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→Highlights of 2017
After a nice summer break, Delta Pi women came home to Kappa for a week of preparation for formal recruitment. The chapter received all kinds of new furniture for the back lounge and study lounge from our Alumni Association, and we couldn’t wait to show it off to potential new members. Work week was a great time for the members, and included a sisterhood event to Sky Zone, where members de-stressed by jumping, flipping, and playing dodgeball. Delta Pi had a bit of a scare before formal recruitment began, because the house was replacing the old carpet in the front with hard wood. Of course, the process was delayed, and Delta Pi wasn’t able to use the front of the house for a couple days, and had to prepare for recruitment elsewhere.
Nevertheless, the hard wood was finished the day before recruitment, and it went off without a hitch. Delta Pi gained 17 wonderful new sisters! Like usual, the semester was off to a busy start with our philanthropy week coming up. Delta Pi had a fantastic Kappasta dinner, full of all kinds of pastas, salads, bread, and those famous Reasor's cookies. Kendra Scott came back, and donated part of their sales to our philanthropy as well. Later in the week, Kappa Klassic, our dodgeball tournament, had a great turnout, and Delta Pi ended up raising over $2300 for Susan G. Comen Komen Breast Cancer Research, and over $700 for Reading is Fundamental. That weekend the city of Tulsa had a Raise for the Cure event, and several Kappa sisters participated to finish off our philanthropy week.
Kappa continued to show support for other Greek events, by competing in many philanthropy events. Some events to note include Sigma Chi's philanthropy week, where every single member of Delta Pi participated in their philanthropy dinner, and won the weekend event, Derby Days! That win included a gift of $500 for Delta Pi to donate to our philanthropy. Another Kappa Alpha Karaoke event took place, and Delta Pi did an amazing job, winning second place. Later in the semester came Homecoming week. Kappa was partnered with Kappa Alpha for the competitions of the week, which included a board painting contest, street painting, and general participation in the events of the week. Kappa sisters worked hard alongside the men of KA to create some artistic masterpieces and the work was worth it, because we won third place in the board decorating contest, and we had fun working together and showing our love for Kappa, KA, and of course, Tulsa. Later in the semester was Lambda's Choptoberfest, which Kappa won by donating the most cans (which would be given to a food bank), having the most participation, and for competing well in field games.
I would recommend Hutton Person to be on the Oral History Project.
==Highlights of 2017==
2017 has been an exciting and eventful year for Delta Pi! We have been busy working hard to achieve new heights in the areas of scholarship, leadership, sisterhood, philanthropy and chapter involvement. In February of 2017, Delta Pi was placed on a Focus Letter by Kappa nationals, with the intent to improve upon our sisterhood and relationships with each other. This helped to shape a lot of what happened this year, as our Vice President of Standards, Mary, and her committee worked throughout the year to plan fun and exciting sisterhood events for our chapter to bring us all closer together. They started off the semester by creating a “Get to Know Your Sisters” poster which was posted in the lounge and encouraged everyone to make conversation and get to know every other person in the chapter, and Mary included Kappa Appreciation and Kappa Congrats in her chapter reports every week! She and her committee also planned a trivia night made up of fun and unique facts about our sisters, as well as a trip to Purple Glaze in Brookside to wrap up the spring semester. In the fall, the standards committee organized an event during work week which included yoga and relaxation techniques to get the year started on the right foot. They also planned a pumpkin painting competition, an ornament painting event, and a family “Chopped” style competition. Everyone in the chapter got to know each other and take a break from classes for a while! Mary and her committee's efforts have led to great improvements in our sisterhood this year!
In terms of philanthropy, Delta Pi worked hard to create events that would most benefit our local and national philanthropies. In the spring, we held our annual event called Kappaccino on March 30th, which raised money for Reading is Fundamental. 226 people attended and we raised $1572.95 from selling coffee, treats, and raffle tickets. Our outreach event called Reading is Key was held on April 7th. Our sisters visited the 2nd grade at Hawthorne Elementary School where they read with the kids and donated a new book to each child thanks to the wonderful donation from the Alumni Association. The children also colored bookmarks with our sisters to accompany their new books. Apart from our Kappa philanthropies, on April 6th we volunteered for two hours at the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma with the gentlemen of Lambda Chi Alpha. There, we organized food that would be donated to local shelters. On April 26th, we had a percentage day at Raising Cane's, where a portion of the proceeds made on this day were donated to the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. In the Fall, our annual philanthropy week benefiting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation was a huge success! At Kappasta, we served all-you-can-eat pasta, salad, bread sticks, and cookies. We had an amazing turn-out with 451 people in attendance! At our annual dodgeball tournament, Kappa Klassic, we had 19 teams play against each other from various organizations throughout the campus. In total, we raised $3,064.04 for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation! We also participated in Race for the Cure in Tulsa, as well as an on-campus volleyball tournament to raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation!
We were also extremely proud of our achievements as a chapter, which were recognized in the
annual All Greek Banquet for the 2016 year, which took place on April 9th. At the Greek Banquet, Kappa was awarded the Point of Excellence in Service. Beyond that, sisters were awarded several individual awards, including Alex Isaak who was awarded the Outstanding Individual Participation award, Emma Cantrell, 2016 president, who was awarded Outstanding Chapter President, and Michaela Perez, who was awarded Outstanding Initiate.
During the Spring 2017 semester, the Vice President of Academic Excellence, Alex, created programming for Delta Pi's first Academic Excellence Month! She introduced a month-long study hours competition, tracked through GIN system. The pledge class with the most study hours at the end of February won a grilled cheese and french toast party after chapter, and PC ‘15 slayed the entire competition. It was a unifying experience for all of the PC’s in the house. The VPAE also introduced biweekly study hours in the dining room, with one day being open to all Greek Women. Alex also implemented a Geek of the Week guessing game, making her chapter reports even more exciting! She also collaborated with the Education Chair to put on an EP about good life skills in school and the workplace. Academic Excellence month was a huge success, and it showed in the chapter's GPA for the semester, which went up almost a full 0.1!
Our chapter was also extremely active in terms of Panhellenic support over the past year. Delta Pi Chapter started the year off with a phenomenal spring semester as far as participation goes. We had at least one team enter in each Philanthropy Week to support the other houses down each row, which included Chariot Races for the return of Greek Week, Bubble Soccer Tournament for Tulsa Fire Department which was organized by Pi Kappa Alpha, and Kicking for Kendall, a kickball tournament benefiting a local elementary school hosted by Sigma Chi. There were philanthropy weeks hosted by the various Greek houses nearly every week and Delta Pi competed and made amazing memories. At the beginning of the spring semester, there was a campus- wide basketball tournament hosted by Delta Delta Delta for St. Jude. Kappa made it to the thirteenth game, only one game short from quarterfinals. Kappa Delta hosted a Quidditch tournament and the Kappa team brought home the gold! Also, on the more intellectual side of things, Kappa Alpha Order hosted a trivia night for Muscular Dystrophy Association and one of the Kappa teams placed second! Delta Pi closed the semester with the annual Kappa Sigma dance competition to raise money for Little Lighthouse, a local non-profit organization for children with varying special needs. The Chapter put in three months of planning and practicing, and while we didn’t make top three, we put in great effort and had so much fun! Delta Pi started off the Fall semester right in terms of Panhellenic support, bringing home our fourth consecutive trophy from Lambda Chi Alpha’s philanthropy event called Watermelonfest. We also participated in events including Kicking for CASA, Kappa Alpha Theta’s annual soccer tournament, Kappa Alpha Order’s KA Karaoke, and Chi Omega’s Hootiefest, where we placed first of all participating sororities. Delta Pi Chapter also participated Greek or Treat where we hosted two booth activities for 140 students from a local school by the name of Kendall-Whittier Elementary. Delta Pi Chapter also volunteered at an outdoor ranch for children with another fraternity, BYX. We closed out the year by participating in a campus-wide event for holiday lights decorating, with support from organizations all across campus.
At the end of February, Delta Pi chapter received a visit from a Leadership Consultant, Kristina Wenner. During that week, every officer and some of the advisors met with Kristina to talk about what their office entails and how to accomplish what they want to do or need to do in the Spring semester. It was a wonderful experience because for most of the officers this was their first leadership position. While she was in Tulsa, members showed Kristina around the city, took her out for coffee, and welcomed her to TU. Some of the most memorable parts of her trip include Kristina going to the weekly Panhellenic meeting with our Panhellenic delegate and helping scoop dog food into bags for an animal shelter. She also attended the Kappa Delta Quidditch Philanthropy event and cheered the Kappa team to victory. Kristina was helpful, understanding,
and knowledgeable in all things Kappa. Delta Pi truly adored Kristina and we were sad to see her leave.
During work week in the Fall, we welcomed another Leadership Consultant named Natalie Kindler. She was so helpful and gave us so much wonderful advice for how to handle a stressful time like recruitment. She was such a joy to have join us in our house, and her meetings with officers were productive and helped our chapter achieve great things throughout the fall semester. We loved showing her around Tulsa and welcoming her into our home as we prepared for recruitment! She was so helpful with the process and she served as a reminder that even through stressful times we always have our sisters there to help us. We were so grateful to have Natalie visit us here in Tulsa!
Our wonderful Membership Chairman worked so hard to plan a productive and efficient work week this fall, and we successfully came out with a beautiful and accomplished new PC! In the fall, we initiated 16 new members and we are so happy to have each and every one of them! Camilla’s efforts as Membership really paid off, and everyone had a fun and exciting work week where we learned so much more about our sisters and Kappa! Hope, our Marshal, worked hard to plan a smooth and educational Inspiration week, and our new members were successfully initiated on October 7th, 2017!
As for the social portion of Delta Pi, we have had a year packed with fun and exciting events! In January we started off the year by hosting a date function that was just a small get-together for everyone to get back into the groove of school, which included snacks and games. In February we paired up with Delta Delta Delta house and had a Valentine's Day party called "Bring Your Own Bae," which was held at the Tri-Delta house. In March we hosted a board game night with the gentlemen of Lambda Chi Alpha. Both Kappa and Lambda provided everyone with board games and we gathered together to just have a fun, chill evening! Last, but certainly NOT least, we had the Sapphire Ball! The event committee spent countless hours planning this event and it was a complete hit! Everyone seemed to have a blast, and the owners of the venue loved seeing everyone have an amazing time!
We started off the fall semester with a pajama party open date function where each Kappa was allowed to bring one date. We had a popcorn machine, cotton candy machine, and plenty of snacks and games to entertain our guests! On October 27th we hosted an Alumnae Trick or Treating event where volunteers from Kappa dressed up in their best costumes to welcome Tulsa area alumnae and their children to trick or treat in the Kappa house. We had so much fun seeing the kids' costumes and getting to see our wonderful alumnae! That same day, we hosted Owloween, our annual Halloween-themed date function, in conjunction with Chi Omega. This year, we put a new twist on the tradition with a get-to-know-you competition between couples. We held a costume contest, played Halloween music, and provided plenty of candy and snacks. In November, we held our annual function with Kappa Alpha Order called KA Newlywed. Each Kappa was randomly paired with a KA, given 10 minutes to get to know them, and then everyone played the Newlywed game! It was a huge hit this year, with higher than average participation from both houses! On November 30th, We held our annual Christmas party called Kappa Kissmas, where each Kappa is welcome to bring two dates. For this event, we receive special permission from housing to open up the suites and rooms for our guests in the back of our house! We had so much fun decorating and showing off the back of the house to our friends! We ended the semester with our semi-formal, taking place on December 4th. Our semi-formal this year was held at Stokely Event Center, with party buses and an in house DJ included. We hired two security guards from a local Tulsa company and had so much fun wrapping up the semester in such a cool, historic venue.
Kappa also had an eventful year in sports. In the first semester, we played two sports as a Kappa organization for intramurals: basketball and softball. Our basketball all-girls team had a very successful regular season, going 3-1! While we lost our first game of the playoffs, we had so much
fun playing on a team together! During softball season, we teamed up with the brothers of Lambda Chi Alpha for a co-rec Softball team. After going 2-2 in the regular season, we breezed through round 1 of the playoffs with a 9-0 victory but lost our second-round game. It was so much fun to play with our friends in Lambda Chi! In the fall we participated in volleyball and flag football which were both super fun and competitive!
Apart from social events, we also hosted events throughout the year for both parents and alumnae. In the Spring, Mom’s day took place and was very successful! The PR chair organized a morning of brunch and painting. First, our sister’s and their moms enjoyed a waffle bar brunch, with bananas foster, fruit compote, potatoes, eggs, and bacon. After they ate, they collected paint supplies and followed a tutorial of how to paint a sunflower on a canvas. Each person took home a sunflower painting, and it was really incredible to see how each one turned out a little different. Mothers and daughters then took pictures by the banner, and many were wearing matching Mom’s Day t-shirts that we designed! Overall, it was a very successful and fun day. In the fall, we had several events, including Dad’s day, Parent’s weekend, and Founder’s Day celebrations. We celebrated Dad’s day by participating in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s on campus, after which we returned to the house for yard games and snacks. Everyone then headed over to the football game and enjoyed a day at Skelly Field. During Parents weekend families were encouraged to come visit the chapter house and see all of the amazing improvements that we have made, including our brand new kitchen and rush closet! We set up a table to celebrate Founder’s day and we paid special attention to the group of wonderful women celebrating their 50th pinning anniversary this year!
Our Founder’s Day dinner was hosted at Ti Amo in Tulsa, and it was incredible to be able to share our Kappa experiences with women who were in our shoes before. Celebrating our ritual together was so special and it was inspiring to be surrounded by so many accomplished women and sisters.We recognized a large group of women who were being honored for their 50 year pinning anniversary, and it was so special to witness the bond that they all still have with each other, and it was wonderful to see their relationships with their friends, and even their bigs and littles!
To summarize, 2017 was a year full of fun and exciting times, as well as a lot of improvements for the Delta Pi Chapter. We were so lucky to have grown together over the past year and we can’t wait to see what the future holds!
Describe the recent changes on your campus and describe the overall nature of your chapter.
Our campus has been making numerous changes, especially with the addition of our new president at the University of Tulsa, Dr. Gerard Clancy. The campus has made huge strides and has welcomed one of the most accomplished freshman classes that TU has ever seen. As for our chapter house, we had a change-over with our House Board, now having a full member count, and in the spring and we saw some wonderful new changes to the chapter house! In the spring we received a new mini kitchen and rush closet, and a brand new kitchen over the summer! As of the fall semester, we welcomed a new house mom to Delta Pi chapter! Mimi came to us having had two daughters who were Kappas and she and her dog were immediately welcomed into the Kappa family. Along with this change, we also began working with a food service to provide more options for the girls both in and out of the house.
Apart from the physical changes to our chapter and TU in general, Delta Pi was placed on a focus letter in February, as an effort to improve our chapter's sisterhood and morale. Through Mary's efforts in planning numerous sisterhood events throughout the past months, we have seen an increase in house morale and an overall increased awareness of our sisterhood.
Chapter Philanthropy:
What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?
Our chapter raises money and does a local outreach event in the spring for the national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental, and in the fall we raise money for our local philanthropy which we recently updated to be the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. We also participate in several local events for breast cancer research, including the Race for the Cure and a student-organized volleyball tournament on campus which raised money and awareness for the cause.
Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
We chose to support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation because almost everyone in the house has known someone who has been affected by breast cancer. Many of our sisters and alumnae have themselves had breast cancer or have had relatives or loved ones who have. We believe that the personal connection with the philanthropy inspires us to give back even more.
Chapter Facility:
In what kind of a facility does your chapter meet? Please attach a clear photo of where you typically hold chapter meetings – whether in a classroom, chapter house or elsewhere.
Our chapter meets in the dining room of the Delta Pi house for our chapter meetings.
==Highlights of 2020s==
