S I G M A

K A P P A

BETA ZETA | SPRING 2015

New and initiated sisters celebrate a Mardi Gras-themed bid day. Photo Credit: Alexandra Wong

Meet our new Executive Board

President: Maddy Bruffy
Executive Vice President:
Jessica Sensi
Vice President of Programming:
Katie Vogel
Vice President of New Member
Education: Sam Gonzales
Vice President of Membership:
Victoria Starr
Vice President of Alumnae Relations:
Megan Connaughton
Vice President of Scholarship:
Eliza Zygmuntowicz
Vice President of Finance:
Abbey Harriss
Vice President of Communication:
Nicole Huffert
Vice President of Philanthropic
Service: Alexandra Kramer
Panhellenic Association Delegate:
Alex Stoller

Welcome Spring 2015!

This semester, Beta Zeta welcomed 51 new members into the
sisterhood! Vice President of New Member Education, Sam Gonzales,
organized a Mardi Gras themed bid day, complete with green, gold
and purple beads, masks and dcor. Heart sisters greeted the excited
new members with personalized posters as they ran off the shuttle bus
toward Fraternity Row. After taking hundreds of pictures in front of the
house, the new and initiated members made their way inside to play
icebreakers and get food at their leisure. The laid-back environment
allowed girls to get to know each other in a relaxed setting. Everyone
enjoyed mini sandwiches, chicken tenders, french fries and desserts,
plus a photo booth, another place sisters could take pictures together.
In March, sisters were able to successfully recruit seven more
members during informal recruitment to meet campus quota. Despite
not joining at the same time as the other new members, the girls were
welcomed with open arms and experienced a similar new member
period as the others. Together, the Spring 2015 pledge class brought
the number of active Beta Zeta members to a total of 145.

Whats Inside

Sigma Kappa Executive Board 2014-2015

Photo Credit: Tori Conway

Dream Weavers .................................................................................2

A New Promise Program ...................................................................2
Terp Thon 2015 .................................................................................3
Celebrating 75 Years of Beta Zeta ......................................................3
Oh The Places We Go .......................................................................4
Stay Connected .................................................................................4

Sisters make sleeping mats for the homeless out of recycled plastic grocery bags. Photo Credit: The Diamondback

Dream Weavers
Members of Beta Zeta rekindled
their spirit of service this past
semester and adopted a new
community project aimed to benefit
our environmentally-focused
philanthropy, Inherit the Earth.
Through the efforts of Vice President
of Philanthropic Service, Alexandra
Kramer, we reached beyond the
scope of Greek organizations and
inspired a campus-wide movement
toward promoting recycling,
sustainability and a healthier Earth.
The project, called Dream
Weavers, involves taking standardsize plastic bags and converting
them into plastic sleeping mats

for the homeless population of

Washington D.C. To do this,
sisters cut the bags into long strips
to make plastic yarn, or plarn to
later crochet the pieces together.
When completed, the sleeping
mats would be donated to local
homeless shelters to distribute to
those who had nothing to sleep
on. Because the mats are made
from plastic and not fabric, they
are able to repel insects and are
easily washable, preventing the
spread of disease. Sisters would
also take plastic scraps unable to
be crafted into mats and be sure
they were properly recycled.

A New Promise Program

Dream Weavers was only in

its initial stages of development
when it gained attention and
support from numerous campus
organizations, which worked
with Kramer to establish a larger
scale initiative. The project was
featured in a front-page article
in the university newspaper and
appeared on the Sigma Kappa
national website.
Its so fun to get together and
hang out; its easy to do, but its
going to make a big impact, said
President Maddy Bruffy. We cant
wait to see what it can do and
what it will become.

I think in the future, with the

feedback the pilot chapters
provided, the program will
significantly enhance the new
member experience.

Following the spring 2015 formal recruitment season, Beta

Zeta received exciting news. Nationals chose our chapter
among others to pilot the newly restructured new member
Promise Program. The program aims to make the new member
period more technologically geared through the use of online
modules and quizzes instead of the traditional written ones. In addition, weekly meetings focused more
time discussing the new members feelings about the transition into Greek life and Sigma Kappa, instead of
merely studying the promise book.
As a result of the transition, Vice President of New Member Education, Sam Gonzales, was required to
put extra time and effort into the position compared to pervious years, but in the end the work was worth it.
At the time it took a lot of my time trying to figure out what worked and what didnt, but in the end, we
had a fewer number of girls drop, said Gonzales. I think in the future, with the feedback the pilot chapters
provided, the program will significantly enhance the new member experience.

Terp Thon 2015

This year, students at the University of Maryland
united once again for the sixth annual Terp Thon
at the Xfinity Center. The event, a 12-hour dance
marathon, raised money and awareness for the
Childrens National Heath Center in Washington
D.C. As a community, UMD raised a record-setting
$604,318.24, and became the eighth highest
fundraising dance marathon in the nation. The
sisters of Beta Zeta have consistently participated
in Terp Thon throughout the years, but this year
took their efforts to the next level. Of that total,
Beta Zeta raised $13,886 and was the third highest
Sisters, who raised at least $125, participate in Terp Thon.
fundraising sorority. Our fraternity matchup, Zeta
Photo Credit: Ashley Dorsey
Beta Tau, also raised $4,210 for a combined total
of $18,096. In addition to being one of the top fundraising organizations, we also had six active members
who were members of the comma club, which comprises participants who have personally raised more
than one thousand dollars.
Terp Thon allowed Beta Zeta and other Greek organizations to connect with the larger campus
community and demonstrate their dedication to philanthropy while raising money for a good cause.
Fundraising efforts for Terp Thon included Beta Zetas philanthropy event, Waffle House, where sisters
served $1 waffles for dinner, canning trips and fundraisers at local College Park restaurants.

Celebrating 75 Years of Beta Zeta

This year marked Beta Zetas 75th anniversary at the University of Maryland. Although April 27
marks the official anniversary date, the occasion was celebrated on April 12, 2015, at the Samuel Riggs
IV Alumni Center. Vice President of Alumnae Relations, Megan Connaughton, along with an alumnae
committee, spent months planning and organizing the classy luncheon. Hundreds of collegian and
alumnae sisters attended, including five members celebrating 50 years within the chapter and a mother/
daughter duo.
The event included a meet-and-greet, catered
lunch, silent auction and short video showing Beta
Zeta throughout the years. Alumnae were also able
to take a guided tour of the chapter house before
and after the luncheon.
The highlight of the event was when the five
sisters, all initiated over 50 years ago, received their
50-year member pin and shared their favorite Sigma
Kappa memory. It reminded sisters that no matter
how much time has passed, the bond of sisterhood
will always remain.
I was so impressed not only with the event
itself, but also the warm and welcoming spirit of the
collegians, said alumna Gina Niarn. It was a joy
50-year members return to Beta Zeta to enjoy an afternoon of
to get to talk to many of you and hear about old and laughs and memories. Photo credit: Sigma Kappa, University of
new traditions!
Maryland Facebook

Oh The Places We Go.....

A Sigma Kappa girl is adventurous, loving and loyal by nature. This semester four Beta Zeta sisters
studied abroad in locations around the world. They were able to expand their horizons and live out
our values of friendship, loyalty and personal growth, demonstrating that near or far, the mystic bond
connects us all. Photos courtesy of sisters abroad. Infographic created by Elise Sanchez.

Megan Fowler
Junior
Pledge Class: Spring 13
Melbourne, Australia

Lauren Gerber
Junior
Pledge Class: Spring 13
Paris, France

Nicki Mize
Junior
Pledge Class: Fall 13
Vallendar, Germany

Marielle Robert
Junior
Pledge Class: Spring 14
Nice, France

Stay Connected:
Sigma Kappa,
University of Maryland
@umdsigmakappa

@UMDSigmaKappa

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