| Eta Zeta | |
|---|---|
| HZ | |
 | |
| Founded | November 17, 2001 |
| College | John Carroll University |
| Location | University Heights, OH |
| Homepage | http://www.kappa.org |
| Media related to Eta Zeta Chapter | |
John Carroll University (formerly St. Ignatius College) established in 1886 in Cleveland, Ohio; later moved to University Heights, Ohio
Chapter founded November 17, 2001 - 27 charter members
193 initiates (as of 2011)
Some of Eta Zeta’s Outstanding Alumnae
Fraternity Officers:
Loyalty Award Recipient:
Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:
History John Carroll University
John Carroll University, one of 28 colleges and universities operated in the United States by the Society of Jesus, was founded as St. Ignatius College in 1886. It has been in continuous operation as a degree-granting institution since that time.
In 1923 the College was renamed John Carroll University, after the first archbishop of the Catholic Church in the United States. In 1935 it was moved from its original location on the West Side of Cleveland to its present site in University Heights, a suburb 10 miles east of downtown Cleveland.
In September 1968 the University made the transition from full-time male enrollment to a fully coeducational institution as women were admitted to the College of Arts and Sciences for the first time. Currently more than 3,300 undergraduates call John Carroll University home.
Highlights of 2001-2010
Colonization and Installation
Eta Zeta Chapter became the first Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter of the new millennium on November 17, 2001. Located in University Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, Eta Zeta is proud to have been the first National Panhellenic Conference group to be installed on campus. "Eta Zeta was colonized on October 21, 2001, after a successful match with Kappa Gamma Delta, a local group founded in 1998. The 27 charter members were initiated and Eta Zeta Chapter was installed by Fraternity President Ann Stafford Truesdell. Fraternity officers assisting with the weekend activities were Director of Membership Martha Allen Kumler, Ohio State; Chairman of Extension Carol George Sanders, Cal. State Northridge; Regional Director of Chapters Susie Eynatten Hughes, Missouri; Coordinator of Chapter Development Jill Hughes Mealy, Akron; Gamma Province Directors of Chapters Joni Manos Brown, Ohio Wesleyan, and Mindy Moellering, Miami; Leadership Consultant Kylie Deterding, Iowa State; Chapter Consultant Ruchi Karla, Westminster; and Executive Director Lila A. Isbell, Montana.
Kappa Chapter at Hillsdale College served as the Key Sister chapter for Eta Zeta during the weekend activities, while members from Ohio State, Akron; and Ohio Wesleyan, also participated."
Chapter Consultant Ruchi Kalra served as resident adviser to the chapter while pursuing a graduate degree at JCU. Jill Hughes Mealy, Coordinator of Chapter Development, was responsible for recruiting chapter Advisers and House Board members.
The Cleveland and Cleveland West Shore Alumnae Associations presented the chapter with the President’s Badge while countless associations and chapters within the Province sent greetings and gifts for the chapter. Especially significant was the quilt prepared by Lambda—Akron, that resembled one hanging in their chapter house.
One of the chapter goals for 2004–05 was to gain a greater appreciation of chapter and Fraternity history. We continue to display our scrapbook during Recruitment and other all-Greek Recruitment events. As part of the New Member program, the Registrar and Education chairman plan an interactive workshop on chapter and Fraternity heritage. There is also an archives display of chapter awards, past issues of The Key, the scrapbook, the New Member Signature book, the Songs of Kappa Kappa Gamma book, and more. In addition, the chapter holds birthday parties with cupcakes and brownies to celebrate Founder’s Day and the installation of Eta Zeta.
In spring 2005, the chapter hosted the Gamma Province Meeting at John Carroll and met women from nearby Kappa chapters, as well as worked with the Cleveland Alumnae Association. Province Meeting was a beautiful affair and everyone from the chapter benefited from the programs presented as well as acquired leadership skills from helping to plan and host the event.
Eta Zeta was proud to be recognized for the highest GPA of all Greek organizations on campus. With a chapter average of 3.31, Eta Zeta exceeded the all-sorority average of 3.13. This was especially significant because we have been working to increase our academic excellence program for the past few years. We have instituted regular study tables and awards for members who make special effort to improve their academics.
In addition, Eta Zeta was honored with the Spirit Award during Greek Week. John Carroll instituted several big changes to the structure of Greek Week, but the Kappa women remained positive throughout the week and did not let it get in the way of having a great time. Eta Zeta members were present at every event held that week and showed support, not only for competing Kappas, but for all the Greek participants.
The New Member chairman made important changes in the way Key sisters were selected and made the workshops presented during the New Member period more interactive and interesting. Also, our Marshal instituted special Kore group activities to integrate the new members with the actives and let everyone get to know each other better before Initiation. These included things such as T-shirt making and a craft night. Thanks to these changes, we feel that our Initiation was one of the most meaningful that we’ve had, both to the newly initiated members and the actives.
One of the biggest challenges that Eta Zeta faced during this year was planning ahead and reorganizing the chapter due to the fact that half of its members would be graduating in May 2006. The chapter is currently holding strong at 50 members, one of the largest chapter's on JCU's campus, but 23 are graduating seniors. In order to offset this, the women of Eta Zeta worked very hard this past year to make the transition as smooth as possible. To get the numbers up for formal recruitment, one of our own members headed a Greek marketing committee to educate the campus about sororities. In addition to the strategies enacted by Panhellenic, the women of Eta Zeta did their best to attend and help with as many campus events as possible, such as Little Sibs Weekend, Project H.O.P.E. and Cultivating Community. Our Recruitment was successful as well. Eta Zeta was more prepared for the challenges that go along with fall Recruitment, which resulted in fantastic return rates for the week—100 percent, 98 percent, 92 percent and 81 percent for each day respectively. We selected 11 new members through formal Recruitment. Finally, Chapter Council positions were combined and chapter concerns were raised to the Leadership Consultant who helped educate the chapter on strategies to take changes in stride.
Another challenge the chapter faced was trying to organize a large, campus-wide philanthropy event. Eta Zeta has done many small service and fundraising projects but really wanted to get the Kappa name out there with a highly publicized event that all students could take part in. The challenge was met, in part, in September at JCU's Homecoming football game. Eta Zeta hosted a Balloon Pop, selling balloons with raffle tickets inside, to raise money for Kappa Kidney Camp and RIF. The women walked through the street fair and stood outside the gates of the stadium to sell balloons to students and parents, and raised almost $300. We hope that this event will continue to grow.
On Founders day we worked with the Cleveland Alumnae Association, which granted the chapter a scholarship, and our charter was presented to our chapter President.
Once again, Eta Zeta was proud to be recognized as having the highest GPA of all Greek organizations on campus. Eta Zeta exceeded the all-sorority average of 3.13. In addition, Kappa Kappa Gamma was honored with the Spirit Award during Greek Week festivities. Also, for the fourth year in a row, the women of Eta Zeta were victorious in the Lip Sync Event.
The New Member retreat at Lambda—Akron allowed for the new girls to break out of their shells and experience what it would be like to have Greek Housing. Along with that, positive strides have been made in instituting all-Greek dorms on campus.
In the spring, “Kappa Kisses” candy was sold for Valentine’s Day in the student center to raise money for Kappa Kidney Kamp, a philanthropy of Gamma Province. A Valentine’s Date Party held at McNulty’s in Coventry saw pink and red dresses as everyone danced the night away! Also, the majority of Kappas drove downtown Cleveland and went to a Cavs game together. We also enjoyed Black Tie Bowling with Delta Tau Delta Fraternity—The ladies of Kappa dressed in black-tie attire and went bowling with the fraternity members. Through a book drive we collected 27 books that were donated to Miles Park Elementary School in Cleveland.
At the Cleveland Botanical Gardens, Kappas helped with whitewashing walls, raking leaves and other volunteer activities. The Sapphire Ball took place at the Hilton Inn in Beachwood. The ladies of Eta Zeta had dinner and danced the night away. The lip sync routine was performed for the enjoyment of others.
Project H.O.P.E. allowed members to be “buddied up” with students with disabilities for games, sports and dancing. Others worked the booths putting on the games. In the fall, chapter members participated in Involvement Fair with a booth and talked to first-year students about the perks of getting involved in Greek Life. Members also served the people of Cleveland at a food bank downtown for a several hours.
Informal Recruitment resulted in six new members. Kappa dinners were held with the girls as well as other activities to get to know them better. The ladies of Eta Zeta decorated a golf cart with the theme “Kappa Candyland” and drove it in the parade. Candy was handed out to the residents of University Heights as well as to students.
For Founders Day, chapter members traveled to a country club in Shaker Heights to meet local Kappa alumnae for good food, company and songs. Eta Zeta went to a haunted house off campus for some fun and bonding time with the new members. Before heading out, pumpkins were decorated. For nine hours, Kappas spent time with the people of St. Malachi House and St. Herman’s House of Hospitality by serving food and visiting the residents. Other volunteer work included Through the Eyes of a Child—an on-campus philanthropy in which inner-city students participate in a day of Christmas activities. Chapter members ran a jewelry-making booth for 3 hours.
Spring semester began with a philanthropy event at the Hospice. The ladies of Eta Zeta lifted the spirits of the residents with bingo, pizza and cookies. A sisterhood event with the title “Old School Valentine’s Day Party” allowed Eta Zeta to welcome its newest member with pizza, cake and Valentine’s for all.
From kickball to the car push, talent show to lip-sync, the ladies of Eta Zeta showed the campus community their pride and spirit during Greek Week. The week ended with John Carroll’s first ever Relay for Life. Eta Zeta walked throughout what proved to be an inspirational and emotional evening with one of the largest groups participating. The ladies of Eta Zeta also took a field trip to the Great Lakes Science Center.
Eta Zeta ended the academic year with the annual reading day picnic. This offered the ladies an opportunity to hang out and relieve some stress before finals. It was also our last opportunity to spend time with those who would graduate in May. The second Dance Marathon Car wash was held at a nearby gas station. The girls enjoyed the sun as they raised money for the upcoming campus Dance Marathon.
The ladies of Eta Zeta retreated to the Carroll Lodge for some bonding, reflection and preparation before formal Recruitment. Formal recruitment had the theme “I dream of Kappa.” We received nine fabulous young ladies. Informal Recruitment gave us a chance to snatch two more amazing ladies for the fall 2007 new member class.
The ladies off Eta Zeta hosted their first annual Dance Marathon. With the invitation extended to the entire campus community, we all gathered to dance, play games, listen to bands, and raise money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Eta Zeta also participated in Delta Tau Delta’s first kickball tournament for charity. The Kappa Kousin Event was a night spent playing trivia games and new members bonding and getting to know the active members better.
The Key sister event involved new members and their key sisters coming together for a progressive dinner that included appetizers, dinner and dessert at different locations. Blue and Blue Desserts was a treat—Kappa’s hosted a dessert party for the new members before Initiation. Desserts ranged from cookies to blue Jell-O with gummy fish. Post initiation all the girls gathered and watched the Ohio State vs. Michigan game at an active’s house for a sisterhood event. An active co-founded “Every 2 Minutes”— an all-female, sexual-assault prevention peer education group. A total of 27 members made the Dean’s List; one member was named Greek Leader of The Year and JCU 2008 Student Leader of The Year.
Eta Zeta was proud to be recognized as having the second highest GPA of all all greek organizations on campus. The women of Eta Zeta also exceeded the all-sorority average on campus. We continue to hold a reputation of scholarship and sincere dedication to studies. We continued the use of our library log and other awards for members who make special effort to improve their academics. The Vice President of Academic Excellence continued the newly created “Fleur de A’s and B’s” program, which tracks when members receive an A or B on an exam or big paper/project. At the end of the semester, those with 15 or more fleur-de-lis stamps receive a prize.
During Greek Week, Kappa was honored with the Scholarship Award, Philanthropy Award, Alumna of the Year award, and Greek Leader of the Year award. And, Eta Zeta was the 2008 Greek Week Champion.
During formal Recruitment, our Recruitment Chairmen did a great job of showing potential new members what being in Kappa is all about. We were so excited to gain 10 great new members. At informal Recruitment we hosted an ice cream social, where we were able to get to know girls who were interested in Eta Zeta. We were delighted to gain another four new members.
Kappa Kappa Gamma placed first in the Greek Week talent show!The women of Eta Zeta were present at every event held that week and showed support, not only for competing Kappas, but for all the Greek men and women participating. Kappa also had one of the largest groups participating in John Carroll’s second annual Relay for life, which served as the conclusion of Greek week. In January, the ladies hosted the second Dance Marathon. The night was filled with raffle drawing, great food, live performances, and tons of fun. The ladies raised an approximate grand total of 1,000 dollars for Reading Is Fundamental.
Our chapter also takes particular pride in our New Member Program. Our Marshal and New Member chairwoman worked together to create special Kore group activities to integrate the new members in with the actives and let everyone get to know each other better before Initiation. These activities included painting Kappa crafts, a night of trivia games and a dinner with their Key sisters.
Fall 2009 was a semester of firsts for our chapter. This semester was the first time the ladies of Eta Zeta had our very own sorority floor. Our House chairmen worked hard and decorated the floor with light and dark blue colors. Eta Zeta was proud to have 17 members live on the floor where we could bond and celebrate sisterhood more often. Eta Zeta also hosted its first ever Stop the Bop on campus in October. The ladies spent numerous days playing Hanson’s “Mmm Bop” song until people gave enough money to have the bop stop. The ladies raised a total of $500 for our philanthropy.
Although Eta Zeta is a fairly small chapter with 41 active members, we are one of the largest Greek organizations on campus. We take pride in the fact that the members of our chapter are all extremely involved in other organizations and clubs on campus, and often hold leadership positions. Some of these organizations include Phi Eta Sigma, CLC, Lamda Pi Eta, Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit Honor Society, Dance Ensemble, Dance Team, Cheerleading Squad, Student Union, Golf Team, Student Union Programming Board, Lacrosse, Field Hockey, Arrupe Scholar, Orientation Staff, Two minutes, Student Today Leaders Forever, and Circle K International service organization.
Eta Zeta celebrated its ninth anniversary of its installation on November 18th, 2009. One challenge our chapter faced this past year was chapter unity. We instituted the “Blind Dates” and “Hoots and Salutes.” Both of these increased sisterhood and brought us to regularly recognize each others’ achievements. Also this was not our easiest semester. This last semester, John Carroll University experienced two suicides within weeks of each other. It was a hard experience for all of us and having the unity and sisterhood of our sorority was comforting. Also, by having our floor, which includes a study lounge, we were able to watch our favorite TV shows together, have move nights and conduct our chapter council meetings there. This helped us create a tighter bond of sisterhood.
At the 2010 General Convention, Eta Zeta received the Excellence in Chapter Management Award as well as Honorable Mention in Finance, Recruitment and Panhellenic. Our visiting Leadership Consultant noticed our excellence, but also left us with information to help us improve. After meeting with all the officers, we were able to adjust our Kore Groups and learn more about our responsibilities.
2010 proved to be a challenging year. Eta Zeta was recognized as having the fourth highest sorority GPA out of the five sororities. However the women of Eta Zeta exceeded the all-student average GPA on campus. This was a significant honor because we are constantly working to increase our academic excellence program. We had regular study tables throughout the spring semester and continued the use of our library log, and awards for members who make special effort to improve their academics throughout the entire year.
During Formal Recruitment this Fall semester, our Chapter got the largest pledge class, 14 new members, in Eta Zeta history. Our Recruitment Chairman did a great job organizing the weekend and showing potential new members what being in Kappa is all about. We were excited to be above chapter total.
This year Kappa Kappa Gamma placed first in the Greek Week talent show for the second year in a row! Our chapter’s representative won the Honorable Woman Award at the end of the week. Kappa also had one of the largest groups participating in John Carroll's third annual Relay for life, which served as the conclusion of Greek week.
This past year we created a new event to raise money for RIF. We had a pasta dinner, called KAPPASTAfor the John Carroll Students and community. With raffles, tons of food, live performances, the night turned out to be a lot of fun. The event was successful and we were able to do it twice within the year, raising close to $2,500 for Reading Is Fundamental. The chapter also won “Tug of War” for the second year in a row, as well as the prestigious campus Talent Show again.
Highlights of 2011 - 2019: (See information from Chapter History Report.)
Highlights (scholarship, group honors/awards, special events, philanthropy and service projects, etc.):
Philanthropy:
Housing:
Chapter Convention Awards: 2010: Excellence in Chapter Management; Honorable Mention in Finance, Recruitment and Panhellenic
Highlights of 2020s:
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!