Sigma Kappa - University of Florida

Beta Tau ConnSKtion Beta Tau Housing Corporation of Sigma Kappa at the University of Florida Fall 2014 A nother school year is here and with that another group of wonderful women were welcomed into our mystic bond. As the years have passed, our new member classes have grown larger, and we are no longer able to accommodate all our members in our lovely home. The desire to live in the house far exceeds the space we have available. Over the years more women are requesting to eat lunches and dinners at the house, and we only have the capacity to seat 85 women in our dining room at one time. This is a wonderful dilemma for us to have, but also presents quite a challenge for chapter operations. In conjunction with the Advisory Board and National Housing Corporation, the housing corporation has made the decision that a new home is needed for Beta Tau as soon as feasible. We have since hired Mike Hug and Associates of Alpharetta, Georgia, as our architect. The board has known there was a need for a new chapter house for about five years and we have been diligently working to save money for our down payment. We currently have about $800,000 in reserve savings to put toward this project. The Beta Tau chapter house has not had a mortgage since the 1980s and because of this we have been able to run a surplus of as much as $100,000 each year, which immediately goes into our housing fund. We have 35 women excited to live in the house for the 2014- 2015 school year. In addition, over 120 women pay parlor and meal plan fees to the corporation every semester. I am pleased to report that our housing corporation is operating in a fiscally sound manner. In the near future, please look for updates on the housing plans to arrive by e-mail, on Facebook, and future issues of the Beta Tau ConnSKtion. If you have any interest in donating your time, money, or expertise, please contact me at bthousecorptreasurer@gmail.com. We look forward to building a new future together for Beta Tau. In Sigma, Gabrielle Ferro '04 Treasurer, Beta Tau of Sigma Kappa Housing Corporation bthousecorptreasurer@gmail.com Beta Tau Focuses on the Future Chapter Moves Forward with Plans for Housing Updates Contact Gabrielle Ferro '04 today to get involved with the housing project! M ichelle Morris Ciolek '91 had a unique bond with the women of Sigma Kappa as a new member. Within the first week of joining, the Gainesville murders occurred, which brought the sisterhood to a new level of closeness and unity. "We had a sense of a bond that developed immediately and were a built-in family that I don't think would have developed as quickly if it were not for those tragic events," Michelle said. Beta Tau gave Michelle "an ownership and pride in an organization." She received a B.A.S. in criminology and law and has had a successful career in the field of criminal justice. "I work with almost all men now," Michelle said. "Sigma Kappa gave me a sense of female camaraderie." Michelle works for the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigation (FDA/OCI), as a special agent. She has worked for FDA/OCI for the past seven and a half years as a criminal investigator. Prior to her work with the FDA/OCI, she was a special agent with the United States Secret Service for seven years. The six years previous, she worked as a probation officer in the state and federal systems. Sigma Kappa impacted Michelle's career by teaching her how to better manage personal relationships. "It taught me a skill set of how to interact with people and how to navigate personal relationships. A lot of what I do revolves around interactions with people and learning to deal with different types of people. You have to look at everybody as an individual. Being in a sorority, you have to interact with people from all walks of life; by doing that it taught me how to handle different types of people," she said. Michelle Morris Ciolek '91 Enjoys Reminiscing on Years in Beta Tau "Being in a sorority, you have to interact with people from all walks of life; by doing that it taught me how to handle different types of people." (Continued on page 2)

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