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→Highlights of 2020
==Highlights of 2020==
This year has been unlike another other for Eta Iota. At the beginning of the year, we welcomed 38 new members after successful recruitment. Our recruitment lasted from January 11th to the 18th. We hosted Sarah Stoner, a leadership consultant, during the week of recruitment. She was able to assist the chapter council and the recruitment chair throughout the week. Bid Day was held on January 18th, and the theme was Camp Kappa. We celebrated at the Vintage Ballroom in downtown Omaha, where we can make s'mores, dance the day away, and spend time with our sisters. On January 22nd the new members went through formal pledging. The program behind happy faces took place on January 25th. And to end the month of January, the chapter had a ritual review before the chapter on January 29th.
In February, our event chairman Colleen Follis hosted a date party on the 21st. The theme for this event was decades. On the 22nd, the new members had their new member retreat. At this event, they received letters from their Bigs. This marked the beginning of Big Little week for Eta Iota. Big Little reveal was on February 26th, and each Kappa family welcomed their newest members! On the 28th, we had our annual "Reading is Key" event at Conestoga Magnet School. At the event, we read to the students and gave them their own book to take home. Then on the 29th, we had a sisterhood retreat inspired by the game family feud. During the retreat, members were able to spend time with their Kappa family and make buttons and spend the day getting to know the new members. Then after midterms, we went on spring break from March 7th- 15th.
The week following spring break for Eta Iota was supposed to be Inspiration week; however, things did not go as planned. Creighton University went to fully online learning for the remainder of the semester. This meant for Eta Iota that we would no longer meet in person for the rest of 2020. However, this did not stop us from holding virtual events. On April 22nd we held a virtual senior night for the class of 2020. We spent the evening listening to the senior's stories and catching up like our fellow kappas. It was a lovely way to bring closure to our graduating seniors in what is now the new normal.
Then on Thursday, May 14th, Eta Iota held its very first virtual initiation. Our Marshal Katie Mumm invited our chapter founder Joanie Cohen to the ceremony to witness this one of a kind event. This was a historic event for our chapter, and we were so thrilled to have this experience. After the ceremony, we had an entire chapter zoom where we had dinner together and welcomed the newly initiated members into our chapter. It was a night with lots of laughs, fun, zoom games, and connecting virtually.
Over the summer, Creighton University announced that they would be returning to in person learning in the fall. This was fantastic news for our members because we could all be in Omaha together once again. August 17th marked our first day of classes. Creighton University offered a range of courses from asynchronous to synchronous to accommodate the community. Then on August 26th we held our first chapter of the year. Throughout the semester, we held weekly chapter meetings. We had fun breakout activities planned by our vice president of standards and the chapter council at these meetings.
On October 9th our event chairman Colleen Follis hosted a fun virtual semi-formal. The theme was TV Shows and Movies. Sisters came in a range of outfits, including Hallie and Annie, from the Parent Trap to the iconic character of Draco Malfoy, to name a few. Over the semester, we had virtual recruitment practices to go over the new vote rules and figure out how to recruit in an online setting.
This year, we are hosting an online Facebook auction in place of Breakfast at Kappa's. The auction took place from October 13th- 17th and was planned by our philanthropy chairman Kayla Schilke. All proceeds from this event will benefit our national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental, and our local philanthropy, Conestoga Magnet School. For Conestoga, the funds were used to buy books for first and second graders.
On October 13th, we celebrated our Sesquicentennial. Our education chairman Katie Ramirez put this event on. After the event, we had guest speakers speak on what Kappa means to them. It was a great evening filled with history in connection to celebrate 150 years of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Katie put together a video from the past members who shared some warm regards and uplifting messages. They know that this year is extremely challenging for us as a chapter, just the uncertainty of the global pandemic we're in, which is why they wanted to bring us some joy in video messages. It was a lovely night spent together with sisters and encompassed our sisterhood in a way where we could safely connect. It is an interesting way to celebrate our 150th year; however, we are excited to continue to celebrate Kappa for many years to come.Eta Iota also received two honorable mentions for unhoused chapters for the Gracious Living Award and the Finance Award at the virtual convention this year.
In the following week, chapter council nominations began. Annie Collopy served as the nomination committee chairman. The slate was presented on October 21st. Chapter elections took place on October 28th, and the new officers were installed by our chapter president Madi Corsi on November 4th.The new officers are …Kayla Schilke- President Katie Ramirez - Vice President – Standards Cara Buckley - Vice President – Organization Alex Van Cleave -Vice President – Academic Excellence Jessica Jagelski – Secretary Carly Araje – Treasurer Maddy Hirchert – Marshal Peggy Dunn - Education Chairman Sophie Barnes - Event Chairman Sarah Noone - House Chairman Emily Carlson - Membership Chairman Faith Carlson - New Member Chairman Kenna Frasier - Panhellenic Delegate Cali Rawhouser-Mylet - Philanthropy Chairman Olivia Peters - Public Relations Chairman Kat Willegalle - Risk Management Chairman. To help with the transition process, Eta Iota hosted a virtual leadership consultant Sara Johnston. We loved having Sara, and the chapter council appreciated her help to aid in the transition process. As the year 2020 comes to a close, Eta Iota is preparing for our formal recruitment process, which will begin in early January.
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 over 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. Due to the unforeseeable circumstances in the year 2020, our chapter could not fundraise as much as we previously had done in the past. However, this did not stop our philanthropy chair Kayla Schilke from raising money for our philanthropies. Our Kappa online auction brought in $1,410 and the percent night at Chipotle brought in $364. We were able to raise $1,774 this year! Eta Iota understands the relationships they foster with the students at Conestoga make a meaningful difference in their lives and the Omaha community. Conestoga is a Reading is Fundamental school, and our weekly volunteer work demonstrates the importance of reading and its impact 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 make a difference. We continue to grow our relationship with all those at Conestoga, including students, teachers, and administrators, and are ever happy to expand our involvement and interaction with Conestoga students.
For diversity equity and inclusion, the chapter council decided to elect a position on the education committee. The first sister to serve in this position is Kenzie Nelson. Throughout the year, our education chairman and our recruitment chair put on several programs that help educate our members further on diversity equity and inclusion. Creighton University does an excellent job pursuing these endeavors through programs that all undergraduates must complete to be leaders on another campus. there's still more work to be done in this field, and Eta Iota is taking the steps needed to educate our members on diversity equity and inclusion.
==Highlights of 2021==
==Highlights of 2020s:==
