and guests. Some other philanthropic events we participated in were Cards for Troops with the ladies of Delta Phi Epsilon, the Muddy River cleanup, The Johnson & Johnson Games and serving food at the New England Center for Homeless Veterans. Our sisterhood events included a trip to SkyZone, pumpkin carving, movie nights, a J. Crew shopping event, a workout at Pure Barre Boston, and the first annual post semi/post formal Brunch at Pour House.
The 2014 spring semester was a great way to start the year. Our sister, Jennifer Cordero, was elected the first Panhellenic Secretary from our chapter. At Fraternity and Sorority Life Awards, our sister Kayla Arruda won “Outstanding Scholar” and our advisor, Jan Larson, won “Outstanding Advisor”. Our chapter achievements included “Achievement in Scholarship” and “Achievement in Leadership.” We also won awards for “Outstanding Scholarship” and “Outstanding Leadership.” Overall we were ranked Bronze in Chapter Excellence.
During Greek Week, we were paired with the gentlemen of both Sigma Beta Rho and Beta Gamma Epsilon. We played an active part in the week’s activities, participating in Greek Sing and placing 2nd overall for the week. We were also involved in Northeastern’s Relay for Life and were the top fundraising team, raising $12,386, for the second year in a row. At the end of the week we hosted our Reading Is Fundamental event at Samuel Adams Elementary school. We read “The Rainbow Fish” to first-graders, played fish-themed bingo, decorated bookmarks, and every child received a book of their own to take home.
Formal was held on April 5th at Venue in Downtown Boston. As the semester came to an end seniors participated in Senior Week (S-Week) events as we graduated our last Alpha class members. One event called Alpha Bid Day was held in honor of all the Alphas who never had the chance to run into the arms of loving sisters on bid day. We invited back as many Alphas who were in the area for the event. We concluded the spring semester with our annual Love and Loyal Tea Party. Our chapter GPA for the spring semester was a 3.4, which surpassed the all woman and all sorority average. We had the 2nd highest-ranking GPA of all 8 sororities on campus.
In June, 5 of our sisters attended the 2014 biennial Convention where Eta Omicron won the Risk Management award and Honorable Mention in the areas of Ritual, Education, Academic Excellence, and Public Relations.
We started off the 2014 fall semester with our sisterhood retreat at Camp Burgess in Cape Cod. In accordance with our yearly goals, we extended the retreat to two nights so that we could devote an entire day to sisterhood bonding after a long summer away from school. We also prepared for the upcoming recruitment. Due to feedback from the Panhellenic community, the recruitment structure was changed again. Instead of having recruitment held over two weekends, it was brought back to being four days in a row. Recruitment proved to be very successful and we welcomed 36 wonderful new members into the Zeta class of our chapter on September 23rd.
We hosted Founder’s Day on our campus and active members of Eta Omicron and Zeta Alpha (Babson) chapters as well as alumni attended to celebrate with a brunch. During Homecoming Week we were paired with the gentlemen of Phi Delta Theta. We participated in the week’s events and won second place in the semester’s annual dance competition, Take It to the Floor.
The new member period was very eventful. There were many events including “Kappa Kandy Land” and Family Feud for the new members to meet and socialize with the active sisters. During Inspiration Week we held our 2nd annual Pillow-Key Exchange for the bigs and littles and the annual Owl Prowl. The week culminated in the initiation of 36 new members on November 7th.
Our annual Kappa Kickoff was held on November 16th with 35 teams participating, raising $850 dollars for Hope Lodge. Our philanthropy committee also hosted a second RIF event at Samuel Adams Elementary. To further support RIF, we brought an Ice ream truck to campus and raised over $150. Our Sapphire Ball was held on December 6th at Estate in Downtown Boston. The chapter’s fall 2014 GPA was 3.39, again surpassing the all sorority and all women’s averages.
Eta Omicron holds chapter in a university owned classroom, which changes each semester. Fall of 2014 was held in a Mugar classroom and Spring of 2014 was held in a Behrakis classroom. Our chapter does not have a house, lodge, apartment or suite. We have never had one in our history.
Highlights of 2015
Eta Omicron chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma had a delightful 2015 school year. We started the year with five main goals: to increase organization within committees and allow members the opportunities to gain more leadership; to focus on individual well being of sisters and strengthen the sisterhood of EtaO; to improve internal organization and structure of Chapter Council leadership; to increase Panhellenic involvement and visibility on campus; and to foster growth and understanding and appreciation of Kappa.
We were able to achieve all of these goals, for example by restructuring how we hold second chair position elections, holding countless bonding sisterhood events and implementing a Chapter Council bonding initiative to help the council realize and appreciate each other’s skills and leadership endeavors. We are also proud to support our sister Sneha Pandya who was elected to be Panhellenic President at Northeastern for the upcoming 2016 year. Some examples of the sisterhood events we put on included a kickboxing event, movie nights, pottery painting, ornament decorating with other chapters on campus, and J Crew and Brandy Melville shopping events.
The Spring semester of 2015 started wonderfully for Eta Omicron as we won “Outstanding Philanthropy” and “Outstanding Academics” for our chapter in the annual Fraternity and Sorority Life Awards. Our sister, Ashley Karsenty served as the Panhellenic Secretary as well. At the end of the school year, four of our sisters attended the biannual Province meeting.
We were also very active in our school’s Greek Week, participating in Greek Sing and placing second overall in our Greek Week competitions where we were paired with the gentlemen of Delta Tau Delta and the ladies of Delta Phi Omega. As a kickoff to Greek Week we also participated in the annual Relay for Life on campus. We won the Double Dare Competition and received $500 for our team, bringing our total fundraising as a team to over $16,000.
Formal was held on March 28th at The Inn at Longwood. We ended the school year with Senior Week (S-week), with seniors participating in a multitude of activities including Senior Wills and Goodbyes. We graduated 24 incredible seniors. Our last event of the year, the Love and Loyal Tea, was spectacular and we honored our much deserving sister Cara Henderson with the Loyalty Award. Our chapter GPA for the Spring semester was 3.38, ranking fifth out of the eight sororities on campus, as well as surpassing the all-women and all-sorority average.
We started our Fall 2015 with our annual sisterhood retreat to Camp Burgess in Cape Cod. We prepared ourselves for Recruitment with workshops and strengthened our sisterhood through bonding activities and competitions. Interest in recruitment continues to increase on campus and more than 500 girls came out for formal recruitment. Eta Omicron proved to have a very successful recruitment, welcoming 35 excited members to the Eta Class on September 30th.
This year the Eta Theta (Harvard) chapter hosted Founder’s Day on their campus and active members of Eta Omicron and Zeta Alpha (Babson) chapters as well as alumni attended to celebrate with a brunch. During Homecoming Week we were paired with the gentlemen of Beta Chi Theta and Alpha Delta Phi. We participated in the week’s events including the annual dance competition, Take It to the Floor. Our sister, Christy Murphy also ran for Mayor of Huntington Avenue, the first contestant ever from our chapter. The new member period was carefully planned so as not overwhelm while simultaneously integrating the newest class. There were many events including Pumpkin Carving, a self defense class, and a “Minute to Win It” competition for the new members to meet and socialize with the active sisters. The annual New Member Retreat was held at an active sister’s house in Topsfield, MA. During Inspiration Week we held our 3rd annual Pillow-Key/Fleur-de-Lis Exchange for the bigs and littles and the annual Owl Prowl. The week culminated in the initiation of 33 new members on Saturday December 5th.
Our annual Kappa Kickoff was held on October 25th with 28 teams participating, raising $900 dollars for the AstraZeneca Hope Lodge. We also held a Bar-B-Que afterwards for our sisters and the participating teams. In one of the most interesting Education Chapters, Eta Omicron held its first “It’s On Us” presentation, facilitating discussion and understanding about sexual assault on college campuses. The last week of the semester, we held S-week and celebrated our four graduating fall seniors. Our Sapphire Ball was held on December 12th at CandiBar in Downtown Boston. The chapter’s Fall 2015 GPA was not available at the time this report was written.
Eta Omicron holds chapter in a university owned classroom, which changes each semester. Fall of 2015 was held in a Cargill classroom and Spring of 2015 was held in a Churchill classroom. Our chapter does not have a house, lodge, apartment or suite. We have never had one in our history.
The biggest recent change on our campus was the remodeling of Curry Student Center, where all Panhellenic Sororities hold formal fall recruitment. The first floor was renovated and now includes a mini amphitheater.
Chapter Philanthropy:
What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?
A major focus of the Spring semester was increasing our philanthropic endeavors. We held our annual Reading is Fundamental event on March 31st at the Sam Adams Elementary School. We worked with the same class we had worked with the year before in their second grade classroom. We read “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie,” played bingo, and made bookmarks with the children. Additionally, we changed some of our activities with our local philanthropy, the AstraZeneca Hope Lodge. Instead of Bingo, we started playing trivia and held a SuperBowl Party. Lastly, we held our first annual Lip Sync for Life, a Jimmy Fallon style LipSync Battle, and raised over $600 for the Hope Lodge.
Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
Our chapter chose to support the AstraZeneca Hope Lodge in 2013 because many of the women in the organization felt personal connections to the Lodge. We are all affected by cancer in one way or another and thought this would be the best place to devote our time. We are also able to do hands on work at the Lodge and we interact with the guests, instead of solely donating money and that was important to our chapter.
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!