It is with great sadness that we announce that our House Director Norine Neef passed away last night. She was an amazing woman who loved life and lived with joy. Miss Norine loved the Xi women and truly loved her job. She was caring and compassionate. She had a great sense of humor and was just fabulous! She will be greatly missed.
On October 13th members of Xi chapter drove to Iola, Kansas to participate in the Alzheimer's Association's Memory Walk! This is an event that we participate in every year and we were very excited to attend the walk in Iola. Even though it rained all day and we were unable to walk, we enjoyed our time spent with all the people who came out to support the cause!
This Saturday was a very busy day for Xi Chapter! Members spent time together and spent time supporting members of our KU Greek system!
It's officially Fall which means it's time for the Pumpkin Patch! Xi chapter spent the afternoon at a local pumpkin patch for our Fall Sisterhood. Members picked out pumpkins before bringing them back to the house to decorate. Of course a Fall Sisterhood isn't complete without delicious snacks and watching Hocus Pocus!
After a fun day of fall-themed sisterhood events, members of Sigma Kappa attended NPHC's Step Show, Stomp the Hill. It was an amazing event, and we are excited to have been able to be a part of it!
Sigma Kappa has been working all semester to support the amazing foundation, Circle of Sisterhood. Here are the events we have hosted and participated in over the past few months!!
Over the summer we held a fundraiser at the Kate Spade store on the Plaza; from that event we raised over $500 for the foundation!
In August, Sigma Kappa members held and participated in a walk, Jayhawk Sorority Walk, through campus to support Circle of Sisterhood; from that event we raised $800 for the foundation!
In September, we welcomed Julie Drury to KU and she spoke to members of Sigma Kappa, Delta Delta Delta, Sigma Delta Tau and Pi Beta Phi about Circle of Sisterhood. We would like to thank Julie for her presentation and the three Panhellenic chapters that helped us support the cause!!
Sigma Kappas & Chi Omegas watching Half the Sky
Finally, in October, we held a watch party for the Half the Sky documentary. Members of Sigma Kappa and Chi Omega watched the powerful documentary at the Xi chapter house. Thank you to the women of Chi Omega for joining us!
We are very proud of what we have accomplished and plan to continue our support for Circle of Sisterhood and to get our entire Panhellenic community involved!
Planning recruitment is probably one of the most stressful, overwhelming, anxiety provoking, most exciting things I have ever done. Since December, I have been planning out outfits, workshops, songs, decorations, and everything else you could possibly think of. This summer particularly consisted of many stressful days putting together Work Week and the final touches on Recruitment.
Open House Round
However, though I’ve probably never been so stressed out in my life, organizing Work Week and Recruitment was one of the best, most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. Watching the women bond and experience Work Week and Recruitment together in a new dynamic is the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had. I’ve always loved work week because it allowed the older members and younger members to bond and get to know each other, which is difficult when you’re not living with each other in the chapter house.
Xi Chapter on Preference
Recruitment, on the other hand, is a whole different ball game. Enduring awkward first conversations and singing peppy songs at 8 AM with the sun in your face isn’t the morning that most people envision having four days in a row. Though I know everyone grumbles and complains about Recruitment – the long hours, the lack of sleep, the loss of voices – I know that deep down, regardless of whether they eventually choose to express it or not, they love it.
And you want to know why? Because it’s the time when we all remember why we became a part of a sorority. When we became a part of something bigger than ourselves. A part of a bond that only we understand. A sisterhood that truly lasts a lifetime. Getting to share that experience with the Potential New Members during Recruitment is so amazing, because you become excited that they get to be a part of the same wonderful experience, regardless of which chapter they end up joining. Obviously it’s a million times more exciting when they choose your chapter and you realize that you helped make that happen!
Bid Day!
If there were a word to describe the immense pride and love I feel for Sigma Kappa and my sisters, I absolutely would use it right now. I am so proud of my sisters, because in the end, it was their efforts and hard work that went into this recruitment. It was their conversations, personalities, and greatness that turned into the best recruitment ever. The women of Xi are the reason that we have SUCH an amazing new member class, and if it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be where we are now.
Our New Members
You see, my recruitment plans only provide the skeleton for recruitment. It’s the women in the chapter and what they have to bring to the table that fills out the body. I cannot take credit for any of it, because it all boils down to how spectacular these Sigma Kappa women are. You can have all the decorations, outfits, balloons, skits, songs, etc. that you want, but in the end, it’s the heart that wins out. This is something we all feel and experience during Preference, when the Potential New Members probably think we’re a bunch of emotional people who do nothing other than cry. However, it’s during Preference that I’m always reminded ofwhy I joined Sigma Kappa. And honestly? It wasn’t because of the house, the porch, the functions, the outfits, the songs, the skit…no. It was because of the women I met. To have been able to provide the tool for women in the chapter to create the same experience for a PNM? Amazing.
Gameday with Sigma K
Yeah, most people think that being a sorority’s recruitment chair is the most exhausting, time consuming, horrifying experience there is…which is partially true (it’s really not as terrible as everyone makes it out to be!).
But the rewards are so worth it. There really is nothing cooler than seeing your new members running up to your chapter house with faces lit up like it’s Christmas day. There is absolutely nothing like it. And to know that you’re a part of making that happen and being able to make your sisters happy? Best. Feeling. Ever.
And so, to end my recruitment blog, here are my last few words:
To the women of Xi: WE DID IT! Congratulations to all of you, and especially congratulations to the new member class! Y’all are in for the ride of your life, and I’m so excited for you guys to be part of something so amazing! Always remember to love your sisters, love the experience, and trust in the bond. And never forget: we always live “one heart, one way.”
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