Changes
no edit summary
During November we had our first fall function. The theme was Disco Inferno. Our sisters participated in one of the fraternity’s annual Powder Puff game. We also initiated 17 new members, two of whom were legacies. We had a very successful philanthropy event for the Kappa Function. It was an all you can eat mac and cheese buffet. Our new exec board was selected and voted in. The annual Christopher Lyons Memorial Walk took place the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We continued weekly sisterhood dinners as well as had a sisterhood friendsgiving. There was also a movie night.
Position transitions happened in December. We had a final sisterhood dinner, a study event, and a plaque exchange to end the semester. We also went to the Christkindl Market in Chicago with the fraternity ATO. One sister graduated this semester. All in all, it was a successful year of growth for our chapter.
==Highlights of 2018==
The Eta Phi chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma was strong in the year 2018. Two main goals the chapter had was to improve sisterhood and the chapter’s GPA. The chapter saw a great increase in its GPA, which many sisters are very proud of. During Candle Pass, the question was posed: what is the chapter’s identity? It was decided that the chapter is the most diverse in terms of personality. This was reaffirmed with the girls who joined in the spring and fall semester.
January: There were no chapter meetings due to J-term. There was a sisterhood in the cafeteria on the 30th so that sisters could reunite after the long break.
February: Early in the month there was an Activity Fair where Kappa had a table. There we talked to people about Greek life and encouraged girls to go through Continuous Open Bidding (COB) with us. That night we met with our Potential New Members so that we could get to know each other better. There were two more dinners with the PNMs and a craft night to solidify who we wanted. The night of the craft night we voted on the PNMs and extended bids to four girls and only one did not accept. Regardless, we were very excited about our new members and celebrated them with Bid Day, which had a theme of U.S.A. like the fall. There was chapter every Sunday.
March: March was a big month for philanthropy and sisterhood. Many sisters read to children at a local elementary school for the Reading is Key event on the 3rd. Over 100 books were donated! There was a sisterhood dinner later that week. On the 12th there was another philanthropy event with a bake sale where $41 was raised for the Kappa Foundation. The LC that visited us in the fall was so beloved that we requested her for the spring and got her! Bri came back to campus the 25th-30th and gave us many things to work on for the fall, a big one being delegation. She was very helpful for girls who were in new positions. While Bri was on campus we hosted a Trivia Night, where a group of one of our sisters’ friends (who called themselves Denim Thunder) won.
April: This was a very busy month for the Eta Phi chapter. There was a wood staining sisterhood on the 6th. The next day there was another Activities Fair, this time for prospective students. After the fair there was a photoshoot for fall recruitment where we all wore our spring apparel shirts (they were black, loose shoulder shirts with sunflowers and our letters). On the 9th there was big/little pref. One of the other sororities on campus, Sigma Kappa, hosted SKapture the Flag on the 11th. We had our function, themed Mathletes vs. Athletes, on the 13th. The function was very successful. I-Week was the 15th-21st with the New Member Retreat kicking it off. Another sorority, Alpha Phi, hosted Home Runs for Heart on the 18th and a few of our girls participated. That same day we had Candle Pass at night where we sat in a circle and got a better understanding of each other. Fireside was on the 19th, and initiation was on the 21st. Since there were only two girls being initiated (the third was initiated fall 2018), it could not be justified to host our own initiation. Therefore, our girls, their bigs, and our Marshal drove to Monmouth College for initiation. The next day an Every Member Educator came and worked on improving our sisterhood. A Relay for Life event was hosted from the 27th-28th and a group of Kappas went to support. There was another photoshoot for fall recruitment on the 28th, where we utilized Wilder Park next to campus. A senior brunch was put on on the 29th. Finally, concluding a packed month was a Zumba sisterhood.
May: We started out May with an Ultimate Frisbee philanthropy where we raised over $200 for RIF.. Our formal was on the fourth at a country club in Itasca. Every sister got a superlative, including “Attached at the Hip,” “Most Likely to Become an Elmhurst Stroller Mom,” and “Most Creative.” The next day we supported our sisters who were in a Dance Showcase by getting a group of girls to see the show. On the 6th there was a mandatory sisterhood where we did group activities and tie-dyed shirts with our letters on them. There were Leadership Awards for all of the social Greek organizations on the 10th. An award was given to each for “Best New Member” and “Best Sister/Brotherhood.” Katherine Albano won “Best New Member” and Gabi Garcia won “Best Sisterhood.” Many sisters attended the Lambda Chi Alpha End of the Year Bash to celebrate the semester ending. Our lovely seniors also graduated, off to do wonderful things.
June: Since our school was on summer break, the months of June and July were very low-key. There was a sisterhood pool party at one of the girls house. Our Standards Chairman, Alexis, flew to Denver to attend Convention where we got an honorable mention for Best New Member Experience.
July: Again, July was relatively uneventful. There were two sleepover sisterhoods.
August: School started up again with chapter. We also hit the ground running by having a recruitment workshop on the 29th.
September: Recruitment became the focus of the chapter with workshops twice a week. We got a nice practice talking to potential new Kappas at the Greek Life Fair on the 11th. Our lovely LC, Sena, arrived on the 12th. She was instrumental to our recruitment weekend running smoothly. Also on the 12th was a Greek Life info session and the popular Greek Life Bonfire at night. At both events we got to talk to an array of girls about the positives of joining a Greek Life organization. The next day there was Mocktails with Panhel, where representatives from each sorority met with PNMs for a fancier event. Also on that day, one of our sisters, Katherine, left for Ohio to attend Leadership Academy. At long last the day had come, it was time for Recruitment! Our first day apparel was the provided Panhel shirt with denim skirts. For the second day we donned a white top with colored high-waisted flare pants. Finally, the third day apparel was an all-white dress. Our Bid Day theme was Kappa Knock-Outs, where we had a gray tank top with pink boxing gloves on the front. We welcomed 18 incredible new girls (one of which is a legacy) to our chapter and later celebrated with them at the Bid Day party. We also had the opportunity to later extend bids to two other very worthy girls, making us 20 girls stronger. On the 21st we had a Sweet Sister Mixer where new members got to mingle with active members and potential bigs. Formal Pledging took place on the 23rd. We closed out the month by participating in the Flag Football event for Alpha Sigma Phi, one of the fraternities on campus.
October: October was another big month for philanthropy. We had a bake sale where we raised $67 for Mag Mutts, the Blue and Blue Bags Tournament, where 7 teams participated (Alpha Sigma Phi won) and $78 was raised (as well as 2 books donated!) for RIF, and the Blue and Blue BBQ, where the families of sisters got to come and meet each other. $428 was raised for the Kappa Foundation and 21 books were donated for RIF. Some of our sisters participated in the Mag Mutts 5K run where they raised $200 for the organization. There was also a team of Kappas for the Lambda Chi Alpha Pumpkin Bash and we won first place! On Founders Day we celebrated Kappa and also went to a local pumpkin patch for a sisterhood. Later we also had a pumpkin carving sisterhood. Homecoming was a super fun time with quarter-zip apparel that said “Tailgates and Touchdowns” with cats and dogs on the bag. After that there were two Big/Little Mixers, and then Pref Day!
November: November started with a bang with Big/Little Reveal which had a Wizard of Oz theme. On the 14th we had Candle Pass where we got to know each other on a deeper level. FS was on the 16th and Initiation was on the 17th. We also had two girls from Loyola University participate in our initiation. The 23rd marked our 5th anniversary of being on campus!! Chapter elections took place on the 25th where we voted in sisters to the new pilot executive board. Mac and Cheese with KKGs happened on the 28th and we raised $370 for RIF! Our semi-formal was on the 30th and was a blast.
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!