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Keeping Close with Kappa Alpha
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3
Executive Board
Chapter President
McKenna Dome '17
(316) 734-0087 | mdome@ksu.edu
Chapter Vice President
Natalie Leonard '18 | nkl@ksu.edu
Chapter Secretary
Paige Hieger '18 | pmhieger@ksu.edu
Chapter Treasurer
Emma Pater '18 | eepater@ksu.edu
Member Educator
Sydney Schmanke '18 | smschmanke@ksu.edu
Personnel Chair
Cara Unruh '18 | ckunruh@ksu.edu
Recruitment Chair
Courtney Jones '18 | ckj@ksu.edu
Panhellenic Delegate
Tina Tran '18 | tranchristina09@ksu.edu
Director of Programming
Angela Gaggiano '18 | angelagaggiano@aol.com
Director of Friendship/Social
Stephanie Smith '18 | stephanie22@ksu.edu
Director of Marketing
Cody Ballou '18 | codyballou@k-state.edu
Director of Sisterhood
Kennedy Brown '18 | kennedybrown27@ksu.edu
Director of Community Service
Sophie Justus '18 | sophiej@ksu.edu
Director of Campus Activities
Lauren Schath '18 | lmschath@ksu.edu
Director of Career Development
Abby Kate LaSala '18 | aklasala@ksu.edu
Foundation Ambassador
Catalina Donnelly-Vazquez '16 | catali1@ksu.edu
Webmaster
Brynn Alloway '17 | bmalloway@gmail.com
Facility Manager
Olivia Gassman '18 | gassman98@ksu.edu
Our executive board with National
Leadership Consultant Hannah Lee.
Big Things Are
Blooming at Kappa Alpha
T
he spring semester has welcomed
many busy, fun-filled events for Kappa
Alpha. Time sure does fly when you're
having fun! We started the semester by initiating
45 wonderful new members into our Chapter at
the beginning of February. We have 2018 New
Member Educator Alyson Stewart '16 and 2019
New Member Educator Sydney Schmake '17 to
thank for all of their hard work and dedication
in planning and executing such an amazing
initiation!
A Chapter of Excellence
With the help of so many women before us, we
were awarded Chapter of Excellence last summer
at the 2018 Chi Omega Convention. The Chapter
of Excellence Award is measured by six different
areas: retention, recruitment, chapter operations,
programming, scholarship, and leadership. A
chapter receiving 85% or more on the scorecard
is deemed a Chapter of Excellence. It has been
22 years since we were awarded such an honor.
Integrating New Leadership Strategies
The focus of last summer's Convention was
all things recruitment. We received a new
recruitment handbook and attended many
meetings on how to improve our marketing to
new generations and how to create a welcoming
and diverse environment for both active and
new members. This year, Chapter President
McKenna Dome '16, Personnel Chairman
Cara Unruh '17, and Advisor Jamie Wilson
Karlin '06 attended the 2019 Firesides in
Memphis, Tennessee, over the second weekend
in February. The topic of this Firesides was "Her
Welfare Ever at Heart," which focused on mental
health and eliminating hazing.
Over the last weekend in February, we had a visit
from a National Leadership Consultant, Hannah
Lee. We had many meetings, workshops, and
activities with her that inspired us to make
positive changes within the Chapter and helped
us to realize the amazing progress we have
been making. We appreciate her time and effort
to better our Chapter and are very excited to
continue this progress throughout the year!
Philanthropy a Top Focus
We recently had a philanthropy event with Pike
called StriΧΩ's where all of our members bought
and sold tickets to go bowling at the union,
raising lots of money for Make-A-Wish! Another
spring philanthropy event, Wings for Wishes,
took place at the end of March. Participants built
teams and entered to win our wing eating contest
to raise money for Make-A-Wish. Miss Haevyn
was our honored guest for this event. She has
celiac disease, but that doesn't stop her from
participating in her favorite hobbies: swimming,
dancing, playing with her dolls, and watching
movies!
Empowering Our Sisters
Among all the craziness of this semester, we
have still managed to pack in some sisterhood
fun! We had our spring date party in February,
themed "Chi O Night Owls," so everyone wore
their favorite set of pajamas. We are also very
eager to be participating in the Stand Up for Your
Sister (SUFYS) workshop for another year after
spring break. SUFYS is a nonprofit organization
based out of Manhattan, Kan., that works solely
to support, empower, and educate college-aged
women on mental health struggles. Some other
events we have coming up are formal, a date
party mixer, and Senior Appreciation Week.
All in all, we have been having a wonderful
semester!
As always, we'd love for you to stay connected
to us; get up-to-date information about what
we're doing on campus on Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram!
Lovingly Yours in Chi Omega,
Ashlyn Ries '15, Former GH
(316) 303-6176 | ashlynries@ksu.edu
McKenna Dome '16, GH
(316) 734-0087 | mdome@ksu.edu
The Convention crew representing
Kappa Alpha in Phoenix, Arizona.
