Epsilon Rho
| Epsilon Rho | |
|---|---|
| EP | |
 | |
| Founded | February 28, 1976 |
| College | Texas A&M University |
| Location | College Station, TX |
| Homepage | Epsilon Rho Homepage |
| Media related to Epsilon_Rho Chapter | |
1,907 initiates (as of June 2013)
Replace this text with chapter history by clicking edit near the top right
2012
January: The Epsilon Rho executive council started out the year 2012 by attending an officer retreat at the home of advisor Carol Gruen. During the retreat goals were made for the new year, decisions were discussed, and a positive attitude was implemented. Officers were able to strengthen the unity of the Council and get to know each other through team building activities. A profit share was held at Chick Fil A on the 26th and at Red Mango on the 31st. Profit Shares consist of encouraging members and friends to go to a specific place, like a restaurant, and tell the cashier that you are in support of a certain organization, like Kappa. The restaurant then donates a portion of the proceeds raised during that day and it is a win-win situation. The restaurant gets more business because of our marketing and we earn money for our philanthropy. Through these profit shares we raised $300 for the Nehemiah Center of Navasota during the month of January.
February: On February 10th, we enjoyed a sisterhood event where actives were invited to the midnight premiere of The Vow. Our annual philanthropy event, Reading is Fundamental, took place on February 11th at the Nehemiah Center of Navasota. RIF included one-on-one reading with the kids, Valentine themed cookie decorating, many arts and crafts activities, a performance by our very own Kappa Pickers, and a book reading by an Aggie football player. Each child was able to choose 2 books to take home and the rest of the books were donated to the Nehemiah Center of Navasota. The LEAD Conference was held in Austin this month. The entire Executive Council attended and gained leadership skills from alumnae and members of other chapters. Our Semi-Formal, themed “Texas Tuxes,” was held on February 16th. Our Events committee organized a fashion show for the Monday meeting before to assist actives and their dates in dressing in the perfect attire. On the 27th, guest speaker Jessica Bowers spoke at our chapter meeting about the harmful effects of alcohol. A profit share was held at Froyoyo on the 28th for the Nehemiah Center of Navasota.
March: On the 3rd, we invited our Dad’s to College Station for lunch at a local favorite, The Dixie Chicken. We then took them to an A&M baseball game at the newly renovated Olsen Field. The 18th marked the beginning of our Senior Programming series with a lesson on Interviewing and Business Professionalism. On the 19th, Dr. Elizabeth Grey spoke at our Monday meeting on the value of saying "I don't know" in both the medical field and in every day life. PC'10 had their own sisterhood event on the 20th with a viewing party of Pretty Little Liars and a plethora of pizza rolls. On the 4th and 25th, a Recruitment workshop was held for our newest members to enhance their understanding of Kappa Recruitment. A profit share was held at Fuddruckers on the 6th and at Spoons on the 22nd to benefit the Nehemiah Center of Navasota. Senior Programming continued on the 25th with helpful insight into Networking and Entrepreneurship. On the 26th, Kelsey Schmidt gave a presentation at our Monday meeting about the history of Kappa Kappa Gamma. The month ended with Parents Weekend, which was hosted at the Kappa house with lunch.
April: We kicked off the month with our annual philanthropy event, Kappa Krawfish! All proceeds were donated to the Nehemiah Center of Navasota. Seniors were prepped on Eating Healthy and leading a Balanced Lifestyle on the 1st. A Recruitment workshop was held on the 15th to help the entire chapter prepare for a successful Recruitment. Our annual "Monmouth" formal with Pi Beta Phi was held on the 5th, complete with a photo booth, casino, and face painting. PC' 09 had their own Sisterhood Event on the 10th with a Potluck Dinner. Seniors heard about how to manage their money after graduation with a lesson on "I'm Graduating, Now what" on the 15th. On the 17th, the in-house girls participated in a dinner swap with the girls of Alpha Chi Omega. Creative ideas about how to get involved in a community after college were shared with the seniors on the 22nd. Senior Programming ended on the 29th with an Alumna Presentation and Senior Banquet at Alumna Connie Appelt's house, the president of the College Station Alum Association. Our graduating seniors were given the chance to network with and learn from these women in a very unique and personal way. The Academic Banquet was held on the 30th, where girls were rewarded with gifts for their academic excellence.
May: We celebrated our graduating seniors on May 1st with an 80s themed date party and took advantage of the "Kappa Library" while preparing for finals.
June & July: From June 20-24th, five members of our Executive Council were able to attend Kappa Convention. The girls attended several programs throughout the day to gain creativity and insight on how to better lead our chapter. They left inspired after hearing so many great ideas and hearing the national Kappa President speak.
August: The Fall season began with 48 members of PC '11 moving into the house and embarking on Recruitment Work Week. During this week, we held a special night for our parents and friends to preview our “Monopoly” skit that we were to perform for the potential new members during Recruitment. We then kicked off Recruitment with a “Candy Land” day one and finished up with a “Don’t Mess with Kappa” themed Bid Day. Leadership Consultant Jessica Pereira stayed with us the entire week to help us build upon our Recruitment. She was immensely helpful. The new members spent the night at the Kappa House that night and the chapter was thrilled to have a new pledge class filled bright young women joining our sorority. The first meeting marked the announcement of our new academic program. The Period of Concern plan called for supervised study hours at either the Kappa Library or an on campus library, and supervision would be provided by the Academics Committee and the officers. With this new system the girls are held to a higher standard and are held accountable. We also required all of the girls on POC to meet with each of their professors and get to know them personally. These new changes were implemented with the hope of seeing an improvement in the Epsilon Rho Academics overall. After much hard work, the new Kappa website was introduced by our Public Relations chair.
September: At our Formal Meeting on the 3rd, Formal Pledging began. Owl Groups were announced, a program that combined New Members with active members, creating a group for girls from different pledge classes to get to know each other. They were also given the chance to pull tickets for the Florida Football Game as a pledge class with the New Member Executive. During the Monday meeting on the 10th, the new Kappa Kolor points system was announced, requiring girls to get two points for participation in our brand new philanthropy event. PC 11 attended Ritual Review on the 9th and the entire chapter attended Ritual Review on the 16th. We kicked off our socials with the first date party on the 20th. The theme was “Two by two” and it was held at The Tap. Actives revealed themselves to their new little sisters on the 23rd. at the Kappa house in a unique way.
October: October was a big month for our chapter as we initiated our new members! We hosted a profit share at the local burger joint, Grub, to raise money for our philanthropy on the 2nd. One last Ritual Review was held for the entire chapter on the 7th. On the 8th, girls were split up according to their majors and were able to answer questions that the new PC had about professors and classes. On the 9th, a profit share was held at Chick-Fil-A to earn money to support the Nehemiah Center of Navasota. During the week leading up to initiation, the 9th through the 11th, our Marshal committee planned nightly mixers for the pledge classes to get to know each other. After a week of activities, Fireside was held on the 12th and Initiation was held on the 13th. 55 members were initiated. Founders Day was celebrated with a presentation given by the Education committee during the Monday meeting on the 15th. An interesting video was displayed and both cookie cake and sparkling grape juice were served afterwards. The intramural chair organized a discount gym membership for actives at Athletes Prime, which has included many workout classes during the semester. To give members a chance to get more involved with philanthropic activity, girls went to "Lights After School" to help Lincoln Center host a carnival for kids. A group of girls gathered to go to "Trick or TREATs" at a local Animal Shelter on the 26th, , giving animals treats and taking dogs outside to exercise them. On October 27th, we hosted our first annual Kappa Kolor Run. Participants ran a 5k where they had different colored powdered paint thrown on them at each kilometer. The event was a huge success and raised about $11,000 for our local philanthropy, the Nehemiah Center of Navasota. On the 29th, the Academic's Banquet was held at the Monday meeting. Girls were rewarded for their academic excellence. We also raised money to contribute to the family we sponsored with Rose McGill Holiday Sharing through the Kappa Foundation. The chapter celebrated Halloween with Chi Omega at the “Owloween” date party at Hurricane Harry’s on the 30th. Members then passed out candy on sorority row with Kappa Alpha Order to young trick-or-treaters on the 31st.
November: The new members were presented at the Kappa House on November 3rd at the New Member Presentation, featuring a performance by the Kappa Pickers. Mom’s Day took place the 4th and members had the option to paint mugs, tiles or crosses with their mothers. On the 15th, “Ranch Party” was hosted with Tri Delta. We voted on our new Chapter Council on the 19th, securing a responsible and driven group of girls. On the 26th, the in-house girls helped decorate the Kappa House for the holiday season! Actives passed out free coffee and donuts on campus at our semi-annual event, Kappa Kappa Chino on the 28th. The intramurals team placed 2nd in the flag football league and 3rd in the indoor soccer league. The team also participated in a powderpuff tournament put on by the men of Ol' Ags and won 4th in the tournament. We worked hard all semester with the men of Squadron 17 to ensure a great dance performance at Chi Omega’s fundraiser, Songfest. The first night took place on November 30th and the Kappa Pickers performed between acts. We earned money to donate to Nehemiah because of our dedicated participation.
December: This month was a season to be jolly amid studying for finals in the “Kappa Library”. While the Stompfest Team prepared for their final performance on the night of the 1st, 9 of our other lucky members participated in Houston Alumni Association's Kappa Pilgrimage. Girls had brunch at an alumnae's house and toured some of the most beautiful homes in Houston. The "Triplet Meeting" occurred on the 2nd, where the new officers had the chance to meet with the previous officers and their advisors. Our Vice President of Standards hosted a Christmas party after the Monday meeting that took place on the 3rd. Girls dressed in tacky Christmas sweaters, decorated cookies with festive icings and sprinkles, and exchanged ornaments. Upon finals, our Chaplains hosted a Hot Chocolate Bar and provided bible verse cut outs to remind girls what the Christmas season was about on December 9th.
During the past year, Texas A&M joined the SEC Conference. Spirits are high at the recent winning of the Heismann by our very own Johnny Manziel. The Memorial Student Center opened on September 1st after two and a half years of renovation. This has given students a place to study together, eat together, and get to know each other in a central location. The campus feels more united for it. Texas A&M still holds true to it's reputation of kindness and chivalry, and the student body radiates with pride for attending such an incredible University.
