Changes
→Highlights of 2014
A visit from our LC Caroline Washnock in September and Kappa Trainer Audrey McCall in November gave us great ideas and motivation for the next semester and for our chapter in the future. They encouraged and supported our weaknesses in the chapter’s involvement and being held accountable as sisters, as well as being more of a presence on campus. They also highlighted our chapter’s strengths and brought to light how close our bonds in the sisterhood are. They noticed what an aspiring group of young talented women we are, clearly noticing how Kappa values are represented within the chapter.
==Highlights of 2015==
For the year 2015, Eta Alpha chapter started the fall semester with 95 members and a revamped public relations committee. Our continually successful philanthropy event, Kappa Cook Off, held in October raised $1,399 for Reading is Fundamental. We welcomed the Greek and non-Greek community alike to enjoy homemade burgers, desserts and live a cappella out on the field. An addition to our philanthropic involvement, due to our dedicated philanthropy chair, has been volunteering at Duncan Chapel Elementary School. Each week since the beginning for the year Kappas have been helping low-risk students in the after school program with homework and reading skills. In October, after the flooding that devastated South Carolina, Eta Alpha donated $300, won from attending a Tri Delta event, to the Kappa Foundation to help fellow SC sisters.
Kicking off recruitment in January, Kappa had four Pi Chis and a fun filled jungle themed bid day. In February, Eta Alpha initiated 34 new sisters, including one in-house legacy, one Chinese international student and one Mongolian international student. We also hosted members from Epsilon Kappa chapter who initiated 8 new sisters. On Furman’s campus, Zeta Tau Alpha accepted their first new member class after formal recruitment and Tau Kappa Epsilon started a new chapter on campus. On Valentine’s Day, Kappa sisters passed out love and hershey’s kisses for Kappa Kisses. In March, Furman inaugurated our new university president, Elizabeth Davis. Also held in March one of our very own sisters helped organize Furman’s annual Water Walk, which raises money for a water project and awareness for those lacking clean water and sanitation. She also is the Shi Center for Sustainability fellow, Alternate Transportation fellow, and a member of the Environmental and Sustainability Science Club. For no lack of brains, a senior sister presented her chemistry research in Memphis, TN.
Spring semester included a large and appreciated turn out to Relay for Life where Kappas supported sisters and their families, as well as the surrounding community. On April 9th our annual Reading is Key philanthropy event was a fun and heartwarming event where sisters read donated books to elementary students. Study day for finals Eta Alpha sponsored a stress free snow cone truck that provided free cones to Furman students. For Greek Week, Kappas handed out cheesy macaroni to raise money for Reading is Fundamental. We strive to be involved in philanthropy and that includes supporting other Greek philanthropies. Kappas had an amazing stroll team this year held by AKA where sororities and fraternities perform in a dance competition. Eta Alpha took second in Tri Delta Triple Play softball game for their philanthropy St. Jude’s Hospital. We also supported Kappa Delta in their first ever Kappa Quesadillas in September and the Delta Gamma Anchor Splash. Eta Alpha also attended Tri Delta Dhop with our fellow sister and Leadership Counselor Katherine Latta who was visiting at the time.
The 2015 fall semester was an exceptional one for Eta Alpha chapter. We proudly supported National Hazing prevention month in September by attending a campus wide prevention speaker with almost 100% attendance and by making a banner for the dining hall. We put on our very first Kappa Kappaccino where our sisters handed out free coffee and awarded coffee mugs and stickers to those who found golden tickets hidden around the library. Thanks to our phenomenal recruitment chair it was so successful that we hosted Kappa Kappaccino again during finals in December. Homecoming this year was highlighted by having our cherished recruitment chair be nominated for Homecoming court where she was escorted by her adorable brother. Our Homecoming partners were Sigma Chi and ZTA, our theme was Clue and we won overall spirit in the Greek competitions. Founder’s day this year was celebrated with alumni who afterward helped us practice conversation for recruitment. In October, a handful of sisters participated in Furman’s Halloween Fall Fest, which brings underprivileged children to trick or treat in a safe environment on campus. Kappas are a presence in the PanHellenic community where we shared a successful evening with Chi Omega meeting potential new members as wells as an all sorority PanHellenic night. Apart of our PanHellenic relations in September we enjoyed a Night Owls mixer with Chi Omega, our recruitment partner. We also participated in Eta Alphas very first fraternity mixer with Sigma Chi over homecoming, which was so fun we held a second mixer with Beta. Kappas also made it to intramural sand volleyball championships and got second place out of all the sororities this year.
Outside of the Greek community Kappas are also very active. At this year’s Dance Marathon for Greenville Children’s Hospital there was great Kappa involvement where one sister organized a Kappa team. Over family weekend, despite the rain, the Kappa tailgate was a blast with good friends and family, food and cute tee shirts. Eta Alpha also has a large presence during football games where four sisters represent in the Furman Marching Band where one sister serves as trumpet section leader for marching band. We have other musically inclined sisters, with three in the Symphonic Band where the Principal Flute is a Kappa. We also have one sister representing in the Wind ensemble and another in the Furman Symphony Orchestra. Another achieving sister is an officer for FUISA, which won club of the year. One of our most athletic sisters competed in the Collegiate Cycling Nationals and had finish in the top ten. Eta Alpha is also very proud of our many sisters who were initiated into Phi Eta Sigma honors society this year. A particularly dedicated sister volunteers with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. This year she participated in an Out of the Darkness walk and for the third time planned the International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day in her hometown to help those who have lost someone to suicide. In the philanthropic manner, for the second year, Eta Alpha hosted Kappa Klothing Drive to collect winter clothes for Miracle Hill in great quantity. At the beginning of the 2015 fall semester Eta Alpha encouraged academic success with Kappa pencils handed out to the Furman student body.
Kappas take Furman’s opportunities to travel to further their educational experience. In the spring we had a sister in Copenhagen Denmark, one in Edinburgh, and another in China. Also in the spring for a little less than a semester six Kappas traveled to Africa for an immersion course in the study of poverty. This fall we had two sisters in Australia, two in Japan, and two in the British Isles. Back on campus, Eta Alpha was diligently working on improving our academic success with study hall ideas and studying incentives from our Academic Excellence chair. A visit from our LC Katherine Latta, Kappa Trainer Marcia Shearer and Kate Steiner in November gave us encouragement and motivation for the next semester and our incoming officers. They supported our strengths and had suggestions for our weaknesses. We collaborated on ideas about sisterhood and making chapter meetings more fun, as well as time management and public relations on campus. As a chapter Eta Alpha is an aspiring group of women who are individually talented and represent Kappa values as a whole.
