Epsilon Upsilon
| Epsilon | |
|---|---|
| E | |
 | |
| Founded | November 25, 1873 |
| College | Illinois Wesleyan University |
| Location | Bloomington, IL |
| Province | Epsilon South |
| Homepage | Epsilon's Website |
| Media related to Epsilon Chapter | |
Illinois Wesleyan University, established in 1850, Bloomington, Illinois
Founded on November 25, 1873, by Kate Ross, the first woman admitted to
Illinois Wesleyan University, Millie R. Clarke, Kate B. Ross
3,028 initiates (as of June 2017)
Charter Members: Millie R. Clarke, Kate Rosetta Graves, Kate B. Ross
Fraternity Council Members:
Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:
Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:
Additional Outstanding Epsilon Alumnae
Notable Honored Epsilon Alumnae:
Contents
The Early Years (From The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma 1870–1976)
| Epsilon Upsilon | |
|---|---|
| EY | |
 | |
| Founded | September 22, 1977 |
| College | Baylor University |
| Location | Waco, TX |
| Homepage | http://www.kappa.org |
| Media related to Epsilon Upsilon Chapter | |
Highlights of 2012
Two Thousand Twelve was an outstanding year for the Epsilon Upsilon chapter. Last January, we had another successful recruitment and were blessed with an incredible new member class. Our Sing chairs created a breath-taking first place masquerade act, which will now appear in Pigskin Review.
The event chairs planned date dashes, the annual Sapphire Ball, pledge dance, and a take-a-date. There was our spring Swing-a-thon and afternoons spent at Parkdale Elementary School serving as mentors to second graders. The chapter participated in established traditions, such as organizing the 62nd Annual All-University Baylor Beauty Style Show and arranging an Easter egg hunt for children of faculty, but we created new traditions as well.
To celebrate our founding sisterhood, we hosted the first Late Night at Monmouth Pancake Breakfast with the ladies of Pi Beta Phi. Together, we raised $2,960 for charity water, a non-profit organization that seeks to bring clean and safe drinking water to those in developing countries.
Spring finals arrived too quickly, but summer did not bring the end to Epsilon Upsilon’s involvement. A few members of our Chapter Council participated in the Fraternity’s 69th Biennial Convention in Jacksonville, Florida. We attended seminars, workshops, and educational events, as well as enjoyed spending time with alumnae, advisers, and Kappas from around the world. Together, members studied abroad, interned across the country, and took summer classes. Regardless if we are meeting each week, it is never hard to find a Kappa!
Before we knew it, August arrived, and summer came to an end. We started the year with Greek Week events, intramurals, and an All-American themed crush. Even amidst the chaos that fall semester brings, it is truly wonderful to see our chapter come together to celebrate both Kappa and Baylor traditions. The seniors have enjoyed “seniors only” social events, while our new members have continued to learn pledge songs for recruitment.
We honored Founders Day with our Waco Alumnae Association. Partaking in our ritual together was a great reminder that Kappa truly is for a lifetime. We got to know each other’s families at our lovely Parents’ Weekend luncheon. Epsilon Upsilon has continued to volunteer weekly at Parkdale, held the fall Swing-a-thon, hosted a Kendra Scott Jewelry Trunk Show benefiting Reading is Fundamental, organized a Halloween carnival at Compassion Ministries, and kicked off our annual book drive. Nights have been spent with the men of Alpha Tau Omega at our float site and dancing with the Kappa Sigmas at Pigskin practice. Both of these ventures were very successful by winning Judge’s Choice Award for float and performing our First Place act in Pigskin.
We are gearing up for another exciting recruitment, getting to know many potential new members and legacies. We ended the semester with the Kappa Pickers performing at multiple functions. Our final Kappa event for the semester was Kappa Kountry in which we two-stepped the night away!
There have been many recent changes on the Baylor campus during this year. Baylor University is building a new stadium that will be on campus. The stadium will not be completed until the 2014 season. Baylor is also building a new dormitory that should be ready for for the incoming freshman. Multiple projects are going on around Baylor University at all time.
Highlights of 2013
Two Thousand Thirteen was another great year for the Epsilon Upsilon chapter. In January, we had a wonderful recruitment and were able to take an incredible new member class. The new member class was initiated and has been a blessing to the whole chapter. Our Sing chairs created an imaginative act called Topsy Turvy which was performed for Baylor University. The social chairs planned date dashes, our Sapphire Ball, pledge dance, and a take-a-date. Our spring Swing-a-thon and afternoons spent at Parkdale Elementary School allowed our chapter to give back to our community. The chapter participated in many established traditions, such as the 63rd Annual All-University Baylor Beauty Style Show and an Easter egg hunt for children of faculty. Late Night at Monmouth Pancake Breakfast was a success for the second year where we raised money for charity water, a non-profit organization that seeks to bring clean and safe drinking water to those in developing countries.
The spring semester came to an end, but summer did not bring a pause to Epsilon Upsilon’s involvement. Our chapter was able to organize a mission trip to Antigua, Guatemala, which a handful of members participated in. Those members served the people of Guatemala with loving hearts and were able to contribute much more than time and money during their stay there. We attended seminars, workshops, and educational events, as well as enjoyed spending time with alumnae, advisors, and Kappas from around the world. Together, members studied abroad, interned across the country, went on mission trips and took summer classes at Baylor.
Before we knew it, August arrived, and summer came to an end. We started the year with Greek Week events, Welcome Week events, a take-a-date, and intramurals. Our chapter found the time to celebrate Baylor and Kappa traditions in the fall semester despite our busy schedules. The seniors enjoyed “seniors only” social events, while our new members continued to learn pledge songs for recruitment. We honored Founders Day with our Waco Alumnae Association. Partaking in our ritual together was a great reminder that Kappa truly is for a lifetime. We paired with several fraternities at football games to have tailgates before the games. We got to know each other’s families at our lovely Parents’ Weekend brunch.
Epsilon Upsilon has continued to volunteer weekly at Parkdale Elementary School, hosted a Kendra Scott Jewelry Trunk Show benefiting Reading is Fundamental, and organized a Halloween carnival at Compassion Ministries. Our chapter created a new event on campus, Kappa Karnival, which was a great success. Nights were spent working with the men of Alpha Tau Omega at our float site for the homecoming parade. The Kappa Pickers performed at many events including Christmas on 5th. We just had another successful recruitment and are preparing to initiate our 89 new members! Baylor University’s new football stadium is close to being finished. There is construction on it constantly and it should be open for the fall 2014 football season. The new dormitories that opened this past fall on campus have been a great blessing to the freshmen this year. Baylor is also currently preparing to build a new business school on campus.
Highlights of 2014
Two Thousand Fourteen was an outstanding year for the Epsilon Upsilon chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Last January, we had another successful recruitment and were blessed with an incredible new member class. Our Sing chairs worked really hard to create a great Sing Act called “Running Wild”, which was shown in Pigskin Review in the Fall of 2014. The social chairs planned date dashes, the annual Sapphire Ball, pledge dance, and a take-a-date. There was our Spring Swing-a-thon where we raised and donated money to a local halfway house in Waco, Compassion Ministries. Last Spring was also full of many afternoons spent at Parkdale Elementary School serving as mentors to second graders. The chapter participated in established traditions, such as organizing the Annual All-University Baylor Beauty Style Show and arranging an Easter egg hunt for children of faculty, but we created new traditions as well.
Spring finals arrived too quickly, but summer did not bring the end to Epsilon Upsilon’s involvement. A few members of our Chapter Council participated in the Fraternity’s Convention in Houston, Texas. We attended seminars, workshops, and educational events, as well as enjoyed spending time with alumnae, advisors, and Kappas from around the world. Together, members studied abroad, interned across the country, and took summer classes. Regardless if we are meeting each week, it is never hard to find a Kappa!
Before we knew it, August arrived, and summer came to an end. We started the year with Greek Week events, intramurals, and a dodgeball crush event. Even amidst the chaos that Fall semester brings, it is truly wonderful to see our chapter come together to celebrate both Kappa and Baylor traditions. The seniors have enjoyed “seniors only” social events, while our new members have continued to learn pledge songs for recruitment. We honored Founders Day at a local country club with our Waco Alumnae Association. Partaking in our ritual together was a great reminder that Kappa truly is for a lifetime. We got to know each other’s families at our lovely Family Weekend luncheon. Epsilon Upsilon has continued to volunteer weekly at Parkdale, held the Fall Swing-a-thon benefitting a local animal shelter in Waco, Texas; Fuzzy Friends, organized a Halloween carnival at Compassion Ministries, volunteered at the Parkdale Halloween carnival and kicked off our annual book drive. Nights have been spent with the men of Phi Kappa Chi at our float site, where we ending up winning 1st place out of all the Homecoming Floats. We also performed “Running Wild” in Pigskin Review. We also hosted our second Kappa Karnival this year, it was very successful. Throughout the Fall we spent time gearing up for another exciting recruitment, getting to know many potential new members and legacies. We ended the semester with the Kappa Pickers performing at multiple functions.
Our Campus has a new football stadium, McLane stadium. It is beautifully designed. Baylor is currently building a new Business School, which will be opening in Fall 2015. There are also many other changes going on in the growing Baylor community. The nature of our chapter is very positive, growing, graceful, friendly, loyal, and loving. There is a strong focus on RIF, supporting other chapters, including all Kappa chapter members, and University related events (SING, Homecoming Float, Steppin Out, Pigskin etc.).
We hold chapter meetings in our Kappa suite in the Stacy Riddle Panhellenic Forum. This suite is rented.
Highlights of 2015
Two Thousand Fifteen was an outstanding year for the Epsilon Upsilon chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Last January, we had another successful recruitment and were blessed with an incredible new member class. Our Sing chairs worked really hard to create a great Sing Act called “Weird Science”, which was shown in Pigskin Review in the Fall of 2015. The social chairs planned date dashes, the annual Sapphire Ball, pledge dance, and a take-a-date. There was our Spring Swing-a-thon where we raised and donated money to the Waco Humane Society Last Spring was also full of many afternoons spent at Parkdale Elementary School serving as mentors to second graders. In the Spring of 2015, our chapter won an award for partner of the year (2014-2015) for Waco ISD. The chapter participated in established traditions, such as organizing the Annual All-University Baylor Beauty Style Show and arranging an Easter egg hunt for children of faculty. Spring finals arrived too quickly, but summer did not bring the end to Epsilon Upsilon’s involvement. Together, members studied abroad, interned across the country, and took summer classes. Regardless if we are meeting each week, it is never hard to find a Kappa! Before we knew it, August arrived, and summer came to an end. We started the year with Greek Week events, intramurals, and a dodgeball crush event on campus. Even amidst the chaos that Fall semester brings, it is truly wonderful to see our chapter come together to celebrate both Kappa and Baylor traditions. The seniors have enjoyed “seniors only” social events, while our new members have continued to learn pledge songs for recruitment. We honored Founders Day at McLane Stadium with our Waco Alumnae Association. Our chapter was so excited to celebrate the 145th year. Partaking in our ritual together was a great reminder that Kappa truly is for a lifetime. Epsilon Upsilon has continued to volunteer weekly at Parkdale, held the Fall Swing-a-thon benefiting the Waco Humane Society, volunteered at the Parkdale Halloween carnival and kicked off our annual book drive. Nights approaching Homecoming weekend were spent with the men of Phi Kappa Chi at our float site. We also performed “Weird Science” in Pigskin Review Homecoming weekend. We hosted our third Kappa Karnival this year, it was very successful. Throughout the Fall we spent time gearing up for another exciting recruitment, getting to know many potential new members and legacies. We ended the semester with the Kappa Pickers performing at multiple functions. Baylor built a new Business School, which opened Fall 2015, it is very nice. There are also many other changes going on in the growing Baylor community. The nature of our chapter is very positive, growing, graceful, friendly, loyal, and loving. There is a strong focus on RIF, supporting other chapters, including all Kappa chapter members, and University related events (SING, Homecoming Float, Steppin Out, Pigskin etc.).
Chapter Philanthropy:
Our chapter supports RIF, Kappa Foundation, Parkdale Elementary, Compassion Ministries, Waco Humane Society, and Hannah’s House.
We have supported and worked with Parkdale Elementary and Compassion ministries in years past and want to continue that relationship with both of them. We started supporting Waco Humane Society and Hannah’s House more recently. There is a huge stray animal problem in Waco and our local humane society helps curb that issue. Our chapter thinks it’s really important to help the community of Waco in that aspect. Hannah’s House is a nonprofit organization created to raise funds to build a children’s village with 8 homes in Zambia through Family Legacy in honor of Hannah Butler, a member of our chapter who recently passed. She was such a joy and so loving, and the village will be built in her honor once the funds are received.
Highlights of 2016
January: 9- Bid Day: 96 girls pledged Kappa 29- Social Event: Sapphire Ball Formal 30- New Member Luncheon with Waco Alumni
February 6-Participated in KOT Fishery: A philanthropy event; 9- Academic Excellence Dinner in the Kappa Room 13- Initiated 96 members into Kappa; Initiation luncheon at The Baylor Club 27- Competed in All-University Sing: Our act "Come Dance with Me" was performed with Kappa Sigma and advanced to Pigskin.
March 23- Kappa put on our Annual Easter Egg Hunt for Faculty and Staff's kids
April 3- Legacy Tea; 9- Baylor's Steppin Out: University Philanthropy Event; 10- Mom's Day with Practically Picasso in the Kappa Room; 16-Crawfish Boil Fundraiser with Kappa Sigma; 19- Kappa hosted our annual Event- Baylor Beauty; 21- Social Event: Take-A-Date Game night in Waco; 27- Kappa and Chi Omega hosted a faculty appreciation event: Cupcakes with Chi O
May 2- Luncheon at Parkdale Elementary: Our Philanthropic Partner; 15-24: Mission trip to Antigua, Guatemala
August 26- Recruitment Event: Late Night at the SLC
October 1- Social Event: Take-A-Date to the Texas State Fair; 13-15: Homecoming Weekend: Kappa had 5 members nominated for Homecoming Court, Created and Showcased a float built with Phi Kappa Chi, and performed "Come Dance with Me" at Pigskin
November 4-Philanthropy Event: Reading is Key at Parkdale; 5- Social Event: Tailgate with Sigma Chi;16- Philanthropy Event: Monmouth with Pi Phi; 17- Kappa and ADPi Worship Night; 18- Social Event: Dad's Day; 30- Kappa Social Event: Kappa Christmas
This semester we have also implemented "Key Girl of the Week" which is a way to recognize members of our chapter who have gone out of their way to support other members. A member is nominated each week and then our VPS picks the winner who gets to wear a KKG necklace for the week.
Taylor Adams, our president during 2015, won the Greek Leader of the Year award.
We received the silver award for our HHR Binder. At convention, we received awards for PR and Risk Management. Our chapter hosted a Trunk Show this year that featured work from our members. There were jewelry items, art, flower arrangements and more that all benefited RIF. We also partnered with Pi Phi again this semester to celebrate Monmouth with a pancake dinner. Last spring, we hosted a crawfish boil with Kappa Sigma and the proceeds went to RIF.
Baylor has undertaken some beneficial changes during the last year. The biggest one is Title IX awareness across campus and especially for Panhellenic women. Baylor has provided multiple speakers and an online course to bring awareness to this issue. Although Title IX coordinators have changed, Baylor is still promoting awareness and safety for the issue. Another big issue in Panhellenic is that are need of a new chapter on campus to accommodate all the girls who go through recruitment. This year we started a Panhellenic philanthropy in order to show our support for other chapters and Baylor Panhellenic. Circle of Sisterhood, the philanthropy, has had several events throughout the semester that our chapter has attended.
Our chapter raises money for Reading is Fundamental. However each week we work directly with Parkdale Elementary, a local elementary school. Each week members go into second grade classrooms and read with the students.
This year we continued our partnership with Parkdale Elementary because our existing relationship has proved very effective. Our members love going each week and it's really fun to continue working with the same teachers and occasionally seeing some of the kids you've worked with before. We wanted to make sure we continue to establish a relationship with the Waco community.
Our chapter holds meetings in the Stacy Riddle Panhellenic Forum in our own Kappa room .
We recommend Tommye Lou Davis for the Oral History Project
Highlights of 2017
January 6- Bid Day January 27- Sapphire Ball February 11- Initiation February 16-18; 23-35- Competed in All-University sing: our act "Fountain of Youth" was performed February 21- Academic Excellence Dinner March 1- New Member Dance April 6- Baylor Kappa holds the annual easter egg hunt on Baylor University's campus in honor for the faculty and staff and their children. We have an egg hunt, snacks, and pictures with an Easter Bunny. April 2- Moms day: Pop-up shop April 7- Take-A-Date: Oasis in Austin, TX April 9- Legacy Tea in the Kappa room for PNM Baylor Legacies April 11- Kappa hosted the 66th Baylor Beauty Charity Style Show, where ladies nominated campus wide competed against each other to be named baylor beauty. All ticket proceeds went to our philanthropy. April 28- Parkdale Partner Lunch May 14-21: Baylor Kappa goes on mission trip to Antigua, Guatemala August 25- Recruitment Event: Late Night at the SLC: all university event for PNMs that are interested in recruitment September 29- Semi-Formal October 10- Founders Day including scholarship recognition of the chapters members. October 16- Spaghetti Not So Formal with ATO; an all university event and proceeds go to our philanthropy October 19-21- Homecoming Weekend: Kappa had members nominated for Homecoming Court. Created and showcased our 1st place float, and performed our sing act in Pigskin. October 28- Dads Day November 8- Kappa Karnival is an all university event benefiting Reading is Fundamental. We have raffle prizes, free dessert, bounce houses, and carnival themed booths run by fraternities. November 10- Reading is Key event at Parkdale Elementary December 1- Social Event: Take-A-Date to the exhibit "ICE!" at the Gaylord Texan Hotel Describe the recent changes on your campus and describe the overall nature of your chapter. The nature of our chapter is very friendly, very diverse yet we are all so alike and the personality of the chapter is fun and unique but responsible.
Chapter Philanthropy: What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community? Our chapter raises money for Reading is Fundamental. However each week we work directly with Parkdale Elementary, a local elementary school. Each week members go into kindergarten grade classrooms and read with the students. Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support? This year we continued our partnership with Parkdale Elementary because our existing relationship has proved very effective. Our members love going each week and it's really fun to continue working with the same teachers and occasionally seeing some of the kids you've worked with before. We wanted to make sure we continue to establish a relationship with the Waco community. Chapter Facility: In what kind of a facility does your chapter meet? Please attach a clear photo of where you typically hold chapter meetings – whether in a classroom, chapter house or elsewhere. Our chapter holds meetings in the Stacy Riddle Panhellenic Forum in our own Kappa room Oral History
Tommye Lou Davis
