Sigma Kappa - Purdue University

Visions Violets Beta Sigma Chapter of Sigma Kappa Sorority at Purdue University • Spring 2015 of THE POWER OF CONNECTIONS onnecting with others is as crucial to your well-being as food, sleep, or exercise. Scientific studies suggest that feeling warm and fuzzy has a positive effect on your heart, brain, and physiology, even your life span. Each person we connect with receives the benefits of positivity resonance. Imagine if that leads them to connect with others, sending ripples of goodwill and oxytocin far beyond our individual social circles. Mary Ellen Vaandrager '70 created Vision of Violets in 2007 to enhance communication between our alumnae and collegians, fostering new connections. Communication for Beta Sigmas is a true continuum and the many ways our generations communicate with each other today are quite distinct. In 2014, after 30 years, I reconnected with one of my favorite Sigma Kappas from my collegiate years, Betty Finger Vostinari '51. Betty writes witty, handwritten letters but does not e-mail or "follow" anyone via social media. I discovered a quote from Sigma Kappa's 100-year anniversary celebration in 1974 among the commemorative books Betty recently donated to our house that expresses our relationship: "Times change, and we with them, but not in the ways of friendship." I cherish Betty's letters and our past and current connections and share a few stories in this issue for your enjoyment. Read more about Betty's experience on pages 4-5. The collegians, advisory, and house corporation boards continue to leverage our multiple platforms of communications to increase opportunities to connect with more alumnae. To begin connecting with someone you must first get to know each other. I think you will find the statistics of our current database of Beta Sigma's insightful and I hope when you view the number of sisters residing within your state in our "Where in the World" map on page 6 you consider connecting with each other. We chose to post the names of 200+ lost sisters on the bio update inserted so you can help us locate one another, positively impacting this statistic. I applaud a new philanthropic initiative in development by our collegians to connect our past with the present. The collegians expressed a desire to learn more of our rich history and were seeking new service projects. We are working together to develop interview questions our collegians can inquire face-to-face, by telephone, or even pen-pal style with our alumnae near and far to learn more about each other and capture our similarities and differences while establishing new relationships. We plan to post a compilation of the interviews, sharing generational perspectives for a typical "Day in the Life of a Beta Sigma" in our fall 2015 Vision of Violets issue. What about our future? We've highlighted Purdue University's Campus Master Plan on page 3 detailing proposed changes to create new synergies of connection for future generations and posted dates of upcoming Beta Sigma events for you to attend. Send me a note to let us know what topics you would like to view in future issues of Vision of Violets and let us help you connect with sisters in your area. As always, I look forward to receiving more photographs, memorable moments, and mementos. Loyally, Cinda Zimmack-Terry '76 House Corporation President (317) 808-6902 cinda.terry@dukerealty.com C President Cinda Zimmack-Terry '76 cinda.terry@dukerealty.com (317) 417-5438 VP of Facilities Susan Hogle Woodward '76 skwtalks@kconline.com VP of Personnel Marilyn Hege Portman '76 mportman@lsc.k12.in.us Secretary Jean Terry Schinnerer '76 jschinnerer@ firstfedindiana.com Treasurer Christie Gillespie '85 christie.gillespie@uwci.org Member-at-Large Cheryl Drake-Smith '02 cdrakesmith@aol.com Advisory Board Liaison Lindsey Farrell '05 lindseyefarrell@gmail.com Chapter President Bridget Carey '12 careyb@purdue.edu Chapter Vice President of Finance Maggie Stotzer '13 mstotzer@purdue.edu Chapter House Manager Katie Cantrell '13 cantrelk@purdue.edu House Corporation Board Continuum Personal Growth Service Friendship Loyalty con·nect Bring together or into contact so that a real or notional link is established. con·tin·u·um A continuous sequence in which adjacent elements are not perceptibly different from each other, although the extremes are quite distinct. A whole made up of many parts. A range that is always present. Connect

• Cover