Changes
Fxied.
|Image= [[File:Gamma_Iota.jpg|200px]]
|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1921|09|10}}
|College= [httphttps://wustl.edu/ Washington University]
|Location= St. Louis, MO
|Homepage= [httphttps://chapterswustl.kappakappagammakappa.org/gammaiota/ Gamma Iota Homepage]|Media= [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Gamma_Iota Media related to Gamma Iota Chapter]}}
'''Washington University (St. Louis), established February 22, 1853'''
'''2,171 370 initiates (as of June 20142018)'''
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'''Some of Gamma Iota’s Outstanding AlumnaeCharter Members:''' (If you have chapter alumnae who have received recognition in any of these three categories Grace Shafer Able, please list them with the date(s) of recognitionMarceline Emma Alexander, Katherine Marshall Atwood, Eleanor Ann Becker, Deborah Catlin, Marion Octavia Gerhart, Martha Lillian Gerhart, Elizabeth Hart, Louise Landers, Mary Louise McRoberts, Mildred Udell Michaels, Bernice Amanda Read, Anita Page Weakley.)
Carolyn Smith Roehm, 1988, Fashion designer;
We hold our chapter meetings in a classroom in a university owned building. Our chapter does not have a history of housing, as we have never had a designated house. Many of our members live together in university run housing, but that is self-selected. We have a Kappa Kappa Gamma suite in the university owned Women's Building at Wash U where we hold Standards meetings and Chapter Council meetings. The suite is studio apartment sized and not big enough for any sisters to live there.
==Highlights of 2015==
Over the course of the 2015 school year, Gamma Iota members were involved in a wonderful variety of philanthropic, academic, athletic, Greek and club activities on campus and off campus. Our primary philanthropy event, Kappa Karaoke, consists of a week packed full of activities to raise awareness and funds for literacy. We instigate friendly competition between fraternities and sororities, each who have their own team, which incentivizes participation and fundraising from both Greek affiliated students and non-Greek affiliated students. We sell spirit wear, host penny wars, share literacy facts with the Wash U community and host a school supply drive. The week culminates in a competition where each team performs a choreographed dance routine - which is the most widely attended philanthropy event on campus! Proceeds from the week go to Reading is Fundamental and Books & Basketball. Books and Basketball is a Wash U run outreach program for kids in St. Louis public schools, that aims to both promote the importance of reading and the importance of exercise.
This year, we continued to divide our chapter into 4 "kore" groups to attend and participate in other sorority and fraternity philanthropy events. Some of these events were AOPi’s Strike Out Arthritis, Pi Phi’s Up and Clean, Alpha Phi's Heart Health Week and Sigma Chi's Derby Days. This past spring, Gamma Iota partnered with the gentlemen of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, and participated in the famous Thurtene Carnival, another great achievement this year. The theme of our façade was a dream factory, and our sisters along with the brothers of Kappa Sigma worked tirelessly on both the façade and the production. With two members of our chapter on Thurtene Honorary running the carnival this year, we hope to have another strong presence!
Sisterhood events continued to provide great "glue" for our chapter this past year. From pledge-class hikes to float trips and apple picking and of course the traditional Kappa Thanksgiving Dinner, where each pledge family cooks an original dish to share with the chapter, Gamma Iota bonded over food and fun this year. We also walked the almost 8 miles from Brookings Quadrangle on campus to the St. Louis Arch downtown to raise awareness for literacy - it's kind-of hard to miss 150 girls decked out in blue on blue screaming and singing down the streets of St. Louis so I would say we were successful! We finished this event by celebrating our walk with lunch at the arch. We successfully concluded our year being thankful for our true and loyal sisters and preparing to welcome a new, glittering pledge class after recruitment 2016!
Our Panhellenic community at Washington University yet again thrived in 2015! Following the most recent addition of the sorority, Kappa Delta, in 2013, Gamma Phi Beta will be added in 2016 to make a total of nine active, engaged groups of women. Each chapter is run by a group of dynamic and spirited individuals who donate substantial amounts of time to improving the Greek community's image and contributions to campus life. Wash U also hosted another Greek Week this fall which boosted the morale of each chapter as we all came together to serve the St. Louis community.
Throughout 2015, our Gamma Iota chapter worked hard to improve our academic support system and increase our presence on campus. Our major mentor program that was implemented in 2013 has shown great success, helping many underclassmen pick classes and professors to pursue in their college career. Our major mentor program also allows uncertain sisters to discuss good potential majors with those who have already declared theirs. This year we've also continued to ask our mentors to help younger sisters connect with professionals in the working world for both summer internships and work after college.
Kappa is known across campus at Wash U for how genuine our sisterhood is, and of that we are very proud. We bring this true and sisterly bond wherever we go, whether it is a Kappa row in a large lecture class or a philanthropy event for another sorority. What we are most proud of, however, I believe is our unwavering spirit. Kappa sisters at Wash U are participating in or leading almost every group on campus, including theater, religious groups, Dance Marathon, Relay for Life, student government, community service clubs, varsity and club athletics, academic honors societies and so much more! The diversity of Gamma Iota gives us a special presence on campus and allows us to expose our sisters to so many different stories, traditions, and cultures. Our chapter continues to be exceptionally well respected on campus, as evidenced by our strong retention rates during recruitment. We are looking forward to gaining another class of exceptional individuals who will continue to promote the spirit of Kappa at Wash U!
Chapter Philanthropy
What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?
Traditionally, our chapter’s proceeds from Kappa Karaoke are distributed to Reading is Fundamental and Books & Basketball, which is a local program that is run by Wash U students. This year, our chapter really focused on participation in other fraternity and sorority sponsored philanthropy events, as well as campus-wide and local St. Louis philanthropy events. This year, we had great participate in Washington University’s Dance Marathon. Two of our sisters were on the executive board for Dance Marathon and they got the rest of the chapter excited to participate, resulting in a great turn out! The sisters of Gamma Iota have truly shined in participating and donating time and money to these, but also many other philanthropic organizations tied to our Wash U, Kappa, and St. Louis communities.
Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
Gamma Iota handpicks the organizations that we choose to support based on the varied and unique interests of our sisters. This year and in the past, many of our sisters have served in leadership roles with Books and Basketball, so donated part of our proceeds from Kappa Karaoke to this organization was a way to show support for both the program, but also our sisters! Additionally, Dance Marathon is currently a growing organization on campus that has a special place in the Wash U community. As well as supporting our sisters, Gamma Iota’s participation in Dance Marathon was a good way to connect with the rest of the Wash U community as well as children who really need our support!
==Highlights of 2016==
Over the course of the 2016 school year, Gamma Iota members were involved in a wonderful variety of philanthropic, academic, athletic, Greek and club activities on campus and off campus. Our primary philanthropy event, Kappa Karaoke, consists of a week packed full of activities to raise awareness and funds for literacy. We instigate friendly competition between fraternities and sororities, each who have their own team, which incentivizes participation and fundraising from both Greek affiliated students and non-Greek affiliated students. Along with tickets to the event, we sell spirit wear, host penny wars, share literacy facts with the Wash U community and host a school supply drive. The week culminates in a competition where each team performs a choreographed dance routine - which is one of the most widely attended philanthropy events on campus! Proceeds from the week go to Reading is Fundamental.
This year, we continued to divide our chapter into 4 "kore" groups to attend and participate in other sorority and fraternity philanthropy events. Some of these events were AOPi’s Strike Out Arthritis, Pi Phi’s Up and Clean, Alpha Phi's Heart Health Week and Sigma Chi's Derby Days. [[File:Champions of Alpha Phi kickball philanthropy 2016.png|thumb|Champions of Alpha Phi kickball philanthropy]]
Throughout the year we created a variety of intramural teams to compete against other Greek affliated and non-Greek affiliated students. We stayed fit, had fun, and met new members of our WashU community.
This past spring, Gamma Iota partnered with the gentlemen of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, and participated in the famous Thurtene Carnival, another great achievement this year. The theme of our façade was a Game Cube, and our sisters along with the brothers of Kappa Sigma worked tirelessly on both the façade and the production. With multiple members of our chapter on Thurtene Honorary running the carnival this year, we hope to have another strong presence! !
Sisterhood events continued to provide great "glue" for our chapter this past year. From pledge-class movie nights and pasta dinners to float trips and pumpkin picking and of course the traditional Kappa Thanksgiving Dinner, where each pledge family cooks an original dish to share with the chapter, Gamma Iota bonded over food and fun this year. This fall we also walked 8 miles from Art Hill in Forest Park to the St. Louis Arch downtown, decked head-to-toe in blue on blue, to raise awareness for literacy. [[File:PC 14 before the Walk to the Arch 2016.png|thumb|PC 14 before the Walk to the Arch]]
This year we raised more money than ever before using an app called Charity Miles to donate for every step we took to Girl Up. Girl Up supports programs promoting health, education, and leadership of girls in developing countries. We also raised money for Reading is Fundamental through selling spirit wear, collecting donations, and working with local restaurants for Reading is Fundamental. We finished this event by celebrating our walk with lunch together with proceeds going towards our cause.
We successfully concluded our year being thankful for our true and loyal sisters and preparing to welcome a new, glittering pledge class after recruitment 2016!
Our Panhellenic community at Washington University yet again thrived in 2016! Following the most recent addition of the sorority, Kappa Delta, in 2013, Gamma Phi Beta was added in 2016 to make a total of nine active, engaged groups of women. Each chapter is run by a group of dynamic and spirited individuals who donate substantial amounts of time to improving the Greek community's image and contributions to campus life. Wash U also hosted another Greek Week this fall which boosted the morale of each chapter as we all came together to serve the St. Louis community. [[File:Gamma Iota promotes Greek Life and KKG to freshman students 2016.png|thumb|Gamma Iota promotes Greek Life and KKG to freshman students 2016]]
Throughout 2016, our Gamma Iota chapter worked hard to improve our academic support system and increase our presence on campus. Our major mentor program that was implemented in 2013 has shown great success, helping many underclassmen pick classes and professors to pursue in their college career. Our major mentor program also allows uncertain sisters to discuss good potential majors with those who have already declared theirs. This year we've also continued to ask our mentors to help younger sisters connect with professionals in the working world for both summer internships and work after college.
Kappa is known across campus at Wash U for how genuine our sisterhood is, and of that we are very proud. We bring this true and sisterly bond wherever we go, whether it is a Kappa row in a large lecture class or a philanthropy event for another sorority. What we are most proud of, however, I believe is our unwavering spirit. Kappa sisters at Wash U are participating in or leading almost every group on campus, including theater, religious groups, Dance Marathon, Relay for Life, student government, community service clubs, comedy groups, chess teams, varsity and club athletics, academic honors societies and so much more! The diversity of Gamma Iota gives us a special presence on campus and allows us to expose our sisters to so many different stories, traditions, and cultures. Our chapter continues to be exceptionally well respected on campus, as evidenced by our strong retention rates during recruitment. We are looking forward to gaining another class of exceptional individuals who will continue to promote the spirit of Kappa at Wash U!
Traditionally, our chapter’s proceeds from Kappa Karaoke are distributed to Reading is Fundamental, which inspires children to read and helps them improve their reading skills. This year, our chapter really focused on participation in other fraternity and sorority sponsored philanthropy events, as well as campus-wide and local St. Louis philanthropy events. This year, we had great participate in Washington University’s Dance Marathon. Two of our sisters were on the executive board for Dance Marathon and they got the rest of the chapter excited to participate, resulting in a great turn out! We fundraised and danced for 12 hours straight to raise funds and awareness for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals of Greater St. Louis. The sisters of Gamma Iota have truly shined in participating and donating time and money to these, but also many other philanthropic organizations tied to our Wash U, Kappa, and St. Louis communities.
[[File:Dance Marathon with Kappa legacy and her mom 2016.png|thumb|Dance Marathon with Kappa legacy and her mom]]
Gamma Iota handpicks the organizations that we choose to support based on the varied and unique interests of our sisters. We feel extremely passionate about supproting Reading is Fundamental because we are thankful for our opportunity to puruse our educations and want the same for all children. Additionally, Dance Marathon is currently a growing organization on campus that has a special place in the Wash U community. As well as supporting our sisters, Gamma Iota’s participation in Dance Marathon was a good way to connect with the rest of the Wash U community as well as children who really need our support. Kappa empowers us all to be the brightest, kindest, truest versions of ourselves, so we chose to support Girl Up this year to help girls around the world become empowered as well.
==Highlights of 2017==
Throughout the 2017 school year, the Gamma Iota Chapter of Washington University in St Louis was involved in numerous activities both on campus and off. On campus the members took part in the philanthropy weeks of other sororities and fraternities as well as putting much time into their own philanthropy to raise funds and awareness for Reading is Fundamental. In order to make sure that our chapter was present to help and support all the other Greek Life philanthropies, we continued the use of our “kore” groups. All the members of Gamma Iota were split into 5 different “kore” groups that were assigned to attend and participate in the different philanthropy events held by other sororities and fraternities. Kappa Kappa Gamma took part in Alpha Phi’s Heart Health Week, Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s Defeating Depression, Gamma Phi Beta’s Girls on the Run, Alpha Omicron Pi’s Strike Out Arthritis, Pi Beta Phi’s Up and Clean, and Sigma Chi’s Derby Days, as well as much more. For our own philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental, we run a series of events over a week in the Spring semester to raise money and awareness for the cause.
Outside of Greek philanthropies, we are also greatly involved in Relay for Life and Dance Marathon, with some of our girls even holding positions in these organizations. Two of our members held the titles of “Director of Campus and Community Fundraising” and “Director of Morale Committee”of Dance Marathon, further displaying their clear devotion to humanitarianism and giving back to the community. Together they worked to get many members of Gamma Iota excited to particpate in the Dance Marathon, where a team of Kappa Kappa Gamma’s danced for part of the 24 hour event to help raise money and awareness for the cause.
Of course, Gamma Iota takes much pride in our own philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental. It is a program that is committed to spreading literacy throughout America to children of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds. Just like other sororities and fraternities, we dedicate an entire week to our cause. One of our main events is our annual Kappa Karaoke in the spring semester. It is always a highlight for the sororities and fraternities who take part in this event by creating and performing a lip-sync dance, and all proceeds go towards our total donation for our philanthropy. With a variety of other events, both with other students and by ourselves as a sorority, we help spread insight into what Reading is Fundamental is. We also get together groups and reach out to schools in the greater St. Louis area so that we can interact with the children, read to them, and donate books so that each child has access to their own book.
Kappa Kappa Gamma is known across campus for having girls that are dedicated and involved in numerous programs and organizations. There is no stereotype to these girls as they are a diverse group who come together to create a true and supportive sisterhood for each other and all the people that surround them. Numerous members are involved in organizing the Blood Drives for the Red Cross, visiting animal shelters, membership and leadership positions in Books and Basketball, and many other tutor groups such as Each One Teach One, and Money Think.
As we do each year, we make sure to educate our members on sexual health and interpersonal violence. However, this year we had very active members who worked and trained countless hours so that they could best teach and facilitate a conversation with the members of our sorority to talk about these serious matters. Our chapter has made incredible strides in the last year to further create a safe environment and community for all our members. With Greek Live, 2 members of our sorority underwent 36 hours of training in interpersonal violence to teach the rest of the chapter through an interactive conversation.
This past spring, we were grateful to have Lindsay and Hannah, two Leadership Consultants, join us during Greek Life Recruitment and soon after to help with initiation of our new members, respectively. In the fall, we most recently had Megan, our third Leadership Consultant visit of the year. All of the Leadership Consultants were pleased with how the chapter was being run and the direction it was going in. On November 5 of this past year, we had our leadership training day which we were pleased went very well.
Of course, fostering relationships between our members is a very important part of Kappa Kappa Gamma at Washu. In the fall, we completed our annual “Walk to the Arch”, a bonding activity where we walk from our campus to the St. Louis Arch. At just over 8 miles, the girls were able to spend hours together followed by a relaxing brunch to strengthen their bonds and relationships. Overall, the Gamma Iota Chapter had a wonderful year and is looking forward with excitement and delight for the expansion of their community this coming spring.
Overall, the Panhellenic Community has continued to flourish and grow in numbers! One change we were excited to experience was the introduction of our new Assistant Director of Fraternity/Sorority Life, Austin Sandoval-Sweeney. He took charge in working to create the safest environment possible for all students, both in Greek life and out. He has worked with students and members of each sorority and fraternity to better implement education of sexual assault and harassment, spreading the importance of safety and health. Our chapter has been beyond receptive in trying to make sure all students feel secure, and comfortable with any and all of our members. I am proud to say that the Kappa Kappa Gamma members on campus are know for the genuine personalities and the care they are happy to offer for all students. Our bond with each other is also strong, that we make sure all our member are always supported by each other. Our constant presence on campus shows our love for all activities, such as philanthropies, plays that members are in, classes, presentations, and more. Our diverse group of girls are not afraid to be their authentic selves, as we have members involved in almost all groups on campus including, theater, religious groups, Dance Marathon, Relay for Life, student groups/associations, community service clubs, sports teams (varsity and club), comedy groups, chess teams, and academic honors societies. We take pride in each of our members are excited for all that is going to happen in the coming year.
Historically, we have raised money for Reading is Fundamental, a program that inspires children to learn to read and improve their reading skills. Our chapter believes that all children, no matter what their situation is, should have the right to be able to read. Through various fundraisers and Kappa Karaoke, we were able to raise a large sum of funds for this program. However, our chapter places high priority on all philanthropies, not just our own. That led us to increased involvement in all of the philanthropies on campus. We showed our presence and particiapted in a variety of philanthropy weeks, as well as taking part in Dance Marathon, Relay for Life, and many other programs. We are proud participators, and we put a lot of time time into helping further these programs and help raise donations for all charities.
Our Gamma Iota Chapter realizes the importance of supporting organizations, therefore we make sure to advocate for a variety of organizations that our sisters work together to choose. Historically we have supproted Reading is Fundamental, a program that is still close to our heart. We have continued to raise donations and awareness for this program. In the recent years, we have gotten more involved with Dance Marathon on campus. Our passionate members have spent countless hours preparing for the events as well as spending time at the events. We love to support our sisters in all their activities, and we show our support by attending events and helping to raise donations for the philanthropies. Kappa Kappa Gamma has helped shape our community to prioritize supporting numerous organizations to make the world a better place.
Without a sorority house, our chapter gathers and spends our free time in our suite in the Women's Building on campus. With couches, tables, glittery decorations, and open doors, the suite is a perfect spot for us to do homework, relax, talk, and bond together. We hold Chapter in various lecture halls on campus.
==Highlights of 2018==
This year, the Gamma Iota chapter at Washington University in St. Louis was involved with our philanthropic organization, Reading is Fundamental, which is a nonprofit organization that promotes child literacy and improving educational opportunities for all. We were able to support this philanthropy by holding different events each semester. In the spring, we had Kappa Karaoke, where we invited all other fraternities and sororities to create and perform a dance to compete for first place. All proceeds went to our philanthropy and it was a great way to bring all of the different chapters of life together. Our members were able to get involved by being coaches to each of the teams and helping them figure out music, choreography. This was a great way to bring our chapter members closer to members of other Greek organizations. In the fall, we had Walk to the Arch, where we used the app CharityMiles to raise money by walking from our campus all the way to the St. Louis arch. Even though 8 miles is a very long walk, it was an enjoyable way to spend uninterrupted quality time with our sisters. We also participated in the philanthropy events of other Greek organizations on campus, such as Delta Gamma’s Anchor Splash, Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s Defeating Depression, Kappa Delta’s Color Run, Pi Beta Phi’s Hoops and Halos, Sigma Chi’s Derby Days, Sigma Nu’s 5 Days of Fox for Parkinson’s Research and more.
[[File:Gamma Iota Walk to the Arch.png|thumb|We made it! Gamma Iota Walk to the Arch philanthropy event]]
Besides Greek philanthropy, our chapter members are highly involved in philanthropic events across campus. Events like Relay for Life and Dance Marathon have a lot of participation from our chapter and even have many sisters serving in executive positions to help organize and promote the cause. Leaders in Interpersonal Violence, also known as LIVE, is an organization that educates our student body about interpersonal violence. Many of our chapter members participate in the organization, and our sisters who are involved in the specific branch that does outreach in Greek life were able to give us an informative and important presentation about sexual harassment and assault during chapter. Some other philanthropy that our chapter members are leaders in are volunteering with children through Books and Basketball, City Faces, and Each One Teach One. as It is obvious that our chapter members are dedicated to various humanitarian causes and want to get involved in our community.
Our chapter was lucky to have the opportunity this fall to initiate the Theta Alpha chapter at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. It is a rare occasion to see the installation of a new chapter and we felt very fortunate to be a part of the experience. Thirty members of our chapter traveled to SIUE’s campus for formal pledging and also took an overnight trip in St. Louis for initiation. We were fortunate to learn ritual from leaders of the Zeta district and bond with current members of the Theta chapter at University of Missouri who helped with initiation as well. It was exciting to spend time with Kappa alumnae, current members from a different chapter, and new members of a new chapter all in one place.
The Gamma Iota chapter is passionate about our organization, Reading is Fundamental. Books and literacy are essential to a child’s development, and we wanted to raise donations as well as awareness about their cause. Reading is Fundamental not only provides new books, but also has various literacy programs. This organization works to change communities by promoting a culture of literacy and partnering with different organizations within the local community to create a greater impact. They even have digital resources for parents, teachers and children so that they can be accessible remotely. As an academically driven group of women, we find this cause to align with our values and we enjoy dedicating an entire week to promoting Reading is Fundamental and their efforts.
This year, an independent survey of all of the sororities and women’s fraternities at Washington University was conducted about sexual harassment and assault. The Women’s Panhellenic Association commissioned the survey after recent complaints of the school’s Title IX coordinator and issues about how sexual harassment and assault cases are handled by campus life. Our chapter supports all survivors and has worked to spread awareness about the issue. Our members are a part of many organizations that have worked to educate their peers about sexual violence on campus, such as Title Mine, LIVE Greek, RSVP center, SARAH, and more. Our Chapter Council, especially our President, VP of Standards, and Risk Management Chair have worked hard with our chapter and other chapters to create an environment in the Greek community that is safe from sexual violence. We have held multiple meetings about the climate survey and what we as a chapter want to see happen going forward in order to make sure everyone’s voices are heard. We have worked hard to ensure that any decisions made by Chapter Council going forward are representative of our chapter’s interests. Our sisters have come together during this difficult time and are working hard to create positive change in our campus community, especially within the Greek community.
==Highlights of 2019==
==Highlights of 2020s:==