Changes
→Highlights of 2019
==Highlights of 2019==
Eta Iota Chapter enjoyed many events and activities in the 2019 school-year. In January, we kicked off our semester with a Glow Kappa and Kate Spade-themed recruitment. On Bid Day, we welcomed 48 new members and bonded at the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. The following week, we welcomed 2 additional new members into the Psi Class and enjoyed a mini Bid Day with ice cream Sundays and other treats at Chapter.
We kicked off February with a social event that was out of this world. Our sisters had fun designing costumes for the Kappa Kappa Galactica theme. We wrapped up that same weekend with a sisterhood retreat at which we decorated Valentine’s Day cookies, made skits with an eclectic box of props, and voted on the most creative skit – the winning skit gave us a good laugh over the unreliability of the printers on Creighton’s campus. The following week, we celebrated our third annual Reading is Key event with Conestoga Magnet School, our community partner. On February 13th, our sisters helped students at Conestoga pick out books to take home and read with their families and play some fun literacy games. The same day, our House Advisor left with five of our council officers for the Kappa Leadership Conference in Dallas, Texas. There, they exchanged ideas with sisters from other Chapters and learned about effective leadership. The knowledge they gained from this experience helped Eta Iota focus in on our “Why” and all the amazing things that Kappa Kappa Gamma has to offer. We closed out the month of February with a fun New Member retreat, at which the members of Eta Iota’s Psi class bonded and kicked off Big/Little week with letters from Bigs. Big/Little reveal was the following Wednesday and we enjoyed our annual tradition of letting the Littles unwrap their Bigs.
Following Spring Break, we began Inspiration Week and spent time reflecting over Ritual and what Kappa means to us as individuals and as an organization. The week coincided with Creighton University’s Fraternity and Sorority Life Unity Week, giving our members additional time to reflect on Fraternity and Sorority life and supporting our fellow Greek-affiliated organizations. That weekend we initiated all 50 members of the Psi class into our Chapter and celebrated over brunch.
We enjoyed another sisterhood retreat in April at TD Ameritrade. Our members ate Qdoba, played Frisbee, drew chalk art in the parking lot, as of course, took advantage of the photo opportunities in the beautiful weather. After the retreat, many sisters stayed to cheer on the Bluejays at the ensuing baseball game. The following day, our members attended Creighton’s annual Panhellenic Tea, where we recognized senior Courtney Child for her dedication to nursing and to Kappa. At our annual Spring Banquet, we celebrated our seniors who graduated that May and named Peyton Young as New Member of the Year and Allyson Greco as Member of the Year. The following week marked our most successful Kappa Kupcake Spring Philanthropy yet, during which we sold 1,224 cupcakes and raised over $6,000 for Reading is Fundamental. We celebrated our Kupcakes success with Formal, where we danced the night away at a Sapphire Ball.
Our Chapter was honored to be recognized as excelling in our connection with our local alumnae and academic achievement, when we were awarded the Alumni Relations Award and the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award at Creighton’s annual Fraternity and Sorority Life Awards. Emily McKenna was also recognized by the entire Fraternity and Sorority life community for her academic achievements when she received FSL’s Panhellenic Scholarship for Juniors. In May, we said goodbye to our seniors and celebrated their time in our Chapter with Senior Wills, videos put together by senior’s families, and through time spent reminiscing.
We started off the school year strong when several of our members came back early to practice for Creighton’s annual Lip Sync Battle, a tradition designed to introduce incoming freshman to our Fraternity and Sorority community. They danced to a Lady Gaga-themed mashup and definitely stole the show. We again continued our Kappa Kooldown tradition, where we hand out free Pepsi products to any students and faculty on the Mall. This event is a great way for our Chapter to get our name on campus and connect with students from all other organizations.
In September, we had a fun sisterhood retreat at which we matched our sisters to fun facts that we had previously submitted. It was a great way for our members to bond and learn about each other beyond the typical facts usually shared in ice-breaking activities. At our first social event of the semester, we danced the night away at a Kappa Kountry-themed date party.
The following weekend we hosted our second annual Breakfast at Kappa’s Fall Philanthropy event. Last year, this event replaced the Kappa Klassic, but maintained its features of coinciding with Creighton’s Family Weekend, a silent auction, and a yummy brunch. Sisters always enjoy inviting their friends and family members to learn about Kappa and our philanthropies while supporting the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. This year, we included a branch of the fundraising efforts to support Conestoga Magnet School. We raised $7,053.80 for Conestoga and the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, marking another successful philanthropy event. The following weekend, some of our members also attended Creighton’s annual Dance Marathon, an event put on by the Fraternity and Sorority Life community on campus that benefits the Omaha Children's Hospital and Medical Center (a Children's Miracle Network Hospital). This event raises awareness and funds to support children with pediatric illness without worry of financial hardship. Our team, led by Kenzie Enmeier, a lead organizer for the whole event, was the top fundraising team for the event.
We kicked off October with social mixer with two other organizations on campus, Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Lambda Beta. We dressed in comfy pajamas, ate pancakes, and danced to some fun line dances. The following day, we celebrated Founders Day. There we enjoyed brunch, looked at scrapbooks dating back to 2014, when Eta Iota was founded, and shed a few tears as Sigma sister, Kimberly Arms Shirk, shared her touching story of how her sisters helped her get through her near-death experience. It was such an honor to hear her present as we were reminded to find the silver lining, lean on our sisters, and make the most of our time as active members. We also had the honor of witnessing the Founders Day Ceremony and celebrating the pinning of 65-year alumnae members. After Fall Break, we celebrated our members’ academic achievements at the Academic Banquet. Individuals were recognized for making the Dean’s List (3.5+ GPA), achieving 4.0 GPAs, and raising their GPAs.
In November, we had our overnight sisterhood retreat at Camp Kitaki in Louisville, NE. We enjoyed taking pictures for Recruitment, playing games, going on one-on-one hikes, scrapbooking, making friendship bracelets, and watching New Moon. We finished the retreat with an Eta Iota favorite, “Touch a sister who,” where members have a chance to show each other the impact each woman has had on her sisters and on the Chapter as a whole.
Soon thereafter, Eta Iota had the amazing opportunity to host the Minnie Stewart Van on November 9th. The van, a traveling museum that is on a year-long road trip to visit every Kappa chapter to celebrate Kappa’s sesquicentennial, set up shop in behind Hixon-Lied Science Building. Members enjoyed watching the Virtual Reality depiction of the events of Kappa Kappa Gamma’s founding, adding to the time capsule, and checking out the fun artifacts. It was such a cool opportunity to see and interact with Kappa’s history and to see how we are a part of it, too. We are all eager to see how Kappa changes in the next 50 years and to see the time capsule opened in 2070!
As the semester came to a close, we welcomed in our new officers, hosted a few more percent nights at various restaurants in Omaha to raise money for the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, and celebrated our successes this semester at an Owl Be Home for the Holidays-themed Semi-formal. We are eager to finish up finals, have restful Winter Breaks, and arrive back on campus ready to recruit some phenomenal new members in January.
reighton University and our campuses Fraternity and Sorority Life approved the installment of a new fraternity, Delta Chi , on our campus Fall 2019. Delta Chi will begin the founding process and will participate in IFC Recruitment in the Spring of 2020. The campus is eager to see how the addition of this Chapter will influence our community.
The Creighton Climate Movement, an underground organization designed to fight for climate justice and create change on our campus, gained momentum this year as they almost passed a referendum to encourage Creighton University to divest from fossil fuels. over 85% of voters voted to approve the referendum, but administration did not feel that divesting would be in Creighton University's financial interests. Students on campus continue to work to create change.
Eta Iota continues to be known on campus for our diversity and inclusiveness. Our Chapter strives to be a welcoming enviornment where women of all backgrounds can find a home. We are always proud to see how incoming classes lead our Chapter and lead other organizations as well.
Conestoga Magnet School, an elementary school minutes from Creighton, continues to be our Chapter philanthropy. It’s great to see how we have become more involved with the school of the years, as we have more classrooms asking to be involved with our Friday afternoon volunteering program every year. Eta Iota also holds an annual Reading is Key event at Conestoga! We also join the rest of the Creighton community during Dance Marathon and raised money for children facing childhood illnesses. Eta Iota understands the relationships they foster with the students at Conestoga makes a meaningful difference in their lives and in the Omaha community. Conestoga is a Reading is Fundamental school, and our weekly volunteer work demonstrates the importance of reading and the impact it can have on a student’s life. We continue to be drawn to Conestoga because of the meaningful work we have done there and the potential to continue to make a difference. We continue to grow our relationship with all those at Conestoga, including students, teahcers, and administrators and are ever happy to grow our involvement and interaction with Conestoga students.
ta Iota celebrated Founders Day at Champion's Run Golf Course. There, we had brunch, talked to alumnae members, browsed scrapbooks from as early as Eota's Founding in 2014, and witnessed the Founders Day Ceremony. We also had the pleasure of seeing the pinning ceremony of three 65-year members and were reminded that the bonds of Kappa Kappa Gamma spreads far beyond our college years. We also had the special treat of hearing Sigma member, Kimberly Arms Shirk, speak. She shared with us her near-death experience and reminded us to find the silver lining, lean on our sisters, and make the most of our collegiate expereinces.
Sesquicentennial plans: We enjoyed performing the Founders Day Ceremony at Founders Day this year and are eager to do so again next year. Our Chapter also enjoyed hosting the Minnie Stewart Van in Novemeber. We were inspired by the time capsule on board the van and are planning to create one of our own. Incoming Marshal also plans to host a birthday party for Kappa . We are eager to see what the next year will bring for our chapter as we approach Kappa's 150th anniversary.
==Highlights of 2020==
==Highlights of 2020s:==
