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→Highlights of 2021
==Highlights of 2021==
This year has been unlike any other for Eta Iota. We have learned how to battle through Covid-19 and build our sisterhood back up.
At the beginning of the year, we welcomed 40 new members after successful and virtual recruitment. Our recruitment lasted from January 16th to the 23rd. Bid Day was held on January 24th, and the theme was Kapp Kozy. We celebrated online via Zoom, where we played games, did karaoke, and watched a movie. On January 27th the new members went through formal pledging in person during the first chapter of the year.
In February, on the 3rd, the new members had their first new member hours. On the 6th, the new member retreat happened. At this event, they received letters from their Bigs. This marked the beginning of Big Little week for Eta Iota. Big Little reveal was on February 26th, and each Kappa family welcomed their newest members!
Big/Little was on March 3rd! We did this in person after a ritual review for Initiation in March. Our chapter also had an EME on March 6th. This program was the first part of Courage to Commit. In addition, we did a small philanthropy event called Kappa Kreations. Our prior Philanthropy Chair, Cali Rawhouser-Mylet got together items to sell to raise money for our philanthropy since we were unable to do Kappa Kupcakes. Instead of Spring Break, Creighton chose to do a “Wellness Wednesday.” All students got one day off of classes. The following week was I-Week. The Marshal, Maddy Hirchert had events such as a study night with families for Midterms and a game night. She worked together with the Membership Chair, Emily Carlson to do a Family Finding Frenzy on Creighton’s campus. FS was on Friday, March 19th, and hybrid. The new members were in person and the rest of the chapter was on Zoom. The next morning, we did a combined service. With time constraints because of scheduling on Creighton’s campus and the limit of people in a room at a time, we had to do four rounds of initiation to initiate all the new members. We had all their families present and their bigs got to pin them. Afterwards, they all got brunch goodie bags since we were not allowed to have an actual brunch. The first New Member meeting took place March 24th.
At the beginning of April, we had a small Easter Break. Then as soon as we got back, the Secretary, Jessica Jagelski, hosted composites. We could not find a photographer and had to follow Covid guidelines, so Jess did this all herself. She took all the pictures and put together the composite. On Saturday, April 10th we had the EME, Courage to Commit Part 2. After this, we got great news... we were allowed to do Kappa Kupcakes!! It was small and we had to use Sodexo on Creighton’s campus but once again, Cali Rawhouser-Mylet made it happen. Next we had our annual Spring Banquet. Only seniors were allowed to be in person, the rest of the chapter was on Zoom. Peggy Dunn, our Education Chair, did a wonderful job organizing this. During Creighton’s Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) Week, there were many events Kappas took
part in. There was Lip Sync, Craft Ax Throwing Takeover, our own sisterhood retreat organized by Katie Ramirez, and finally Reading is Key for Conestoga Magnet School.
After a busy April, all members finished out Finals, and the seniors graduated on May 15th. June and July were quiet. Our Public Relations Chair, Olivia Peters kept us connected via our social media accounts.
Over the Summer, Creighton University announced that we would be back to normal on campus with some small limitations.
The first day of school was Wednesday, August 18th. On Friday, August 20th, LipSync happened on Creighton’s campus and lots of Kappas participated in this! It was so much fun and the Kappas took 3rd place out of all sororities on campus. The first Chapter was organized by our President, Kayla Schilke. She got us an ice cream truck so we all sat outside eating ice cream and catching up with our sisters. This was Wednesday, August 25th.
The first Senior Meeting for Psi Class was September 8th, 2021, organized by Peggy Dunn. Our Membership Chair, Emily Carlson hosted a table in the Skutt Student Center for COB. Through this process, we ended up getting two new girls, Amber and Juliana. We also had our first date party of the semester, organized by our Event Chairman, Sophie Barnes. The theme was “Kappa Gammies”, aka Dress As A Song Title.
October got very busy for Eta Iota. On the first Friday, we had our COB event in person at Zen Coffeehouse, a few minutes from campus. A group of members met the PNMs there, ordered coffee and played games. Before our Fall Break, our NomCom Chair, Camryn Halboth, asked all individual slates and personal preference forms to be due. Our Fall Break then was Sunday, October 10th through Sunday, October 17th. Our new slate was presented Wednesday, October 20th. Then later that week, Cali Rawhouser-Mylet organized another Percent Night, on Friday October 22nd. In addition, our Marshal, Maddy Hirchert, hosted an Omega and Alpha Alpha class sleepover for the classes to bond and get to know each other better. This sleepover was at MediBadge, a company with an Eta Iota alum. The girls played Never Have I Ever Bingo, Sardines, board games, and watched movies. There were plenty of snacks and breakfast for the morning. The breakfast fueled the girls for Saturday, because that is when Dance Marathon was. Eta Iota was the top raiser in all of FSL with a grand total of $6, 902.50! After Dance Marathon, Eta Iota had Founder’s Day at the Hilton in Aksarben on Sunday, October 24th. All members, advisors, and the Omaha Alumni Association were there. We had a great time with a delicious breakfast.
In the following week, Chapter elections took place on October 28th. The new officers were installed by our President, Kayla Schilke, and Marshal, Maddy Hirchert.
The new officers are ...
Kenna Frasier- President
Katherine Willegalle - Vice President – Standards
Madie Beninato- Vice President – Organization
Katie Kelly -Vice President – Academic Excellence
Emily Carlson- Secretary
Carly Araje - Treasurer
Peggy Dunn - Marshal
Devyn Just- Education Chairman
Molly DePooter- Event Chairman
Claire Gerken - House Chairman
Corine Noethe- Membership Chairman
Miranda Burgisay- New Member Chairman
Attisen McCorkle- Panhellenic Delegate
Kyla DeLuca - Philanthropy Chairman
Jocelyn Sierck - Public Relations Chairman
Makayla Carr- Risk Management Chairman
To help with the transition process, Eta Iota hosted an in-person Leadership Day on Saturday, October 30th. Old and New Council members came, as well as Catherine Medici. Advice was shared and information for each position as well. In addition, the night before, we had our second date party of the semester with a fraternity on campus, Pi Beta Phi. The Kappas and Betas were in the Capital District dressed up for Halloween. While we enjoyed everyone's costumes, we snacked on pizza and homemade cookies by active member Maddy Hirchert’s own bakery, M’s Bakery.
As the year 2021 comes to a close, Eta Iota is preparing for our formal recruitment process, which will begin in early January.
Chapter Philanthropy: Conestoga Magnet School, an elementary school minutes from Creighton, was our Chapter philanthropy before the national switch Kappa made. It was great to see how we have become more involved with the school over the years, as we had more classrooms asking to be involved with our Friday afternoon volunteering program every year. Eta Iota also held an annual Reading is Key event at Conestoga! We also joined the rest of the Creighton community during Dance Marathon and raised money for children facing childhood illnesses. This last Dance Marathon, our chapter raised the most money out of all of FSL on campus. We raised a whopping $6,902.50!
Due to the limitations from Covid-19 in 2021, our chapter could not fundraise as much as we previously had done in the past. However, this did not stop our philanthropy chair Cali Rawhouser-Mylet from raising money for our philanthropies. Our Kappa Kreations event brought in $1,339 and the percent night at Chipotle brought in $269.10. The percent night at Panera also brought in $45. In addition, at our annual event, Breakfast at Kappas, we raised $6,560 and $2,822 from Kappa Kupcakes. In total, we were able to raise over $11,000.
We choose this philanthropy because Eta Iota understands that the relationships they foster with the students at Conestoga make a meaningful difference in their lives and the Omaha community. Conestoga is a Reading is Fundamental school, and our weekly volunteer work demonstrates the importance of reading and its impact on a student's life. We continue to be drawn to Conestoga because of the meaningful work we have done there and the potential to make a difference. We continue to grow our relationship with all those at Conestoga, including students, teachers, and administrators, and are ever happy to expand our involvement and interaction with Conestoga students. Our Chapter has decided to keep working with Conestoga, because we see our impact. We will now be focusing on mental health with the children. We are also looking for another place to donate money as well.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: For diversity, equity, and inclusion, the chapter council decided to elect a position on the education committee. The first sister to serve in this position is Kenzie Nelson. After Kenzie, the chapter elected Katie Schumacher, and currently we have Madi Barker. Throughout the year, our education chairman and our recruitment chair put on several programs that help educate our members further on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Creighton University does an excellent job pursuing these endeavors through programs that all undergraduates must complete to be leaders on another campus. There's still more work to be done in this field, and Eta Iota is taking the steps needed to educate our members on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
==Highlights of 2022=
==Highlights of 2020s:==
