Changes
→Highlights of 2013
==Highlights of 2013==
Spring Term was bittersweet time for us as Eta Kappa prepared to say goodbye to 18 graduating seniors, who comprised nearly half of our chapter. Despite the major loss, this dynamic group of women made sure to leave Eta Kappa thriving. After winning Greek Week as well as several other chapter awards at the annual Knox College Greek Banquet, we celebrated at our formal held at the Soangetaha Country Club. Continuing our winning streak and recognition, several members would attend our Province Meeting in the Spring, and bring home the Chapter Scholarship Award, as well as six honorable mentions. In continuing with the them or our graduating class leaving us thriving, One way they taught did so was by teaching us to live Kappa’s ritual daily in a new ritual appreciation program. T Eta Kappa focused on a new philanthropic organization during this time, selling friendship bracelets for Vitamin Angels, which brings essential nutrition to at-risk populations. This year’s annual Reading is Key event had an “outer space” theme and was held at the Discovery Depot in Galesburg. For a a sisterhood event, we joined the Alpha Deuteron Chapter at Monmouth College for a tea party at the Minnie Stewart House (Loyal-Tea). During the Spring, we also renewed the lease on our house, but never imagined what was in store for us. First, we learned Knox College graciously offered to help the Greek community by allowing us to pay our rent through community service hours, which we have already been completing through our philanthropic endeavors. In other financial news, the Treasurer of Eta Kappa took great initiative this term to create a budget for the upcoming year that would be conducive to our small chapter size, and she educated the chapter on exactly where our money goes.
Eta Kappa focused on a new philanthropic organization during this time, selling friendship bracelets for Vitamin Angels, which brings essential nutrition to at-risk populations. However in continuing with philanthropic traditions, this year’s annual Reading is Key event had an “outer space” theme and was held at the Discovery Depot in Galesburg. In attempting to bond with each other and our sisters from Monmouth, we joined Alpha Deuteron Chapter at Monmouth College for a tea party at the Minnie Stewart House for an event fondly titled, Loyal-Tea. During the Spring, we also renewed the lease on our house, but never imagined what was in store for us. First, we learned Knox College graciously offered to help the Greek community by allowing us to pay our rent through community service hours, which we have already been completing through our philanthropic endeavors. In other financial news, the Treasurer of Eta Kappa took great initiative this term to create a budget for the upcoming year that would be conducive to our small chapter size, and she educated the chapter on exactly where our money goes. When we returned to Knox in the fall, we were pleasantly surprised that one of our advisors, Pat Kane, gave our chapter house a complete makeover during the summer. We could not be more thankful for our new furniture, shelving, remodeled bathrooms, and countless decorations. Although Fall was an adjustment period for Eta Kappa due to the large change in our chapter size, our sisters bonded on a deeply personal level and found a new appreciation for the changing chapter. We began the school year with informal recruitment, during which our Membership Chair implemented a completely new system by creating bump and rotation groups. Our new system also incorporated the values of our ritual into the recruitment process. We recruited and initiated three lovely new members. In October, we were lucky enough to join Alpha Deuteron chapter at Monmouth for Founders Day. We visited two of our founders' graves and shared a luncheon. For our annual Win-a-Date philanthropy event, we chose to donate our proceeds to an organization called Watts of Love, which brings solar powered lights to people around the world with no electricity. We were lucky to have the organization’s founder, Nancy Economou, at our event to speak about her incredible experiences with Watts of Love, and we ultimately raised over $2000 for the organization. Fall Term was big for Eta Kappa’s public relations: Eta Kappa now has its own Twitter and Instagram accounts, and our Kore Groups are now utilizing our Facebook page and group to attend and support “Kappas on Kampus” events and clean the house together. At the end of term, we prepared for formal recruitment. 2013 was an exciting time for Knoxas well as Eta Kappa, as the college finished raising the $11.7 million needed to restore Alumni Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus. We are excited for our younger sisters to utilize the technology and resources in this building in the future. Other exciting events for the college included bringing comedian Ed Helms to campus as our commencement speaker, witnessing a Knox graduate be named an adviser to President Obama, and welcoming President Obama himself to the campus in July, an event some of our sisters volunteered at. We feel lucky to be on a campus with so many inspiring visitors, as well as graduates who inspire us to be successful in our futures as graduates of Knox College as well.
The women of Eta Kappa continue to represent a wide variety of extracurricular activities, areas of study, philanthropic interests, athletics, and cultural backgrounds. We take great pride in supporting each other’s differences by attending shows, games, and academic presentations of our sisters. We consider ourselves to be a close-knit chapter, and hope that Eta Kappa continues on its current route of success for years to come.