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'''342 306 initiated members (as of June 2018March 2022)'''
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In 1957, innovation and entrepreneurship brought University of Waterloo into being, as a group of business leaders imagined a new university built to tackle some of the world’s most daunting challenges.
University of Waterloo, commonly referred as Waterloo or UW, is a public research university whose main campus is located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is in Uptown Waterloo, adjacent to Waterloo Park. The university offers a wide variety of academic programs, administered by six faculties and ten faculty-based schools. The university also operates four satellite campuses and four affiliated university colleges. Waterloo is a member of the U15, a group of research-intensive universities in Canada.
The University of Waterloo was created as a non-denominational board established by Waterloo College (the present-day Wilfrid Laurier University) to obtain government grants to run expanded science programs under the name Waterloo College Associated Faculties. The university was established in response to community demand for improved education facilities, particularly in technical and scientific fields of study. The first 74 students began classes in 1957. In 1959, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario passed an act which formally split the board from Waterloo College and reestablished it as the University of Waterloo.Renowned for the success of its cooperative education programs, Waterloo now has the largest engineering school in Canada. The university enrolled approximately 240,000 students in 1994.
==Highlights of 1980s- Kappa Gamma Phi ==
In 1986, there was one fraternity at Waterloo. This fraternity was Delta Omega Chi which became Theta Psi chapter of Sigma Chi in March of 1987. At that time there were no other Greek societies. A woman student who had been associated with Delta Omega Chi realized the advantages of this type of society and decided to begin one for women. She put an ad in the campus newspaper asking if there were other women on campus who would be interested in starting a sorority. She received several responses.
==Highlights of 1990s- Petition to NPC ==
In 1993, Kappa Gamma Phi decided to petition some international sororities for membership. The members assembled packets with information about Waterloo, the UW campus and Kappa Gamma Phi. Kappa Kappa Gamma and Delta Delta Delta both responded and came to the campus to make presentations. The chapter members thought the values of KKG were similar to those of KGP and voted to become a Kappa colony.
This year we participated in sisterhood events that acted as stress relievers from our busy academic schedules, but also played an important role in strengthening our chapter’s sisterly bonds. Some of the highlights include a trip to Skyzone, yoga, destressing spa days and board game days. We also had an amazing Touch of Klass to end off the term which was run by Isabelle Lavallée-Gordon at an anticafe that featured lots of desserts and many opportunities for sisters to bond with each other and reflect on the past term.
==Highlights of 2020==
Zeta Omega sisters tuned into the Kappa 150th Anniversary Facebook Live event from all over the globe. On October 18th, 2020 the Marshal, Jade Dayman, and the Education chair, Alice Sandiford organized the Founder’s Day Ceremony, led by Chapter President Erin Murray.
==Highlights of 2021==
At the Zeta Omega Chapter, our year started off strong with a virtual Leadership Day held by our Vice President Organization, Payton Ford. Here we ushered in our new 2021 Chapter Council, and discussed our goals for the term.
Our Vice President Standards, Jade Dayman, held a programming educating chapter on the functions of the Standards Committee, Standards Concerns, Membership Support Plans, and the Kappa Konfidant form, where sisters can anonymously or non-anonymously share their concerns with the Standards Committee. In the Winter term, Jade ran 3 amazing virtual Sisterhoods. We had a Presentation Night, where sisters could present on any topic of their choice. We learned about Twilight, Spencer Reid’s best looks, Kombucha, Drag Race, and more! Our second Sisterhood was a yoga session. We rounded out the winter term with a Virtual Escape Room night with KW Escapes. We had to work together to get through different scenarios, like a twister or a jail break. In the fall term, we continued to hold virtual Sisterhoods. We held a Sisterhood Retreat, with team bonding and ice breakers, as well as a virtual game night. Since restrictions started to lift this term, we got to hold our first in-person Sisterhood since February 2020! We had a crafting day, where sisters painted canvases, tie-dyed shirts, and made friendship bracelets.
Alice Sandiford, our Vice President Academic Excellence, worked hard this year to make sure that sisters felt supported and connected academically. She implemented the Saturday Organization Cafe, which was a hit! Every Saturday, sisters could join a Zoom call to start their day, plan their upcoming weeks, and chip away at assignments. This was a great opportunity for us to spend some time together, catch up, and get a jump start on the week ahead. Alice also implemented the Study Dates slack channel, where sisters could post Zoom meeting links to find study buddies to work with outside of the Organization Cafe. When restrictions eased in the fall, sisters also got to use this channel to plan real-life study dates on campus and at local study spots.
The Winter Academic Excellence Committee, consisting of Alice, Erin Coughenour, and Amy Wohlgemuth held Academic Goals Programming. Our VPAE and VPS also teamed up for Mental Health Programming, where we, as a chapter, discussed accessibility within chapter. Our Fall Education Chair, Amy Wohlgemuth, facilitated Courage to Commit.
In the year 2021, the Zeta Omega chapter was still navigating the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the restrictions placed upon us by the Ontario government, our Winter Events Chair, Grace Flanagan, planned many fun and safe socials that helped us grow our Greek relations. We celebrated Valentine’s Day through a Virtual Crafting Brunch with the ladies of Alpha Omicron Pi, played Among Us with the Waterloo chapter of Sigma Chi, had our first social with the gentlemen of Alpha Epsilon Pi, and even participated in a virtual Greek Olympics held by Wilfred Laurier University’s Alpha Phi. We even got to connect with our Kappas Sisters over at the Beta Psi chapter in Toronto, through virtual social on Zoom. Our Winter Term capped off with a Virtual Sapphire Ball, honoring our Senior Sisters and sending them off. In the Fall Term, we held a pumpkin painting social with AOII.
Our Winter Education Chair, Montse Herrera and our Marshal, Erin Coughenour, held a virtual senior send off ceremony that sent our Winter senior sisters off into their alumni status with a reminder of how far they’ve come since their Initiation days. Along with Senior Sendoff, Montse also organized a movie night for the Senior Sisters, held a “Who’s That Baby” competition, and hosted a Virtual Alumni Event with our Winter PR Chair, Megan Morse.
For Fall 2021 Recruitment, we were lucky enough to hold some in-person and hybrid events since restrictions started to lift within this time. Our Membership Chair, Chantel De La Cournueve, worked with the ladies of Alpha Omicron Pi and the UW Panhellenic Council to plan a safe hybrid recruitment. Chantel held a workweek workshop in mid September to prep our members on the rules and regulations of recruitment, as well as prepare members to be able to talk to PNMS. Through virtual and in-person events, we welcomed an initial member class of 5 amazing women. We further decided to move into continuous open bidding, and through this process found 3 more new sisters of the Zeta Omega Chapter. All in all, our fall recruitment process brought 8 new sisters to our chapter.
Chapter Marshal, Erin Coughenour, held a virtual Inspiration week for Winter 2021. This term’s Inspiration Week focused on senior sisters, including Senior Sendoff Ritual. Quiet Night consisted of Ice Breakers, Warm Fuzzies, and a Virtual White Elephant Game. Virtual formal meetings brought new challenges to chapter, but through Ritual Reviews she educated chapter on meeting etiquette and parliamentary procedure to continue keeping ritual alive and well in a virtual setting. This fall, we held our first in-person Initiation Ceremony since November 2019. The 8 members of MC21 were initiated on Saturday, November 20, in the presence of current active members of Zeta Omega as well as alumni. This was followed by a lovely Alumni Brunch hosted by our Fall PR Chair, Montse Herrera.
Things have not been easy as a Canadian chapter. We have had to navigate strict COVID-19 restrictions, as well as sisters being all over the world. We are proud to have used this time and these challenges to become a stronger, more inclusive, and more connected chapter. We can’t wait to further navigate chapter in a post-COVID world, and grow as a chapter in the coming years.
==Highlights of 2022==