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'''Outstanding Gamma Alpha Alumnae'''
Housing ==2012== Gamma Alpha is an incredible chapter full of amazing women! 2012 has been a year full of challenges and success, perseverance and reward. '''2012 Goals: '''1. Effective communication. While we are still working to achieve this goal, we have made great strides in keeping the chapter well informed of events at Gamma Alpha. During chapter, officers announce upcoming events several weeks in advance, we hang up monthly calendars, and send out email reminders to keep members accountable and informed. 2. Foster stronger relationships between active members and alumni. During 2012, we had an incredible alumni turnout for initiation. Our alumni have done an outstanding job of staying in touch with the the chapter. We even had a Kappa sing along event with an alum!3. Encourage greater participation from members. This was accomplished through a number of fun activities and philanthropic events which boosted moral and provided opportunities for all Gamma Alpha members to be involved. '''Challenges:'''2012 has been an eventful year for Gamma Alpha. We have had a lot of ups and downs throughout the past year, but despite the hardships, we have grown increasingly stronger and have been able to persevere. The biggest hardship we have experienced was receiving the news that one of our active members, Emily Mayfield, was diagnosed with Leukemia. In response to this news, Gamma Alpha held a bone marrow drive on campus which had an incredible and supportive response! We have stayed in close contact with Emily by sending her letters of encouragement every week, surprise gifts, and we even skyped her during chapter. It is has been incredible to see the support of the Gamma Alpha members as well as other Kappa chapters in the area! Emily is currently recovering from a successful bone marrow transplant and will return to Gamma Alpha next semester! Leadership: Leadership is another area in which Gamma Alpha has struggled during 2012. Unfortunately, two of our officers resigned due to reasons outside of Kappa last semester, but replacements were made and we were able to readjust to the new leadership quite smoothly. '''Scholarship:'''Scholarship has been an area of focus for the Gamma Alpha Chapter. We placed 6th out of 14 in grades in the 2012 spring semester. Although we were above the all sorority and campus average, 6th place was concerning, so we doubled our efforts and received 4th place in grades for the 2012 fall semester! We have recently started “Kappa Studyhall” which is a designated time to study after chapter. It is optional, but there are prizes to attract members! This has greatly helped boost our academics. '''Philanthropy:'''The Gamma Alpha chapter has always struggled with effective philanthropy, and 2012 was no exception. We took a new approach to philanthropy this year by implementing new ideas and reaching out to a different demographic. Our biggest philanthropy event was “K-State Gladiators” which took place at our local park. We rented several bounce houses, and blow-up slides to attract families with small children as well as college students. Although we had a fair turnout of people, the rent for the activities was expensive and we did not fare as well as we had hoped. We have learned from our mistakes and now have a clearer picture of what will and won’t work for our philanthropies, so hopefully 2013 will be a huge success! '''Campus:'''Kansas State University continues to provide an extremely healthy and happy environment in which students consistently thrive. It has been an exciting year in sports as K-State was #1 in the nation in football at one point during the season. Our football team also made it to the Fiesta Bowl which created a huge moral boost on campus! The Bill Synder football stadium is now undergoing construction and completion is expected by next football season. Apart from sports, Kansas State University is approaching its 150th anniversary and has made several changes on campus to celebrate, ranging from building upgrades to hiring artists to paint pictures of our beautiful campus. There are also over 400 campus organizations and clubs available to students which provide extracurricular activities and experiences that can only be gained outside the classroom. Overall, Kansas State University is thriving, consistently growing, and persistently striving to accomplish huge goals. '''Chapter:'''The Gamma Alpha chapter is a strong chapter consisting of about 170 members. Each member is unique and individual and this creates an atmosphere of acceptance and camaraderie. The diversity displayed throughout the chapter instills a deep appreciation of Kappa in each and every woman. We are extremely proud of how our members are involved on campus and how we show incredible initiative outside of Kappa’s walls. Our members are involved in the K-State Student Government Association, Student Foundation, Student Alumni Board, the Executive Honors Board, Order of Omega, Silver Key - Sophomore Honorary, Freshman Honorary, and countless other organizations. Gamma Alpha members truly understand the importance of involvement! Overall, the Gamma Alpha chapter provides a safe, healthy, positive, and supportive environment for all members. ==2013== 2013 was a year of great success and accomplishments for the women of Gamma Alpha. In 2012 one of our sisters, Emily Mayfield, was diagnosed with Leukemia. We are happy to report that Emily is now in remission and she was able to return for the 2013 fall term. Officer transitions took place in 2013. Women who possess great leadership skills filled the leadership roles and have made a great impact on the chapter. Our 18 officers went above and beyond their duties to help make the Gamma Alpha chapter stronger than ever. '''Scholarship:'''The Gamma Alpha chapter did exceedingly well in grades during the 2013 school year. We placed fourth in grades out of fourteen sororities in the spring semester. While this was a lower ranking than hoped for, the women of the chapter worked together to continue striving academically. “Kappa Studyhall” is still in place and has been going very well. For the fall semester of 2013 Gamma Alpha placed second in grades overall, with the pledge class of 2013 placing first. We were very excited and proud of our accomplishments. '''Philanthropy:'''Gamma Alpha had two new philanthropy events that were very effective and successful during the 2013 school year. During the spring semester we organized an event along with Gamma Phi Beta called “Sundae Funday,” which was hosted at Gamma Alpha. We sold ice cream with various toppings. Our chapter members enjoyed mingling with the Kansas State community and promoting our chapter. We divided the proceeds evenly with Gamma Phi Beta. Sundae Funday was effectively promoted using social media and campus resources. There was a wonderful turnout. Gamma Alpha’s half of the profits were given to “Reading is Fundamental”, “KKG Foundation” and “Manhattan Public Library Summer Reading Program.” For the fall philanthropy, we organized an event called “Kappaccino.” We rented a booth space in the student union where we sold French Vanilla Cappuccinos as well as packaged bags of Kappaccino mix and t-shirts. Proceeds from Kappaccino were given to our local philanthropy, The KU Cancer Center. Both of these events were well suited for the weather at the time—ice cream during the spring and cappuccinos in the winter. We really enjoyed them both. During the 2013 calendar year chapter members recorded community service hours weekly. For the spring semester our chapter had a total of 894 hours of community service. In the fall semester we gathered 3, 740 hours. We are excited to expand our community service both individually and as a group for the upcoming year. '''Province Awards:'''Province 2013 was an exciting weekend spent in Lawrence, Kansas. The Gamma Alpha chapter was awarded the Outstanding Recruitment Award, the Outstanding Financial Chapter Management Award and an honorable mention for the House Board Award. The Manhattan Alumnae Association was also awarded the Gavel Award. '''Special Events:'''During the Fall 2013 semester we had the great privilege to help start a Kappa chapter at Wichita State University. Our chapter members traveled to Wichita three times to assist with the recruitment and formal pledging process. Then, 50 active members traveled back in November for the Installation and Initiation of the Wichita State University Eta Upsilon Chapter. This was such an amazing experience, and we made memories that will last a lifetime. We are excited about this newfound sisterhood and being able to share such sacred memories with each other. '''Campus:'''Kansas State University is achieving great things and 2013 was a testament to that. In August the Princeton Review’s article; “The Best 378 Colleges,” acknowledged K-State for ranking 2nd for great campus and community relations, 5th for student satisfaction, 6th for happiest students, and 7th for best quality of life. Spring 2013 was an especially exciting time for sports. Both the men’s basketball and men’s baseball teams were Big 12 Conference Champions, and the Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium construction was completed before the first home football game of the 2013 football season. K-State recently launched a strategic plan to become one of the top 50 research universities in the country by the year 2025. This plan includes many updates to the campus, programs and majors, athletics, and student life. We are all excited about the continued expansion and improvements to the university. '''Chapter:'''In August of 2013 the Gamma Alpha chapter welcomed a new house mom; Mom Julia. She has been a great addition to the house and the chapter members appreciate all the hard work she does. There are over 170 active Gamma Alpha members. Each one of us brings such unique qualities to this chapter and mesh together very well. The women of this chapter balance schoolwork, part-time jobs and extra-curricular activities in addition to Chapter events and activities. We have really taken advantage of social media to promote our house in a positive way. With having a Twitter account, @ksukappa, everyone is able to tweet about how special Kappa is to them. During the past year our chapter worked on maintaining a positive reputation at Kansas State University. We can’t wait to see how much more we can achieve in the next calendar year. ==Highlights of 2014== 2014 Summary:Twenty-fourteen was a great year for the women of Gamma Alpha chapter at Kansas StateUniversity. Not only did Kappa win first place at the 2014 homecoming competition, our all houseGPA was ranked in the top three for Greek houses at Kansas State. We hosted two fantasticphilanthropies, Sundae Funday and Kappaccino. This year’s recruitment was one for the books aswe welcomed 59 new members into our house. The new members fit in perfectly and we are proudto call them our sisters. Twenty-fourteen was Gamma Alpha’s 98th anniversity and we welcomedmany Gamma Alpha Alumni to have lunch with us, tour the house before the renovations and meetour new members. Complete renovation of the second and third floors began in December and isscheduled to be completed by end of summer 2015. The current in-house members are temporarilyliving in the Jardine Apartment Complex during the spring semester of 2015.
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|Image= [[File:Gamma_Alpha.jpg|200px]]
|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1916|09|23}}
|College= [httphttps://www.k-state.edu/ Kansas State University], formerly Kansas State Agricultural College
|Location= Manhattan, Kansas
|Homepage= [httphttps://chapterskstate.kappakappagammakappa.org/gammaalpha/ Gamma Alpha Homepage]|Media= [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Gamma_Alpha Media related to Gamma Alpha Chapter]}}
'''Gamma Alpha, Kansas State University (formerly Kansas State Agricultural College), established in 1863, Manhattan, Kansas'''
'''23,786 090 initiates (as of June 20122018)'''
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'''Charter Members:'''
Jessie Althea Alexander, Clara Merle Beeman, Mildred Branson, Frances Ewalt, Helen Fearl, Louise Fielding, Teresa Goodwyn, Hazel Groff, Gladys Grove, Rembert Harshbarger, Vivian Herron, Ruth Lucile Hill Hobbs, Adelaide Julia Holmes, Ann Howard, Edna Hope Klein, Emily Lofinck, Nina Mae Powell, Juanita Reynolds, Meta Viola Scheaff, Ruth Simpson, Mary Bell Van Derveer.
'''Fraternity Council Officers:'''
Marilyn Nichols Bullock, Vice President 1996-1998, Director of Alumnae 1994-1996, Director of Membership 1990-1994; Marjorie Moree Keith, Director of Philanthropies 1978-1982; Arma Jo Smith (Northup), Field Secretary 1947-1949; Sally Denton (Van Artsdalen), Field Secretary, 1953-1955; Krista Harms, Traveling Consultant 1985-1986; Emily Haake (Brandjord), Leadership Consultant 2006-2007; Amelia Roudebush (McCormick), Leadership Consultant 2005-2006
Anna Maude Smith, 1950, Business owner/manager; active in National Restaurant Association; Dr. Sharon Carlson Wilsnack, 1990, Expert on women’s health and alcoholism; author
'''Additional Outstanding Gamma Alpha Alumnae: ''' Arma Jo Smith (Northup), Graduate Counselor 1945-1946; Gay Linvill, Graduate Counselor 1976-1978; Donna Towers (Hemingway), Graduate Counselor 1979-1981
==Highlights of 2011-2019==
From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:
Philanthropy:
Gamma Alpha participated in two very strong philanthropies. Our first one was in the spring and wecalled it Sundae Funday. For this philanthropy we partnered with Gamma Phi Beta and we hostedan ice cream bar, which allowed students at Kansas State to create their favorite treat while raisingmoney for a great cause. We raised over $1700 to go to our philanthropy. We also partnered withFarmhouse for their philanthropy called Philanthocakes. We made thousands of pancakes andserved the students at Kansas State University. The turnout was so great we had a line out the doorand down the block. Our second philanthropy, which we held in November, was called Kappaccino.We rented a booth at the student union and sold Kappaccino’s to students, which was perfectconsidering the temperature was close to freezing that week. Our total amount raised came to about$700 dollars. Campus:Our campus is continuing to grow in size and with that we are excited to announce that KansasState University will be adding a women’s soccer team to our athletic programs. Plus, the Bill SnyderFootball Stadium is currently being expanded to seat even more fans to cheer on our amazingfootball team!! Our university is continually improving and changing to fit the needs of our studentbody. Kansas State also launched a plan to become one of the top 50 research universities in thecountry by 2025. Chapter:The Gamma Alpha chapter is growing robustly in size. We went from having 170 active membersin 2013 to having 190 active members in 2014 and with that we are becoming very close with eachother during chapter meetings. This is our house moms second year being Gamma Alpha’s chapterhouse mom and she has been wonderful. She loves knowing how our days have been and she isalways a great listener. The women of our chapter are very busy balancing schoolwork, jobs andextra curricular activities in addition to being a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma(the best sororityon campus). We have a twitter and Facebook page where members can post just how special Kappareally is. We are also working on setting up an Instagram account to help promote our chapter andthe philanthropies even more. At Kappa’s National Convention over the summer we also receivedthe award of excellence in chapter management. ==Highlights of 2015==Twenty-fifteen was a bit different then most years. The first half of the semester we lived in Jardine apartment complex while our house was getting the renovations completed. We had chapter dinners at the dorm cafeteria. In the fall when our house got reopened we held a philanthropy called Cupcakes for Kappa’s. We gave people house tours of our house and after the tour we gave them cupcakes and refreshments. This year was Gamma Alphas 99th anniversary and is very crazy because we are preparing in all ways for the 100th next year. This summer our main floor and basement are going to be redone in preparations for the 100th. Our campus is continuing to grow in size and with that we are adding a soccer team to Kansas State University next year. Also the Bill Snyder Family Stadium is getting is third phase done to complete the three-year renovation project. This phase will complete the bowl of the stadium and will house our marching band. By 2025 Kansas State hopes to be one of the top 50 research universities in the country. This year we hosted three philanthropies. The first one was Sundae Funday, the second was Cupcakes with Kappas, and the third was Kappacino. Sundae Funday is an ice cream social in which we partner with Gamma Phi Beta and have students from the university pay a entrance fee but then they can have as much ice cream as they want. We raised around $1500. Cupcakes with Kappa was very successful, because people wanted to see the renovations to our house. We raised a few thousand off of that philanthropy alone. Finally Kappacino was another hit this year because college kids love coffee. We sold out all three days. We raised $400 dollars Kappacino. ==Highlights of 2016== Twenty- sixteen was a fantastic year for the women of Gamma Alpha Chapter at Kansas State University. Our all house GPA was ranked in the top three for Greek houses at Kansas State. We hosted three fantastic philanthropies, Sundae Fundae, Kupcakes with Kappa, and Chili with Willie. This year’s recruitment was fantastic and we welcomed 49 wonderful new members into our house. We are proud to call them our new sisters and they fit perfectly into Gamma Alpha. Twenty-sixteen was Gamma Alpha’s 100th anniversary and Manhattan, Kansas welcomed over 700+ Gamma Alpha alumni back to Manhattan to celebrate. There was a luncheon for the active and alumnae, house and campus tours were provided by active members, and the active members enjoyed a formal date party in the evening. Complete renovations were completed in the kitchen and first floor during the summer of 2016. Our campus is continuing to grow in size and with that we were excited to cheer on the newly founded Kansas State women’s soccer team during their inaugural season. Our university faced several challenges this past school year, but the university is continually improving and changing to fit the needs of our student body. We also welcomed a new university president, President General Richard Meyers. The Gamma Alpha chapter is continuing to grow in size, we currently have 185 active chapter members. This is our house mom, Mom Juls, fourth year and she has been a wonderful part of our house for the last several years. She loves attending events that feature Gamma Alphas, hearing about our day, and saving us from a bad haircut. This was our cook, Liz’s 18th year and she provides great nourishment and advice for all the women in the Gamma Alpha house. The women of our chapter are very busy balancing schoolwork, jobs, and extra curricular activities in addition to being a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma (aka the best sorority on campus). We have a twitter, Facebook, and Instagram account to help promote our chapter and philanthropies even more; as well as where members can post about just how special Kappa really is. At Kappa’s National Convention Awardsover the summer we also received the award of excellence in chapter management. Gamma Alpha participated in two very strong philanthropies. Our first one was in the spring and we called in Sundae Funday. We partnered with Delta Sigma Phi and we hosted in ice cream bar, which allowed students at Kansas State to create their favorite treat while raising money for a great cause. We raised over $2,500 to go to our philanthropy. Our second philanthropy, Kupcakes with Kappa we held in August after school started. We invited Kansas State students to enjoy a house tour of our newly renovated house as well as eat delicious cupcakes! For this philanthropy we raised over $2,000 that went towards our philanthropy. Our final philanthropy, Chili with Willie we held in December. We partnered with PIKE and served chili at our house for Kansas State students, Willie the Wildcat our school mascot also made an appearance at this event. For this event we raised over $9,000 that went towards our philanthropy. We chose to suport the organizations because we wanted to give back to the Kappa Kappa Gamma community as well as the Manahattan community. ==Highlights of 2017== [[File:Screen Shot 2018-01-06 at 12.06.36 PM.png]] Our chapter has achieved many successes over the past year. In the spring semester, we were recognized as the chapter with the most women to achieve a 4.0 GPA and placed second in grades overall with a 3.476. Continuing our steadfast reputation of excellence, we also won Homecoming Week in the fall with our partners of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Pi Kappa Phi. Our chapter took 1st in Paint the Ville and 3rd in Pant the Chant as well. We created a float for the parade, embracing our theme of Honolulu, as the overall theme was Purple Pride Worldwide, with different cities for each pairing. The win was a surprise to our chapter, but incredibly exciting to be a part of. [[File:Gamma Alpha Mural 2017.png|thumb|Gamma Alpha Mural 2017]] Date parties were held each semester with the spring semester starting out with a jungle date party and later, our annual formal, Sapphire Ball, was held at the Discovery Center in Manhattan in April. In the fall, we had one in September with a theme of "When I Grow Up" and later our semi-formal in December at a barn outside of Manhattan with a theme of "Barnyard Ball." Our chapter had many fun sisterhood events throughout the year, including a Valentine's event, a Halloween party, and a Friendsgiving. Members also enjoy spending time with one another by hanging around the house, lounging in the informal, and taking Sonic runs. Our house mom, Jules, and our cook, Liz, continue to be steadfast presences in the chapter and serve as support systems for all the girls in the house. [[File:Gamma Alpha 2017.png|thumb|Gamma Alpha 2017]] Kansas State University has continued to grow and expand over the past year. Renovations continued to take place all over campus, with the Union being completed in the spring of 2017 and Seaton Hall in the fall of the same year. Our chapter continues to be held in high regard on campus, albeit affectionately nicknamed the "Kappa Kappa Grandmas," which many of our members whole-heartedly embrace. Our house mom, Mom Jules, and our cook, Liz, continue to serve the chapter and provide advice, motherly wisdom, and the occasional haircut. As a whole, our chapter has continued to take pride in our strong heritage and flourish as the years go by. Philanthropy remained a consistent theme for our chapter, as we participated in several philanthropies each semester. In the spring, we did our annual book collection at Mom's Day and later donated the books to a local elementary school as part of our organization's dedication to Reading is Fundamental. We also had a new philanthropy called Kappa Con Queso where we sold tickets to an all-you-can-eat event with chips, queso, and salsa. It was held at the house and was a success. In the fall, we participated in the annual C. Clyde Jones Fun Run, which is held in honor of our Kappa "grandfather," C. Clyde Jones, who is often seen at chapter dinners or enjoying spending time with our members. We won the trophy for Most Sorority Participants. We also co- hosted Fall Fest with Delta Sigma Phi at their house. It was a fun event with fall themed games and snacks. We rounded out the semester with our second annual Chili with Willie philanthropy, and this year we invited Delta Upsilon to host it with us. It was a success and the money raised went to the Rose McGill Holiday Fund. The money we raised from our philanthropies went back to organizaitons, that we, as Kappa, support. The books raised from Mom's Day supported Reading is Fundamental and we held an event at a local elementary school where we read books and had snacks with local elementary school students. Donating back to the Rose McGill holiday is meaningful to us, as we believe in supporting our fellow Kappa sisters. [[File:Gamma Alpha sisters 2017.png|thumb|Gamma Alpha sisters 2017]] ==Highlights of 2018== [[File:Gamma Alpha house.png|thumb|Gamma Alpha chapter house]]Our chapter has accomplished many different things over this past year. In the spring semester, we achieved our goal of going from fifth in grades back to placing second in grades with a GPA of 3.560. Continuing our streak of achievement in Lambda Chi Alpha's philanthropy, Watermelon Bust, in the fall, we tied for first place. During homecoming week, our chapter took 4th place in Pant the Chant and 2nd in Paint the Ville. Our partners for Homecoming were Sigma Phi Epsilon and Acacia. We created a float to support the overall theme of Little Apple, Big Entertainment. Our float resembled "Coachella" to go along with our theme of Beyonce. We all had an incredible time supporting our chapter, with the help of our new members, we were very excited for the week. [[File:GA football game.png|thumb|Gamma Alphas support KSU football]]At convention, our chapter received the Recruitment award and Honorable Mention in Chapter Management. Date parties, a semi-formal and a formal were held that brought our chapter together for nights filled with dancing, good music and a way to build friendships and sisterhood. In the spring, we had a date party with a theme of "Kappa Time Machine", where people dressed like different people or groups of people of the past, present or future. Our formal was "Monmouth Formal" with Pi Beta Phi, which was held at Flint Hills Discovery Center. In the fall, we had "Blues and Bowling " at the Kansas State Bowling Alley, decked out in jean outfits and following in November, we had our semi-formal with a theme of "Maskeyrade" at the Wareham in Manhattan.[[File:Kappa Spirit GA.png|thumb|KKG spirit!]] Along with date parties, we had a few sisterhood events that continued to build these sisterhood bonds. Our chapter had a Valentine's event, a Halloween party and a Christmas party. We also had two big philanthropy events that included a Trunk or Treat at the Manhattan Public Library and Kappa KDntinental, that we hosted with Kappa Delta with a breakfast bar. Our members enjoy spending time watching movies in the informal, hanging out on the side porch of our house and making cookie bake or Sonic runs. Our support system at the house consists of our house mom, Jules, and our cook Liz. They continually pour out their love and genuine care for all of us by listening to us and giving us advice. Our chapter is so thankful for the both of them. [[File:GA mom daughter.png|thumb|We love our alumni!]] Kansas State University has continued to grow as a campus and school over many years. There are new organizations and resources popping up for students to utilize. The Union has been renovated and we gained a few new restaurants and food options to choose from. Our biggest loss on campus was a fire that broke out at Hale Library, a primary study spot for all of our students. Fortunately, our campus has opened up a few buildings and provided resources to make up for the loss of our library. Our chapter, specifically, remains to be held in high regard on campus, still being referred to as the "Kappa Kappa Grandmas". We take pride in our influential members on campus, involvement in the community, our strong relationships with alumni and the heritage that still continues throughout the walls of our home. [[File:GA in front of house.png|thumb|Together in front of the house]] ==Highlights of 2019== This past calendar year was full of new memories and accomplishments for our lovely little Gamma Alpha chapter. For the 2018-2019 school year, our chapter was awarded the title "Sorority of the Year" out of the 13 sororities we have on K-State's campus. Panhellenic awarded our chapter with this title because of our heavy involvment on K-State's campus, high academic standing, and strong retention rates during recruitment. Our chapter has often placed in the top percent for panhellenic academics on our campus, but this past spring semester, Gamma Alpha placed first. We love our chapter and take pride in these accomplishments, however, many of us believe there is always room for improvement. Our chapter made it one of our goals this year to increase community involvment and support of our panhellenic brothers and sisters. Our Trunk-or-Treat philanthropy event was a huge success last year so we decided to continue the event. We partnered with the Manhattan public library to raise awareness for Reading is Fundamental (RIF), as well as give candy to families in the surrounding area and investing in the community around us. However, this year we invited other panhellenic and community organizations to join us at our Trunk-or-Treat event so we can support our community together. We are blessed to have so many self-motivated women in our chapter and because of this were able to have several additional philanthropy events. We put on the "KKBee" spelling bee at one of the local town coffee shops to raise money for RIF. We hosted a "Kappa Karwash" event at our house, and participated in the "Reading is Key" event as well as various book drives throughout the year. We are so thankful to have such warm-hearted and hard working young women in this house. We may be hard working, but we also love some good ol' Kappa Kappa Grandma fun. Our formal this year was "Choose a Mister for Your Sister". Our women got to set their sisters up on blind dates for our formal event, it was a great way to meet new people and expand our Kappa community. Semi-formal was just as exciting with its theme, "Kappa Cotillion", and as always, we kept it Klassy. We said goodbye to PC'15 and welcomed our new PC'19 women this year, but some things never change like our beloved house mom, Mom Jules, and house cook, Liz. We cannot talk these women up enough, they are phenomenal and make living in the house the experience of a lifetime. From Bachelor watch parties, ginger bread house decorating, outdoor movie nights, and frat boy Fridays, there's never a quite moment at 517 Fairchild Terrace and we are so thankful for the people that have provided us with this amazing opportunity to live with so many women we love. We are so excited for another year of memories. Kansas State University is still known as one of the top college towns in the nation and our campus continues to grow. K-State has broken ground for our new Multi-Cultural Student Center that should be finished within the next few years. Similarly, the construction of the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility (NBAF) has made immense progress. We are so thankful that Hale Library has reopened the first floor after the fire that occurred two summers ago. Our students have enjoyed the study space that has provided and look forward to seeing the finished product. Kappa continues to be help in high regard on campus and plans to continue deepening our involvment with organizations outside of Kappa. Our members plan on investing in the Manhattan and Kansas State community to give back to the wonderful people who have given us so much love and support. Our chapter supports Reading is Fundamental through local support. We chose this organization because we wanted to support this organization that we enjoy being apart of each year. We always love working with young children learning how to read and seeing our donations of books in the elementary in Manhattan being put to good use. We believe in empowering young people to pursue education and learn to love learning. Our chapter stands by the belief that you have to learn to read in order to read to learn. We love working with young students in their pursuit of learning and walking alongside the future generation of our society. RIF is a wonderful organization that provides us with so many opportunities to do that. We are so thankful for the educational privledges we have received and love handing those gifts down to the next generation of leaders and life long learners. We also wanted to give our semester donation to nationals with the money collected for our philanthropy in the fall. Every year we invite Gamma Alpha and various Kappa alumni to our house for our Founders Day celebration that takes place the Sunday after initiation weekend. We had a great turn out of alumni this year and enjoyed donuts, cider, and coffee to celebrate the new members and honor the women that founded our beloved organization. ==Highlights of 2020== This past calendar year was full of many new memories and many new experiences for our sweet Gamma Alpha chapter. Our chapter is known for our heavy involvement on campus. We have many women who are involved in campus organizations ranging from K-State Student Foundation, Cats Cupboard, K-State Proud, Student Government Association, and the K-State band and Classy Cats (dance team). One of our won Gamma Alpha women was voted to be the 2021 K-State female Student Ambassador! [[File:Marissa Lux - 2021 K-State Female Student Ambassador.jpeg|thumb|Marissa Lux - 2021 K-State Female Student Ambassador]] Our women are also involved in volunteering around Manhattan and even amidst COVID our women found a way. These volunteer opportunities have ranged from Big Brothers Big Sisters, nursing homes, and local food pantries. We were able to hold 1 philanthropy event over Instagram. We raised money with CrowdChange boards for Reading is Fundamental (RIF). We raised $638 for RIF, collected 80 books with our book drive to give to Manhattan schools, $200 were donated to KKG Foundation, and despite the pandemic, our Gamma Alpha women donated 289 hours of community service projects in 2020. The ladies of Gamma Alpha are also Kappa geniuses. Our spring 2020 semester all chapter GPA was 3.7, ranked above the all sorority average for K-State. This put us in 5th out of 13 of the sororities that are on K-State’s campus for grades. Recruitment looked very different this year, but our girls are resilient and can adapt and prosper through anything which was shown in our retention rates and outcome of recruitment. [[File:PC 17 during 2020 recruitment!.jpeg|thumb|PC 17 during 2020 recruitment!]] With COVID, our recruitment ended up being completely virtual, along with Bid Day as well. We pledged 39 wonderful women into our chapter this year, staying close to last year’s numbers despite the pandemic. We are so grateful we were able to hold initiation in person this year. We initiated 38 strong and wonderful women into the Gamma Alpha chapter. [[File:Bid Day 2020!.jpeg|thumb|Bid Day 2020!]][[File:Bid Day Fall 2020.jpeg|thumb|Bid Day 2020]][[File:Big Little Reveal.jpeg|thumb|Big Little Reveal]] Unfortunately, K-State’s Homecoming also was put all online, but Kappa’s presence and involvement did not dip at all. We received second place in homecoming this year with our partner AGR! We are so proud of this achievement especially during the pandemic. One goal our chapter had was to strengthen the sisterhood we were already building. We were very lucky and able to have our Mom’s Weekend and our “Kappa Kappa Galactica” date party before the pandemic hit. These were both hits with so much dancing and fun with our sisters. After school went all online, our chapter got very creative in different activities we could participate in to strengthen sisterhood. We were able to hold our semi-formal in late November with only Kappa’s and it was a wonderful night of laughs, dancing and sisterhood. [[File:2020 Semi-Formal at the Kappa House!.jpeg|thumb|2020 Semi-Formal at the Kappa House!]] There were many online activities with lots of conversations and even a zoom call celebrating our 2020 spring graduates and showering them with memories and love we had for them. This year could not have been as fun and wonderful as it was without our house mom, Mom Jules, and house cook, Liz. These two women put the ladies of Gamma Alpha first and went above and beyond to make this year the best it could be. We are forever grateful for them. There were so many Bachelor watch parties, movie nights, dance parties, and side porch hammock hangouts that were so special and intimate this year with our sisters. [[File:Hammocking on Kappa's side porch on a beautiful spring day!.jpeg|thumb|Hammocking on Kappa's side porch on a beautiful spring day!]] We are so thankful for the moments this year brought, the ability to slow down and appreciate the time we have, and the people who helped support our chapter to thrive in such a difficult time. We are so excited for another year of memories at 517 Fairchild Terrace. Gamma Alpha supports Reading is Fundamental for our philanthropy. We believe in strengthening and empowering the youth to pursure their education and learn a love of reading. Our chapter stands by the belief that you have to learn to read in order to read to learn. We love working with young students while they pursure their education and being there beside the next generation of our society. RIF is a wonderful and powerful organization that gives us so many opportunities to do just that and give back to the community. We are so grateful for the education we all have received and are continuing to receive and love giving back to the next generation of leaders and life long learners. This year, Gamma Alpha was very active and aware of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. We encouraged respectful and open conversations about DEI. Chapter Council decided to implement a new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion position in the 2021 calendar year when we could have more discussion about what this position would look like and what we would expect of it.
Due to Covid-19 guidelines and the safety of the women living in the Kappa house, our Founder’s Day and 150th anniversary celebration were held over zoom. It was encouraged for women to come to the Kappa house and have cookies and cider and conversations, if one felt comfortable, about Kappa’s history and legacy that was left for us from alumni. A fun “What Kappa Founder Are You” quiz was created to dwell and learn just a little bit about the founding Kappa’s and their personalities. It was a fun way to learn about their lives and how we are all still so connected and alike even 150 years apart.
==Highlights of 2021==
==Highlights of 2020s:==