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Social events included Kappa Cocktail, Owl-O-Ween, Monmouth Duo with Pi Beta Phi, Kappa/Tri-Delt Ranch, Parents’ Weekend, Mom and Dad Weekends, and Junior/Senior Night. One evening the entire chapter attended a sing-a-long at a local restaurant. Beta Xi also continued the tradition of hosting a Halloween party and trick-or-treating for the children of local alumnae.
'''Housing:'''
Beta Xi continued to occupy the chapter house throughout the decade.
'''In January, the new Beta Xi Chapter Council was eager to continue the legacy of great leadership of past officers, as well as accomplishing new goals for out chapter. For President, Ellen Crowe served; For Vice President Standards, Anna Wittenmeyer served; For Vice President Organization, Hailey Becker served; For Vice President Academic Excellence, Erin Kreindler served; For Recording Secretary, Ali Purnell served; For Corresponding Secretary, Charlotte Paine served; For Treasurer, Payton Scott served; For Assistant Treasurer, Camille Szelc served; For Registrar, Avery Travis served; For Marshal, Hannah Love served; For Education Chairman, Caroline Smyrl served; For House Chairman, Sara Shaw served; For Membership Chairman, Riley Longtain served; For New Member Chairman, Tai Massimilian served; For Panhellenic Delegate, Alex Page served; For Philanthropy:'''Chairman, Berkley Johnson served; For Public Relations Chairman, Kathryn Stouffer served; For Risk Management Chairman, Grace Winston served; and For Event Chairman, Mallory Morris served.
Philanthropy was Without our trusty senior girls to guide us and without a priority for Beta Xi house to meet in , Chapter Council braved the unknown and began to meet. Ellen Crowe (President) began the twenty-first centuryyear with efficiency and care, planning and leading Chapter Council meetings. The They finalized edits on the chapter maintained traditions such as bylaws and standing rules, educated themselves on how to use the Kappa Klassic Pool Tournamentdrive and webinars, which raised almost $5,000 for a charity in 2006. Other philanthropic activities included holding a Chili Cookoff and reviewed the expectations and responsibilities of Chapter Council members with the Tri-Delts, volunteering with help of Hailey Becker (VP Organization). She went over goals for the SPCA year, including chapter unity, continuing to revamp philanthropy, and getting the Highland Park Elementary Halloween carnivalchapter on board with the Risk Management policies, decorating as well as the rules and goals of Standards Committee. Chapter council discussed some ways to hold the Children’s Hospital chapter accountable for various holidays, hosting Easter their actions at events and Halloween parties to reinforce new standards for local children, and making Christmas cookies behavior for hospitalized childreneveryone. Children have always been We decided to change our buddy system from “bigs” and “littles,” to a major focus for “pick-a-buddy” system, where the group, and in 2008girls signed up with a friend before events to be their accountability partner. Grace Winstonbus-riding attendance at events, while AnnaWittenmyer (VP Standards) streamlined the sisters provided free winter coats to children through Coats for Kidsway we approach standards decisions.Sara Shaw
Two new philanthropy traditions began during this decade. In 2009, Beta Xi hosted its first Kappa Cookout, an event that invited community members to join the sisters for delicious catered food. That year, the proceeds from selling tickets to the event, $7,600, went to The Austin Children’s Shelter. The following year, the chapter raised more than $8,000 and donated the proceeds to the RIF (Reading is Fundamental)of Austin, specifically to the Palm Elementary School. Donations were also made to the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. The other new philanthropic event was a powder puff football game with Pi Beta Phi. Proceeds from the tickets were donated to the Davis Moon Project, a non-profit organization that collects books to be hand-delivered through organized literacy mission trips in Addis, Ethiopia.
'''Convention AwardsIn February, Kappas were getting settled in with their classes, and the officers were beginning to get the hang of their new responsibilities:'''planning events, running meetings, and fulfilling their duties more easily. Berkley Johnson (Philanthropy Chair) took it upon herself to completely revamp Beta Xi’s philanthropic efforts. She continued the new partnership with the B+ Foundation that the last philanthropy chair began, combining Kappa’s passion for reading with our love of kids.We adopted a B+ Hero named Moriah, who is battling cancer, and made her an honorary “sister.” Kappas began visiting Moriah at the hospital, playing games, doing puzzles, and when she felt up to it, even having dance parties with our newest little Kappa. Mallory Morris (Event Chairman) and Grace Winston (Risk Management) pulled off a great Monmouth formal at Brazos Hall, and everyone had a wonderful time with their dates and Pi Phi friends. Riley Longtain (Membership Chairman) held a very successful first recruitment workshop with the freshman, teaching them the in’s and out’s of rush and the importance of the spring semester for recruiting. While Kappa prepared for recruitment, so did Alex Page (Panhellenic Delegate) and Grace Anne McGinnis, a Kappa who served as Vice President of UT’s Panhellenic Council. They began a wonderful year of working together and representing Kappa well to other sororities and to UPC. We rounded out the month with a visit from our moms, with fun shopping events and a brunch at The Grove downtown to celebrate Mom’s Weekend.
==Highlights April was a busy month as usual for Beta Xi. Our leadership consultant, Kate Burton, came and brought some amazing ideas for our chapter with her. She hung out with our members, doing fun things around Austin and helped our officers grow in their leadership abilities. Hailey Becker (VP Organization) did an amazing job making Kate feel at home. Berkley Johnson (Philanthropy Chair) helped plan our fundraiser, Kappa Pi-Phi Carnival, complete with snow cones and live music, raising money for our philanthropy. We love joining forces with another sorority who also cares about supporting literacy, and the event was a blast as usual. She also held a successful RIF event at Wooldridge Elementary. The entire chapter came together and set up stations at the school to play games, read, decorate bookmarks, and get their faces painted. At the end of 2011the laughter-2019==filled event, each child took home a book (or two!). Mallory Morris (Event Chairman) planned an awesome Dad’s Weekend, with food catered on a fun rooftop venue and the chapter attending the Spring football game with their dads. She and Grace Winston (Risk Management) also planned another successful event with our friends in Theta, called Kite & Key. The event was held at a venue downtown and everyone had a wonderful time. A senior Kappa, Kallen Dimitroff ran for Student Body President of the University of Texas, and despite her campaign’s loss, it wasincredible to see the whole chapter gather around her and support her with pride.
==Highlights of 2011==Kappa events slowed and finals approached, as May rolled around. Caroline Smyrl (Education Chairman) conducted Senior Sendoff, a fun event after chapter where we recognize the seniors and In 2011hear funny memories from years past, Beta Xi focused on strengthened sisterhood including poems and encouraging scholarly achievement“twinkies” from some seniors’ parents. A chapter retreat These very seniors then became alums after graduation celebrations, and it was held made official in Key Reports. Some of them got into top graduate schools to continue their studies, while others headed off to work in cities around the country. They were off into the world! Payton Scott (Treasurer) worked hard to set up the budget for the benefit upcoming school year, and held budget meetings with all of the members Chapter Council officers. Tai Massimilian (New Member Chairman) and “get-Riley Longtain (Membership Chairman) both worked hard to-know-you” games were played at prepare for recruitment and the new pledge class coming in August, with the Kappa added challenge of finding a home for Spirit and Recruitment weeks without our house. Sisterhood activities included Nightmare on 6th StreetWe talked to event halls and fraternity houses, Tri-Delt Ranchand we finally found a place to hold the events and welcome our new members…stay tuned below! Riley also held the last recruitment workshop and began planning for the summer with her incredible team. The girls in dorms, Kappa Cocktailapartments, and Monmouth. The Vice President-Academic Excellence stressed the importance houses packed their bags and headed out of good grades with the new “Smarty Pants” system at chapter meetings. Alumnae members are often invited to campus Austin, waving goodbye to speak to the chapter about job applications and careersthis school year.
'''Housing:'''Over the summer, Kappa sisters spread out across the globe for internships, jobs, and study abroad Beta Xi is currently one of only two Greek houses on the University of Texas at Austin campus in whichprograms. 60 members are able From Spain, to New York, to liveParis, most usually live to Dallas and Houston and Galveston, to all the way in during their junior or senior year. Every MondayAustralia, Kappas took the sisters gather for dinner before world by storm. But the chapter meetingmonths flew by, as summer always does, and lunch is provided every day for memberscame to a close. Every two weeksBy August, everyone was ready to get back to their Kappa friends, to Austin, a delicious Mexican Guest Lunch is held where Kappas can bring a guest from outside and to the University of the FraternityTexas.
'''Philanthropy:'''But unlike years past, when Kappas ran into our house on University Avenue to prepare for recruitment, this year we ran into…the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house, another temporary home! The SAE Beta Xi continued hosting the spring Easter party and the fall Halloween party fraternity boys kindly let us borrow their conveniently located house for local elementary students every yeara few weeks. In 2011 And as we did with the Union, we turned the SAE house into a home. Kappa Cookout was again held by seems to have an uncanny knack of making anywhere feel like a loving home. It could be a room in the chapter and raised $7Student Union,800 for the Davis Moon Projecta study abroad dorm, an organization previously supported by Beta Xi’s efforts. Kappa once again faced off a cramped apartment full of Kappas working in New York city, or a game of powder puff football against Pi Phifraternity house, an event that raised approximately $5but if Kappas are together,000 for the Austin Children’s Shelterit feels like home.It is definitely a skill we are proud of!
==Highlights of 2012==Riley Longtain (Recruitment Chair) and her team’s hard work over the past semester culminated at The 2012 calendar year started off with the newly elected officers end of August. Spirit week was a blast, and the Beta Xi chapter making chapter’s hard work during a smooth transition into their long week of recruiting paid off when 68 awesome new positions. Chapter Council also kicked off members came running to the year Littlefield fountain on campus, to be welcomed by hosting the LEAD seminar our chapter with Kappas from Texas A&M and Texas Techopen arms. The stresses of a long Recruitment and being without a real home took a toll on the chapter council, led by however. Our chapter stumbled on Bid Night with some behavioral issues that we know are unacceptable. Ellen Crowe (President Erin Weitzel) and the Chapter Council quickly jumped into action, met every Sunday evening taking ownership of our mistakes and trying to plan upcoming meetings and events throughout get the yearchapter back on track. Erin implemented pillars We would have been lost without the fearless leadership of Ellen, the patience of Anna Wittenmyer (VP Standards), the planning of organization Hailey Becker (VP Organization), and enthusiasm which set the tone for the chapter council officersmaturity of Tai Massimillian (New Member Chairman). This was We knew there would be consequences and this would be a very important year long road ahead, but we also knew that changes that needed to occur. We were nervous but excited for Beta Xi and many improvements were made to better how our chapter would evolve because of this past year. The officers worked very hard to better the chapter and efficiently and effectively follow out their dutieschallenge.
Callie WilliamsIn spite of the chaos, September rolled around, Vice President and the Kappas were back. With a crazy Longhorn football win against Notre Dame, we began our classes with excitement and our horns up high! We continued holding chapter meetings in the Student Union, our temporary home. The first meeting ran smoothly as chapter council got back in the swing of Organizationthings, maintained an organized calendar and the new members learned the ins and outs of all their new chapter. Following the events throughout of Bid Day, we were visited by Emily Murdock and Illiana Garcia, our Theta District director and specialist. They helped our Chapter Council remember the “why?” of our chapter, as well as realign the year and communicated goals of Beta Xi with officers that of the national organization. They inspired our leaders to be better and the to lead our chapter about what events out of this slump. They began helping us build a strategic plan to put on improve our chapter and help us rectify the mistakes of the calendarweeks prior. Along Weeks passed, with Callie the Chapter Council put together first formal meeting held by Hannah Love (Marshal) and program nights like the one featuring Shannon Moody, where we learned about the Jeremiah Project, a great Leadership Action Plan that highlighted the center for single mothers, organized by Caroline Smyrl (Fraternity Education Chairman). Hailey Becker (VP Organization) revamped committee nights, helping each committee set goals of the Chapter for the upcoming yearsemester. Callie We also assisted with giving chapter members had an exciting visit from the ability Fraternity President Beth Black, held at an alumni’s house in Austin. It was incredible for some of our officers to fill out a Google Form meet such an inspiring leader of the organization that we love so much. Erin Kreindler (VP Academic Excellence) was happy to indicate which committee they are interested report that 13 of our chapter members received 4.0 GPA’s in the spring, and would prefer to be the chapter’s cumulative GPA was 3.47, as the grade report came in. Kappa competed inthe second annual Greek Get Down dance competition—and though we didn’t place like we did last year, rather than simply designating we had so much fun dancing! Much of the team was made up of our new members to random committee. This , so it was a big change great way for freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors to all get to know one another. Mallory Morris (Event Chairman) organized our Chapter Committees that made members first fun event, Kappa Kidnap, at large much more dedicated to their committeea dance hall outside of Austin. Callie also prepared for With cowboy boots and dresses on, the Kappas danced the Leadership Consultant's visit night away to country music from a live band. Soon enough the the Beta Xi Chapter and hosted her during her staysemester was in full swing.
Laurel PuglieseOctober was yet another busy month for Beta Xi. The TX-OU football game was a blast, even though our beloved Longhorns lost. Mallory Morris (Event Chairman) planned a fun date event with Tri-Delt, and ended the month with our traditional Halloween dance, called Owl-o-ween, with Chi Omega. We absolutely love doing events with our friends in other sororities! But double the girls, Vice President means double the amount of people trying to safely get home. Despite some bumps in the road in our risk management policies in the past, Grace Winston (Risk Management Chair) and Anna Wittenmyer (VP Standards, worked with her committee ) did an amazing job encouraging everyone to perfect follow our policies. The buddy system became more successful as the semester went on, and as well as bus system riding attendance. Hannah Love (Marshal) did a stellar job planning and make sure members were upholding executing Initiation, in our second year without a house. Initiation was held in a different church than the year before, but Hannah was calm in the standards face of chaos, and the event ran as smoothly as ever. The newly initiated members had a wonderful morning, and afterwards joined their parents and friends for a fun brunch at Hotel Ella near campus. Caroline Smyrl (Fraternity policyEducation Chairman) did an outstanding job planning Founder’s Day. Laurel also organized The event was held at AT&T Conference Center. Actives and alumnae alike enjoyed stories from alums, songs from the Kappa pickers, and a presentation by the House Board, who has worked so hard on the Chapter retreat at Alamo Draft house in January to encourage chapter-wide bondingrenovations. All of Beta Xi attended for singing Hannah Love (Marshal), Kaki Miller (Key Sis Chair), and dancing Tai Massimilian (New Member Chairman) worked together to organize a “Big Sis, Little Sis” event with photos by the University Tower, then on to 90's music. Laurel also fun event at a trampoline park! Avery Travis (Registrar) planned many events composites, and the Kappas “smiled pretty” for their photos. Avery coordinated with the Chapter same company from the year before to increase bonding such as movies have composites taken in the Union. Our temporary home at the house or profit shares at Red MangoUnion was really starting to feel like ours own—we had taken over! Many chapter members said they will actually miss our makeshift Union “house. ”
Ady WetegroveIn November the semester was quickly wrapping up. Mallory Morris (Event Chairman) did a great job planning a fun parent’s weekend and a Kappa Kasual, Vice President Academic Excellenceour last event of the semester. The event was held at Cedar Street Courtyard downtown, helped with a fun live band. Then came the tumultuous 2016 Presidential Election that divided our Chapter improve campus. Kappas went out and voted for their choice, but our overall GPA nation was not the only thing that was struggling to be above unify in the All Sorority Average face of adversity. Ellen and theofficers continued to edit and work on the Strategic Plan for upcoming year. With Ellen’s great vision and the Spring help of 2012the national organization itself, our specialists and the chapter members, we were able to construct a plan that would allow Kappa to grow in the coming years. She Avery Travis (Registrar) was elected slate chairman, and worked extremely hard to conduct meetings with her dedicated and passionate slate committee held individuals more accountable to nominate the officers for their individual grades while providing them assistancenext year. She also incorporated “office hours” This year was tougher than ever, with so many great candidates stepping up for New Members officer positions. The Slate Committee knew how important these choices were, considering the issues from Bid Day, the strategic plan, and the new trajectory that Kappa was on—in order to improve and any other members needing further guidance during registration come back stronger. The committee worked hard to pick the best possible girls for the Spring 2013 semesterchapter council of 2017. She also organized study snacks The committee gave the slate presentation at meeting in November, and officer transitions began quickly after, and the house on Tuesday new and old Chapter Councils began working together. As usual, Kappas were able to come together to create a unified group of sisterhood and continued the "Smarty Pants" system from last yearfriendship.
Philanthropy Chairman Margaret Smith November turned quickly into December, with only one week in between Thanksgiving and Assistant Philanthropy Chairs Ellen Perkins Christmas breaks for some girls. Hailey Becker (VP Organization) planned a wonderful Leadership Day at a delcicious restaurant, where the new and Courtney Catalani worked old officers can get together to plan all chapter-wide philanthropy events. Margaret made some changes this year to our program with their advisors and go over the national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental. She planned a Reading Festival expectations and goals for the whole upcoming year. Our chapter worked hard to attend to teach kids get through final exams and spend the day working end of the semester, with them and having Erin Kreindler (VP Academic Excellance) planning yummy Study Snack events throughout the weeks of finals! The Kappas wrapped up a long but fun with kidsyear. She also planned 2016 was a book drive so that each kid could take home a bookchallenging but incredible year for growth for the Beta Xi chapter. Margaret also helped plan Kappa Cookout in Despite challenges from the Fallhouse renovation, Pi Phi vs. Kappa philanthropy powder puff game in the springpolitical and campus climate, and our own behavioral issues and changes, our chapter grew stronger and got members involved with closer than ever, evolving to become the Wonderball where best chapter we went dressed up as princesses can be. We cannot wait to move into our beautiful new home, and helped we look forward to taking on 2017, equipped with face paint everything we have learned and costumes. Margaret provided the chapter with many other volunteer activities such as Kisses from Kappa on Valentines Day where goals we took valentine goodies plan to a retirement home. accomplish in the next year!
Sara Beth Tunnel, Event Chairman, worked hard to plan and schedule all of the social events for Describe the year. She worked very closely with Risk Management to plan events that would be safe recent changes on your campus and uphold describe the Fraternity standards. She found fun and unique venues to host events with other sororities or parents overall nature of Kappas. In 2012 she planned Kappa Pi Phi Monmouth, Kappa Mom's Weekend, Kappa Dad's Weekend, Kappa Date Dash, Kappa Chi O Owloween, Kappa Tri Delt Ranch, Kappa Parent's Weekend, Kappa Kidnap, and Kappa Cocktail. These events were fun, safe, organized, and help brought the your chapter closer together.
Kelsey KoentgesCampus climate was tense in 2016, Pubic Relations Chairmanas it was much of the world. Yet another Student Government election occurred on campus in the Spring, did this time with a Beta Xi running for office. Racial tensions and a great job new campus carry law caused protests and fractured our student body. The year culminated in one of helping keep members active and bridged the gap between most controversial Presidential Elections ever, occurring in November. Our own chapter faced some of the chapter, university, parents, biggest pitfalls and hardships we have ever faced. We lost loved ones and alumsmade mistakes. She created a monthy newsletter to send out to parents But through all of Kappas and the this, Beta Xi chapterKappa persevered together. She also planned the Easter We stood up for our beliefs and Halloween partyfor each other, both were held admitted our faults, and grew into a stronger chapter. Our chapter is well known at the house University of Texas for alumni being involved in and their childrenwell liked by all groups on campus. She helped organize the babysitting list Kappas are friendly, open-minded, intelligent and active in university life. Kappas are so well integrated and the Kappa Chirstmas card which involved in our diverse on-campus commitments, that our main goal in 2016 was sent out to other UT sororities increase Beta Xi chapter unity. In spite of a rocky campus climate and families of our own troubles within Beta Xi members. Kelsey also kept , we hoped to increase the system bond of sisterhood in our chapter. Doing so without a home during the "Round Up Newsletter which summarized the year house renovations proved to be a challenge, but our chapter did a great job finding ways to unite, around causes like our philanthropy and sent it out each other’s successes.Chapter Philanthropy:What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to the Chapter. , in your community?Wooldrige Elementary, RIF, B+ Foundation (new this year)
Kathryn UeckerThis year, Fraternity Education Berkley Johnson (Philanthropy Chair) completely revamped and re-energized our philanthropic efforts. ChairmanKappa adopted another philanthropy in addition to Reading Is Fundamental. The B+ Foundation raises money for cancer research and pairs sororities and fraternities nationwide with a “Hero:” a child battling cancer. We were paired with our Hero, was in charge of planning program nights at the houseMoriah. She provided is an eight-year-old girl with cancer, and the chapter with newest and youngest Beta Xi Kappa ever! She gets to wear our letters, come to some fun speakers events, and programs such as Zumba. Another large improvement was made by Kathryn by re-implement Senior Programming – a once be a month program night for Seniors in place part of meetingour Kappa family. Kathryn also planned Founders Day in October where the Beta Xi chapter recognizes embraced our newest sister with love and pride. Kappas made visits to her at the founding members hospital, had her over to our apartments, took her to Mozart’s Coffee Shop to see Christmas lights, made her a scrapbook and hosts an event battled her disease alongside her. And we are thrilled to report that her cancer is in remission! We hoped to be a light in Moriah’s life this year…but it turns out that Moriah remained a shining light for alumni our chapter, uniting us in the Austin areasome of our hardest seasons.
Mary Beth BurgherWe remained passionate about encouraging childhood reading, Membership Chairman, assisted as well! From profit shares organized by Sullivan Franklin-Mitchellchapter members to a book drive to our annual fundraiser, Isabel Dann, Molly Henson and Kat Schindler succesfully prepared we definitely did not let our passion for Recruitmentthis issue fall by the wayside. They held 3 recruitment workshops in the We have a great relationship with Wooldridge Elementary where we have our annual RIF event every spring to plan for recruitment the whole chapter. This year, Berkley added an event there in the fall. They also implemented new fun ways to celebrate recruitment such , as having members talk about their favorite parts of recruitment during well! Half the chapter meetings. They set up different committes and helped implement new change. Beta Xi greeted volunteered at the largest pledge class in Kappa history and we celebrated elementary school on a Saturday, while the new members on Bid Day by taking them other half gave their time to Abel's on the Lake for a fun dinnerNeighborhood Longhorns tutoring program.
Katie Satterwhite, New Member Chairman, worked hard alongside Avery Walker to integrate the new members into the chapter. They organized many different activities for the new members and helped bring them together as a pledge class and as a chapter. They taught the new members the traditions and history of Kappa. They worked alongside Caroline Cooper our Marshall to teach the New members the rituals of Kappa after Initiation. They made Inspiration week fun for the new members and helped Caroline with Initation.
Kelly Bowman, House Chairman, served as a liason between While we await the in opening of our newly renovated house girlson University Avenue, staff, and Miss Judi. She helped organize and clarify we have been renting rooms in the house points system UT Union building for chapter meetings and selecting 60 members of the for our chapter to live in the houselunches. She met It is usually a large meeting room with the staff screens and Miss Judi to make sure dining space in the house was running smoothly and attended house board meetings. Kelly provided gifts for the staff throughout the year. She also organized Sunday dinners for in house girls that were provided from local Austin restaurantsback.
Sarah Snelling, TreasurerOral HistoryAre there any current members, was in charge on handling the chapters finances. She worked extremely hard to make sure alumnae or advisers from your chapter that you recommend for the new Bill Highway system was working well and that members could understand how Fraternity’s oral history project? We are looking for Kappas with stories to use it. She was in charge tell – funny chapter memories, great professional achievement stories, heartwarming stories of the dues, budget for Chapter Councihow Kappa has helped them, and any other charges that needed to be made. She also worked to reinburse members and offiers and worked with favors to bill members through bill highwayetc.
Ksenia KolesnikovaKathryn Stouffer, Panhellenic Delegatecurrent member, served as the liason between Panhellenic outgoing PR Chair Sarah Shaw, current member, outgoing House Chair Tricia Cury, former president and recent alum Chandler Foster, recent alumHannah Meehan, Beta Xi. She represented the chapter by voting for Panhellenic initatives. She also attended meetings each week and reported back to the Chapter about new policies set by Panhellenic. This was a big year in the Nation's history. President Obama was reelected as President of the United States and Kappas gathered in the living room to watch the events unfold and watch the weekly debates between candidates. Many Kappas donated to the different campaigns and almost every Kappa participated in voting. Another big event in 2012 was the London Olympics. A few Beta Xi members actually attended events at the Olympics. Beta Xi members were involved in many different organizations worldwide from volunteering in South Africa to traveling to South America for mission work. Council advisor
Campus: Beta Xi is very involved with the University ==Highlights of Texas. We try to promote members of the chapter to be involved in different organizations on campus. Many Kappas are members of honors societies such as the Dean's list or Order of Omega. A few Kappas participate in Student Government and the Texas Athletic program. There were a few changes that were made to our campus in 2012 such as adding new buildings, banning smoking on campus, and having the library open 24 hours a day. 2017==
Chapter: The Beta Xi chapter has many strengths Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma had an excellent year of growth and some weaknesses that we improved on bonding in 20122017. As In January, a chapter we are extremely unified. Throughout all grades girls are friends new group of Chapter Council members began meeting and spend lots carrying on thelegacy of time together. Every day you can see many girls across campus wearing Kappa shirts. We are extremely proud of our Chapter and members are very dedicated to Beta Xi. We lacked in communication between the Chapter and Chapter Council and we worked very hard to fix that and now have clarity between the twoexcellent, cooperative leadership our chapter has had in recent years.Hannah Love wasPresident, Tai Massimilian was VP Standards, Kaki Miller was VP Organization, Payton Scott wasVP Academic Excellence, Lauren Fisher was Recording Secretary, Emily Parnell wasCorresponding Secretary, Cameron Shepherd was Membership Chairman, Sarah Gregory was NewMember Chairman, Camille Szelc was Treasurer, Jennifer Harbour was Assistant Treasurer,Emma Riddle was Philanthropy Chairman, Hallie Smith was Event Chairman, Caroline Smyrl wasRegistrar, Grace Winston was House Chairman, Charlotte Fitzpatrick was Marshal, Audrey==Highlights of 2013==Halbrook was Risk Management Chairman, Regan Ewing was Panhellenic Delegate, TessaThe newly elected officers were very excited to get into their positions for Lauritzen was the 2013 calendar yearPublic Relations Chairman, and Allison Ainsworth was Education Chairman. After completing triplicate meetings in December, the officers all felt that they were ready to continue the great leadership that was in place before them. Our first order of business as 2017’s Chapter Council was has worked tremendously hard to create a Google Drive for us implement our strategic plan to shareget ourchapter back in good standing with both Kappa nationals and the university. We were astounded by previous By far the most exciting thing for our chapter councils’ ability in 2017 has been being able to work without the technology we have today. As a chapterbe back in our newlyremodeled house! We have been so grateful for the Beta Xi House Board and all the time, we communicate much of our information through emailsmoney, Google documentsenergy, and thought that they put into the Kappa websiteplans to remodel our historic chapter house. We also employed Before the use beginning of school, the Gin system House Board hosted an open house for alumnae, donors, families, andmembers to provide all our information view the amazing changes to the entire chapterhouse. Our improved use of technology allowed It was such a special time for clearer channels Beta Ximembers of communication between officers all ages to come together and share in the excitement of the chapter as a wholeopening.The very next In our first Chapter Council meeting we created our 2013 Leadership Action Planday, active members moved in, and the house immediately sprang to life. We spent time working on It has been such a plan that would guide us blessing for the chapter to chapter improvement have a common meeting grounds again and would help us hold each other accountable to share meals together,study together, and have our meetings as a chapter in our various officesthe house. Our first area was Self-Discovery and Intellectual and we chose our focus to be to support future career endeavors. We made 3 goals Also in January, Hannah (President) began Chapter Council meetings by having all of ChapterCouncil read the Strategic Plan for this area: implement Owl our chapter’s Warning of Probation and review the Week (an time goals andcalendar we had set for a chosen Kappa to describe her internship)the semester. Some of our goals included improvement in chaptermanagement, host a resume workshop and mock-interview sessionrecruitment, new member experience and offer additional resources such as networking programming, standards and riskmanagement, and internship listspanhellenic leadership. Our second area was Interpersonal Development Hannah also scheduled and coordinated a meetingbetween Chapter Council and Katherine Latta, our focus was to increase chapter unity. Our three goals were family (plan 2 spring family events)Leadership Development specialist, for aStrategic Plan workshop and a discussion over Start With Why , fitness (encourage weekly workout classes at the Kappa house), and film (feature a “Rom-Com” book that all of the Month after study snacks at the house)Chapter Councilhad read over Christmas break. Our third area was Leadership and Skill Building with a focus on clarity and transparency. Our four goals were to increase chapter usage During our first Chapter meeting of the Gin systemsemester, make house points viewable and update them monthlyHannah wentover the strategic plan, keep a detailed record of the budgetemphasizing its importance for all members, and present information in a comprehensible and entertaining mannerreading our ChapterMission Statement. Our fourth area was Understanding Tai (VPS) also went over standards behavioral expectations during the firstmeeting and Appreciation of Kappa and we wanted also held elections for the new Standards Committee members. Grace (House Chair)organized an Orientation for the in-house girls from House Board to emphasize Kappa Then explain the rules and Noworganization of the house. Our three goals were Grace and Tai also gave a presentation to promote better understanding of formal meeting, ritual, and the history of Kappa, expand chapter during the size of Pickers and increase their involvement, and look firstmeeting about respecting our newly remodeled house. Cameron (Membership Chair) also held aworkshop for the freshmen on a Sunday at the end of the month to alumni for opportunities teach them the ins and guidance after college. We are proud to say that all outs of these goals had a clear presence throughout 2013, recruitment on the other side and we successfully followed through on them to make sure they will be implemented in emphasize the importance of our strategic goals for the future as well. recruitment process.In JanuaryFebruary began with a visit from our Leadership Consultant, the chapter was Maddy. Kaki (VPO) organized agreat week in the midst of getting adjusted to the new semester and Chapter Council. We received 2 new affiliatesAustin for her, Ella Coffey and Danielle Fenson, chapter council enjoyed spending time with her at the house and voted meeting with her individually to discuss ways to accept them into our chapterimprove each office. Molly McConn, Membership Chairman, immediately got started on Hallie (Event Chair) andAudrey (Risk Management) planned a great Monmouth formal with the recruitment process by recruiting freshman to become Area Rush CaptainsPi Phis at Palm Door. She also held Everyone had a meeting for great night with their dates, dancing with the freshman band all night and taking pictures in order to start teaching them about the rush processphoto booth. Willa Jolink, Education Chairman, planned Emily (Corresponding Secretary) also gave a cooking class for presentation to the chapter on theGIN system, which the officers have been using more effectively throughout the seniors year tocommunicate information to replace one of the meetings that they are required to attendchapter. Willa also planned Sarah (New Member) also finalized the program night plans for January and brought the newmember bid day retreat in Kendyl Richards from Austin Smiles to speak about her non-profit and the importance of volunteering. Peyton BivinsFall, Public Relations Chairman, worked on the January newsletterwhich was something that our chapter had never done before. The officers also made a fun video for the chapter that introduced the new leaders She did an excellent job planning and explained their positions. It was a fun way communicating to get the New Year started!Chapter Council, and Reagan(Panhellenic) discussed our exciting plans with other chapters, who followed Kappas lead inFebruary began with our first “Romimplementing an off-Com” of the month on February 5th. All of campus retreat in their bid day plans rather than releasing the girls came to the house to watch a fun movie after study snacksmidnight. There March was a huge turnout and made another exciting month for a fun night Beta Xi with lots of bonding at the houseevents and activities for our actives to allbond. On February 10th we held “Rookie Rush” at the house Cameron (Membership) hosted another recruitment workshop for the freshman. They were taught the basics of recruitment, and all of the recruitment team worked with freshmen where shebegan to teach them to learn chants, the stack, songs and the general recruitment processdances. All of Her and her team began to familiarize the freshmen were so excited with more details of recruitment week. They also met with the newly appointed area assistant to meet develop strategies. In the middle of the month, the new girls that could potential be our new doors of Kappa members. Additionally, every year we participate in Kisses locked and the chapterdispersed across the country and the world for Kappa. We donate and make goody bags of Hershey’s kisses to give to a local elderly home on Valentine’s Day. Catherine Wilson, Philanthropy Chairfun-filled Spring Break! As soon as everyonereturned from their trips, helped lead Emma (Philanthropy) began getting everyone excited for the chapter in making goody bags and delivering them to their lucky recipientsupcomingphilanthropy opportunities. It brightened In the day of week after Spring Break, she encouraged the people living entire chapter toget their families and friends to participate in the home and made Valentine’s Day special for all of the Kappa members that participatedB+ Campaign. Later in The campaign was acampus-wide competition before the monthRound Up weekend, and Kappa proudly raised around$4, 000. Emma also planned our biggest annual Pi Phi Kappa Karnival event of , hosted at the year, Monmouth, was held on February 16th with Pi Pi Phi. The party was at the Hyatt Regency housewith huge success! We had a face painterlive music, photo boothsnow cones, foodface painting, and a bandpetting zoo. It succeeded due to a lot of work Beta Xi raised $6,000 from Isabel DannKarnival todonate to RIF! During April, Social Chairmanwe said goodbye to our house mom, and Julie Parma, Risk Management ChairmanMs. Judi. The chapter took buses to and from We are so grateful forthe event and safely enjoyed years she spent making sure the evening. On February 18th, Chapter Council met with the Alpha Beta Xi Delta Chapter Council as house felt like a part of a Panhellenic sisterhood event that Sara Holl, Panhellenic delegatehome for all the members. Hallie(Events) wrapped up the month by planning an awesome Dad’s Weekend. The chapter enjoyeddinner with their dad’s at Dirty Martin’s on Friday, planned and organized. Chapter Council also went through the Standing Rules and By-Laws during their February Chapter Council meetings and made sure they were up next day everyone got to date enjoy a tour ofthe Kappa house and correct for each positiona private tour of the Darrell K. February 21st was Royal Memorial Football Stadium! We alsohad very productive chapter meetings during March. In fulfillment of our Chapter Retreat at Jump Street. The chapter rode buses out to probation terms with the event and University, we had a blast jumping on all of the trampolines an informative and playing dodge ballinteractive alcohol awareness presentation from UniversityHealth Services. February Although it was a busy month!required program, the entire chapter found it interesting and March opened with helpful to understand the Province Retreat best way to socialize responsible in Lubbocka college environment. Chapter Council got Kaki (VPO)also continued to work on making Committee Chapter Meetings a bus with the A&M Kappa chapter council and headed out fun way for every member tofeel like they contribute to meet with all the other Kappa chapters in our provincechapter. We all had a great time in Lubbock talking with other chapters and learning more about leadership in Kappa. Our chapter received She restructured the award for Best RitualCommittee Night schedule to makesure that committees completed their agendas. OverallIn April, it the semester was a in full swing and we had another great bonding and learning experience month for our chapter council and helped kick start Beta Xi. At thebeginning of the month of March, we welcomed our new house mom, Ms. The first week in March was also House Mother Appreciation week. After our first meeting of Sherri to the Beta Xi house! Wehave loved the month we all wrote notes to our House Mother, Miss Judilife, love and warmth she has brought to express our appreciation for her dedication to our housewith her constant cheeriness andfamous shortbread. AdditionallyNicole Covert, each day Macy Barnettour Recruitment Advisor, House Chairman, planned something special received the award for Miss JudiOutstandingAdvisor from University Fraternity and Sorority Life. Spring Break was March 11-17 and the Kappas traveled across the nation and abroad to enjoy the week off from schoolNicole is more than deserving of this award. Not only does she put in countless hours of work for our chapter, but she is an outstanding mom,When we got back from Spring Break, our Leadership Consultant, Kristi Watts, came friend, and volunteer. We are so proud and thankful to visit have her as part of our chapter from the 17th to amazing advisoryboard! Tessa (PR) also planned an Easter Party at the 22nd. She had a presentation Kappa house, with an Easter egg hunt,cookie decorating, pictures, and activities for the chapter at our meeting on Mondaymore fun. We also Hallie (Event Chair) planned two great events duringApril. We had a program night where Willa Jolinkanother fun semi-formal, Education ChairmanKite and Key, brought with Theta at the Ransom Notes (Summit. She also plannedan on campus awesome Mom’s Weekend, with a cappella group) to sing for our chapter. On April 19thshopping event at Adelante on Friday, Kristi Watts held a Zumba class for the chapter before study snacksdinner at Max’s, and Lea Edwards, Registrar, hosted brunch at the “Rom-Com” of house on Saturday. Cameron (Membership) closed out the month for the with achapter. March 22-24 was Round-Up weekend and all wide recruitment workshop, the last workshop of the fraternities and sororities hosted fun philanthropy events and concerts throughout the weekend. On March 25th semester. In accordance with ourStrategic Plan, the freshman had another recruitment event where each Area Recruitment Captain told team updated the chapter about the incoming freshman that they were excited about. The girls made cute posters and signs members on Panhellenic and Kappa NationalsrulesIn May, things at the Beta Xi house started to quiet down as all the members began to help people remember prepare fortheir names. On March 27th Peyton Bivins, Public Relations Chairman, hosted our Easter party finals and the semester came to an end. Before everyone dispersed for alumni and their kidsthe summer. We had face paintingAllison(Education) conducted the Senior Sendoff, games, candy, and an Easter Bunny at a humorous and sentimental event where the party. Many Kappa alumni brought seniorsget to share funny memories from their kids to the party, college years and it was a huge successshare what their next chapter has in storefor them as they leave UT and Kappa. April 1st started off with The Alumnae Board also gave a resume workshop presentation to help prepare for the upcoming round of job interviewsseniorsto tell them about the opportunities the Kappa alumnae network has for them. Caroline Cooper, VP Academic Excellence, hosted (Registrar)also put them on alumnae status on Key Reports. Chapter Council ended the event and everyone found it very helpful spring by settinggoals and informativepreparing for the upcoming semester. On April 5th Catherine Wilson, Philanthropy Chair, hosted our annual Kappa Pi Phi Powder-Puff game at Grace (House) worked with the intermural fields Sophomores to raise money get roommate requests for RIFthe upcoming year. It was a huge success with a snow cone maker, prizes, Sarah (New Member) and a raffle. Kappa won the game Cameron (Membership)continued to make plans for the 3rd year recruiting new members and making their experience in a row! On April 6th we had our annual Reading is Key party at Zavala Elementary SchoolKappa thebest ever. Our chapter brought books for every kid hosted an afternoon party, complete with gamesOver the summer, the members of Beta Xi parted ways for summer school, craftsinternships, and face paintstudyabroad experiences. On April 7th we had Tessa (PR) collected photos from all the different adventures to post on our third recruitment workshop with the freshmen and sophomores. The sophomores demonstrated their rush skills by helping them with the songschapter’s Tumblr, dancesInstagram, and noise levelother social media accounts. Nancy EllisonCameron, our PDCher team, who was regularly updated by Sullivan Franklin-Mitchell, Recording Secretaryand the areaassistants worked extremely hard all summer to prepare for recruitment week, attended our Chapter Council meeting on April 7thand all of their effortpaid off. It was We had a fun for Chapter Council to chat with her and get to update her successful work week and recruitment week in person rather than through emailAugust. We happilywelcomed 73 new members to their home at 2001 University Avenue on Bid Day! Sarah’s plan forOn April 9th we had our “Rom-Com” of the monthnew member bid day retreat at Camp Balcones Springs was very well received, which was right after study snacks and was a fun break for everyone. Soon after, Junior/Senior night was on April 11thall the newKappas had an enjoyable and safe time playing games and getting to know their new sisters intheir pledge class. It was a special night where In September, school came in full swing, and the upperclassman had dinner chapter enjoyed spending time together , eatingmeals at Iron Cactus and talked about all the fun memories they’ve had at Kappa. April 12-14 was our annual Mom’s Weekend. Isabel Dannhouse, Social Chairstudying together, planned a fun weekend with a happy hour at a local store, Adelante, and a brunch at The Driskill Hotel. It and attending football games. Chapter Council worked tomake sure that the New Members really felt that the Beta Xi house was a great weekend spent showing our mom’s Austin and the Kappa housetheir home on campus. On April 18th we had Grace (House) got all of their fingerprints in our very ownlock system, Kappa Kasual, as our second date party of and Emily (CorrespondingSecretary) and Caroline (Registrar) entered their contact information into Key Reports and the semesterGinSystem to make sure they received all chapter correspondence. It was After a fun party at a local Austin venue called Havenpost-recruitment meetingwith Panhellenic, and girls invited dates and danced Tai was happy to report to the band. The next day chapter that we kicked off Dad’s weekend with dinner at Serrano’s. We ate fajitas on had significantly reduced ourfines from previous years! Before the first date event, Tai also gave a patio presentation to the entirechapter during meeting to lay out expectations and enjoyed live music under the stars. The next night standards that we paired up with the Texas Cowboys hold each other to have an insocial settings. Hallie and Audrey planned our fun destination date event , Kappa Kasual, at a local venue called The StagetheOasis. Overall it Although the event was a great weekend with our Dads. cut short by the event staff for behavioral problems, ChapterCouncil took the opportunity as an experience to make a better Risk Management plan for theOn April 24th Caroline Coopermembers before date functions. Tai, VP Academic ExcellenceHannah, planned and Hallie gave a networking event presentation at chapter meetingthe house following week to re-emphasize the importance of safety during social events and the privilegeit is for all chapter members. She brought in various Kappa alumni form different industries us to talk be able to chapter members about future careershave these functions. On April 26th we had Kappa family night at a local Austin movie theatre drive-in. They showed We also used our Committee Night to to get feedbackfrom the film Grease entire chapter and all the Kappa families carpooled brainstorm ideas about how we can improve our date events to makethem as safe and enjoyable as possible! It was an excellent way for our members to come together to see the movieand resolve a chapter-wide problem. On April 28th Payton (VPAE) recognized the entire chapter participated in another Rookie Rush eventmembers who had received a4. We all worked together in preparation for recruitment before the summer. Our last meeting of 0 GPA the previous semester was on April 29th, which included the Senior Send-Off during the meetingduring chapter and gave them a goody bag. This includes all of the seniors sharing Her and her committeealso decided to give goody bags to members who had made a funny memory from 3.8, deciding that their four years hard workshould also be noted. Caroline (Registrar) also scheduled the composite photos for the chapter atthe end of being a Kappathe month. It October was a bittersweet way to end the semester by saying goodbye busy month with many exciting chapter events to celebrate our beloved seniors. heritage and history!Tai (VPS) and Audrey (Risk Management) continued to work on Risk Management policies forOver the summer, Kappa chapter and gave presentations before TX-OU Football weekend and our Owl-O-Ween Dateevent on safety and behavior. The members took jobs all across had a fun weekend in Dallas for the world. Some traveled and studied abroadfootball game, while others took classes in Austin or worked in New York. From diving spending time with sharks in South Africa to spending an afternoon at Barton Springs, each other and rocking all of their new Kappa was represented all around the world. t-shirts and gear made byFavors. Allison (Education) also planned a wonderful Founder’s Day dinner. The event was hostedAugust 12th kicked off Work Week at AT&T Conference center, and it was a great time for the chapter in preparation for recruitmentand Austin alumnae tocelebrate the history of our fraternity. The week was filled with fun events along with We enjoyed a lot of time spend preparing. The Recruitment Teamwonderful meal together, led by Molly McConnpresentations fromthe advisors and house board, planned fun events for the chapter, such as and music from Pickers. Charlotte (Marshal) and Emma(Philanthropy) rallied a petting zoo group of our members to participate in the key gardenGreek Get Down, while also organizing slide shows and bump group practicesa dancecompetition fundraiser hosted by AEPhi to support the B+ Foundation. Throughout the week the seniors The members whoparticipated had so much fun skits that they presented getting to the chapter know each other and representing Kappa at the rush team gave out fun prizesevent. August 15th was our Date Dash party that was planned by Isabel Dann Charlotte (Marshal) did an amazing job planning and coordinating Inspiration Week at Recess, a local venuethe end ofOctober. It was a fun break during Work WeekThe new members were put in their new Kappa families on big-little on Tuesday, Fridaywas Fireside, and some on Saturday we happily initiated all of our new members as actives! Sarahplanned a brunch for the previously graduated Kappas joined in on new actives and their families at AT&T following the funceremony. August 21Beforeour Owl-O-27 was Recruitment Week for the Kappas. It was an extremely successful year Ween date event with Chi-O, Audrey put a new pledge class of 71 members. Everyone at Kappa was so excited wristband process and bus buddysystem into place to see all of make sure that we did not repeat the new members running down University Avenue toward same problems we had at Kasual. Hallie(Events) planned the house when they got their bids. Tatum Jolink, New Member Chairman, planned a great Bid Night for the new pledge class with dinner event at Abel’s on Clearport and the Lake and night was a face paintinghuge success. They got decked Tessa also planned aHalloween Trick-Or-Treat party at the house for alumnae to bring their kids. The in-house girlsdecorated their rooms, put out in candy, played with all new Kappa gear of the kids, and had a great night meeting their new Kappa sisters. And quickly aftertime!Nothing slowed down in November, with many events and lots of time together for the next morning was back chapter to school for a new semester. September started out with our first meeting back from school and formal pledging for bond! Kaki hosted the new pledge class. Lea EdwardsLeadership Consultant, RegistrarCasey, put at the information for Kappa house and all of the new members into Key Reportsofficersenjoyed meeting her and hearing the ways that she thought we had improved within the last year. Tatum JolinkHallie organized a fun Parent’s Weekend, New Member Chair, started holding pledge meetings after chapter meetings with desserts on Mondays. She planned out Friday night at Concrete Cowboy andBar-B-Que at the house before the football game on Saturday! Hallie finished her term as EventsChairman with a full bang by planning our last semi-formal of the semester of appearances from each , Kappa officer to enhance understanding of the inner workings of Kappa. Macy BarnettKlassic, House ManageratSpeakeasy, updated and the Gin system, improving chapter danced all night to the house point systemjazz band. Margaret Smith, VP Standards, scheduled meetings Regan (Panhellenic) continued to meet individually with each new member. It was also a nice surprise when Caroline Cooper, VP Academic Excellence, was one of six invited Panhellenic to discuss changes to attend the Academic Excellence conference at bylaws and did an outstanding job of respectfullypresenting our chapter’s stance on the Kappa headquartersproposals. She had an excellent time strategizing with other VPAEs about grade improvement Our chapter also elected Riley Longtain as SlateChairman at the beginning of the month, and her and her committee put in each chapter so many hours pouringover applications and learning ways nominating officers for 2018. Elections were held, and we are so proud of andexcited for the upcoming Chapter Council! We know they will carry on the legacy of hard work andthoughtfulness that Beta Xi officers are known for!In December, the semester began to promote academic excellencewrap up as the weather changed and finals approached. Kakiplanned a leadership brunch at the house for the old Chapter Council, the new Chapter Council,and their advisors. It was a wonderful time to share all of the accomplishments of the past year andto transition the new officers into their positions. Emma also planned the final Philanthropy eventfor RIF at Wooldridge Elementary. The upperclassmen contributed to a book drive that Kappadonated to the school. The underclassmen got to spend a Saturday morning at Wooldridge,playing basketball with the kids, painting their faces, and getting them excited about their newbooks. 2017 has been a great year of unity and growth for Beta Xi. We have so enjoyed being ableto spend time in our beautifully newly-renovated house, and we are excited for all the memoriesthat will come there in 2018!Describe the recent changes on your campus and describe the overall nature of your chapter.We welcomed a new football coach, Tom Herman, in 2017, and it has been an exciting time for ourteam as they continue to improve. There were also several emergency incidents on campus thisyear, causing the campus to unify and rally around support for mental health and campus safety.Our chapter is known on campus for being a well-rounded and open minded group of youngladies. We are proud to have so many members involved in other organizations and makingimportant changes on our campus and in Austin. Beta Xi allows its members to be the bestversions of themselves, and we love that those things are reflected in our house as well as on ourcampus!Chapter Philanthropy:What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, inyour community? Wooldridge Elementary, B+ FoundationWhy did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?We have had a great relationship with Wooldridge Elementary School throughout the years. Severalof our members enjoy our RIF events so much at Wooldridge that they volunteer independentlythere as mentors. Our chapter even received an award from the Wooldridge Elementary School forour outstanding volunteer work with their school.Several sororities and fraternities on campus have also adopted B+ heroes, who are kids battlingcancer. Beta Xi has adopted a sweet little girl, named Moriah, who comes to the house about oncea week. We feel like Moriah is one of our sisters, and it has been such a joy for our chapter tosupport her and her family as she goes through her journey. Moriah is one of the reasons ourchapter has been so passionate about fundraising for the B+ Foundation, and we are proud of themoney we have raised for such an awesome organization!Chapter Facility:In what kind of a facility does your chapter meet? Please attach a clear photo of where you typically holdchapter meetings – whether in a classroom, chapter house or elsewhere.We have a beautiful newly renovated house. We use our main dining room as the chapter room,where hold meetings throughout the year.
Our meeting on September 9th was program night; it was special because a member of our chapter, Barbara Gass, discussed her experience biking from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska to raise money for cancer research in Texas 4000. Kappa Kidnap was our second event of the year on September 12th. It is a very exciting event in which the chapter is unaware of the location of the event until we arrive. This year it was hosted about an hour outside of Austin at the famous Coupland Dance Hall. Girls wore cowboy boots and dresses and danced the night away. Parent’s Weekend was September 20th and 21st. On the 20th we hosted a fun party with the Texas Fiji’s at a local venue called The Stage. There was a fun band and games. On Saturday night Catherine Wilson, Philanthropy Chair, planned Kappa Cookout. Every year we have barbecue at the house and invite our parents and friends to come by after the football game to raise money for Reading is Fundamental. It was a huge success with a band playing in the key garden and the house set up in a football theme. On September 27th Tatum Jolink, New Member Chair, planned the new member retreat. She hosted it at the house and cleared out all of the furniture. The new members played games and watched movies and all got to know each other even better. September was a full month of fun and educating new members.
October started with our annual TriDelt/Kappa Ranch Date party on October 3rd. It was held at a new venue called Brazos Hall and people danced all night in cowboy boots. On October 7th the new members had an orientation with all ==Highlights of the new members in the UT Panhellenic system. On October 12th the Kappas headed north to Dallas for the annual TX/OU weekend. This was the first year in 3 years that Texas pulled out a win and everyone was very excited! On October 14th we had program night during our meeting and Willa Jolink invited the UT Slam Poetry team to come perform for us. It was a great way for the chapter to see a different side of campus. Lea Edwards, Registrar, planned composites pictures to be taken on October 15-16. Everyone dressed up in black to take pictures in the side living room. On October 16th Chapter Council had a fun dinner with all of their advisors at Santa Rita. It was a great way for everyone to hang out with their advisor and meet the other advisors who do so much for our chapter. We celebrate Kappa Founder’s Day on October 21st. Willa Jolink, Education Chairman, planned a wonderful event at the AT&T Conference center across from the Kappa house. We honored Kappa alumni and remembered our founders. We even had an appearance from the Pickers! On October 29th Peyton Bivins, Public Relations Chairman, planned the alumni Halloween party. All of the local alumni brought their kids dressed up for Halloween, and our chapter hosted a party with trick or treating, face painting, and games. On October 31st we had our annual party with Chi Omega called Owloween. It was at a local venue downtown and was a great way to celebrate Halloween as a chapter. 2018==
On November 1st we had Big/Little Reveal. Tatum Jolink planned something new and fun for the girls. We had a barge out on Lake Austin and the girls dressed up in a costume to match their bigs. It was so much fun and everyone enjoyed adding a new member to their Kappa family. On November 4th we had reverse pledging for the new members and started Inspiration Week. Throughout the week we had fun events planned for the new members leading up to Initiation. We had a House Buddy reveal party and many other fun things to celebrate their transition into official members of Kappa. On November 8-9 we had Initiation at the house. This year, 47 alums and over 200 actives took part in our best initiation yet. Both the actives and alumnae were eager to participate; all felt a strong sense of renewal afterward. Our white room was 18’ x 32’ larger than in years past due to the extensive efforts of the Marshal, her adviser and her committee. We added an extra Red Room along with 12 Runners and four Marshals to help run the Red Room process. Everyone participated and alumni from around the country came to initiate girls they know and love. After initiation on November 9th we had an Initiation brunch for all of the girls and their moms. On November 14-17 we had a Kappa trainer come visit our chapter. She taught us about risk management and the importance of Kappa’s reputation. It was extremely helpful for our chapter to have her help us improve. On November 19th we had a sisterhood event at the house. We all brought supplies and participated in a fun event that helped boost self-esteem and demonstrate our appreciation for one another. On November 21st we had our last event of the year, Kappa Cocktail. We had a great semi-formal at a local venue Buffalo Billiards. It was a great way to end a semester!
This year UT Our chapter has experienced many changesbeen raising money and gathering books for RIF over the last few years. Our head coach of We partner with Wooldridge Elementary to host a RIF event there twice a year, invitingstudents from the football teamschool to come play games,eat snacks, Mack Brownand get their faces painted.Each child leaves with books donated by our members. Throughout the year, retired from coaching after a very successful tenure chapter membersvolunteer as mentors for some of the students at UTthe school. A new coach from Louisville We received our B+ Hero, Charlie StrongMoriah, replaced him. It will be interesting to see his success at UT over the next a few yearsago,along with many other sororities and fraternities on campus. The UT Board Moriah has become part of Regents has been eventful to follow—with some members disagreeing Bill Powersthe sisterhood, and she is well loved by everyone in the president of UTchapter. The City We spend lots of time taking her and her friends to participate in things around Austin has also been growing at a very fast rate over as wellas hosting them to the past few yearshouse to paint,sing,or play hide-and-go-seek. There are many new buildings added to Throughout the skyline each year and Austin is becoming a destination ,wealso raise money for people around the worldB+ Foundation through fundraising campaigns. Overall, Kappa is adapting to UT and Austin’s development and growth with ease As Moriah grows older, and we are excited so lucky to see what happens in have had the years chance to get to comeknow her and her family.
==Highlights of 2014== Upon electing the new officers for 2014, the new and old Chapter Council wasted no time in preparing for the year ahead. After completing triplet meetings in December, the officers all felt that they were ready to continue the great leadership that was in place before them. Our first two orders of business were to get everyone up to speed on the Kappa Google Drive, and to create a 2014 Leadership Action plan. Chapter Council completed these two items with outstanding efficiency and thoroughness, which set all the new officers up for a very successful year! In January, all the new officers had a great beginning to the new year. Willa Jolink (President) spent much of her time organizing and leading Chapter Council and Chapter meetings every Sunday and Monday. Her organizational skills and heart for Kappa helped everything run smoothly in the first month of her office. The chapter also welcomed two new transfers from Texas Tech and Alabama, which Willa Jolink (President), Tatum Jolink (VP Standards) and Leigh Robinson (Registrar) helped usher in. Tatum Jolink organized the first Sisterhood event of the semester, bowling at the underground alley on campus, which was a huge success! Becca Johnson (VPAE) also implemented a new system of gauging the academic success of the new members, which ultimately led to one of our best overall GPAs yet! Madalyn Brim (Membership) organized a successful first Rush Workshop to prepare for recruitment in the fall and began the process of preparing for a new pledge class! Meghan Lowenfield (Chapter Education) treated the Chapter to a Zumba Workout during the first program night. Overall, the 2014 Every year was off to a great start! In February, the new officers began to get the hang of their positions and began brainstorming ways to make this the best year of Beta Xi yet! Becca Johnson (VPAE) received the grade reports from the Fall 2013 semester and was pleased to see that we had raised our GPA significantly above the all sorority average and was ranked 6th overall! The chapter celebrated with a cake and Kappachino party that Julie Parma (House Chairman) and Miss Judi put on! Leigh Robinson (Registrar) also held the first RomCom of the Month on the week of Valentines Day, and partnered with Meghan McGowan (Philanthropy) to hold Kisses from Kappa, an event where the chapter writes Valentines to hospitalized children. It was a huge success, with the biggest turnout that both events have ever seen. Tricia Curry (Marshal) also held a Ritual Workshop to teach the entire chapter the Kappa rituals. This was extremely helpful to the new members especially. Last, Kappa had their first formal of the semester, Monmouth, with the PiPhis in late February. It was at a new venue on 6th street, and all the multiple girls had a fun time with their dates thanks to a lot of planning from Mimi Richardson (Events Chairman) and Sam Stavinhoa (Risk Management). March was a big month for the Beta Xi Kappas. Julie Parma (House Chairman) began the month by analyzing House Points and assigning roommates in the house for the 2014-2015 school year. She also revamped the Lillian, a lounge on the second floor that had begun to look outdated. With the House Board’s help, the new Lillian is now a favorite hangout spot for the girls in the house! Beta Xi also had House Mother Appreciation week, where the girls honored Miss Judi and all the amazing work she does for our chapter. Peyton Bivins (VPO) also worked hard on preparing the chapter for the Leadership Consultant to visit in late March. The LC helped us so much, and we were so happy to get apply to gain wisdom from an older, wiser Kappa! Becca Johnson (VPAE) also went above and beyond by compiling a “Majors List”, a new resource ride for Kappas to find others who share the same majorTexas 4000. Becca also planning a Registration Party, with older Kappas helping younger girls navigate the perils of registering for classes. Barbara Gass (Corresponding Secretary) took a lot of time in March to inventory and label all the resources in the basement, making it much easier for the chapter to access. Meghan Lowenfield (Fraternity Education) also organized two fun events for the chapter: a senior yoga class and a Keys Overseas presentation! Both made meetings interesting and fun! In the end of March, the girls went on Spring Break, many going on trips with other Kappas. The Kappas traveled all over the world and took advantage of a whole week off from school! Upon returning back, Beta Xi held our biggest philanthropy event during Round Up, Fajita Fiesta, with PiPhi! This was the first year to do this, and Meghan McGowan’s (Philanthropy) hard work on it paid off!Texas In April, Beta Xi did not slow down one bit in preparing for the end of the semester. Mimi Richardson (Social) worked with Theta to plan Kite and Key, a beloved date party with the Thetas. Sam Stavinhoa (Risk Management) did a ton of work with the bus policy for this event, and spent many hours contacting the bus company and thinking of new, innovative ways to take roll on the buses. Additionally, Mimi Richardson helped plan fun Mom's and Dad's Weekends in April. The chapter loved getting to hang out with each other families in group dinners and events. Alex Collins (Panhellenic Delegate) helped run Greek Grub, an awareness event that helps Greeks meet each other on campus. She also organized 4000 is a non-profit share with our sister sorority, AEPhi, at Red Mango. The turnout was great, and all the proceeds went to One Million for Anna, a charity organization that Meghan McGowan (Philanthropy) has developed a relationship with. Michelle Nash (Public Relations) threw the annual Easter Party, hosts one the of the chapter’s favorite opportunities to meet alumni! Michelle put on an incredible party with Easter egg hunts and even the Easter Bunny made an appearance. Julie Parma (House Chairman) also assigned parking spots in the Kappa lot based on preference forms for the 2014-2015 school year. May signaled a slow down longest bicycle rides in Kappa events as finals approached and the semester came to an end. Meghan Lowenfield (Education Chairman) conducted Senior Sendoff, a fun event after Chapter where we recognize the seniors and hear funny memories from their at KKG. Leigh Robinson (Registrar) also worked hard in obtaining all the graduating seniors’ contact information and put them on alum status in Key Reports. Tatum Jolink (VP Standards) also helped in getting the seniors to comply with the Senior Agreement, and she believes that the seniors were more aware of the requirements than in years past. Maggie Hood (Treasurer) worked hard in setting up the budget for the next school year. She met with all the officers individually and looked at past bills to determine the correct amount to allocate to each of the officer accounts. Maggie Hood (Treasurer), Willa Jolink (President) and Tatum Jolink (VP Standards) also worked hard to ensure that all accounts were cleared and everything was organized and squared away nicely for the chapter. Catherine Anne Prideaux (New Member) and Madalyn Brim (Membership) both worked hard to prepare for the recruitment and the new members coming in August! Catherine Anne finalized Bid Day plans and worked closely with Caroline Wallace (Favors Chairman) to design fun t-shirts and gear for the new girls to wear. Madalyn held the last recruitment workshop and began planning for the summer. Lastly, Mimi Richardson (Social Chairman) and Sam Stavinhoa (Risk Management) planned a fun End of the Year Party on a barge on Lake Travis for the Kappas! It was a huge hit and a great end to the school year! Over the summer, the Kappas parted ways to do internships, study abroad, hang out at home or take classes in Austin. All the girls, especially the officers, kept up a strong line of communication and continued to uphold the Kappa name all around the world. Five members of Chapter Council attended Convention over the summer with all of the Kappa chapters in our region. The girls gained a lot of great tips in how to better run our chapter! Madalyn Brim (Membership) Kappas who apply and the rest are accepted raise thousands of Recruitment Team stayed in Austin over the summerdollars, and attended parties and events where they could meet some of the girls who would be going through recruitment in August. The team did training a ton of hard work for the rest of the chapter, but also had a ton of fun in Austin! However, in August everyone was ready to get back to the Kappa house for another fun year of Recruitment, new members, date parties, meetings, and sisterhood events. In August, Madalyn Brim’s officer position kicked into high gear when she led an extremely successful Spirit Week and Recruitment Week. All of the chapter’s hard work paid off when 78 new Kappas ran to the house on Bid Day! Everyone was so pleased with the girls we had gotten, and Catherine Anne Prideaux (New Member Chairman) was ready to begin integrating the New Members into the chapter! September marked the first week of school and the first football game. This ll year, long time football coach, Mack Brown, left the University and Coach Charlie Strong was hired as the new Longhorns head football coach! This football season looked promising for the Longhorns, and the Kappas were excited to begin attending football games again. At Beta Xi, September was a very busy month. Unfortunately, Bid Night behavior posed some challenges that Chapter Council had to discuss how to move forward with this yearly celebration of the new members. Willa Jolink (President) led these discussions and worked as the communication between the House Board and Chapter Council. The Kappas handled this situation very well and implemented extra service events and programs to put our chapter back in good standing. We are very proud of the progress we have made! Also in September, the New Members had their retreat at the KKG house, where they played games and bonded at a pledge class. Peyton Bivins (VPO) diligently constructed the calendar for the upcoming semester and implemented a new system for Committee Night. Now, all officers have a committee and the girls have a bigger hand in choosing a committee for the semester. Becca Johnson (VPAE) also made a fun new game out of Smarty Pants, which puts the 4 grades into competition ride from Austin to see who can get the most AsAlaska. Overall, September was a busy and challenging semester, but very rewarding overall! In October, Beta Xi was brought the news that the house would officially be undergoing a major renovation in the 2014-2015 school year! The girls were all very excited about the prospect of a new and improved house, but many challenges did arise in terms of housing everyone in the Our chapter during the year that the house cannot be used. House Board and Chapter Council worked together to form a relationship with 2400 Nueces to get a block of rooms for the Kappas, find a house for Miss Judi and locate potential new meeting and recruitment spaces. Overall, the strong team mindset in Kappa made assists these challenges easy to overcome. Beta Xi also had another visit from the LC, Riley. Peyton Bivins (VPO) ensured she had a wonderful stay and the chapter benefitted from the news ideas that the LC had to bring. Meghan Lowenfield (Fraternity Education) planned and implemented Founders Day, a time to celebrate and commemorate the founding and history of Kappa. The tradition is beloved by the Kappas. On October 25th, Tricia Curry (Marshal) officially initiated all 78 of the pledges in a beautifully run ceremony. Tricia organized everything with ease and made it the most efficient Initiation Ceremony in the past years. Initiation marks the end of an 8-week education process of the new members. Michelle Nash (PR) held another successful holiday event, the annual Halloween Party at the House. Mimi Richardson (Events Chairman) and Sam Stavinhoa (Risk Management) worked hard to plan and throw Kappa Kidnap and OwlOween on two back-to-back weekends, which were both fun ways to end the month of October! November marked continued efforts to organize and communicate updates from House Board about the new upcoming renovation. Willa Jolink (President) and Julie Parma (House Chairman) worked for a very long time to make sure this process ran smoothly. Leigh Robinson (Registrar) coordinated the Composite pictures and signed a contract with a different Composite company for the next school year. She hopes to save money and increase composite quality with this switch! Tatum Jolink (VP Standards) Meghan McGowan (Philanthropy) and Alex Collins (Panhellenic Delegate) worked together to organize a Sisterhood event. At the event, girls decorated Thanksgiving cookies with Kappa Delta and wrote holiday cards to Dell Children’s Hospital. Mimi Richardson (Events Chairman) planned Parents Weekend and Kappa Cocktail. Kendall Sealy (Recording Secretary) worked with all the officers to revise the Bylaws and Standing Rules for the next officers. Then in mid November, Beta Xi began officer transitions, led by Peyton Bivins (VPO). Julie Parma (House and Slate Chairman) and the Slate Committee had elected new girls to serve on Chapter Council, and the groups began working together to transition all positions over smoothly. The 2014 Chapter Council is extremely excited to see what the new Chapter Council will do in 2015!postingIn December, the semester began to come to a close, with only one week in between Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks for some. The girls worked really hard to get their schoolwork done and finish with great GPAs. Slowly but surely, girls began to move out of the house to return home for the winter break and holiday season. Overall, 2014 has been an incredible year for Beta Xi, and we could not be happier with the challenges we have overcome and the changes we have implemented. Campus: Recent changes on our campus have made it increasingly important to be technologically savvy. With the influx of social media and technology that has come about in the past couple years, students must utilize these avenues to be successful at the University of Texas. In other newsselling t-shirts, in 2014 we hired a new football coach, Charlie Strong. The students has have begun to call themselves "Stronghorns" and all have made an incredible effort to stand behind and support this new football erahelping raise money. We Not only are hoping for some big football wins in 2015! we incrediblyChapter: The nature of our chapter is something that we are most proud of . We are known as campus as being friendly, welcoming and bright. We still maintain a highly admired reputation among both Greeks and non Greeks, and we wear the Kappa name with pride. Our biggest accomplishment this year was overcoming some disciplinary issues with alcohol in the house. It was a long road to work with the House Board, advisors, and Miss Judi to enforce the rules surrounding this. We began doing room sweeps of the House to ensure than no one was keeping alcohol against the rules. We are happy to say that the chapter has been properly educated on this rule and all the girls have completely supported our Standards Chair and President in this challenge, and our chapter is now stronger a whole. We hold chapter meetings in the large downstairs living room of the KKG House on University Drive. We normally move the furniture and bring in chairs to ensure that everyone has a comfortable place to sit. The chapter owns our House, which maintains a Historical Landmark status in Texas. We have had our red brick house on University for decades now. The girls have the opportunity to live in the House both their junior and senior years, if they choose. The House has 60 spots, and the House Chairman generally fills them with half junior and half seniors, based on House Points that can be earned throughout the school year. In our history, we have had one other chapter owned house, which was formerly on the corner of 24th of Rio Grande, the current site of a gas station. The chapter is looking forward to a massive renovation of our house in 2015 and 2016, a 15 month project to update it and revamp it. This will cause member s to not be able to live in the house in the 2015-2016 school year. ==Highlights of 2015== 2015 was a big year of change and growth for Beta Xi. In January, the new Beta Xi Chapter Council was eager to continue the legacy of great leadership that was put in place the previous year. Tricia Curry was President, Annie Whitehead was VP Standards, Sam Stavinoha was VP Organization, Catherine Anne Prideaux was VPAE, Morgan Bridges was Recording Secretary, Sarah Branch was Corresponding Secretary, Rachel Theilmann was membership chairman, Annie Bernica was New Member Chairman, Elise Roth was Treasurer, Sarah Cordill was Philanthropy Chairman, Meredith Nagel was Event Chairman, Michelle Nash was Registrar, Katie Sears was House Chairman, Avery Travis was Marshal, Sophie Worrell was Risk Management Chairman, Grace Anne McGinnis was Panhellenic Delegate, Kathryn Stouffer was PR Chair, and Anna Wittenmyer was Education Chair. Tricia Curry (President) kicked off the year by efficiently planning and leading CC meetings. The first few orders of business were finalizing edits on the chapter bylaws and standing rules, getting officers up to speed on the Kappa drive and webinars, and reviewing the basic expectations and responsibilities of Chapter Council members. Sam Stavinoha (VP Organization) went over our strategic plan and goals for the Chapter Council, which included increasing chapter unity, transparency and understanding of ritual, revamping philanthropy, and encouraging proactivity. Annie Whitehead (VP Standards) went over her new plan for implementing positive probation. Kathryn Stouffer (Public Relations Chairman) led a GIN presentation to get members acquainted with the new system, and published another great issue of “Round Up”, the annual Kappa newsletter. Under new leadership, the first few chapter meetings of the new year were completed with outstanding efficiency and thoroughness, and set the pace for a very successful year ahead. In February, the officers were beginning to get the hang of their new responsibilities on Chapter Council and the semester began to pick up speed. Meredith Nagel (Event Chairman) planned another awesome Dad’s weekend with a barbeque dinner at Ironworks, a joint event at the Rattle Inn with the Texas Cowboys, and more. She and Sophie Worrell (Risk Management) also pulled off another great Monmouth formal with the Pi Phis at the Downtown Austin Hyatt, and everyone had a wonderful time with their dates. Rachel Theilmann (Membership Chairman) held a very successful first recruitment workshop with the freshman, teaching them the inns and outs of rush and the importance of spring semester for recruiting. Chapter Council also attended Province in late February and learned a lot of great tips from other chapters on how to run the chapter more efficiently and effectively. March was another busy month for Beta Xi and the spring semester was in full swing. Avery Travis (Marshal) led a successful ritual workshop that was an extremely helpful refresher for the entire chapter. Catherine Anne Prideaux (VPAE) received the fall grades and found that our chapter GPA had risen since last semester and there were also 30 girls with 4.0’s from the fall! Rachel held another great Rush Workshop with both freshman and sophomores to begin preparing for recruitment and began developing a strategy with area assistants. Sam Stavinoha (VPO) worked hard to plan for the leadership consultant’s upcoming visit in April. On program night the chapter heard very valuable career advice from Lori MacNeil from Career Onward. Lori talked about the importance of resumes, LinkedIn accounts, and overall social media identity. The chapter was very receptive to her talk and learned a lot about professionalism. Sarah Cordill (Philanthropy Chair) planned another successful fundraiser with Pi Phi during round up. The event, called Kappa/Pi Phi Carnival, was our biggest philanthropy event of the year and actives and guests attended with a petting zoo, face painter, snow cones, and more. Hudson Moore performed and the event raised around 1000 dollars for our philanthropy. It was so much fun and a huge success. April was another great month for Beta Xi. Kathryn Stouffer (PR) planned the annual Easter party for alumnae and their children. The event was held at the house and featured an Easter egg hunt, face painting, and the Easter bunny made an appearance per usual. The event was a blast for all who attended! Meredith Nagel (Event Chairman) and Sophie Worrel (Risk Management) planned another successful event with Theta- Kite & Key. The event was held at a venue downtown and everyone had a wonderful time with dates and Theta friends. Mom’s weekend was also a blast and the Kappas enjoyed a chapter-wide dinner at the Driskill with their mothers. Meetings were running smoothly and Carolyn Simpson came and spoke to the chapter about recruitment and Kappa nationals. This talk was very informative for the entire chapter, and helped shed light on how Kappa functions as an organization nationally beyond just the level of our chapter. Our leadership consultant, Alex Von Springer also visited in April and gave a very helpful presentation to the chapter at the end of her visit with some tips and advice on how we could improve. We also held a ring ceremony at an April meeting for one of our seniors, Becca Oertli, who got engaged. Sarah Cordill held a successful RIF event at Wooldridge Elementary. The entire chapter came together and set up stations at the school to interact with the kids. Stations included sports, reading, card decorating and face painting. This event was looked forward to very much by both our chapter and the kids, and was a huge success as usual. At the end of the month, Chapter Council got news that due to unforeseen complications, our house renovations would now be delayed until November of 2015. Though this meant we would be able to hold recruitment at the house, this presented new challenges to chapter council and the members affected. A member of house board came to answer questions and help sort out the issues. May signaled a slow down in Kappa events as finals approached and the semester came to an end. Anna Wittenmyer (Education Chairman) conducted Senior Sendoff, a fun event after chapter where we recognize the seniors and hear funny memories from years past. Michelle Nash (Registrar) also obtained all of the graduating seniors’ contact information and put them take on alum status in Key Reports. Elise Roth (Treasurer) worked hard to set up the budget for the upcoming school year, and held budget meetings with all of the Chapter Council officers. Annie Bernica (New Member Chairman) and Rachel Theilmann (Membership Chairman) both worked hard to prepare for recruitment and the new pledge class coming in August. Annie worked hard to finalize bid day plans for the new members and Rachel held the last recruitment workshop and began planning for the summer. As everyone began moving out for summer, it was hard to believe that this was the last time any Kappas would be living in the old house! With renovations beginning in the falltask, it was a bittersweet end to a great year. Over the summer, Kappa sisters parted ways for internships or study abroad programs. Summer flew by and by August everyone was ready to get back to the University of Texas for another fun year. Rachel’s hard work over the past semester all culminated in an extremely successful spirit week and recruitment week in August. Her team and our chapter’s hard work paid off when Beta Xi welcomed 61 new members on bid day at the Kappa house. In the wake of last year’s bid day behavior issues, Tricia and chapter council worked hard to make sure that bid day was safe and fun for everyone. We were able to overcome the challenges from the previous year and put our chapter back on good standing with this yearly celebration of the new members. September marked the first week of school and the first football game, and everyone was excited to be back. With renovations starting, this month was the first time we began holding chapter meetings in the Student Union, our temporary home. The first meeting in the union ran smoothly and Catherine Anne (VPAE) congratulated the 26 members that received 4.0’s and happily announced that the chapter GPA had increased from the previous semester to a 3.44! Meredith (Event) and Sophie (Risk Management) worked hard to plan our first date event of the semester, Kappa Kidnap. The event was at a dance hall right outside of Austin and everyone had a great time with their dates and the live band. Annie (New Member) also planned a fun new member retreat and the new pledge class had a great time bonding and getting to know one another before the semester began to pick up speed. October was another busy month for Beta Xi. Meredith (Event Chairman) planned another great date event with Tri-Delt, and the month ended with Owl-o-ween, our date function with Chi-Omega. We had some issues with commend our risk management policies that needed to be addressed after these events. Chapter council discussed some ways to hold the chapter accountable for their actions at events and to reinforce new standards for behavior for everyone. We decided to implement a buddy system between “bigs” and “littles” as well as looking for ways to improve bus riding attendance at events. Michelle Nash (Registrar) worked hard to plan composites, and coordinated with a new company to have composites taken in the Union. Avery Travis (Marshal) did an amazing job planning and executing Initiation without a house. Initiation was held in a church near campus and ran very smoothly, and the newly initiated members and their parents went to a fun brunch afterwards at Hotel Ella down the street. Anna Wittenmyer (Fraternity Education Chairman) did an outstanding job planning Founder’s day. The event was held at AT&T and actives and alumnae attended and enjoyed stories and songs from the Kappa pickers. outpouringIn November the semester was quickly wrapping up. Meredith (Event Chairman) did a great job planning a fun parent’s weekend love and everyone enjoyed the chapter-wide dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. Meredith also did an outstanding job planning Kappa Formal, our last formal of the semester. The event was held at Austin Music Hall downtown. Morgan Bridges (Recording Secretary) was elected slate chairman, and worked extremely hard to conduct meetings with the slate committee to nominate the officers for next yearsupport they provide. She gave the slate presentation at meeting in November, and officer transitions began quickly after, and the new and old Chapter Councils began working together. Summer 2018 Riders:In December, the semester began to come to a close, with only one week in between Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks for some. The girls worked really hard to get through finals and the end of the semester. 2015 was a great transition year for Beta Xi. Despite challenges from the house renovation, our chapter has remained stronger and closer than ever, and we look forward to the next year! PeytonBertramCampus: There were some changes to the campus climate in 2015. The University of Texas transitioned to a new president, Gregory L. Fenves, and Bevo XIV passed away near the end of the football season. LindaChapter: The nature of our chapter is what we are most proud of because Kappas are well known at the University of Texas for being friendly, open-minded and well liked by all groups on campus. Our main goal in 2015 was to increase chapter unity despite the house renovations, and our chapter did a great job finding ways to be together in the face of those challenges.Castranova; Chapter PhilanthropySummer 2019 Riders:JulieWhat organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?Wooldrige Elementary, SEAL Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?We have a great relationship with Wooldridge Elementary where we have our annual RIF event every spring. The kids are always very excited about the event and the Kappas are always eager to make a difference face-to-face. ==Highlights of 2016==DeLaRosa
2016 was a year characterized by strength, endurance, and evolution for Beta Xi. Still without our beloved house, the Kappas faced new challenges, bound together by friendship instead of the walls of the house itself. The campus climate was tumultuous. The chapter itself stumbled and fell on a few occasions. But as the year comes to a close, we can look back and say that in spite of all of that, we learned and we grew. We are finishing 2016 stronger, more unified, and better than when we began it. We are excited to move into our house come January! But before we transition into 2017, we want to look back and reflect on all we learned.
In January, the new Beta Xi Chapter Council was eager to continue the legacy of great leadership of past officers, as well as accomplishing new goals for out chapter. For President, Ellen Crowe served; For Vice President Standards, Anna Wittenmeyer served; For Vice President Organization, Hailey Becker served; For Vice President Academic Excellence, Erin Kreindler served; For Recording Secretary, Ali Purnell served; For Corresponding Secretary, Charlotte Paine served; For Treasurer, Payton Scott served; For Assistant Treasurer, Camille Szelc served; For Registrar, Avery Travis served; For Marshal, Hannah Love served; For Education Chairman, Caroline Smyrl served; For House Chairman, Sara Shaw served; For Membership Chairman, Riley Longtain served; For New Member Chairman, Tai Massimilian served; For Panhellenic Delegate, Alex Page served; For Philanthropy Chairman, Berkley Johnson served; For Public Relations Chairman, Kathryn Stouffer served; For Risk Management Chairman, Grace Winston served; and For Event Chairman, Mallory Morris served.
Without our trusty senior girls to guide us and without a house to meet in, Chapter Council braved the unknown and began to meet. Ellen Crowe (President) began the year with efficiency and care, planning and leading Chapter Council meetings. They finalized edits on the chapter bylaws and standing rules, educated themselves on how to use the Kappa drive and webinars, and reviewed the expectations and responsibilities ==Highlights of Chapter Council members with the help of Hailey Becker (VP Organization). She went over goals for the year, including chapter unity, continuing to revamp philanthropy, and getting the chapter on board with the Risk Management policies, as well as the rules and goals of Standards Committee. Chapter council discussed some ways to hold the chapter accountable for their actions at events and to reinforce new standards for behavior for everyone. We decided to change our buddy system from “bigs” and “littles,” to a “pick-a-buddy” system, where the girls signed up with a friend before events to be their accountability partner. Grace Winston (Risk Management) looked for ways to improve bus-riding attendance at events, while Anna Wittenmyer (VP Standards) streamlined the way we approach standards decisions. Sara Shaw (House Chair) worked tirelessly alongside our House Board, as renovations plowed on. Kathryn Stouffer (Public Relations Chairman) continued to educate members about the GIN system and published yet another great issue of “Round Up”, the annual Kappa newsletter. The new leaders conducted the first few chapter meetings with thoroughness and efficiency, growing more comfortable meeting in the Student Union and in their new positions. The year started off with a bang, with an organized Chapter Council and an excited group of Kappas. 2019==
In February, Kappas were getting settled Several members of Kappa are a part of the peer buddy in Best Buddies. They ar epaired with an adult with an intellectual disability and he’s their classes, and "buddy"at all the officers were beginning to get events for the hang rest of their new responsibilities: planning events, running meetings, and fulfilling their duties more easilythe school year. Berkley Johnson (Philanthropy Chair) took it upon herself It is a great way for our members to completely revamp Beta Xi’s philanthropic effortsstay involved in the community as well as make an impact in someone's life. She continued the new partnership with the B+ Foundation I would say that all our members involved in Best Buddies have learned more from the last program than they expected. Our members are also involved in our philanthropy chair began, combining Kappa’s passion for reading with our love of kidsReading is Fundamental. We adopted a B+ Hero named Moriah, who There is battling cancer, and made her an honorary “sister.” Kappas began visiting Moriah event at Wooldridge Elementary School where members go hang out with the children at the hospitalschool, paint their faces, playing gamesmake bracelets, doing puzzlesdraw pictures, play basketball and when she felt up to iteveryone's favorite, even having dance parties with our newest little Kappaplay musical chairs. Mallory Morris There are also other events we are involved in such as an online fundraiser for B+ Foundation, Girls Academy (Event Chairman) middle school girls retreat on leadership, service, and Grace Winston (Risk Managementrespect) pulled off a great Monmouth formal at Brazos Hall, and everyone had a wonderful time with their dates and book drives, participated in Phi Psi Stuff the Truck, DG Desserts, Alpha Phi's Mac N' Phis, Pi Phi's Pi Burger's & Phries, ADPi's PiHop, won SDT EAT your way around competition, Kappa Pi Phi friendscarnival, fundraising for Texas4000, donated menstrual products to PERIOD. Riley Longtain (Membership Chairman) held a very successful first recruitment workshop with the freshman, teaching them the in’s and out’s Each of rush our members are dedicated to their success and have achieved incredible things while at the importance University of the spring semester for recruitingTexas. While Kappa prepared One of our members was awarded a $1500 grant for recruitmentthesis research, she is the co-president of Plan II student association, so did Alex Page (Panhellenic Delegate) was also awarded the AJ and Grace Anne McGinnisLynda Hare Scribante Scholarship for $3000, and is a Kappa who served as Vice President of UT’s Panhellenic Councilcounselor for Dell Medical Summer Science Camp. They began We have a wonderful year of working together and representing Kappa well lot going on but we are all there to support each other sororities and to UPC. We rounded help out the month with a visit from our moms, with fun shopping events and a brunch at The Grove downtown to celebrate Mom’s Weekendwhen someone could use another hand.
Then came March, another great month for Beta Xi, as the spring semester was Our members are involved in full swing. Hannah Love (Marshal) led a successful certain programs and efficient ritual workshop to refresh the chapter clubs on the ritual campus and history a majority hold officer positions in those organizations. A few of our organization. Erin Kreindler (VP Academic Excellence) continued to encourage the girls things they have worked to study hardaccomplish include improved transition for freshman Plan II students by creating new activities and opportunities for involvement, with fun Study Snacks events like pizza catering contributed to enrichment and coffee after chapter! Riley continued closeness of Greek community, donated 300 books to hold Rush Workshops with the freshman Wooldridge Elementary, and provided support, education, and the older girls leadership to prepare for recruitment Wooldridge students, B+ hero, and develop a strategy to show girls what Kappa summer camp kids. We support Reading is all aboutFundamental, despite Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation We chose RIF because it is our lack national philanthropy and we want to participate in the core values of a houseKappa Kappa Gamma. Hosting RIF events and book drives connects us with our sisters within the chapter and throughout the nation. Hailey Becker (VP Organization) worked hard to plan for We chose the leadership consultant’s upcoming visit B+ Foundation because it is a local philanthropy that we can participate in Aprilwith other sororities and fraternities on the University of Texas campus.
April was a busy month as usual for Beta Xi. Our leadership consultant, Kate Burton, came and brought some amazing ideas for our chapter with her. She hung out with our members, doing fun things around Austin and helped our officers grow in their leadership abilities. Hailey Becker (VP Organization) did an amazing job making Kate feel at home. Berkley Johnson (Philanthropy Chair) helped plan our fundraiser, Kappa Pi-Phi Carnival, complete with snow cones and live music, raising money for our philanthropy. We love joining forces with another sorority who also cares about supporting literacy, and the event was a blast as usual. She also held a successful RIF event at Wooldridge Elementary. The entire chapter came together and set up stations at the school to play games, read, decorate bookmarks, and get their faces painted. At the end of the laughter-filled event, each child took home a book (or two!). Mallory Morris (Event Chairman) planned an awesome Dad’s Weekend, with food catered on a fun rooftop venue and the chapter attending the Spring football game with their dads. She and Grace Winston (Risk Management) also planned another successful event with our friends in Theta, called Kite & Key. The event was held at a venue downtown and everyone had a wonderful time. A senior Kappa, Kallen Dimitroff ran for Student Body President of the University of Texas, and despite her campaign’s loss, it was incredible to see the whole chapter gather around her and support her with pride.
Kappa events slowed and finals approached, as May rolled around. Caroline Smyrl (Education Chairman) conducted Senior Sendoff, a fun event after chapter where we recognize the seniors and hear funny memories from years past, including poems and “twinkies” from some seniors’ parents. These very seniors then became alums after graduation celebrations, and it was made official in Key Reports. Some ==Highlights of them got into top graduate schools to continue their studies, while others headed off to work in cities around the country. They were off into the world! Payton Scott (Treasurer) worked hard to set up the budget for the upcoming school year, and held budget meetings with all of the Chapter Council officers. Tai Massimilian (New Member Chairman) and Riley Longtain (Membership Chairman) both worked hard to prepare for recruitment and the new pledge class coming in August, with the added challenge of finding a home for Spirit and Recruitment weeks without our house. We talked to event halls and fraternity houses, and we finally found a place to hold the events and welcome our new members…stay tuned below! Riley also held the last recruitment workshop and began planning for the summer with her incredible team. The girls in dorms, apartments, and houses packed their bags and headed out of Austin, waving goodbye to this school year. 2020==
Over Beta Xi chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma had a great year! Multiple members were awarded KKG foundation academic scholarships. Ashley Duester (PC ’17) was awarded the summerUT Sorority and Fraternity Life Office Outstanding Member of 2020 award. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Kappa sisters spread out across we were lucky enough host a sisterhood basketball game in February and the globe for internshipsMonmouth date event on March 2nd, jobs, and study abroad programs2020. From Spain, After life started to New Yorkchange, sisterhood events began to Parislook more socially distant. On November 10th, 2020 we held a sisterhood ice cream event at Zilker Park and a hot chocolate event in the key garden during finals week in December. We continued to Dallas and Houston and Galveston, stay philanthropically involved by hosting a chapter drive-in donation to all EJI in Spring 2020. Because of the way pandemic, we created operation plans for managing chapter facilities in Australia, Kappas took the world by stormmidst of COVID-19. But the months flew byWe conducted a virtual work week, as summer always doesrecruitment, and came to a closebid day. By AugustAll new member meetings, everyone was ready to get back to their Kappa friendsformal and reverse pledging ceremonies, and formal chapter meetings were held virtually through zoom (informal chapter meetings consisted of a PowerPoint made by the members of chapter council and sent out to Austinthe entire chapter). Further, initiation was completely virtual and to the University of Texascombined into one ceremony.
But unlike years past, when Kappas ran into our house on University Avenue to prepare for recruitment, this year we ran into…the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house, another temporary home! The SAE fraternity boys kindly let us borrow their conveniently located house for Chapter celebrated Founders Day with a few weeks. And as we did with brunch at the Union, we turned the SAE house into a homeBeta Xi KKG House. Kappa seems Alumni were invited to have an uncanny knack come celebrate the exciting day and share with each other the power of making anywhere feel like Kappa women.There was a loving home. It could be speaker who presented a room in little bit about Kappa and the Student Union, history of it and everyone had a study abroad dorm, a cramped apartment full of Kappas working great time in New York city, or a fraternity house, but if Kappas are together, it feels like homeeach others company. It is definitely a skill we are proud of!
Riley Longtain (Recruitment Chair) and her team’s hard work over the past semester culminated at the end of August. Spirit week was a blast, and the chapter’s hard work during a long week of recruiting paid off when 68 awesome new members came running to the Littlefield fountain on campus, to be welcomed by our chapter with open arms. The stresses of a long Recruitment and being without a real home took a toll on the chapter, however. Our chapter stumbled on Bid Night began to celebrate Kappa’s 150th anniversary with some behavioral issues that we know are unacceptableFounders Day. Ellen Crowe (President) Customized cups and napkins were made for the Chapter Council quickly jumped into action, taking ownership guests of our mistakes and trying Founders Day as well as for the active members to get the chapter back on track. We would have been lost without the fearless leadership of Ellen, the patience of Anna Wittenmyer (VP Standards), use throughout the planning of Hailey Becker (VP Organization), and the maturity of Tai Massimillian (New Member Chairman). We knew there would be consequences and this would be a long road ahead, but we also knew that changes that needed to occur. We were nervous but excited for how our chapter would evolve because of this challengeyear.
In spite of the chaosFor our philanthropy we support B+ Foundation, September rolled aroundReading is Fundamental, and the Kappas were back. With a crazy Longhorn football win against Notre Damevarious COVID relief organizations: Fuel Our Heroes, we began our classes with excitement and our horns up high! We continued holding chapter meetings in the Student Union, our temporary home. The first meeting ran smoothly as chapter council got back Communities in the swing Schools of thingsCentral Texas, Boys and the new members learned the ins and outs of their new chapterGirls Club. Following the events of Bid Day, we were visited by Emily Murdock and Illiana Garcia, RIF is our Theta District director Kappa affiliate philanthropy and specialistB+ supports children battling cancer. They helped our Chapter Council remember the “why?” of our chapter, as well as realign the goals of Beta Xi with that of the national organization. They inspired our leaders to be better and to lead our chapter out of this slump. They began helping us build a strategic plan to improve our chapter and help us rectify the mistakes of the weeks prior. Weeks passed, with the first formal meeting held by Hannah Love (Marshal) and program nights like the one featuring Shannon Moody, where we learned about the Jeremiah Project, a center As for single mothers, organized by Caroline Smyrl (Fraternity Education Chairman). Hailey Becker (VP Organization) revamped committee nightsCOVID relief participation, helping each committee set goals for the semester. We also had an exciting visit from the Fraternity President Beth Black, held at an alumni’s house in Austin. It was incredible for some of our officers to meet such an inspiring leader of the organization that we love so much. Erin Kreindler (VP Academic Excellence) was happy to report felt that 13 of our chapter members received 4.0 GPA’s in the spring, and the chapter’s cumulative GPA pandemic was 3.47, as the grade report came in. Kappa competed in the second annual Greek Get Down dance competition—and though we didn’t place like we did last year, we had so much fun dancing! Much one of the team was made up greatest crisis of our new members, so it was a great way for freshmen, sophomores, juniors lifetime and seniors we needed to all get to know one another. Mallory Morris (Event Chairman) organized our first fun event, Kappa Kidnap, at a dance hall outside of Austin. With cowboy boots and dresses on, the Kappas danced the night away to country music from a live band. Soon enough the semester was help in full swingany way possible.
October was yet another busy month The chapter fund raised for Beta Xi. The TX-OU football game was a blastthe Equal Justice Initiative, even though our beloved Longhorns lost. Mallory Morris (Event Chairman) planned started a fun date event with Tri-Delt, and ended the month with our traditional Halloween dance, called Owlsummer anti-o-ween, with Chi Omega. We absolutely love doing events with our friends in other sororities! But double the girlsracism book club, means double the amount of people trying to safely get home. Despite some bumps in the road in our risk management policies in the past, Grace Winston (Risk Management Chair) and Anna Wittenmyer (VP Standards) did an amazing job encouraging everyone to follow our policies. The buddy system became more successful as the semester went on, and as well as bus riding attendance. Hannah Love (Marshal) did established a stellar job planning Diversity and executing Initiation, in our second year without a house. Initiation was held in a different church than the year before, but Hannah was calm in the face Inclusion position of chaos, chapter council and the event ran as smoothly as ever. The newly initiated members had a wonderful morning, and afterwards joined their parents and friends committee for a fun brunch at Hotel Ella near campus. Caroline Smyrl (Fraternity Education Chairman) did an outstanding job planning Founder’s Day. The event was held at AT&T Conference Center. Actives and alumnae alike enjoyed stories from alums, songs from the Kappa pickers, and a presentation by the House Board, who has worked so hard on the house renovationsrecruitment. Hannah Love (Marshal), Kaki Miller (Key Sis Chair), All Diversity and Tai Massimilian (New Member Chairman) worked together to organize a “Big Sis, Little Sis” event with photos by the University Tower, then on to fun event at a trampoline park! Avery Travis (Registrar) planned composites, Inclusion positions and the Kappas “smiled pretty” for their photos. Avery coordinated with the same company from the year before to have composites taken in the Union. Our temporary home at the Union was really starting to feel like ours own—we had taken over! Many chapter members said they will actually miss our makeshift Union “housecommittees were made permanent.”
In November the semester was quickly wrapping up. Mallory Morris (Event Chairman) did a great job planning a fun parent’s weekend and a To celebrate 150 years of Kappa Kasual, our last event of the semester. The event was held at Cedar Street Courtyard downtown, with a fun live band. Then came the tumultuous 2016 Presidential Election that divided our campus. Kappas went out education chair made gift packages and voted for their choice, but our nation was not the only thing that was struggling sent them to unify in the face all of adversity. Ellen and the officers continued to edit and work on the Strategic Plan for upcoming yearalumnae being honored. With Ellen’s great vision and the help of the national organization itself, our specialists and the chapter members, we were able to construct a plan that would allow Kappa to grow in the coming years. Avery Travis (Registrar) was elected slate chairman, and worked extremely hard to conduct meetings with her dedicated and passionate slate committee to nominate the officers for next year. This year was tougher than ever, with so many great candidates stepping up for officer positions. The Slate Committee knew how important In these choices gift packs were, considering the issues from Bid Day, the strategic plan, and the new trajectory that Kappa was on—in order to improve and come back stronger. The committee worked hard to pick the best possible girls for the chapter council of 2017. The committee gave the slate presentation at meeting in November, and officer transitions began quickly after, and the new and old Chapter Councils began working together. As usual, Kappas were able to come together to create a unified group of sisterhood personalized Yeti cups and friendshipnotes.
November turned quickly into December, with only one week in between Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks for some girls. Hailey Becker (VP Organization) planned Here is a wonderful Leadership Day at a delcicious restaurant, where the new and old officers can get together with their advisors and go over the expectations and goals for the upcoming yearlink to our Instagram that was run by our PR chair. Our chapter worked hard to get through final exams It features pictures posted following public health guidelines and how we handled the end social media aspect of the semester, with Erin Kreindler (VP Academic Excellance) planning yummy Study Snack events throughout the weeks of finals! The Kappas wrapped up a long but fun yearpandemic. 2016 was a challenging but incredible year for growth for the Beta Xi chapterhttps://www. Despite challenges from the house renovation, the political and campus climate, and our own behavioral issues and changes, our chapter grew stronger and closer than ever, evolving to become the best chapter we can beinstagram. We cannot wait to move into our beautiful new home, and we look forward to taking on 2017, equipped with everything we have learned and the goals we plan to accomplish in the next year! com/texaskkg/?hl=en
Campus climate was tense in 2016, as it was much of the world. Yet another Student Government election occurred on campus in the Spring, this time with a Beta Xi running for office. Racial tensions and a new campus carry law caused protests and fractured our student body. The year culminated in one of the most controversial Presidential Elections ever, occurring in November. Our own chapter faced some of the biggest pitfalls and hardships we have ever faced. We lost loved ones and made mistakes. But through all of this, Beta Xi Kappa persevered together. We stood up for our beliefs and for each other, admitted our faults, and grew into a stronger chapter. Our chapter is well known at the University of Texas for being involved in and well liked by all groups on campus. Kappas are friendly, open-minded, intelligent and active in university life. Kappas are so well integrated and involved in our diverse on-campus commitments, that our main goal in 2016 was to increase Beta Xi chapter unity. In spite of a rocky campus climate and our own troubles within Beta Xi, we hoped to increase the bond of sisterhood in our chapter. Doing so without a home during the house renovations proved to be a challenge, but our chapter did a great job finding ways to unite, around causes like our philanthropy and each other’s successes.
This year, Berkley Johnson (Philanthropy Chair) completely revamped and reenergized our philanthropic efforts. Kappa adopted another philanthropy in addition to Reading Is Fundamental. The B+ Foundation raises money for cancer research and pairs sororities and fraternities nationwide with a “Hero:” a child battling cancer. We were paired with our Hero, Moriah. She is an eight-year-old girl with cancer, and the newest and youngest Beta Xi Kappa ever! She gets to wear our letters, come to some fun events, and be a part of our Kappa family. Beta Xi embraced our newest sister with love and pride. Kappas made visits to her at the hospital, had her over to our apartments, took her to Mozart’s Coffee Shop to see Christmas lights, made her a scrapbook and battled her disease alongside her. And we are thrilled to report that her cancer is in remission! We hoped to be a light in Moriah’s life this year…but it turns out that Moriah remained a shining light for our chapter, uniting us in some of our hardest seasons.
We remained passionate about encouraging childhood readingIn 2021, the Beta Xi chapter continued to thrive despite the complex environment of the evolving pandemic, and the chapter was a place of refuge for its members. In the early spring, as well! From profit shares organized by chapter members to stayed connected through virtual chapters and outdoor sisterhood events including a coffee bar in the KKG courtyard and a profit share with a book drive delicious ice cream sandwich truck to raise money for our annual fundraiserphilanthropies. Later in the semester, we definitely did not let our passion for this issue fall the chapter had its first semi-formal in over a year. The event was split up by grade level and members and their dates were COVID tested prior to the waysideevent. We have a great relationship with Wooldridge Elementary where we have our annual 87 members had 4.0s in the spring semester, and the chapter raised thousands of dollars for philanthropies including RIF event every spring , B+, Allies Against Slavery, and National Coalition against human trafficking. In the summer, Recruitment week was an exciting time for the whole chapter. This yearIt was the first time the entire chapter was able to be together since early 2020, Berkley added an event there in and new bonds were formed while old bonds were strengthened. In the fall, as well! Half chapter events and meetings were once again in-person. The return of Kappa lunch was welcomed by the chapter volunteered , as members were once again able to spend time together eating and studying at the elementary school on a Saturday, while the other half gave their time to Neighborhood Longhorns tutoring programKappa house.
While we await Chapter PhilanthropyIn the opening of our newly renovated house on University Avenuespring, we have been renting rooms in the UT Union building for Beta Xi chapter meetings raised money to help Austin’s homeless during the winter storms and raised $20,000 for two organizations that combat human trafficking. Throughout the year, our chapter lunchessupported the B+ Foundation, which supports the families of children who are fighting cancer. It is usually a large meeting room with screens and dining space in the backThis fall, Christiane, an honorary Kappa who has Batten disease, joined our chapter. We recommend She frequently visits the following Beta Xi house for Oral History Project:Kappa lunch where she eats and socializes with chapter members. The chapter also had several canned food drives.
Kathryn Stouffer, current member, outgoing PR ChairSarah Shaw, current member, outgoing House ChairTricia Cury, former president The chapter had a walk to raise money for NEDA and recent alumChandler Foster, recent alum Hannah Meehan, Beta Xi Chapter Council advisor fundraised for the Jed Foundation.
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'''Note to Chapter Registrar:'''
Please refer to your chapter archives including chapter meeting minutes and back issues of The Key to fill in any gaps in the above historical highlights. If your chapter archives are not complete, please research your university library, campus newspaper and yearbook archives for newsworthy information about your chapter. Please double check your work for accuracy. Contact chapter Advisory or House Board members, local Alumnae Association members, or your Province Director of Chapters for assistance.
Your efforts will ensure Operating in a complete PandemicHow did your chapter operations change due to COVID-19 (e.g., how did it affect recruitment, initiation, etc. Were events/activities held virtually?). Share what you have done this year. Chapter operations were impacted by COVID-19. During the spring, chapter and chapter council meetings were held virtually, and sisterhood and philanthropy events were usually outside in smaller groups. Work week and recruitment were a hybrid environment. Many work week activities were in-person, wearing masks. Recruitment was virtual until the preference round, which was split into two days, socially distanced, and accurate history masked. In the fall, the chapter saw a return to many more in-person events. The initiation ceremonies were once again in-person, although Fireside was split into two groups to facilitate social distancing. The chapter also elected to use the combined service for initiation, per the recommendation of your chapter Kappa nationals, to limit close contact between initiates and alumnae. The white room had less draping to allow for future generations better ventilation, and seniors were not required to enjoy!attend so that the room was less crowded than it would have been in a pre-pandemic initiation.
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|Image= [[File:Beta_Xi.jpg|200px]]
|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1902|05|12}}
|College= [httphttps://www.utexas.edu/ University of Texas at Austin]
|Location= Austin, TX
|Homepage= [https://chaptersutexas.kappakappagammakappa.org/betaxi/ Beta Xi Homepage]|Media= [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Beta_Xi Media related to Beta Xi Chapter]}}
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'''4,668 817 initiates (as of June 20162018)'''
==Highlights of 2000-2010==
Beta Xi welcomed the new millenium millennium with a variety of new chapter activities. Each year, the sisters gathered at a chapter retreat in the fall to build and restore relationships within the chapter. New sisterhood programs included television nights, a makeover with a make-up artist, a cooking class, a yoga class, manicures, and a ceramics class. To prepare for Recruitment, a Work Week was held in which the entire chapter learned new skits, practiced old songs, and perfected Recruitment strategies. A leadership workshop for the outgoing and incoming officers, and their advisers, to aid in the transition process. The Vice President-Academic Excellence worked to improve the chapter’s G.P.A. by implementing the “Owl Jar” program, which recognized members for their hard work, and introducing the “Study Fairy,” a magical being who rewarded Kappas found studying on campus.
==Highlights of 2016==
2016 was a year characterized by strength, endurance, and evolution for Beta Xi. Still without our
beloved house, the Kappas faced new challenges, bound together by friendship instead of the walls
of the house itself. The campus climate was tumultuous. The chapter itself stumbled and fell on a
few occasions. But as the year comes to a close, we can look back and say that in spite of all of
that, we learned and we grew. We are finishing 2016 stronger, more unified, and better than when
we began it. We are excited to move into our house come January! But before we transition into
2017, we want to look back and reflect on all we learned.
(House Chair) worked tirelessly alongside our House Board, as renovations plowed on. Kathryn
Stouffer (Public Relations Chairman) continued to educate members about the GIN system and
published yet another great issue of “Round Up”, the annual Kappa newsletter. The new leaders
conducted the first few chapter meetings with thoroughness and efficiency, growing more comfortable
meeting in the Student Union and in their new positions. The year started off with a bang, with an
organized Chapter Council and an excited group of Kappas.
Then came March, another great month for Beta Xi, as the spring semester was in full swing. Hannah
Love (Marshal) led a successful and efficient ritual workshop to refresh the chapter on the ritual
and history of our organization. Erin Kreindler (VP Academic Excellence) continued to encourage the
girls to study hard, with fun Study Snacks events like pizza catering and coffee after chapter!
Riley continued to hold Rush Workshops with the freshman and the older girls to prepare for
recruitment and develop a strategy to show girls what Kappa is all about, despite our lack of a
house. Hailey Becker (VP Organization) worked hard to plan for the leadership consultant’s upcoming
visit in April.
The 2018-19 school year began with a new Beta Xi Chapter Council ready to work hard and continue the amazing work of the previous council. The new Chapter Council was comprised of many new members, as well as some returning faces. Camille Szelc advanced from the role of Treasurer to President, and Jennifer Harbour took her place, moving up from Assistant Treasurer. Helen Williams took over the role as Assistant Treasurer, the only sophomore position on Chapter Council. Emma Riddle and Tessa Lauritzen returned to their respective positions of Philanthropy Chairman and Public Relations Chairman for the second year in a row. Carter Pittman was VP Standards, Charlotte Fitzpatrick was VP Organization,Peyton Travis was VPAE, Emily Parnell was Recording Secretary, Linda Castranova was Corresponding Secretary, Caroline Cannan was Membership Chairman, Cameron Crawford was New Member Chairman, Madison Rigby was Event Chairman, Cameron Shepherd was Registrar, Katie Bell was House Chairman, Lexie Alexander was Marshal, Sarah Boatwright was Risk Management Chairman, Kate Kaiser was Panhellenic Delegate, and Paige Nelson was Education Chair. As the year began, Camille (President) got the Chapter Council in order by determining a set time for weekly meetings. She efficiently created an easy way for all Council members to communicate, set up a Google Drive folder for notes and forms, and reviewed the necessary expectations and responsibilities of Chapter Council officers. The Council discussed their personal and group goals for the semester, focusing mostly on encouraging attendance and bolstering chapter morale throughout the year. To build a stronger community within the chapter, Carter (VP Standards) created a Kappa Kompliments box where members could leave encouraging notes to fellow Kappas to be read out at chapter. Cameron (Registrar) made sure Key Reports was in order and allowed access to the new officers. Jennifer (Treasurer) worked with the Chapter Council to set budgets for the 2018 spring semester and continued with billing of the chapter for the new semester. Linda (Corresponding Secretary) introduced her goal of moving everything over from the ListServe system to GinSystem and began the switch. Peyton (VPAE) started off the year by creating a consistent schedule of study snacks, available every Tuesday as a place for chapter members to take a mental break and grab a cookie or two. At the first chapter of the year, Camille (President) did a great job of welcoming everyone back and introduced transfers. The chapter voted on a new Standards Committee and AE Committee. To begin the process of recruitment, Caroline (Membership) sent out Area Rush Captain Applications to be due at the end of the month. Sophomores are encouraged to apply to be an Area Rush Captain as a fun way to get more involved in recruitment and assist the rush team in the busy months to come. In December early February, the first formal chapter of the year was held. Camille (President) and four other officers attended Ladder of Risk, a workshop designed to introduce the FIGP policy and build a community between fellow sorority and fraternity leaders. Emma (Philanthropy) began the application for GIRLS Academy, an opportunity for Kappa chapters to partner with and mentor young girls from a local middle school. As a chapter, Beta Xi raised over $1,000 for RIF at an event held by Outdoor Voices and was named one of the 20 highest donating KKG chapters. Charlotte (VPO) did a great job of placing chapter members into their respective committees, based off of their requests and needs of the officers. Kate (Panhellenic Delegate) sought to build better relationships between the Beta Xi chapter and Panhellenic by encouraging members to apply to be a Rho Gam for the following year’s recruitment. Cameron (Registrar) planned “Rom Com of the Month” around Valentine’s Day, featuring a night with popcorn, candy, and cheesy movies. The Kappas joined Pi Beta Phi for Monmouth, a wonderful formal event held at The Belmont. Everyone had a blast at the Masqueradethemed party, spending the night dancing to the band, posing for photo booth pictures, or coming up with a crazy design to request from the face painters. Paige (Education) planned an interesting and informative program night about self-defense, focusing on what we can do as women if we finished are placed in a threatening situation. The past two years of rush teams met with Caroline (Membership) and her rush team at a triplicate meeting, allowing them to impart their advice and wisdom. Caroline (Membership) also began meeting with Panhellenic at bimonthly Recruitment Roundtables as a way to learn the rules and routines of recruitment and led her first rush workshop with PC’ 17. On the last chapter of February, Alumnae Relations Specialist for Theta District, Amy Sutton, visited to announce to the chapter that the Warning of Probation had been lifted. The month ended with a Ritual Workshop held by Lexie (Marshall) as a way to refresh the chapter’s memory of important Kappa history. March came and went quickly with the nice week of Spring Break to give everyone a break from school. Emma (Philanthropy) invited the founders of the B+ Foundation to come speakto the chapter. They educated the chapter about their mission and main goals, while also introducing their Roundup fundraising campaign. Peyton (VPAE) held a wonderful Professor Dinner at the Kappa house, giving the members of our chapter a chance to get to know their esteemed professors in a more intimate setting. She designed coffee cups as a party favor so that each professor would remember the hospitality displayed by each girl. Before Spring Break, the Not On My Campus committee gave a brief but informative presentation on staying safe and watching out for your sisters during the break. The next week, Kappas set off all over the country, exploring new places, relaxing at home, or visiting friends studying abroad in foreign countries. After Spring Break, the chapter nominated Avery Campbell as the new Nominating Committee Chair Representative. Emma (Philanthropy) also joined forces with Pi Phi to throw Kappa Pi Phi Karnival. The event was held in the front yard of the Pi Phi house with cotton candy, face paint, and even a mechanical bull! Chapter members sold wristbands to their friends, encouraging them to stop by as a kickoff party for Roundup Weekend. Tessa (PR) invited alumni and friends to the house that Sunday for a fun Easter party. Alumni were welcome to bring their children for a fun afternoon of cookie decorating and egg hunting. Cameron (New Member) began discussing Bid Day with Chapter Council, throwing around ideas and asking for the opinions of the chapter. Madison (Event) planned a completely new event, naming the party “Kappa Krush”. Chapter members secretly invited dates for their friends, but the girls did not find out until their date found them wearing their tie at the party! Everyone was excited to try something new, and the event held Vulcan was a huge success. April was another busy month for the Beta Xi chapter as the school year began wrapping up. Camille (President) and Kate (Panhellenic Delegate) presented the new Diversity and Inclusion Statement written by Panhellenic to the chapter and encouraged members to apply for the new Diversity and Inclusion committee. Katie (House) sent out new room assignments to the sophomores eagerly awaiting their year living in the house. To continue boosting morale, Carter (VP Standards) and the standards committee planned a night at the baseball park for fun sisterhood event in early April. The Kappas took over the stands, eating hot dogs and cheering on the UT baseball team as they took on the Baylor Bears. Peyton (VPAE) recognized girls in the chapter who received a 4.0 in the fall and also announced that the chapter had moved up in the UPC GPA rankings to the 7th position! The new members advanced even higher, ranking 3rd. Chapter members visited Wooldridge Elementary for their biannual Reading is Key event, engaging the students through basketball, bracelet making, and of course, dance parties! Each student got to leave with a few books donated by the members of our chapter. Cameron (Registrar) planned this month’s “Rom Com of the Month” around The Bachelor, having a fun night of snacks and gossip as chapter members gathered together to watch the finale. Caroline (Membership) held two recruitment workshops this month, re-familiarizing the entire chapter with the songs, chants, and strategies soon to be used. The recruitment team spent endless amounts of time meeting with the ARCs and taking on their respective roles to prepare for the summer months. They did a great job of introducing new changes and getting the chapter excited about a new season of recruitment! Paige (Education) planned a final wrap up event for the seniors at Painting With a Twist. The seniors got to visit a studio to recreate their own painting to take home, and they had a blast! Madison (Event) was busy this month, planning both the last meeting date event of the year, Kite and Key, with Kappa Alpha Theta and Parent’s Weekend. The date event featured a fun band Cedar Street Courtyard. Instead of doing separate Mom’s and Dad’s weekends, Madison combined the two into one big Parent’s Weekend at the end of April. On Friday, chapter members attended a joint shopping event and Happy Hour between Adelante and Santa Rita. To show off the new house, Kappa hosted a brunch for all parents before the UT baseball game. Towards the end of the month, the chapter welcomed back Casey, a Kappa Leadership Consultant. Each Chapter Council officer met with Casey to get advice and set goals for the next semester. Charlotte (VPO) did a great job in planning activities for Casey to introduce her to more of Austin. As a whole, the chapter was so grateful that Casey was able to make time to come back and visit again. The school year came to an end in May as Kappas began making their summer plans. Paige (Education) brought back the tradition of Chapter Awards, much to the surprise and excitement of the chapter. Outstanding Freshman went to Gigi Hanna, Outstanding Sophomore went to Risk Management Chair Sarah Boatwright, Outstanding Junior went to Peyton Bertram, and Outstanding Senior went to Hannah Love. Hannah was also presented the Eleanor Niggli-Tyler Award for outstanding contributions to Beta Xi Chapter Kappa Kappa Gamma. Kristen Graham won Lillian Lurker, a comedic award presented to a house girl who spent hours in the Lillian, our beloved living room. For outstanding contribution to the University of Texas and Kappa Kappa Gamma, senior Riley Longtain received the Braun-Maynard Award. Last, Sally Cisarik won the Heather Lynn Dealy Award, nicknamed the “Sunshine Award”. Paige (Education) also planned Senior Sendoff to honor those leaving us. Each senior received a small present from the chapter and announced their future plans. Jennifer (Treasurer) explained payment plans to the chapter, as she would begin billing for the Fall semester in August. During the summer months, Beta Xi Kappas set off to do wonderful things all over the world. Several members studied abroad, becoming familiar with the lifestyles in Spain, Italy, Croatia, and more. Older Kappas began internships and summer jobs, hoping to gain experience and make connections. Other members entered summer school or attended summer camps. To keep in touch, Tessa (PR) kept up the chapter’s various social media accounts, gathering pictures from everyone’s exciting summer experiences. Camille (President) and Emily (Corresponding Secretary) took off to Denver to attend the Kappa Convention. They had an incredible time getting to know Kappa chapters from all over the country and developing stronger relations with the advisors who attended as well. Beta Xi was lucky enough to win the advisory board of the year award for the chapter connections with the advisors. The most notable part of their trip was the presentation by Lawrence Ross, who came to UT this past Fall as well to discuss race relations in Sororities and Fraternities. Caroline (Recruitment) and her rush team stayed busy reviewing letters of recommendation, planning out the fun days of work week, and creating a strategy to use in the upcoming weeks. Chapter members moved back to Austin in early August to participate in a week of preparing for recruitment. Caroline (Recruitment) and her team even surprised the chapter with a swimming barge as a way to cool off in the hot summer heat. A great work week led into an even better recruitment week. Beta Xi was proud to show off the their unique personalities, and on Bid Day, we welcomed 68 amazing new girls into our chapter! The festivities planned by Cameron (New Member) included dinner at Matt’s El Rancho, a dance party, and a sleepover at the house for all new members. The girls loved getting to know their future sisters in a more intimate setting. The school year started up again in September. Kappas welcomed the fall semester with open arms, entering new classes and cheering on the old Longhorns football team. Chapter Council gathered together again on Sundays to communicate their semester goals and plan for how to achieve them. After an orientation put on by Katie (House), PC’ 16 moved into the house, enjoying the comfort of living so close to campus. The New Members eagerly explored their new home, eating meals together, studying in the basement, and showing off the house to their friends during guest lunches. They attended a New Member Orientation put on by Panhellenic to learn all of the policies and responsibilities expected of newmembers. Within Kappa,Cameron (Registrar) and Linda (Corresponding Secretary) worked with Cameron (New Member) to gather all of the New Member information to input them into the various systems. Linda (Corresponding Secretary) also gave a presentation on Ginsystem as the chapter officially moved over from ListServe. Carter (Standards) elected a new member to the Standards committee to replace the senior who graduated in May. Once again, Charlotte (VPO) worked on organizing committees in time for the first committee night. Peyton (VPAE) proudly announced that our chapter moved from 8th place to 4th place out of 14 sororities in the UPC GPA rankings with an average GPA of 3.5581. Cameron (New Member) began the New Member meetings before chapter each week to educate the New Members on various aspects of Kappa, introduce them to the Chapter Council officers handed down , and answer any questions they had. The Kappas attended their positionsfirst date event in late September, a fun, ranch style joint date event with Tri Delta. Our chapter was approved for GIRLS Academy, so Emma (Philanthropy) began working on those details. Tessa (PR) gathered pictures and stories from the summer to publish the summer newsletter. As October came around, energy in the house was at an all time high with the excitement of Halloween, the Texas-OU game, and our date event with Chi Omega. The month began with chapter composites planned by Cameron (Registrar). Avery Steen worked closely to pair the sophomores and New Members for Key Sis dates, giving the newer members a chance to spend time with their older sisters. Emma (Philanthropy) scheduled a bat tour for girls in the chapter to spend time with Moriah, our B+ Hero. In preparation for the big game in Dallas, Sarah (Risk Management) worked with the NOMC leaders to give a helpful presentation on the risks of party weekends and how to stay safe. We She also organized a list of girls going to the game by fraternity so that all Kappas knew who to turn to if they needed help. On Friday, Kappas loaded up buses and cars to head to the Red River Rivalry. After a nerve-wracking game, the Longhorns came out on top with a 48-45 win. To celebrate Halloween, Madison (Event) planned our annual Owl-o-ween with Chi O. From Ghostbusters to movie stars, everyone enjoyed dressing up with their date. Tessa (PR) hosted a Halloween party at the house for alumni and their children. In-house girls participated by handing out candy in Triplicate meetings a mock trick-or-treat activity. Towards the end of the month, Kappas went back to Wooldridge Elementary to host their fall Reading is Key event. Everyone loved seeing the children again, and we even saw some returning faces! The month culminated with a sisterhood hangout with Kappa Delta. Kate (Panhellenic) invited the KDs into our house to build ice cream sundaes and socialize. November kicked off with a fun-filled Parent’s Weekend, featuring a great brunch at the house before a big football game against West Virginia. The following week was an amazing Inspiration Week planned by Lexie (Marshal). Casey the Leadership Consultant returned that week to act as a guide and mentor through all of the Initiation rituals. Chapter Council was so fortunate to have someone who knew our chapter so well to be there during this special week. The week began with Big-Little reveal as the new members were welcomed into their new families, dressing up and eating Amy’s ice cream. On Friday, Fireside was held at the house. After bonding all night, the new members were finally initiated early Saturday morning. To celebrate, Cameron (New Member) planned a wonderful brunch for the new actives and their families. The weekend culminated with Founder’s Day, a special event held each year to embrace our Kappa history and celebrate our esteemed alumni. This year, Paige (Education) planned Founder’s Day at the Kappa House as a way to show off our beautiful home and make the event more intimate. Kappa also participated in Greek Get Down, a dance competition put on by AEPhi to raise money for their philanthropy. Peyton (VPAE) held another Professor Dinner, giving the new actives a chance to talk to the people who led their classes each day. On the last Thursday in November, Kappas attended Kappa Klassic, a semi-formal held at Summit. Everyone had a blast, and Kappa commends Madison (Event) for the wonderful job she did planning events all year. The Slate committee worked endless hours, pouring over Chapter Council applications and debating who would be the next leaders of Kappa. After long nights, they presented their nominations to the chapter, which were warmly received. Kappa thanks Slate for the wonderful job they did, and we are all very excited for the new Chapter Council to lead us into next year. As the year came to pass off our a close, December was an important time for transitioning. New Chapter Council members met with those who held their positions currently to learn the ins and outs of each job. As a great wrap-up and official transition day, Charlotte (VPO) planned the Leadership brunch at the house. Old and new Chapter Councilmembers gathered with their advisors to celebrate everything that has been accomplished in the past year and discuss goals for the semester to come. Chapter Council members also attended the State of Panhellenic dinner to present what Kappa achieved in the last year. As a treat, Carter (VP Standards) and the Standards committee replaced the last chapter with a sisterhood party. The house transformed into a Winter Wonderland as chapter members took a break from studying to enjoy free massages, cookie decorating, and a chocolate fountain. Overall, 2018 was a remarkable year for Kappa as we transitioned off of a Warning of Probation, introduced a wonderful new pledge class, and grew stronger together. We are very fortunate to have had such an exciting year, and we anticipate that 2019 will be even better!
This has been year,the Texas Longhorns played a big year for fantastic season and played against the Oklahoma Sooners in theBig 12 Championship at the Beta Xi Chapter of Kappa Kappa GammaAT&T Stadium. Every This was the first year our chapter is expanding at a much faster rate than since 2009 that the previous year, and our chapter is learning to adjust Longhorns madeit to our new large numbers. Overall, the Greek system at the University of Texas is growing at an extremely rapid rateBig 12 Championship, and men and women across it was the country are realizing first time since 1903 that the value two teams played eachother twice in joining a sorority or fraternityone season. As we grow, we are adding many new facets The Longhorns will go on to play the Georgia Bulldogs in the personality of our chapterSugar Bowl on New Year's Day. Reflecting on the nature of our chapter brings to mind After a long campaign season and a collection of different girls with different strengthsrunoff, such Colton Becker and Mehraz Rahman were electedas biology, guitar, or computer programmingthe new student body president and vice president. Our chapter is known throughout campusfor being very close due involved in multiple school functions and clubs.The traditional "Kappa"girl is known for being respectable,responsible,and true to our diversityherself. When studying or interacting with other students on campus it Our house is always a proud moment to meet someone who has previously worked with a Kappa. We are all eager to represent Kappa landmark on campus , and we hold ourselves take pride in welcoming people to the highest standardssee thisspecial place.Our chapter supports Reading Is Fundamental,B+ Foundation
Our chapter meets every Monday at 6 pm in what we call the "Great Room" in the house.
At 5pm, we offer chapter dinner to the entire chapter. As dinner comes to an end,our House
Boys assist us in moving the tables and chairs from a dining room setting to more of a
presentation-style setting.
==Highlights of 2021==
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
2021 was the first full year of the Beta Xi chapter having a DEI chair on chapter council. She promoted university-wide diversity and inclusion seminars, speeches, and student organizations. DEI presentations were given during chapter meetings that included promoting national heritage holidays. The DEI chair also gave a DEI presentation during work week to promote inclusivity during recruitment.