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|Image= [[File:Zeta_Omega.jpg|200px]]
|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1994|01|08}}
|College= [httphttps://uwaterloo.ca/ University of Waterloo]
|Location= Waterloo, ON
|Homepage= [httphttps://chaptersuwaterloo.kappakappagammakappa.org/zetaomega/ Zeta Omega Homepage]|Media= [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Zeta_Omega Media related to Zeta Omega Chapter]}}
'''University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada'''
'''342 306 initiated members (as of June 2018March 2022)'''
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In 1957, innovation and entrepreneurship brought University of Waterloo into being, as a group of business leaders imagined a new university built to tackle some of the world’s most daunting challenges.
University of Waterloo, commonly referred as Waterloo or UW, is a public research university whose main campus is located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is in Uptown Waterloo, adjacent to Waterloo Park. The university offers a wide variety of academic programs, administered by six faculties and ten faculty-based schools. The university also operates four satellite campuses and four affiliated university colleges. Waterloo is a member of the U15, a group of research-intensive universities in Canada.
The University of Waterloo was created as a non-denominational board established by Waterloo College (the present-day Wilfrid Laurier University) to obtain government grants to run expanded science programs under the name Waterloo College Associated Faculties. The university was established in response to community demand for improved education facilities, particularly in technical and scientific fields of study. The first 74 students began classes in 1957. In 1959, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario passed an act which formally split the board from Waterloo College and reestablished it as the University of Waterloo.Renowned for the success of its cooperative education programs, Waterloo now has the largest engineering school in Canada. The university enrolled approximately 240,000 students in 1994.
==Highlights of 1980s- Kappa Gamma Phi ==
In 1986, there was one fraternity at Waterloo. This fraternity was Delta Omega Chi which became Theta Psi chapter of Sigma Chi in March of 1987. At that time there were no other Greek societies. A woman student who had been associated with Delta Omega Chi realized the advantages of this type of society and decided to begin one for women. She put an ad in the campus newspaper asking if there were other women on campus who would be interested in starting a sorority. She received several responses.
==Highlights of 1990s- Petition to NPC ==
In 1993, Kappa Gamma Phi decided to petition some international sororities for membership. The members assembled packets with information about Waterloo, the UW campus and Kappa Gamma Phi. Kappa Kappa Gamma and Delta Delta Delta both responded and came to the campus to make presentations. The chapter members thought the values of KKG were similar to those of KGP and voted to become a Kappa colony.
This year we participated in sisterhood events that acted as stress relievers from our busy academic schedules, but also played an important role in strengthening our chapter’s sisterly bonds. Some of the highlights include a trip to Skyzone, yoga, destressing spa days and board game days. We also had an amazing Touch of Klass to end off the term which was run by Isabelle Lavallée-Gordon at an anticafe that featured lots of desserts and many opportunities for sisters to bond with each other and reflect on the past term.
==Highlights of 2020== 2020 was an interesting year for everyone, but Zeta Omega took its challenges with grace and used them to improve ourselves as a chapter and as individuals. Zeta Omega started 2020 strong with Chapter Meeting restructures and increased educational programming led by Erin Murray as Chapter President. Erin gracefully led Zeta Omega through the shift to virtual formats amidst the pandemic. Our winter 2020 Vice President Standards, Josie Hiddema, planned two amazing sisterhoods. The first sisterhood involved a night of crafts, candy and cuddles as sisters watched movies in their pajamas. For sisterhood 2 we trekked to Elmira to paint mugs at Maggie’s Mudroom, where sisters were able to take home their mugs! Our winter Leadership Consultant, Hannah Cho, visited us in early January. With the planning and communication done by Vice President Organization, Grace Flanagan, Hannah stayed with us for 4 days where she met officers, explored Waterloo and hit the in boutiques Uptown Waterloo with sisters. At the 2020 Kappa convention Zeta Omega won the Academic Excellence award and had our first term where every sister met the grade requirement! Vice President of Academic Excellence, Shannel Nguyen, introduced a study hours competition using the app Flora where sisters could track their study hours in friendly competition. Shannel hosted in-person study sessions which she changed to virtual drop-in study sessions once the Covid-19 pandemic caused the University to move online. Chapter Marshal, Jade Dayman, created monthly Ritual Reviews in the forms of Jeopardy-style games and presentations in an effort to re-engage chapter with ritual and re-establish our connection to our history. Jade planned our Quiet Night event which involved lots of bonding, self-growth, and fun activities. She also started a recruitment tee archive where one recruitment shirt from each year starting in Fall 2018 was kept and stored.Before everything went virtual, our Philanthropy Chair Briana Clark organized a philanthropy where sisters packed homeless relief kits for the Friendship Centre of Waterloo. In March, the World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 outbreak as a pandemic and school went online. During this tough transition, Chapter Council successfully migrated online and supported our sisters in the process. Sapphire Ball 2020 was unfortunately cancelled as a result, but we closed out the term by virtually sending off 10 senior sisters. Chapter Council continued to meet biweekly via Zoom during the summer months to prepare for a fully virtual fall term, including virtual recruitment as well as the implementation of a new position on Chapter Council: The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chairwoman.Fall Vice President Standards, Ayesha Khan, fostered sisterhood and boosted morale through virtual sisterhood events. Our first fall sisterhood was a virtual Halloween Netflix party! For the second sisterhood Ayesha worked us to the bone with an online fitness class with The Fitness Junction in Guelph. Membership Chair Zoe Whitman planned a successful virtual recruitment and work week as New Member Chair Sarah Mazen welcomed home 13 new members in Member Class 2020 with a virtual bid day! Chapter Marshal, Jade Dayman, organized a fully virtual inspiration week including sending out inspiration week boxes, hosting our annual Quiet Night with bonding activities and friendship bracelet making and ended the week with virtually Initiating 10 members over Zoom in the presence of Zeta Omega alumnae, the Alpha District Team and Chapter advisors on November 8th, 2020. Willow Glicksohn, Fall Philanthropy Chair, planned a virtual letter writing session where sisters wrote letters of thanks and gratitude to front line workers. Willow, in collaboration with Erin Coughenour, our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chair, donated the philanthropy budget for the fall term to three organizations: Reading is Fundamental, Kitchener-Waterloo Community Covid Fund and an Indigenous Women of Canada Fund. Events Chair, Chantel De La Courneuve, organized two virtual socials during the fall term. Social 1 was a Kappajama event with the Toronto Chapter, Beta Psi, over Zoom. Social 2 was with the sisters of Alpha Omicron Pi, another sorority on campus. Chantel planned a virtual Touch of Klass where sisters dressed up, ordered dinner and sat on Zoom for awards, appreciations and 5 senior send offs. Since our Annual Sapphire Ball was cancelled due to Covid-19, the Sapphire Ball awards were presented at TOK instead. There were 9 awards given out that night. The recipient of the President’s Award was Jade Dayman (MC 18’), the recipient of the Outstanding Officer Award was Alice Sandiford (MC 19’), the recipient of the Sisterhood award was Payton Ford (MC’ 18), the recipient of the Academic award was Ayesha Khan (MC 19’), the recipient of the Chapter Goals award was Erin Murray (MC 16’), the recipient of the New Member Award for Member Class 2019 was Erin Coughenour (MC 19’), the recipient of the Philanthropy award was Sarah Mazen (MC 18’) and finally the recipient of the Abenaya Shanmuganathan's Award was Zoe Whitman (MC 19’). 2020 was truly an important year for finding our sisterhood, as it is only through the unpredictable struggles, we faced together amidst the pandemic that we truly grew as a Chapter and as women. The chapter supports Reading is Fundamental, House of Friendship, Kitchener-Waterloo Community Covid Fund and an Indigenous Women of Canada Fund. The House of Friendship, the Kitchener- Waterloo Community Covid Fund and the Indigenous Women of Canada Fund are all local organizations that hold a place in our hearts. The chapter implemented and installed the first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chairwoman, Erin Coughenour, under Vice President Standards. The DEI chair worked with the Membership chair, Zoe Whitman to address unconscious bias and improve our recruitment practices. DEI chair also partnered with the Education chair, Alice Sandiford, to provide LGBTQ+ safety, equity and inclusion training. In addition, $1000 was donated between Black Legal Action Centre, Healing Collective, Black Health Alliance and Black Lives Matter Toronto. Erin partnered with the Philanthropy Chair, Willow Glicksohn to donate the Fall Philanthropy budget to the Reading is Fundamental, Kitchener-Waterloo Community Covid Fund and an Indigenous Women of Canada Fund. Zeta Omega sisters tuned into the Kappa 150th Anniversary Facebook Live event from all over the globe. On October 18th, 2020 the Marshal, Jade Dayman, and the Education chair, Alice Sandiford organized the Founder’s Day Ceremony, led by Chapter President Erin Murray. ==Highlights of 2021== At the Zeta Omega Chapter, our year started off strong with a virtual Leadership Day held by our Vice President Organization, Payton Ford. Here we ushered in our new 2021 Chapter Council, and discussed our goals for the term. Our Vice President Standards, Jade Dayman, held a programming educating chapter on the functions of the Standards Committee, Standards Concerns, Membership Support Plans, and the Kappa Konfidant form, where sisters can anonymously or non-anonymously share their concerns with the Standards Committee. In the Winter term, Jade ran 3 amazing virtual Sisterhoods. We had a Presentation Night, where sisters could present on any topic of their choice. We learned about Twilight, Spencer Reid’s best looks, Kombucha, Drag Race, and more! Our second Sisterhood was a yoga session. We rounded out the winter term with a Virtual Escape Room night with KW Escapes. We had to work together to get through different scenarios, like a twister or a jail break. In the fall term, we continued to hold virtual Sisterhoods. We held a Sisterhood Retreat, with team bonding and ice breakers, as well as a virtual game night. Since restrictions started to lift this term, we got to hold our first in-person Sisterhood since February 2020! We had a crafting day, where sisters painted canvases, tie-dyed shirts, and made friendship bracelets. Alice Sandiford, our Vice President Academic Excellence, worked hard this year to make sure that sisters felt supported and connected academically. She implemented the Saturday Organization Cafe, which was a hit! Every Saturday, sisters could join a Zoom call to start their day, plan their upcoming weeks, and chip away at assignments. This was a great opportunity for us to spend some time together, catch up, and get a jump start on the week ahead. Alice also implemented the Study Dates slack channel, where sisters could post Zoom meeting links to find study buddies to work with outside of the Organization Cafe. When restrictions eased in the fall, sisters also got to use this channel to plan real-life study dates on campus and at local study spots. The Winter Academic Excellence Committee, consisting of Alice, Erin Coughenour, and Amy Wohlgemuth held Academic Goals Programming. Our VPAE and VPS also teamed up for Mental Health Programming, where we, as a chapter, discussed accessibility within chapter. Our Fall Education Chair, Amy Wohlgemuth, facilitated Courage to Commit. In the year 2021, the Zeta Omega chapter was still navigating the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the restrictions placed upon us by the Ontario government, our Winter Events Chair, Grace Flanagan, planned many fun and safe socials that helped us grow our Greek relations. We celebrated Valentine’s Day through a Virtual Crafting Brunch with the ladies of Alpha Omicron Pi, played Among Us with the Waterloo chapter of Sigma Chi, had our first social with the gentlemen of Alpha Epsilon Pi, and even participated in a virtual Greek Olympics held by Wilfred Laurier University’s Alpha Phi. We even got to connect with our Kappas Sisters over at the Beta Psi chapter in Toronto, through virtual social on Zoom. Our Winter Term capped off with a Virtual Sapphire Ball, honoring our Senior Sisters and sending them off. In the Fall Term, we held a pumpkin painting social with AOII. Our Winter Education Chair, Montse Herrera and our Marshal, Erin Coughenour, held a virtual senior send off ceremony that sent our Winter senior sisters off into their alumni status with a reminder of how far they’ve come since their Initiation days. Along with Senior Sendoff, Montse also organized a movie night for the Senior Sisters, held a “Who’s That Baby” competition, and hosted a Virtual Alumni Event with our Winter PR Chair, Megan Morse. For Fall 2021 Recruitment, we were lucky enough to hold some in-person and hybrid events since restrictions started to lift within this time. Our Membership Chair, Chantel De La Cournueve, worked with the ladies of Alpha Omicron Pi and the UW Panhellenic Council to plan a safe hybrid recruitment. Chantel held a workweek workshop in mid September to prep our members on the rules and regulations of recruitment, as well as prepare members to be able to talk to PNMS. Through virtual and in-person events, we welcomed an initial member class of 5 amazing women. We further decided to move into continuous open bidding, and through this process found 3 more new sisters of the Zeta Omega Chapter. All in all, our fall recruitment process brought 8 new sisters to our chapter. Chapter Marshal, Erin Coughenour, held a virtual Inspiration week for Winter 2021. This term’s Inspiration Week focused on senior sisters, including Senior Sendoff Ritual. Quiet Night consisted of Ice Breakers, Warm Fuzzies, and a Virtual White Elephant Game. Virtual formal meetings brought new challenges to chapter, but through Ritual Reviews she educated chapter on meeting etiquette and parliamentary procedure to continue keeping ritual alive and well in a virtual setting. This fall, we held our first in-person Initiation Ceremony since November 2019. The 8 members of MC21 were initiated on Saturday, November 20, in the presence of current active members of Zeta Omega as well as alumni. This was followed by a lovely Alumni Brunch hosted by our Fall PR Chair, Montse Herrera. Things have not been easy as a Canadian chapter. We have had to navigate strict COVID-19 restrictions, as well as sisters being all over the world. We are proud to have used this time and these challenges to become a stronger, more inclusive, and more connected chapter. We can’t wait to further navigate chapter in a post-COVID world, and grow as a chapter in the coming years.