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→Highlights of 2016
With so many accomplishments, Eta Gamma ended spring 2015 with awards from the most improved GPA and the most improved chapter awarded by Panhellenic.
==Highlights of 2016==
Eta Gamma had an amazing 2016! Our spring recruitment brought us 34 new members who were eager to get involved right from the start. The new members possess leadership skills unlike any other. Our exciting Bid Day consisted of getting to know each other over a game of Escape Room. Because of this, we learned how to work together and really bond. Following in February, actives and new members danced the night away at our annual Presents dance, where the active members wore black dresses and the new members wore white. A few weeks after, the new members enjoyed bonding with each other, the Standards committee, and several sophomores at their new member retreat. The retreat was held at an active member's house and consisted of ice breakers, kappa songs, and skits.
After their first week in Kappa, our new members had the opportunity to get to know the sophomore pledge class during "Sapphire Sis" dates. Our New Member chairman paired up an active with a new member so that the girls could get to know each other and start finding a big or little sister. They had hour different Sapphire Sister dates, in which active members treated the new girls with dinner, coffee, or just meeting up on campus. In March, Kappa holds a small ceremont in chihc the Big Sis reveals her family to a new member. In the meantime, February also brought with it "class nights," where the sophomore, junior, and senior pledge classes each hosted an activity with the new member class to get to know them better.
Big Sis Revealing is a very special and memorable time for us in Kappa. Having a Kappa "family" allows us to develop an important lifetime bond with our sisters. The weeks leading up to initiation is called Inspo Week. Each day, a new member's big sis gives her a gift of a certain color or importance that teaches them something about what it means to be a Kappa. On Blue Night, big and little sis' exchange pillows and decorated keys, and new members have a chance to talk about what Kappa means to the active members. It is a special moment for the new members to understand the meaning of Kappa to the active members. Fireside was held the night before initation at the YMCA in downtown San Diego. The next morning 34 new members were initiated--avery exciting and momentous day for our entire chapter!
Kappa held and participated in many philanthropy events on and off campus. This year we put on four main events: Journal Buddies, Field Day, Reading is Key at Sherman Elementary, and Strides for Survival. Journal Buddies is a program where we write letters about college to underprivileged school children and then are able to meet them at the end of the semester. We like to encourage the students to aim for college by answering any questions they have and inspiring them with our own stories. Kappa’s Field Day was put on with the fraternity Phi Kappa Theta to raise money for the Reading is Key event we hosted in the fall and the well-respected Children's Hospital of Orange County. This year continuing with new philanthropy events, Strides for Survival was a 5k walk which brought together the students of USD and the San Diego community and we raised over $3,200. This fun day was full of music and walking around Mission Bay. The money raised is to benefit the Shades of Pink Foundation. Kappas also took two Friday afternoons to go to Sherman Elementary in downtown San Diego to read books to classrooms of kinder to fifth graders. Kappas also participated in philanthropy events with other sororities and fraternities to benefit various organizations including letter writing for St. Jude's Childrens Hospital and by providing teams for Delta Tau Delta Dodgeball, Phi Gamma Delta's Knockout, and a 5k run for the Ronald McDonald House.
Apart from the philanthropy events, Eta Gamma also had many memorable social and sisterhood events this past year. Along with Presents and Sapphire Ball Formal, we also had many exciting events such an exchanges with Phi Gamma Delta, Beta Theta Pi, and Lambda Chi Alpha. We had many memorable sisterhood events like picnics in a park, roller skating, and a sisterhood shopping event. We also try to keep up our sisterhood throughout each semester by having "family" dinners with our big and little sisters and also having surprise sisterhood meetings, where we play fun games and participate in activities to build our sisterhood. Mom's Weekend was in the spring. The moms and daughters spent the morning getting active with a yoga class by the bay and had a wonderful brunch Sunday in beautiful La Jolla. Dad's Weekend in the fall brought us together with our dads over a competitive day of Go-Kart Racing and a morning of brunch in La Jolla. Both weekends were filled with sisters and their parents getting to know each other. We hosted Founders Day Tea on campus. It was a moving experience to hear from many alumni about how Kappa has changed their lives and made an impact on what they chose to do after they graduated college. Seniors also participated in Senior Programming with fun activities such as cooking classes and yoga.
Our chapter is comprised of kind, funny, intelligent, and talented young women. Many of us have discussed how we did not know each other until we met in Kappa, but we are so glad that we are friends now. Through the latest recruitment, we have all become so much closer. We embrace each other's differences and strive to bring out the best in one another. We support each other by engaging in weekly "fleur-de-lis" friends, where members get paired up with other members and choose an activity to bond over, and learning about and understanding the positions on Chapter council by utilizing our committees.
The recent changes to our campus are the addition of a new wonderful chapter to the Greek Life at USD. Last year Pi Beta Phi colonized in the Spring of 2015, and Kappas have helped their transition here on campus. Unfortunately, one of the chapters here on campus lost its charter. Because of this, however, Eta Gamma has learned to really value our chapter and the amazing women we call sisters.
Our chapter has continued to donate money to the KKG Foundation. We have also held an event called Strides for Survival, which is a 5k run/walk on Mission Bay. There were over 300 people in attendance. Over $5,000 was raised for the Shades of Pink Foundation. In addition, our Reading is Key event was a major success! We read a book to all students of kindergarten to fifth grade at a local elementary school, Sherman Elementary School. Afterwards we did an art project with the students, and each child received a book. To raise money for these books, our chapter put on an event called "Field Day," where we invited the entire student body and the middle school class we were writing back and forth to (Journal Buddies!), to participate. There was outdoor events where each team competed and all money raised in sign-up fees, raffles and through a dunk tank went to RIF. The amount of money raised for RIF was $10,000. In addition, our chapter has also put on various community service events such as making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the homeless, making blankets for the Ronald McDonald Foundation, hosting beach cleanups, and writing letters to soldiers for the holidays.
We are also very proud of sisters who participated in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk. This 3- day walk is 60 miles long, where women and men walk to fight to end breast cancer. We had three of our members participate in this walk this year.
Eta Gamma is very passionate about helping fight to end breast cancer. The Shades of Pink Foundation support more than 115 women in five counties. Many women who are diagnosed with breast cancer have extra financial burdens places on them during treatment and recovery. Common issues are insurance payments, food, transportation, childcare, and other essentials of daily life. This Foundation offers temporary financial assistance during their time in need. We chose to support this organization because it is a local philanthropy that we are really passionate to help.
==Highlights of 2020s:==