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Eta
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{{Infobox Fraternity
|Name= ThetaEta|GreekSymbol= ΘH|Image= [[File:ThetaEta.jpg|200px]]|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1875|0402|02}}|College= [httphttps://www.missouriwisc.edu/ University of MissouriWisconsin]|Location= ColumbiaMadison, MOWI|Province= Epsilon North|Homepage= http[https://kappakappagammawisc.kappa.orgEta Homepage]|Media= [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Theta Eta Media related to Theta Eta Chapter]
}}
'''University of Wisconsin established in 1848, Madison, Wisconsin'''
'''Founded February 2, 1875 - 8 charter members'''
'''3,453 initiates (as of June 2018)'''
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'''Some Charter Members:'''Agnes Allis Haskill, Carrie (Caroline A.) Hobart, Elizabeth Antoinette Meyer, Juliet Meyer, Helen Remington, Helen Dougal Street, Fannie Walbridge, Fannie West '''Fraternity Council Members:''' E. Josephine Sarles (Simpson), Grand Secretary 1882-1884; Florence C. Moseley, Grand Treasurer 1888-1890; George Challoner Tracy, Grand Treasurer 1904-1906; Grand Secretary 1906-1908; Georgia Hayden Lloyd-Jones, National Director of Provinces 1924-1926; National President 1926-1928, 1928-1930, National Panhellenic Delegate , 1930-1932; Almira Johnson McNaboe, Director of Provinces 1932-1934; Grand Vice President 1934-1936, 1936-1938, 1938-1940; Gail Guthrie (Valaskakis), Field Secretary 1962-1964; Laurie Schmidt (Severino), Field Secretary 1982-1984; Janet Meinheit, Traveling Consultant 1988-1989; Barbara Gerlinger Quilling - Province Director of Chapters 2010 - 2014, Province Director of Alumnae 2014 - 2016, Ritual & History Specialist 2016 - 2021 '''Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:''' '''Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award recipients:''' Edith Clarke, 1955, First woman to earn electrical engineering degree from MIT; first woman elected fellow of Chapter’s Outstanding the American Institute of Electrical Engineers; Nancy Olson Livingston, 1960, stage and screen actress (starred in Disney’s Pollyanna); Gena Rowlands Cassavetes, 1960, screen and television (nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Mabel Longhetti in A Woman Under the Influence, 1974, played Allie Calhoun in The Notebook, 2004); Gail Guthrie Valaskakis, 1972, Education pioneer; awarded numerous research grants and honors; author '''Other Notable Alumnae:''' Patricia Beth O’Kelley—TV actress, author and producer who has appeared on Emeril, That Was Then, The New Adventures of Old Christine and Gilmore Girls; film work includes Outside Sales and Weather Girl; Nancy Hanschman Dickerson—White House correspondent; publisher of Among Those Present, a 1976 memoir covering the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford administrations; Marilyn Fox (Rutherford), Graduate Counselor 1950-1951;Gail Guthrie (Valaskakis), Graduate Counselor 1961-1963; Suzette Gotta (Jaskie), Chapter Consultant 1984-1987 ==The Early Years== A University of Wisconsin student, Juliet Meyer (Brown), received a letter from a Kappa Kappa Gamma member at Indiana University in the fall of 1874, inviting her to form a Chapter at Wisconsin. Juliet’s name had been selected from the university catalog, and she casually chose roommates and dormitory neighbors as Chapter mates. It happened that, of the eight girls occupying two suites of rooms in the dormitory, two were seniors and six were juniors. This was the first year that women had been officially integrated at Wisconsin. There were two men’s fraternities, none for women, and faculty attitudes were reputedly hostile. For this reason, the organization of Eta was secretly performed by correspondence. After considerable correspondence, Juliet and her seven friends signed the constitution and oath of initiation, which had been received in cipher. The Chapter was established on February 2, 1875, by the Grand Chapter. The first pledge was Mary Hill. She was relieved when the key to the cipher arrived, and wrote “great relief was felt when the really harmless nature of the dark deed was revealed to the founders of Eta.” From the beginning, regular meetings were held in the private rooms of members, and literary exercises were always a part of the program. Informal spreads, guarded with secrecy and mystery, occasionally took place in some bedroom reached through a parlor that acted as a buffer between the festive rites and inquisitive teachers and fellow students. It was not until the golden keys appeared that it began to be rumored that a secret society had been organized. Indignation was great in some quarters. The college year 1875-76 was a stirring one in college history. Meetings began and ended in a row. New literary societies were formed from schisms in old ones, and members of Eta were leading members of the literary societies. As soon as they became known as Kappas, they could do nothing without having their motives questioned. They were accused of using their influence to secure appointments and class offices for members, of forming a clique, and of being an aristocracy. The fraternities were all hated by the non-fraternity students, who formed themselves into an anti-secret society league that actually did what it was accusing the fraternities of doing.
'''Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipient:Housing'''Marie Bryden Macnaughtan, 1956
By 1883, fraternities at Wisconsin were accepted. In 1884, Dr. John Bascom, president of the university, whose daughter was a Kappa, gave Eta the use of three rooms in South Hall. These rooms were needed for other uses in the spring of 1891, but happily, a professor going on a leave of absence rented Eta his home, completely furnished. The experiment was so successful that the chapter rented another house in the fall, and with the help of alumnae, found furniture to go in it. In 1894, the girls gave up the house and rented rooms in the home of Mrs. C. N. Brown. This also proved to be too expensive, so Eta was again without a chapter house. In 1901, Eta moved to 425 North Park Street, the second Chapter house and the first women’s fraternity in Madison to build its own house.
Life on North Park Street began uniquely when members were quarantined for two weeks during a smallpox scare. At first, Kappas outside the house were sorry for their imprisoned sisters, but they soon began to envy them. None of the victims will ever forget the festivities of those two weeks … the White House Dinner, the Military Hop, the mock wedding. It brought members closer together.
In 1903, the Chapter had its first death when Rosamund Parish, a freshman, died in the Iroquois Theater fire in Chicago. A sophomore and four young alumnae died in the influenza epidemic in 1918.
World War II brought many changes to campus. Military personnel were again housed in dormitory and fraternity houses, and Eta chapter gave half of its social budget toward the war effort. The girls sang Kappa songs or listened to the radio while knitting articles for Kappa’s Nora Waln layette program for Norwegian babies. They also adopted two “CARE” families. Dateless dances arrived. Students conducted a scrap drive in lieu of Homecoming and the chapter donated all its trophies. The 1942 queen was called “Blue Jean Queen of Work Day.”
The health of beloved Carrie Ruden, who had gone into a nursing home, declined and it seemed to some as if Carrie and Eta would be leaving the world together. Carrie died in October 1972, but not Eta. That fall, Eta was renewed in the form of a large and talented pledge class and the renewal seemed permanent.
Georgia Hayden Lloyd-Jones was elected Grand President of Kappa in 1926 and re-elected in 1928. Almira Johnson McNaboe served on the Grand Council from 1932–40. Eta members Nancy Olson Livingston, stage and screen star, and Gena Rowlands Cassavetes, screen and television actress, were named Alumnae Achievement Award recipients at the 1960 General Convention.
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The previous information was excerpted from The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity, 1870-1976. The information that follows has been gleaned from available resources including Chapter History Reports, chapter meeting minutes, letters and comments from From Bustles to Blue Jeanschapter members and alumnae, A History of Theta Chapter of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity Archives, and The Key. Each chapter is expected to update its history record annually. Contact Fraternity Headquarters at the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 1875-2000kkghq@kkg.org with questions.
==Highlights of the 1970s==
Greek membership was very low at the University of Wisconsin in the early 1970s. During the Vietnam War, there were many campus protests, tear gassing, and riots. Sterling Hall was bombed and a physics professor killed in 1969. Members of Greek organizations did not wear their letters or badges in public. It was a time of campus unrest. Eta's House Mother was tear gassed on the front lawn of the Kappa House, forcing her to retire after many years. Eta hired Houses Parents for the first time and had a man living in the house. The first House Couple did not work out well, as the male tried to run things not only for the house but also for the chapter. A second House Couple (Rick and Peggy Daluge) were hired in 1973 and quickly became Kappa favorites. They spent several years there. One of the best ideas was having a different chapter member each week sit down with the House Parents and the cook and help to prepare menus. Kappas were even allowed to bring their favorite recipes from home. For the few who chose to join sororities and fraternities, they found a safe haven.
Recruitment was held all during the school year with formal recruitment in both September and January. Informal recruitment was ongoing. In 1971, Kappa Kappa Gamma was down to 33 active members, and the beautiful large chapter house was forced to take on borders. Several other sororities had to shut down or sell their chapter houses and recruit from apartments. Pledge classes ranged from 1 member to about 8 members with informal pledges added as quickly as possible. Eta began to implement many of their recruitment ideas that Barbara Gerlinger brought from Miami University, and things began to turn around in 1973. By the spring of 1974, Eta had 120 active members! Eta and the rest of the sororities still on campus continued to strengthen and grow. The Sally Levis Gerlinger Scholarship was established for Eta sophomores by the Milwaukee Alumnae Association and the Parkinson/Levis/Gerlinger families in 1978.
In spite of the campus issues, Eta had two formals each year with pre-parties at local members'homes. The drinking age in Wisconsin was lowered from 21 to 18 in 1972, so things were different then. Buses were always hired for events, so that no one ever had to drive. Eta also held 2 "Activation" dances each year, Parents''Highlights Weekend celebrations, as well as many socials with different fraternities. In 1974 Eta and Theta Chi were partnered and won "Best Homecoming Float". They also hired a bus to take Kappas and Theta Chis to the University of Michigan for the Wisconsin/Michigan football game. All of the 1970s''' During Eta women stayed overnight in the second half basement of the ‘70s decade, Beta Delta Chapter House of Kappa at the Mizzou campus reflected a change University of mood Michigan. Many fraternity pinnings and engagements were celebrated with Candle Passing circles! One memorable evening while Kappas were in the country different from basement chapter room holding a meeting, the Betas snuck into the turbulent years of Kappa House and placed limburger cheese under the late ‘60s radiators and early ‘70s when protests against then let mice loose in the Vietnam War house! The screaming was unbelievable! Men were not allowed above the first floor, and “love-ins” by drug-using hippies they had made to use a system of Morse Code (ex. long, short, short, long) on a buzzer to let the nation’s headlineswomen know that they were there. Perhaps it Women did not have phones in their rooms, and there was a backlash from those times that gave rise "House Phone". Pledges took turns being on phone duty in the "lemon room" to a more conservative mood in answer the country phones and on to find the campusKappa being called. --------------------------------
This year Eta Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma initiated 34 wonderful young women. Elizabeth Gulotta guided the girls through their first busy weeks as new members, and Lindsey Crysler educated the girls about Kappa history. The new members were taught how to prevent sexual assault and were educated about the dangers of drinking underage in a seminar hosted by the Greek Community. The new members went on a fun retreat to a ropes course, where they strengthened their friendship bonds. In response to an over budget usage during rush week, the chapter has concentrated on managing and dispersing funds wisely. We are now within budget for the rest of our committees. We have also seen an increasing amount of sisterhoods, in which we strengthened our sisterhood bonds through such events as movie night, cookie decorating, going to a pool outside of Madison, and seeing a hypnotist.
Eta Chapter has had a wonderful 2006-2007 year and strengthened the bonds between the members. Academically, our chapter still holds the highest GPA when compared to the rest of the Greek system at Madison. All of the women take great pride in this accomplishment and want to continue our strong emphasis on grades and success at this university. Our dedicated cast for Humorology, a musical and witty skit performed in order to raise money for charity, has qualified for this year's show, which will take place in April. They continue to work very hard using two to three practices each week to perfect their routine. We are all more than excited to see the final product! Founders Day was a great success. We had many previous members join us for dinner and games, and some shared their memories from their experiences in Kappa. It proved to be a great way to improve the knowledge of our house, while making lifelong bonds as sisters.
This fall, we initiated 38 wonderful women. Lizzie Muench, our very hard-working new member chair planned numerous activities to help the new individuals get involved in Kappa. All new members attended sexual assault and alcohol seminars hosted by the Greek Community to help prevent any incidents that may occur. Additionally, the new women went on a retreat to the Dells to help form important bonds that will ultimately strengthen our entire chapter. So far, it has been a busy, but productive year.
Eta Chapter has had an exciting '''Highlights of the 1980s2008-2009''' The 1980s year defined by numerous chapter events that have led us to strengthen our members individually as well as at 512 Rollins large. Continuing our academic excellence and on standing, Eta Chapter won the Panhellenic "Study Table" event. Our members logged the Mizzou campus began most study hours at College Library during first semester and recently received a period of steady growth DVD player for both the entire Greek system and Theta our consistently outstanding turnout. Eta Chapter. Some described these years as being “the height of preppy fashion.” Kappas wearing pearls wasn’t just a stereotypealso participated in Humorology, it was a true statementmusical performance competition that raises money for an all Greek philanthropy. They also wore clothing such as wool crew-neck sweaters with turtlenecksAlthough Eta Chapter's cast did not make it to finals, Polo button-downs, pleated poplin slacks, cotton sweaters, Izod knits the members did not feel defeated but rather proud of their dedication and Barracuta jacketsdiligence. During football season the Kappas wore pleated skirts with knee socks Eta Chapter also decided to take this experience and loafers, even if build upon it was very hot outside. The campus was described as being carefree during this Reagan era. Girls would intern by entering the competition for their state senators over the summer and return with storiescoming year.
The Eta Chapter invited the Kappa Alumnae from the area and their families to Trick or Treat at our sorority house this fall. Also, we had a very successful Founders Day where we were joined for dinner, trivia, and sharing stories with the alumni. It was wonderful to hear about the history and fun times of Kappa from the alumni!
Additionally, the Eta chapter was faced with the challenge of how many girls could live in the sorority house for the 2010-2011 academic year. Many girls wanted to live in their junior year; they spent the year attending events, running for positions and trying to gain enough house points to be able to live in. However, this presented a problem: there wasn’t enough space for all the juniors and sophomores to stay in the house. The Eta chapter spent a lot of time working with individual members of the chapter, and calculating points, being completely fair and honest with the members. Before winter break came, the entire housing situation had been fixed and all the members had been taken care of in a very gracious manner, many Kappas came together a figured out the best situation for everyone.
Eta Chapter has had an exciting, fun-filled year of rewarding events that have helped to strengthen our bonds as sisters as well as the name of Kappa Kappa Gamma itself. In a display of our academic focus and excellence, Eta Chapter won the Panhellenic "Study Table" event. Our member s logged the most study hours at the University of Wisconsin'''Philanthropy:'''s various libraries and were recognized for our hard work and dedication to academic success. With the help In addition to striving to maintain our strong focus on academics, Eta Chapter also dedicated much of the ZBTsits time and activities to philanthropic events. Eta Chapter once again participated in Humorology, Theta donated $5a musical performance competition that raises money for an all Greek philanthropy. The cast made it to finals and placed second overall,000 in addition to the Cancer Society. Members gave blood winning various awards such as "Best Female Lead" and also assisted with the blood drive"Best Dance Break". Pledges assisted The entire chapter was proud of the Rusk Rehabilitation Center by contacted former donorstime and effort participants dedicated to support The Chris Farley Foundation and Camp One Heart Land, both wonderful philanthropies.
The Golden Key Scholarship Fund (GKSF) awarded its first $1,000 scholarship for 1987-88 Eta Chapter invited Kappa Kappa Gamma alumni to attend a member of Alpha Omicron Pitrick-or-treating event at the house with their families, as well as participated in Trick or Treat With The Greeks. By 1989 the Fund Eta Chapter had grown to $95a successful Founder's Day consisting of a beautiful dinner, trivia,000 making possible the awarding of two more scholarshipsand storytelling with Kappa alumni. All participants had a blast learning about Kappa's interesting past!
Eta Chapter has continued to promote the Greek Community as well as our individual sorority campus wide. '''Chapter Convention Awards:''' 1980 Advisory Boards1982 Efficiency (Housed)1984 Standards 1987 Gracing Living (Housed)---------------------------------The previous information was excerpted from The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity, 1870-1976chapter has displayed its focus on academics through study tables events as well as other various activities, and from From Bustles such as our sisterhood dedicated to Blue Jeans, A History matching freshman with upper classmen with similar majors who can help them be as successful as possible in their chosen field of Theta study. Eta Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the University of Missouri's philanthropy, ColumbiaHoops for Hope, Missouri, 1875-2000is a campus wide event available to all students that raises funds for the Children's Hospital. Eta Chapter has been striving to increase our participation throughout our campus and community.
This fall Eta Chapter initiated 39wonderful women. Our New Member Chair, Meghan Macnamara, did an amazing job welcoming the new members into Eta Chapter, as well as educating them on the chapter itself and encouraging participation in both Kappa related and campus wide activities and opportunities. All new members were required to attend a sexual assault and alcohol seminar hosted by the Greek Community to educate them and promote awareness. The new members have further strengthened Eta Chapter and are eager to become more participated in the semesters to come.
Eta Chapter is continuing its efforts to strengthen our bonds as sisters by holding more numerous and significant sisterhood events and activities. One sisterhood that was extremely successful was our yoga sisterhood, where two separate groups of girls went to Kaivalya, a yoga studio on campus, and had a fun, relaxing experience. It is difficult for our chapter to have large sisterhoods with all members because we have so many, so we are concentrating on planning events that all members can participate in together.
In addition to our strong focus on academics, Eta Chapter also has dedicated much of its time and activities to philanthropic events. Once again, the chapter participated in Humorology, a musical performance competition that raises money for an all-Greek philanthropy. Humorology is one of the oldest traditions at the university and has become the largest non-profit student service organization in Wisconsin. The cast made it to the finals and placed second overall with the additional awards such as “Best Female Lead”, “Best Set”, “Best Large Group Number”, and several others. The chapter came to watch, and it was a great time for both the people involved and the audience. The entire chapter was extremely proud of the time and effort participants dedicated to support Camp One Heartland.
The Kappa house 2012 year included many exciting events, one large one being the Presidential campaign. The chapter was crammed to capacity very involved with close to 90 girls living in the campaign of Barack Obama and more than 100 living outMitt Romney. In 1999 there were 61 new members bringing All watched the chapter total to 206 members. The dining room only could hold 180 for debates and final election and had a formal sit-down meallot of fun teaching each other more about the candidates and issues going around the country and world.
==Highlights of 2013==
In addition to our strong focus on academics, Eta Chapter also has dedicated much of its time and activities to philanthropic events. Once again, the chapter participated in Humorology, a musical performance competition that raises money for an all-Greek philanthropy. Humorology is one of the oldest traditions at the university and has become the largest non-profit student service organization in Wisconsin. The cast made it to the finals and received awards for “Best Female Lead” and “Best Villain”. The chapter came to watch, and it was a great time for both the people involved and the audience. The entire chapter was extremely proud of the time and effort participants dedicated to support Camp One Heartland
Eta Chapter continues to strive to increase our participation throughout our campus and community. This past year, two of our members were chosen to be on the Panhellenic Executive Board. Also, a large group of our members were initiated into the Greek honor society- Order of Omega. Furthermore, we are proud to have won the Best Philanthropy Award at the All Greek Awards this year, along with 3 other awards. Our chapter remains a strong presence in the Greek community.
This past fall, Eta Chapter initiated 53 wonderful women. Our New Member Chair, Samantha Miller, did an outstanding job welcoming the new members into Eta chapter. The new members have been well educated on the chapter and are encouraged to participate in both Kappa-related and campus wide activities. All new members were required to attend a sexual assault and alcohol seminar hosted by the Greek Community to educate them and promote. The organization, called P.A.V.E., consistently benefits our chapter continuing good behavior and awareness on campus. The new members have further strengthened Eta Chapter and are enthusiastic to become even more involved every semester.
==Highlights of 2015==
Chapter Philanthropy:
What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?
As always, Eta Chapter held philanthropic involvement at a high importance this year. In the Spring, our chapter had our annual philanthropy, “Hoops for Hope.” The event has been a longstanding tradition within our chapter for many years. The event was a 3-on-3-basketball tournament benefiting the UW Children’s Hospital. The philanthropy continues to be an amazing opportunity to raise money for the local hospital. It is also amazing to see members of many different chapters throughout Greek Life come together to support a common cause, and have fun doing it! In the Fall, our chapter organized a new and exciting philanthropy called, “Grabba Grabba Pizza.” Members of Eta Chapter sold pizza outside our house on a Friday night. All of the proceeds from the event benefited our national philanthropy- Reading is Fundamental. The philanthropy was executed seamlessly, and has been one of our most successful philanthropy events to date! In addition to our two philanthropy events, our chapter organized a philanthropy sisterhood this year. A large group of our members spent the afternoon volunteering at a local food pantry. It was a great opportunity to spend time with one another, take a break from schoolwork, and contribute our time towards helping those less fortunate than us in our community. We look forward to organizing more philanthropy sisterhoods in the future!
For the 66th consecutive year, the chapter participated in Humorology, a musical performance competition that raises money for an all-Greek philanthropy. Existing as one of the oldest traditions at the university, Humorology has become the largest non-profit student service organization in Wisconsin. This year the event raised over $116,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County making the organization the largest student donor to the Boys and Girls Club in the nation! The chapter came to support our cast, and it was a great time for both the people involved and the audience.
Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
This past fall, Eta Chapter initiated 52 outstanding women! We held an excellent recruitment this year and were thrilled to welcome our wonderful New Members. Our New Member Chair did an excellent job of educating these New Members on both the opportunities available in Kappa as well as Greek life as a whole. All New Members were required to attend an alcohol and sexual assault seminar hosted by the Greek community, which benefits our chapter immensely. Another big change that Eta Chapter underwent was transitioning house-moms after having our previous house-mom for over 15 years. While Karen is greatly missed, Mary Ann is doing a great job of keeping everything running smoothly at the house.
Between our academic improvements, fun sisterhood events, successful philanthropies, and everything in between, Eta Chapter is constantly improving year after year. Our chapter is doing a nice job of recognizing where we need to improve and setting goals for the betterment of the chapter. We see this mindset of constant improvement transferring over to the new Chapter Council, as they are already setting goals of their own for their time as leaders of the chapter. We think that they will do a great job of continuing better our chapter every single day.
Eta Chapter held philanthropic involvement at high importance this year. In the spring, we executed our annual philanthropy, Hoops for Hope. This event is a 3 on 3 basketball tournament and all proceeds go to the UW Children's Hospital. Not only does this event raise money for the Children''Highlights s Hospital, but it is a nice opportunity to get many members of 2011-2019'''From chapter’s History Report: ScholarshipGreek life together to support a common cause. This fall we held our second annual "Grabba Grabba Pizza" philanthropy to benefit our national philanthropy, group honors/awardsReading Is Fundamental. For this event, traditions, special events, changes members of Eta Chapter stood outside the Kappa house as well as on campus or within chapterState Street and sold slices of pizza to those walking by. Unfortunately, overall nature of a thunderstorm led us to cancel the chapterevent one hour earlier than expected, chapter goalsbut we still were able to raise over $1, challenges 000 to donate to Reading Is Fundamental. Both of these philanthropies were incredibly successful and how they were overcome, etcwe are hoping for continued success in the years to come.:
Our chapter continues to support organizations within our community such as the UW Children’s Hospital, River Food Pantry, First Harvest Food Bank and the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County. Our chapter chooses to support these organizations because we want to support organizations within our community and see our community thrive. Our philanthropies are a great opportunity to give back to the community and help those around us. We love being able to see the effects of our service and philanthropies in our community.
Summary:
Throughout 2017, the Eta Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma has focused its energies on strengthening relationships within the Greek community and planning more sisterhood events to foster even greater bonds within our chapter. Our dedication to academic and scholarly excellence moved our GPA up to the highest its been in years. Additionally, our chapter included members that were awarded three of the seven Pan-Hellenic scholarships. The Eta Chapter recipients were selected from a large number of applicants across the entire Panhellenic Association. We were so excited to see our sisters win the Outstanding Panhellenic Member Scholarship for Samantha Shellen and Madeline Henderson, and the Outstanding Panhellenic Senior Scholarship for Molly Levine!
Chapter Philanthropy:
In addition to our strong focus on academics, Eta Chapter also has dedicated much of its time and activities to philanthropic events. Kappa Kappa Gamma performed in the largest non-profit student service organization in Wisconsin once again! Kappa Kappa Gamma along with Alpha Chi Omega, Beta Theta Pi, and friends performed their show among seven others and were awarded for having the cleanest dancebreak, the best cameo, and the most creative script. The cast consisted of over 60 members that started practicing in September 2016 for many hours a week and performed their final show on April 9th, 2017. Kappa’s show followed the storyline of two long-time best friends auditioning for a spot at Star University. Tensions grow as one of the main character’s, Dereck, is convinced that his best friend, Jenny (played by Mara Nasui), is trying to take the spot for herself when there are actually two spots. The Kappa directors were Carly White, Sabrina Carlins, Maria-Elena Svigos, and Emily Eigler. Throughout the semester, the directors and cast members participated in various fundraising in events such as the Eat Street one, Pie the Directors, and held small auctions. Our cast alone raised $38,000 and combined with the entire Greek Community we raised over $180,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Dan County. This year, Kappa Kappa Gamma is paired with Alpha Chi Omega and Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) for Humorology. The cast has made it to next semester and will participate in the final show sometime in the spring. The directors include Mara Nasui, Jordan Abt, and Simona Khomutov.
Philanthropy events are always a highlight of our semesters here at Eta Chapter. It’s a time for us to come together as a chapter to give back to our community, and remind ourselves how much Kappa has given us and what it has to give to others. In the fall, we held our “Grabba Grabba Donut” fundraiser in an effort to raise money for Reading is Fundamental (RIF). Reading is Fundamental empowers millions of children to read and grow intellectually by donating books and supporting literary sources, and inspires passion for learning and reading around the United States. This has been Kappa’s worthy national philanthropy since 2004, and here at Eta Chapter we are proud to support this impactful effort. We held an annual food fundraiser where we sold donuts outside of College Library and on State Street. We also partnered with the Madison Alumnae Association and held our first Girls Academy this fall.
Chapter Facility:
Our informal chapter meetings are held in the living room of our beautiful chapter owned house. Our formal chapter meetings are held in the lower floor of the house. This past fall, Eta Chapter initiated 57 wonderful women! This year’s recruitment involved many changes that challenged and strengthened our members. We were extremely excited to welcome all of these amazing ladies into our sisterhood! Our New Member Chair, Katie Gache, did an outstanding job making the new members feel at home and established a strong bond with the ladies early on. welcoming the new members into Eta Chapter. We are all so excited to see what the new members will contribute to our chapter!
Eta Chapter transitioned a new house-mom, Janette, who is doing a great job of keeping everything running smoothly at the house. Overall, our chapter has strengthened our philanthropic involvement, academic excellence, and overall participation in the community. We continue to grow as individuals and as a chapter, making progress every year and building relationships that will last a lifetime. We’re eager to begin another exciting year and see what exciting things the future has in store for us.
==HIghlights of 2018==
In 2018, the Eta Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma, experienced a very exciting and eventful year! This year, Eta Chapter focused on maintaining our high academic standards, continuing to strengthen our philanthropic involvement within our community, and fostering greater bonds as a chapter.
As a chapter this Fall, we had some unforgettable sisterhood events! Our VP of Standards planned a movie night for our chapter. We rented out a local movie theater, bussed there together and enjoyed popcorn and snacks while getting to know our new members! Another highlight includes a Kappa Kappa Gamma yoga class. One of our sophomores is a teacher at our local Madison yoga studio and led a Kappa filled yoga class for Eta Chapter.
Academics:
This year, members of Eta Chapter, along with our VP of Academic Excellence, encouraged one another to succeed academically. We participated in “Letters at the Library” where Greek members can study together at College Library and we organized a mentoring. Through our mentoring system, an upperclassmen is matched with a lowerclassmen member according to their majors and experiences. From there, they are encouraged to trade advice, and lowerclassmen are given guidance on classes, internships, and the best study tools. Our chapter GPA has continued to increase in the last year and is currently a 3.507! Scholarships were granted to Nikoletta Economou, and Courtney Morrison.
==Highlights of 2020s:==
In 2020, Eta chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma had an eventful year to say the least. As always, Eta Chapter focused on maintaining high academic standards, participated in many philanthropic events in our community, and continued to strengthen our bonds as a chapter. There was a trick to handing these focuses this year; the COVID-19 pandemic.
While we weren'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''t able to be together in person this year, we worked hard at finding ways to stay connected virtually! Being fully virtual presented unusual challenges for our chapter, but here are a few ways we were able to do so.
Sisterhood: As a chapter, we had to adapt how we handled sisterhood events, and come up with new ideas for virtual sisterhood events. These virtual sisterhoods included virtual yoga lessons taught by members of our chapter, having a virtual bid day (themed outfits and all), and going on social distanced “key sister” dates in order to form bonds between our new members with their future bigs. While this was not not our usual calendar full of fun events, these events helped our chapter get to know the new members, and to strengthen our bonds with one another all while making sure everyone stays safe and healthy.
Academic: There was a strong focus with maintaining high academic standards throughout the year. We continued to participate in "Letters at the Library'' where members can study together and grouped members by majors in order to set up a mentoring program. Our overall chapter GPA was 3.6. We weren't able to hold ceremonies or recognize those who showed outstanding academic achievement, but there are plans to do so when we return to something close to normalcy!
The panhellenic community is currently in the process of getting a new chapter on campus that has yet to be determined, this was delayed because of, yes you guessed it.. the pandemic. Eta Chapter prides itself in our academic excellence, our sisterhood events, and our overall community involvement. We continue to work to improve overall as a chapter. Eta Chapter supports Reading is Fundamental, UW Children's Hospital, Kappa Foundations, and local organizations to give back directly to our sisters or our community.
The chapter celebrated Founders Day this year by attending a virtual ceremony hosted on Facebook Live.
Overall, this year was unlike anything that we could have expected. The way Eta chapter was able to adapt to the circumstances, and find ways to still make Kappa Kappa Gamma meaningful and relevant within a virtual environment is a huge accomplishment. Fingers crossed this pandemic will end before next year'''Philanthropy:'''s report!
==Highlights of 2021==
This past year has been anything but ordinary for Eta Chapter! Operating in a pandemic is never a small feat, but we have had yet again another fantastic year. We installed a wonderful new executive board in January with President Blake Burnstine leading us in our endeavors. We have welcomed a new executive board position, the Director of Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and have since partaken in workshops and seminars to enrich our knowledge on the topic. The spring was quiet with our events being virtual, but we took things outside in April for a golf tournament supporting our local philanthropy, the American Family Children’s Hospital. In the fall, we welcomed a record new member class of 82 girls. Our bid day theme was Sweet Home Kappa Gamma—we hosted the event in a pandemic safe fashion outside with masks and cowboy hats! As things have slowly gone back to normal, we have been able to get back to hosting date parties and other special events like Grabba Grabba Pizza, an event at our chapter house. On December 4, 2021, we will initiate 82 new members into our chapter, and we could not be more proud of them. In the year to come, we hope to keep the same passion for our philanthropies, continue to grow our already large chapter, and further our education on DEI.
During the spring semester, Eta chapter supported the American Family Children’s Hospital by hosting a golf tournament with another Greek organization. It was a great success and we raised just short of $14,000 (another record for Eta!). During the fall semester, Eta Chapter hosted our annual Grabba Grabba Pizza raising money for Mental Health America and selling late night pizza outside of our chapter house. We raised a total of $18,089 at this event (another new record!).
This year the Eta Chapter introduced its first ever Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The DEI position was important in fostering inclusiveness, creating awareness, leading to conversations and growth in members, the chapter, and the greater community. Some of our first initiatives included hosting a clothing drive for St. Vincent de Paul, giving DEI training before recruitment, and implementing a comprehensive diversity action plan. We are excited to continue to develop this position promote diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout all chapter operations!
-------------------------------'''Note to Chapter Registrar:'''Please refer to your chapter archives and chapter meeting minutes to fill in any gaps in the above historical highlights. If your chapter archives are not complete, please research your university library, campus newspaper and yearbook archives for newsworthy information about your chapter. Please double check your work for accuracy. Contact chapter Advisory or House Board members, local Alumnae Association members, or your Province Director of Chapters for assistance. Your efforts will ensure a complete and accurate history of your chapter for future generations to enjoy!