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→Highlights of 2018
December: We celebrated the 5th anniversary of our chapter being on campus on the 1st by inviting alumni to come and reminisce about our past. Leadership transitions happened on the 2nd, along with our final formal chapter of the year. On the 7th we had a Holiday Party where girls participated in a plaque exchange. Some of our sisters participated in the Dance Showcase, so there was a group of girls who went to support them. The 9th marked our final event for the year, a relaxing sisterhood in lieu of chapter. We also found out the incredible news that we were approved for Girls Academy for the fall of 2019! All in all, we had a great year, and can’t wait to see what is in store for us for 2019!
==Highlights of 2019==
January
No chapter activities occurred in January due to J-term.
February
February was a relaxed month for the Eta Phi chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Headquarters designated the Eta Phi chapter, along with all other chapters in the Epsilon district, to go through a new leadership structure. Instead of having approximately 18 council members, there was an EBoard made up of six Vice Presidents and the President, with directors falling under the department of specific VPs. The girls of Eta Phi began the semester navigating the new structure.
The chapter decided not to go through with informal recruitment.
Eta Phi did host an LC from the 11th to the 15th. Lots of her visit focused on operating under the new structure and sisterhood. From the 15th to the 17th our President, Vice President of Membership, Vice President of Organization, Vice President of Member Development, and Standards Director attended a Kappa conference in Dallas, Texas.
With that in mind, lots of the events that happened in February were sisterhoods. Some of those included dinners, crafting, roller skating, and attending an on-campus hypnotist show!
A Ritual Review was also held to teach new initiates (and any actives that had become rusty) how formal chapter works.
Kappa also had a team for Alpha Sigma Phi’s basketball tournament.
March
The month began with a rebranded philanthropy event: “Are You Smarter Than a Kappa?” It was a trivia night that raised money for Reading is Fundamental. The event was very popular and almost every chapter on campus participated.
Kappas also participated in other chapter’s philanthropy events. A team was made for Lambda Chi Alpha’s Dodgeball Tournament. One of our sisters and her boyfriend also competed in Phi Mu’s Muly Weds game where couples answered questions about each other. Then the audience got to decide which couple was their favorite. Alpha Sigma Phi also hosted a 3 on 3 basketball event in which Kappa had a team.
Multiple sisterhoods were held throughout the month as well. They included dinners in the cafeteria, going to Feed My Starving Children, and supporting our sisters in EC on the Rise (a campus talent show). Did we mention that one of our very own sisters won the talent show? We were so proud! Our Director of Risk also began “Keep Kappas Glowing,” where sisters could contact her to let her know who needed a pick-me-up or extra recognition. Those selected sisters were then gifted self-care items such as face masks and fuzzy socks.
Also, at the beginning of the month, composites were held. It was especially interesting to see the final copy with the structure change!
April
April was a far busier chapter for the Eta Phi ladies. One of the new, exciting things that occurred was Greek Week. Instead of chapter on the 14th, all Greek life organizations attended a Greek Week kickoff that included a comedian/inspirational speaker. The other events that occurred throughout the week was a banner competition, Canstruction, Greek Games, and Wear it Wednesday. During Canstruction, canned foods were used to construct into fun shapes and then donated to a local food shelter. On Wear it Wednesday every chapter member wore their letters.
Another fun event that occurred in April was our function. It was themed “Kappa Kappa PaGamma,” and all sisters and guests wore pajamas and robes.
April was also a big month for participation in other chapters’ philanthropy. Many of our sisters participated in Egg ASig, and we also had a team for Alpha Phi’s Home Runs for Heart. Kappa also had a team for a large, campus-wide event for Relay for Life as many of our sisters have been impacted by cancer in some way.
On a lighter note, our sisters bonded over multiple sisterhoods. There were sisterhood dinners every other week, a Picnic and Frisbee sisterhood to celebrate the weather becoming warmer, a sisterhood to go to a Women’s Lacrosse game to support one of our sisters, a movie night, and a S'mores Night on the campus patio. Easily the most exciting sisterhood, however, was the Sisterhood Retreat. It was held in the same room as chapter and included many bonding games. One of the highlights of the retreat, however, was an affirmation activity. Two at a time, sisters sat with their backs to a whiteboard as the rest of the chapter wrote affirmations about them. Some examples were “sapphire,” “dazzling,” and “hard working.” After everyone had written something, the sister would then turn around and see the amazing things her chapter had written about her. Every single member participated.
Building off the strengthened sisterhood, a handful of recruitment workshops were also held in April. The workshops included going over the logistics of recruitment and talking pointers. There were also a handful of recruitment photoshoots held.
May
May was a far less busy for the Eta Phi Chapter, in part due to it nearing the end of the semester. With that in mind, there were a handful of exciting things that happened. One was Greek Awards, in which our chapter received: Best Sisterhood, Ritual, Philanthropy, Greek Participation, and Circle of Excellence. Circle of Excellence meant we were in the top three for Chapter of Excellence, or the chapter that performed the best the year prior.
One of our biggest philanthropy events, Throw What You Know Ultimate Frisbee also occurred in May. Many chapters on campus participated. There was even a baseball and lacrosse team!
We had our formal on the 3rd at a local banquet hall.
Sisterhood, again, was strong in May. There was a Nail Salon Sisterhood that happened the day before formal where a group of sisters went to a local nail salon and got manicures before the dance. There was also a hangout on the mall sisterhood, one to attend the Elmhurst Dance Show and support sisters that were dancing, a craft night, and one where we all did facemasks and relaxed before finals.
August
Nothing much occurred in August because school began on the 26th. However, there were two recruitment workshops that were held to practice logistics and speaking with potential new members.
September
The women of Eta Phi hit the ground running in September. There were two recruitment workshops in the first week. Two of the fraternities on campus, Alpha Tau Omega and Lambda Chi Alpha, helped us practice for recruitment and gave us tips and pointers. The week of the 9th to the 15th was especially wild for the Kappa ladies. There was a recruitment workshop every night and a couple of events throughout the week. For example, Kappa had a table at the Taste of Elmhurst, where every club and organization on campus goes out on our mall and tries to attract new members. We also had a table at the Sorority and Fraternity Life Fair, where all social Greek life organizations had a table in our student union lounge to encourage potential new members to go through recruitment. Finally, we mingled with potential new members and friends in other chapters at the Greek Life Bonfire.
Panhellenic Recruitment occurred from the 13th to the 15th. Approximately 60 women went through. Our chapter, pridefully, was the most successful chapter in that we recruited 13 amazing women. The average recruited was 11. We celebrated Bid Day with a High School Musical theme, a taco station, and karaoke. All could hear us across campus, yelling, “What team? Wild Kaps!”
While recruitment was happening, one of our sisters, Marya Kaufman, attended Leadership Academy for the Eta Phi chapter.
During the week leading up to recruitment and during it, we also hosted an LC named Hannah. She helped answer Eboard and Chapter Council’s questions about their positions with the new structure and give our chapter pointers on how to better function. The things she emphasized was communication and maximizing time used. #callmebeepmeifyouwantanLC
After recruitment there was a handful of sisterhood events held. Sisters painted small canvases and participated in a Target and Culver’s sisterhood. The women who participated in the Target sisterhood all were assigned a sister to buy for and had to buy something for her that was $5 or under. Then they went to the local Culver’s for ice cream. Most importantly, we also had an Overnight Sisterhood! We went to a retreat center, did bonding games like “Ooh Me Too,” crafted, ate pasta, and played games to our hearts content. Another fun activity we did was put sticky notes around a wall saying why we love Kappa. The event was pajama themed and there was a competition for who had the best pajamas.
There was also a Ritual Review for members who had been initiated in 2018 so they could become familiar with the process of initiation.
October
October became the month of initiation prep for the women of Eta Phi. Every Wednesday and Sunday a Ritual Review was held, only one a week being mandatory. Each week went over different aspects of initiation, from FS to songs to other processes.
There were quite a bit of philanthropy events that occurred in October. On the 6th, there was a GIRLS Academy prep. Women who were Small Group Coordinators went over the curriculum and other women received information on the roles they would play throughout the day. On the 10th there was a Bags Tournament in which many chapters participated. A few sisters and our Vice President of External Affairs also went to a local elementary school, read to them, and donated books for Reading is Fundamental.
There were also a handful of sisterhoods that occurred throughout the month. There was breakfast at Egg Harbor, a lunch in the cafeteria, attending one of our sister’s senior recital, and going to a local pumpkin patch.
There were also multiple Big Little mixers. Big Little Week occurred at the end of the month and into November.
Kappas participated in many events in the month of October. They included: Lambda Chi Alpha’s Bag Prep/Drop Off/Pickup, Phi Mu and Alpha Sig Kickin’ It for the Kids, ATOlympics, and Lambda Chi Pumpkin Bash. We bought shirts for Phi Mu and Lambda Chi’s CureKi. One of the highlights of the month, however, was Sigma Kappa’s Pearl Jam. It is a lip sync competition between Sorority and Fraternity Life. Lambda Chi won, Kappa got second with our Disney Channel themed dance, and Alpha Sig got third.
November
The women of Eta Phi began November in the best way possible: with a semi-formal! It was held a local banquet hall and was lots of fun. Soon after, there was Big Little Reveal. Each little was given a yarn that connected to a spot on a curtain. Once the curtain was dropped, their big was revealed.
Speaking of fun, the Eta Phi chapter had the pleasure of being able to run GIRLS Academy. It was held at Churchville Middle School and was an all day event. There were 5 groups of middle school girls that all varied in size. The 10 Small Group Facilitators taught the girls the curriculum, including body positivity, bullying, and responsibility. A service event was held in which plastic bags that had been donated were cut and tied to become plarn: plastic yarn. The strands were rolled up into balls and then donated to make blankets for the homeless. The end of the day was celebrated with each group doing a skit pertaining to one of the letters in GIRLS, Girls Inspiring Responsibility, Leadership, and Service. Other chapter members helped by taking pictures, serving food, assisting in the curriculum, and helping the day run smoothly. It was a wonderful event that no sister will forget anytime soon. The other major philanthropy event that occurred was Kappa Karaoke and Games. Many chapters participated, playing board and card games, and did karaoke.
One of the major events that happened in November was initiation! 10 wonderful new members were initiated. Inspiration Period was celebrated with the tradition of Candlepass, in which sisters had the space to bond with each other on a much deeper level. Initiation had to be held in Daniels Hall this year, which was different since it was usually held in Circle Hall. However, the Eta Phi women took it in stride and the event went very smoothly. We all got to celebrate a job well done with a Panera brunch.
Continuing the sisterhood bonding, women went to a free movie night at the local movie theater, went to the Christkindlmarket in downtown Chicago, and had a potluck Friendsgiving to celebrate Thanksgiving and the end of the month.
Kappas also participated in other events across campus. Some sisters, along with other sorority women, gave donuts to campus officers to thank them after events that occurred on campus. We also supported Alpha Phi’s King of Hearts, a male pageant. A few sisters went with other members of Sorority and Fraternity Life to Feed My Starving Children. Speaking of food, many sisters also got tacos from ATO’s Taco event. Finally, the Kappa women had a title to uphold at ATO and Alpha Phi’s Gingerhead House Competition and Pictures with Santa. Unfortunately, we did not uphold our champion title, but we did come in third place.
December
December was a very relaxed month for the Eta Phi chapter because finals occurred during the second week of the month. Right before finals, however, a Plaque Exchange and Holiday Party was held. Sisters made plaques for other sisters (Secret Santa style) and watched “Elf” while eating snacks and enjoying each other’s company. It was a pleasant way to end such a successful semester.