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→Highlights of 2020s:
==Highlights of 2020s:==
The Eta Gamma Chapter had an extremely eventful and positive calendar year. We started with recruitment in January before classes began and got a fantastic group of girls that the whole chapter was so excited to welcome. Our bid day was a smashing success, and the theme was Great Gatsby, which all the new members adored! We transitioned to our new officers in February and worked closely with our chapter advisors to ensure everything was running smoothly. We continued having chapter, committee meetings, bid night, a sisterhood event, and even new member training meetings. Our chapter was recognized by nationals and received the new member education award. This award is given to the chapter that educates their new members extremely well and supports them to the best of their ability. Our chapter also received an honorable mention for the Communications/ Public Relations Award Association. This award is for chapters that best exemplify a well-rounded philanthropy program that develops member awareness of a commitment to the community. We also had a handful of girls within our chapter receive scholarships from nationals last spring. We were in the midst of planning numerous things for the chapter, such as our presents event and initiation ceremony. However, everything changed when the coronavirus pandemic hit in the middle of March.Most girls returned home for the remainder of the semester. We were able to initiate all of our new members virtually last May to ensure everyone in the chapter was an official member come the end of the school year. As a chapter council, we took the time from March-May to really re-solidify our chapter goals. We wanted to focus on sisterhood and build connections with one another when that was really all we had to lean on. One of our chapter members suggested a book that would be sent around from Kappa to Kappa within our chapter inspired by the movie "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." During quarantine and throughout the summer, the book was shipped from one member to the next and filled with anything from stories to recipes, words of wisdom, to a member's favorite memory in Kappa. In the chapter, several girls expressed that receiving the book lifted their spirits and allowed them to feel connected to their sisters during a time of isolation. During the fall 2020 semester, we chose not to gather as a chapter in person and held all of our chapter meetings via zoom. We had a total of three formal meetings via zoom as well. Since a moratorium was implemented for a select period (30 days) by Nationals, we held no in-person events as a chapter. We chose not to do so for the remainder of the semester for health and safety reasons.Regarding philanthropy, for our Perkins Elementary School Fundraiser event, which was all done remotely, we marketed through different social media platforms. We shared a video we created with our friends and family of the Perkins Elementary principal and the Philanthropy Chairs of the fraternity and sorority, explaining the demand the students and faculty need. In addition, the Eta Gamma Chapter at the University of San Diego donated $311 to the SD NAACP to address the political unrest our country has endured this past year. We wanted to help promote their mission to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of minority citizens of the United States and eliminate race prejudice. Despite the many obstacles the coronavirus pandemic caused our chapter to face this past calendar year, I believe we were still able to accomplish our main goals as a chapter. These include initiating our new members and teaching them how our chapter functions, pulling off a very successful philanthropy event and expanding our chapter's diversity and inclusion position. Lastly, and most importantly, we kept our sisterhood strong ensured that every member knew they could reach out to a sister anytime if they needed support. The University of San Diego used our chapter as an example of doing a fantastic job supporting their members during these trying times. We are so proud of everything the Eta Gamma Chapter has accomplished in the 2020 calendar year and look forward to what 2021 holds!
everyone regardless of race, sexuality, religion, and/or socioeconomic status through weekly discussions centered around equity and inclusion and initiating a “Diverse and Inclusive Recruitment” training during work week. With the resurfacing of the black lives matter movement in the summer, however, I had to think outside the box and do something bigger than simple conversations. With the help of my sisters, we were able to crowd fund over $500 to donate between two national bailout organizations,bring about social media awareness through the KKG Instagram page, and be the first sorority on campus to present the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion chair to nationals. Now, Kappa Kappa Gamma officially has a DEI chair across the United States because of the groundwork laid by the Eta Gamma chapter and the support from other chapters nationally. To continue the work we have been putting in, I created the Anti-Racism newsletter this semester- a newsletter compiled by myself and five other Kappa women committed to educating the chapter on anti-racism. Though there is still a lot of work to be done, I am glad that I have been able to help guide the new D&I chairs from other chapters on campus to be leaders in their respective communities.