In the spring, Teresa Amott, was installed as the 19th president of Knox College. It was an inspiration to our chapter and women across campus to see our first female president. In the fall, Knox's Panhellenic Council voted to lower total, so we were unable to hold informal recruitment. Since then, total has been raised and we are excited to hold informal recruitment again in fall 2013.
==Highlights of 2013==
2013 began with excitement for Eta Kappa as we celebrated one of our highest chapter GPAs ever from the previous fall. In February, we celebrated Academic Excellence month for the first time by collecting study tips and sharing them with the campus, promoting our academic achievements through social media, and engaging in a “Letters in the Library” competition. By the end of Winter Term, our house chairman and her committee finished an ongoing renovation of our basement, and Eta Kappa celebrated a fun new wall color, waterproof floors, and furniture. Just before Spring Break, we initiated 8 lively new members, some of whom were elected onto Chapter Council just the next day. <br>
Spring Term was filled with bittersweet air as Eta Kappa prepared to say goodbye to 18 graduating seniors, who comprised nearly half our chapter. However, this dynamic group of women made sure to leave Eta Kappa thriving. After winning Greek Week as well as several other chapter awards at the annual Knox College Greek Banquet, we celebrated our formal at the Soangetaha Country Club. Several members also attended our Province Meeting in the Spring, and brought home the chapter scholarship award, as well as six honorable mentions. Our graduating class also taught the chapter to live Kappa’s ritual daily in a new ritual appreciation program. The Treasurer of Eta Kappa took great initiative this term to create a budget for the upcoming year that would be conducive to our small chapter size, and she educated the chapter on exactly where our money goes. Eta Kappa focused on a new philanthropic organization during this time, selling friendship bracelets for Vitamin Angels, which brings essential nutrition to at-risk populations. This year’s annual Reading is Key event had an “outer space” theme and was held at the Discovery Depot in Galesburg. As a sisterhood event, we joined the Alpha Deuteron chapter at Monmouth for a tea party at the Minnie Stewart House. During the Spring, we also renewed the lease on our house, but never imagined what was in store for us. First, we learned Knox College graciously offered to help the Greek community by allowing us to pay our rent through community service hours, which we have already been completing through our philanthropic endeavors. <br> When we returned to Knox in the fall, we were pleasantly surprised that one of our advisors and house board members gave our chapter house a complete makeover during the summer. We could not be more thankful for our new furniture, shelving, remodeled bathrooms, and countless decorations. Although Fall was an adjustment period for Eta Kappa due to the large change in our chapter size, our sisters bonded on a deeply personal level and found a new appreciation for the changing chapter. We began the school year with informal recruitment, during which our Membership Chair implemented a completely new system that she created with bump groups and rotation groups. Our new system also incorporated the values of our ritual into the recruitment process. We recruited and initiated three lovely new members. In October, we were lucky enough to join the Alpha Deuteron chapter at Monmouth on Founders Day to visit some of our founders’ graves and share a luncheon with our sisters from Monmouth College. For our annual Win-a-Date philanthropy event, we chose to donate our proceeds to an organization called Watts of Love, which brings solar powered lights to people around the world with no electricity. We were lucky to have the organization’s founder, Nancy Economou, at our event to speak about her incredible experiences with Watts of Love, and we ultimately raised over $2000 for the organization. Fall Term was big for Eta Kappa’s public relations with Knox as well: Eta Kappa now has its own Twitter and Instagram accounts, and our Kore Groups are now utilizing Facebook groups to attend “Kappas on Kampus” events and clean the house together. At the end of Winter Term, we initiated our 3 new members and prepared for Formal Recruitment. <br>