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→Highlights of 2017
Our chapter meets on campus, either in classrooms or the main recreational center on our campus. We usually meet in a large conference style room in UCSD's Rec Center, called Rimac. The Green Room is very accommodating, providing eighty plus chairs for our chapter's use, as well as a projector and screen to show the powerpoint slides our chapter council uses to present important information to the rest of our chapter.
==Highlights of 2017==
[[File:UCSD 2.png|thumb|Zeta Nu Chapter, UCSD]]
2016-2017 have been eventful and successful years for the Zeta Nu chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at UC San Diego. Our chapter was represented on the Panhellenic council through our very own Sydney Gillen as PHC President, and both Dylan Hutson and Karsyn Stewart on Junior Panhellenic Council. Dylan and our sister Erin Caldwell also served the PHC community as being Rho Gammas during the recruitment process. We are so thrilled that Kappa Kappa Gamma has women who are able to inspire not only those in our chapter, but also those in the greater UCSD community. We have extended our chapter values and have bettered not only our sisters, but our fellow members of Panhellenic as a whole.
For scholarship, our chapter ranked 8th amongst sororities for our overall academic GPA of a 3.278 in the Spring of 2017. Our current Vice President of Academics, Dylan Hutson, has reached many goals and plans that were set in 2016 to raise our academic improvement and promote academic excellence. Such achieved goals include extra Kappa study hours administered with both men and women in other chapters at UCSD. She provided different studying strategies such as the "Quarter at a Glance" planner to our chapter. Dylan also planned fun activities such as Smart Apples in which each chapter member wrote down an academic accomplishment on a piece of paper, she put the papers in a box, a paper was randomly selected, and the winner won a Starbucks gift card. This gave incentive to the whole chapter to achieve academic accomplishments with the hopes of getting a generous prize. Dylan also rented out study rooms and provided snacks and coffee for the chapter during finals week which was extremely helpful and served as a silver lining during a very difficult week.
In terms of traditions, the Zeta Nu chapter prides herself upon hosting sisterhoods which strengthen the bonds between the lovely ladies of our chapter. For instance, in June of 2017 we had a Drive-In Movie sisterhood where all our members went to a local Drive-In to watch the movie Wonderwoman. Not only did we get to bond with our sisters, but we also watched a movie meant to empower women to be the strongest and best they can be. We laughed, cried, and ate popcorn together which made for a simply perfect night. During the Fall of 2017 we had a very fun bid day during which we held a picnic in the park which overlooked the always beautiful city of San Diego. Here we were able to get to know the new pledge class and welcome them into our chapter with open arms. We also had a pumpkin patch sisterhood in older to get into the Autumn spirit. We picked pumpkins, took photos, and had such a fun welcome back activity that allowed us all to catch up and get to know the new pledge class. We also spent countless hours together during Recruitment Workshops and throughout the two weeks we prepared for recruitment and we became closer than ever, which really emphasized our extremely strong sisterhood. Through the many sisterhoods, we feel that our chapter has grown closer and closer, and we look forward to all the sisterhoods to come planned by our newly elected House Chairman, Athena Doshi.
The Zeta Nu philanthropic involvement thrived in 2017 with multiple events and activities due to our Philanthropy Chair, Shreya Sunkara. We started the year by making literacy bags that contained reading materials, toiletry items, and other various objects for local homeless mothers within the San Diego community. This was the first year we made the Reading Bags and it was a huge success. Following our successful Reading Bag campaign came our first annual Grabba Grabba Donut fundraiser. Kappas set up a booth on our campus and sold Krispy Kreme donuts to our fellow UCSD students. With this money we made goody bags with school supplies and books which we gave to local homeless youth during our Reading is Key event. For the biggest event of the year we had our annual Kappa Karnival philanthropy. This event strives to raise money and awareness for the Boys and Girls Club of San Diego, a center for homeless, at-risk, and abused children, by holding a carnival event where fraternities and sororities set up booths and games for the kids of the youth center as well as students on campus to enjoy. We also utilized Money Wars and asked for donations and sponsorships leading up to the event to be donated to the Youth Center. This ended up being one of our most successful events and we raised a substantial amount of money while giving the children a day full of fun and play. The women of our chapter also continued to team up with a fraternity on campus to make pb&j sandwiches for the San Diego Homeless Charter. Other philanthropies our chapter participated in include Lamda Chi Alpha’s watermelon bust, Sigma Chi’s Derby Days, and Kappa Alpha Theta’s Kat at Bat. We can proudly say that we participated in over 20 philanthropies hosted by other chapters. The Zeta Nu chapter continually loves to participate and support all philanthropic events equally by showing up strong and spreading awareness for the respective philanthropic endeavors. We cannot wait for all of the exciting philanthropic achievements to come spearheaded by our new Philanthropy Chair, Caroline Habib. Lastly, we held another GIRLS Academy ran by Erin Caldwell. We are one of the only chapters nationwide to continuously hold a GIRLS Academy and we could not be more proud. It was a fantastic weekend filled with inspirational panel speakers, workshops filled with empowering these young girls, and very many fun activities. We cannot wait to hold yet another GIRLS Academy this upcoming year.
[[File:UCSD 1.png|thumb|Zeta Nu (UCSD) GIRLS Academy 2017]]
Along with the many events throughout the year, some special events were held that further strengthened and empowered Kappa Kappa Gamma at UC San Diego. Throughout the year we had Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion presentations given by our very own Hannah Cho and Sarah Phillips. These gave us insight on how to be competent and inclusive women in our own community as well as in the outer world. The Founder's Day Brunch was a memorable experience where Zeta Nu members were able to meet with alumnae and other current members at the University of San Diego in a Kappa-filled celebration. Our sister Camille Casilang was awarded the Spirit Bowl which is a great honor. Nobody deserved it more than she did this year as she embodies every ideal that a Kappa should have. Leading up to recruitment, we showed our enthusiasm, sisterhood, and school pride as we attended Triton Day, Transfer Triton Day and Meet the Beach, events hosted by UCSD to pass out Go Greek flyers and answer any questions that potential new members have about going Greek. Other events that we had a strong presence at were Summerfest and Fall Ya’ll which are beginning of the year festivities that the entire campus gets to participate in as well. At these events we were able to portray how close of a bond Kappas have and how much we enjoy spending time with one another. We really focused relaying to the potential new members not just what joining Kappa meant for us, but also what joining the greater Panhellenic community meant.
This past fall, we were proud to receive our new Alpha Xi pledge class with very impressive number of 43 new members. In October and November, we transitioned the ladies through our sapphire program and New Member Programming. The Sapphire Program focused on allowing girls to meet and interact with actives while looking for potential Bigs. The New Member Programmings focused on integrating the new members into the chapter and Panhellenic community with Sexual Assault presentations, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion presentations, a “walk the line” activity in addition to all of the presentations guided by headquarters. These were led by our New Member Chairman Francesca Vecere and her assistant, Stefi Guillen. In our endeavors of being an inclusive chapter, we really emphasized to the new members that they did not just join Kappa, but also a greater community. We later had our big little reveal. This included a week leading up to the big event in which Bigs secretly surprised their Littles with gifts, room decorations, and nice letters. When the big night finally came Bigs gave their Littles presents and other treats to welcome them into their families. Each member in the new pledge class was presented with a flower by their Big in front of the chapter and guests at our first formal, "Presents", in mid November. New members strengthened their bonds through a new member sleepover that allowed the girls to get to know one another on a deeper, more personal level which was a pivotal moment in their transition into Kappa Kappa Gamma. The new members are to be initiated in mid January right after Winter break with a week long process. The week starts with our first event and tradition, Blue Light. This night, Bigs present to their Littles a small gift and a nice poem or small speech about how excited they are for their little to be initiated. Then, throughout the week, actives in the chapter will be meeting up and presenting an inspirational letter to at least two new members in order to show the deeper significance of being in Kappa as well as excited them in becoming initiated members. Then the ending of I-week and beginning of initiation is sparked with the Fireside ceremony leading into another sleepover and then the initiation ceremony. Through this process, the new Alpha Mu pledge class will be officially welcomed with much enthusiasm and excitement.
[[File:UCSD 3.png|thumb|UC San Diego, Zeta Nu Chapter]]
In the past year, our chapter had decided to keep the list of goals from the previous year and we strived to achieve all goals in 2017 by being proactive members, showing up promptly and strong to most events which proved successful at Kappa Karnival and through campus involvement. Our Standards Chairman, Jasmine Leja conducted a program in which she presented a Standing Rule and Bylaw of the Week. This allowed the chapter to really see the sometimes obscure rules that our sorority enforces and it subdued any confusion there may be regarding what is expected of the members of this chapter. Transparency was also promoted through open forums where women were able to openly speak about their feelings or ask questions. This year, we are striving even more to uphold chapter-wide goals through the inclusion of the new pledge class so that there is a smooth and seamless transition into creating a very cohesive and team-oriented chapter. We cannot wait to achieve so much more in the upcoming year and we know that new goals will be met in order to better the chapter.
Finally, the year 2017 proved that Kappa can compete with the best as we dominated in ISS sports with many victories as well as amazing fan participation. We are thrilled for more sports opportunities in the future and we know that winning the Sports Banner is in the near future. A tremendous pinnacle in 2017 was when Kappa Kappa Gamma received the Outstanding Chapter of the Year award at the annual Greek Awards Convention on campus. We strive to achieve the same goals this year as seen in our great success through athletic excellence, our incredibly successful Kappa Karnival, and our amazing educational programming. Thus, we hope to be just as successful, if not more, this upcoming year and look forward to what 2018-2019 has in store for the Zeta Nu chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma.
Located in scenic La Jolla just minutes away from the beach, the University of California, San Diego is known as one of the top public research institutions in the nation since its founding in 1960. With over 25,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students, UCSD is ranked the 9th best public university in the country and 37th best overall among the nation's top 50 universities. The Zeta Nu chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma is one of the eleven Panhellenic sororities at UCSD. With over 120 active members, we are also one of the largest sororities on campus. The members of the Zeta Nu chapter pride themselves in maintaining good relationships with not only the other chapter in the Panhellenic council but with other school affiliated organizations as well. We always strive to support and represent within our chapter, Panhellenic, and
within the campus as a whole.
[[File:UCSD 4.png|thumb|Zeta Nu Chapter 2017]]
Our chapter continually supports and donates to the Boys and Girls Club of San Diego and Kappa Foundation. We host Kappa Karnival in order to donate to this center that helps homeless and at risk youths in the San Diego area. We also pair up with a local elementary school for our Reading is Key event in which we donate books and interact with the children by reading, playing, and crafting with them. We also participate in the Homeless Charter with other fraternities and sororities to make sandwiches for the homeless in our community. Lastly, we are proud to say that we continuously host GIRLS Academy at UCSD’s Preuss School.
We chose these organizations because they are directly related to the community that we are a part of in San Diego. Most importantly, it gives our chapter the opportunity to interact with the children of the
center and make a bigger impact than just writing a check. It allows us to create lasting relationships with the centers and foundations as well as with the victims that are a part of it. By having and fostering this
relationship, it motivates our chapter to work harder to get the best possible outcome. It is such a privilege and an incredible opportunity to meet those we help. Also, there is an added bonus of being able to spread youth literacy amongst the Boys and Girls Club and those who attend Preuss School as well. We will continue to work with these organizations and look forward to what 2018 will bring.
==Highlights of 2020s:==