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What is inscribed on the back of the badge? Marilyn L. Koch, 4-27-67
==Highlight 2016==
Gamma Kappa had another wonderful year of love, loyalty, and sisterhood. We continue to participate in numerous
activities and events on campus making us well represented in various community service opportunities, as well as at numerous
Greek philanthropy events. We hosted two philanthropy events this year - Kappature the Flag, for the second year in the spring,
as well as our longstanding, annual fall philanthropy, Kappaccino. Both events were extremely successful and brought both our
sisterhood and the wider campus community closer together for philanthropy and fun. Many sisters traveled abroad to explore
the exciting wonders of the world each semester and over the summer, carrying the values and spirit of Kappa Kappa Gamma
everywhere they went. The Gamma Kappa chapter has worked towards our goal of becoming more present in the Panhellenic
community this year. A sister was elected to be the Panhellenic Philanthropy chair, a handful of sisters were selected for
panhellenic committees, and seven sisters served as Recruitment Counselors. At convention we were awarded with Honorable
Mentions for our Philanthropy and New Member Program. Within the W&M community we were also awarded with
Outstanding Service and Outstanding Chapter Adviser.
Campus: The College of William and Mary is a tight-knit community of about 6,000 undergraduates. We are located in
the city of Williamsburg, which is a small, but picturesque little village that is home to Colonial Williamsburg. Among its prime
attractions are the Capitol Building and the historic Governor's Palace. Because of our well-established reputation as a challenging
place of study, with rigorous academic expectations, we are known as a "public ivy." We have an 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio that
allows students to get the individual attention desired to graduate with an excellent education and deep understanding of the
subject matter within our majors.
Some accolades that the College of William and Mary received in 2015 by major publications: Kiplinger’s Personal
Finance: Ranks 7th for out-of-state and 10th for in-state for top values. U.S. News & World Report: #32 of National Universities
and #6 Best Public School. W&M is also ranked 2nd for Highest Graduation Rate and Highest Study Abroad Participation of
public schools. The campus has continued to improve through renovations and construction. Work on the renovation of Tyler
Hall and construction of the science center’s 3rd phase continued through and was completed in 2016. In a long term plan to
modernize the campus Millington Hall and smaller houses “the lodges” were removed to make room for the fourth phase of the
science center, an arts quad, and an integrated wellness center.
Our campus is home to over 400 campus clubs and organizations, each of which enjoys a high level of participation.
The College of William and Mary is known for being the first college ever to have an organization that referred to itself as a
"fraternity." This honor fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa, was founded here in 1776. Acceptance to this fraternity is an extremely
prestigious honor and privilege. Since 1776, Greek life has been a great way to get involved and meet new people. Our campus
houses 16 fraternities and 10 sororities, with approximately 30.68% of student body involved in Greek life. Other wonderful
social opportunities include a capella groups, club sports, intramural sports teams, theatre and performance groups, and Alma
Mater Productions (AMP), which is responsible for bringing comedy acts, singers, speakers, and new movies to campus for
students to enjoy on the weekends. In fact, William and Mary is listed as the 4th highest a cappella involved school, nationwide.
The women of Gamma Kappa are involved in nearly every aspect of college life at William and Mary. Our sisters are
known for their widespread range of activities and dedication to their interests. We had sisters studying in Paris, Florence,
London, and Prague, just to name a few cities. Gamma Kappa sisters are heavily involved in the Student Alumni Council, Tribe
Ambassadors, the Bone Marrow Drive, the Tour Guide program, the Orientation Aide program, and various business
development clubs. Sisters are also involved in various cultural groups, ROTC, Student Assembly, the college’s Muscarelle Art
Museum, and The Undergraduate Honor Council. Various sisters are on Varsity athletic teams such as golf, soccer lacrosse,
volleyball, swimming, gymnastics, and track. Many Gamma Kappa members stay healthy and active through club and intramural
teams, including sailing, field hockey, soccer, equestrian, and three campus dance groups, just to name a few. Other members
work for the campus Recreation Center as Group Fitness Instructors, Personal Trainers, and Rock Wall Instructors. Several
members of our chapter continue to be involved in philanthropic organizations outside of Kappa, including Buddy Art - a weekly
art group for differentially abled children and adults and Camp Kesem - a free, week-long summer camp to support children
whose parents have or have had cancer. Finally, many others are in charge of various local and international Branch Out trips,
such as Students for Belize Education, Kenya Sustainability Village Project, and AIDSTanzania. Gamma Kappas take pride in the
meaningful involvements of other sisters and support each other’s organizations in any way possible.
In the fall, Gamma Kappa had a very successful Recruitment season. We had around 500 potential new members visit
the Gamma Kappa house during Open House Rounds. Prior to the start of formal recruitment the chapter worked together to
establish values that we wanted to look for in potential new members of our sisterhood. This year Skit Night was replaced with
Sisterhood Day where we discussed values most important to our chapter: sociability, involvement, love and loyalty. On a Disney
themed Bid Day, we were happy to welcome 37 beautiful new members to Kappa! Of the 37 members, we welcomed 17
freshmen, 16 sophomores, and 4 juniors. We had 6 legacies pledge our chapter this year. Our newest pledge class is filled with
many wonderful women who have integrated beautifully into the chapter. We continued our extended New Member Program for
a sixth year, which allows for more time for new members to learn about our chapter, and for potential Bigs and Littles to bond
before Revelation at the end of Clue Week.
This year we celebrated Kappa’s Founder’s Day with a banquet on October 17th, with a small ceremony and a lot of
food. It was a slightly delayed celebration this year as Founder’s Day fell over our Fall Break this year. Our Education Chairman
presented on the history of Kappa Kappa Gamma and our Registrar presented on Gamma Kappa history.
The chapter organized several sisterhood events throughout the year where we bonded as a chapter and had the chance
to interact with sisters we might not know as well. Some of these sisterhood events included nail painting at the house before
formals, and “Fried Chicken Friday”, where girls could hang out and eat dinner together before a date party. On Valentine’s Day
we had girls come eat candy, decorate cookies, and take pictures with fun Valentine’s themed props. Standards also organized for
cupcakes at the house for all members during both finals periods.
Gamma Kappa hosted two formal events this year. Our Senior Formal was in early-April and at a beautiful venue on
the York river. It was a well-planned, lovely send-off for our graduating seniors. Our fall Pledge Formal took place in November
the weekend after initiation at the Alumni House, right on campus. We were thrilled to celebrate initiating our new members into
our sisterhood.
As a community, we are service oriented and extremely interested in giving back. This community offers an array of
popular alternative spring breaks that allow students to build homes with Habitat for Humanity, go to Honduras to bring medical
relief to those in need, and go to Belize to build schools, among other options. Our most recognized service group is the Alan
Buzkin Memorial Bone Marrow Drive, which the largest collegiate bone marrow effort in the nation. William and Mary students
are active, outgoing, and happy people who are passionate about their interests, both in and outside the classroom.
Yearly, we support Reading is Fundamental (RIF) and The Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation through our fall
philanthropy event, Kappaccino. Kappaccino was a great success this year with over 400 tickets sold! ¾ of the chapter baked
treats for the event and helped distribute them throughout the house during the event. Overall we went through almost thirty
gallons of cider, coffee, and hot chocolate. In addition to Kappaccino, we also organize a RIF Carnival, HeadStart childcare
services, and book buddies. In recent years we have also supported The Wounded Warriors Project, Pancreatic Cancer Action
Network, and Junior Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) through our spring philanthropy event.
Each year our spring philanthropy event, Kappature the Flag, is held to support a different organization. Upon
returning from winter break we ask sisters to think about sharing organizations to potentially benefit. At chapter, sisters have the
opportunity to talk for a few minutes about a cause that is close to their hearts. Then, the chapter votes to choose which
organizations to support that year. This spring we chose to support Avalon, a local women and children’s shelter that aides
survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking. Avalon is an amazing organization that many
students, including sisters, work closely with. They not only provide shelter, but also work to end the cycle of abuse through
prevention, education, and support services. Avalon serves some 600 people in the local area each year.
This past Spring Gamma Kappa was asked to host an event for Fear2Freedom. Fear2Freedom is a nonprofit group,
founded by Kappa alumna Rosemary Trible in 2011. The group works with colleges and universities to assemble sexual assault
survivor aftercare kits that are then distributed to hospitals and community organizations. In the last five years F2F has provided
over 13,000 kits. The Gamma Kappa chapter is proud to be involved in this organization and has been asked to host another
event this coming spring.
Once again, the sisters of Gamma Kappa have taken their academics very seriously. This year we achieved a chapter
GPA average of 3.473 for Spring 2016, which is well above both the all-sorority and all-women averages. Not only was this a
higher GPA for Gamma Kappa than the last, but academically ranked us 3rd out of 12 sororities on campus and 5th out of 30
total Greek organizations. Six girls earned a perfect 4.0. We had an incredible 50 girls make Dean’s List with a GPA of 3.60 or
higher and 12 girls earn scholarship pearls with a GPA of 3.85 or higher. We wear our letters every Monday, proudly representing
Kappa Kappa Gamma as a sorority of leaders, scholars, and good friends.
==Highlights of 2020s:==