Fall Recruitment looked a little different this year, but that didn't stop us from welcoming home 12 women to the Gamma Rho Chapter! To celebrate gaining these wonderful women, we were grooving in style with our 70s Bid Day theme! A huge thank you and appreciation goes to our amazing Membership Vice President, Mary Mattio, for taking the unprecedented conditions of both spring and fall recruitment with grace. Recruitment is usually a stressful time to begin with, adding COVID into the mix did not make it any easier. She did a fantastic job keeping us all informed and for creating an amazing recruitment experience for us as actives, as well as our new members. Another woman in our chapter who deserves recognition is Ashleigh Kasten. She serves on Panhellenic as Vice President of Recruitment. She took on the position when she was a freshman, her very first semester in Greek Life! She had to learn the ins and outs of recruitment for the entire sorority community; we can say for certain that she did an absolutely fabulous job. Again, recruitment is a huge event and is extremely stressful, and we as a chapter could not be more proud of her for all the hard work that she put in to make recruitment as smooth for everyone as possible.
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Big/Little Reveal Spring 2020This weekend has been a very busy one for the Gamma Rho Chapter! Our families grew in size after we had our Big/Little Reveal for the Spring 2020 pairings on August 22nd! Our original plan was to do our reveal in the Spring, but due to the craziness of COVID-19 we had to postpone the event. But if you check out the video below, it's safe to say that the little surprise was worth the big reveal. Our New Member Educator, Megan Fernandes, did a very cute and simple reveal for our pairings with a curtain drop! Social Distancinitiation!In addition to the long weekend, we had our Spring Initiation on August 23rd, making our new members a permanent fixture to the chapter. The Gamma Rho welcomes the Beta Upsilon pledge class, we are happy to have you as sisters and we cannot wait to see what you will accomplish in the chapter! A BIG thank you goes out to our Education Vice President, Sam Sasin, for running Initiation during such a tough and confusing time; you handled it well and we appreciate all the hard work you put in to make this happen. We also appreciate our New Member Educator, Megan Fernandes, for not only educating our newest members, but guiding them into their new roles as active members! On June 24th, 2018, there was a major loss to the Gamma Rho Chapter. On that day, was the last time we saw our lovely sister, Ashley Kopczynski. She continues to make just as much of an impact on the chapter due to her legacy living on in many of our sisters today. For those that didn't know Ashley, we had a couple of our sisters speak about who she was in the chapter and the kind of impact she made to those she was around. "Ash was the brightest light in the room. Her laugh was contagious and her smile was radiant. She not only taught me, but every person she met, something valuable without even trying. And although it may seem unfair she is gone, we must reflect on the amazing memories we have and live our life like Ashley would if she were still here💕" -Marisa Ladwig, Ashley's little. "The best way to describe Ashley would be to call her a ray of sunshine, I've never seen someone light up a room the way she did. Her beautiful smile and bright personality could make even the worst days better. Ashley is a sister that everyone looked up to in the chapter. She made our sisterhood strong, created smiles everywhere she went, and set a perfect example of what it means to be a strong woman. Out of all of our values, loyalty comes to mind when I think of Ashley. I, along with all my sisters, knew that she would be there for us if we needed anything. (...and I mean literally anything). As soon as I met Ashley she treated me as if she knew me for years and welcomed me with open arms, something every young woman needs. Being able to call Ashley one of my closest friends has shaped me into who I am today. She made me a better woman, friend, sister, and scholar. She was and always will be my role model and somebody I look up to. Everybody who had the pleasure of meeting Ashley knows that she takes up a special place in your heart as soon as you meet her!" -Gabi Olson, close friend. "Ashley and I were actually in the same pledge class. I remember our Bid Day, she just lit the place up. She was already so comfortable around everyone and just felt at home. She made me feel at home, too. After our first year, she took a semester break before nursing school. When she came back, her Big was gone. She came to me and said, "Abs, I need a new Big. You're one of my best friends and I really look up to you, will you be my Big?" And I kind of laughed at her because I thought, she's not serious? She looks up to me? I of course said yes, because who wouldn't want her as a Little, she's the best person I know. Also, her & my other Little had been friends for years because of Greendale Cheer, and she was close with my Big! SO I had the perfect family, and then she brought her Twins in and we were complete. We all just clicked, and really were a little family. Ashley was just the type of person who radiated positive vibes and happiness. If you were having a down day, just a hug from her fixed it all. I know people always say her smile lit up the room, but it really did. To be around Ash just made you feel like you were with someone who genuinely cared about you. During our time as Actives, as least while I was there, Ashley was really willing to help anyone with anything in their position. She LOVED recruitment, but also loved to help with socials and formal, and even was Ritual Chair for a while too. She was always a call away if you needed any help. We didn't have the typical Big/Little experience, I was proud to be Ashley's Big. I was proud she asked me and valued me that much to want to be family. I always wanted to be more like her. More confident in who I was, more outgoing and the life of the party, more aware of what people needed around me. We lost a huge role model when she passed. A role model for Gamma Phi, a role model for nurses, a role model for young athletes (cheerleaders especially!). I know that those of us that knew her and knew her well are trying our hardest to carry on those legacies of her, and do them as she would. I became a cheer coach 3 days before her passing, and she was so excited to help me along my journey. I often ask myself, "What would Ashley do?" I know that my other Little, Lauren, as well as many other Gamma Phis - Erin, Natalie, Savanna, etc - are all nurses, or on their way to be nurses and honor her daily and try to live out her dream she never got to complete. I know Kerry is spreading the Gamma Phi and Panhellenic love in Georgia as a FSL Assistant. She impacted SO MANY people, and so many people lost a piece of themselves that day." -Abigayle Zimmerman, Ashley's Big. “Two years ago, our sorority lost a sister and her name is Ashley Kopczynski. As a chapter we have taken time to heal during this time and would like to reflect on Ashley’s legacy. Ashley was an admirable leader within the chapter holding different positions, including special events chair. She was a big to three littles, where she was a loved role model. During her time with Gamma Phi, Ashley had a positive energy about Greek Life, school and life in general that radiated to all members of Gamma Phi as well as with other Greek chapters on campus. Ashley made it a point to welcome everyone she met, and treated them as if they were old friends. Ashley’s legacy will continue to thrive with Gamma Phi Beta as will her outlook on the world because life is better laughing.” -Sarah DeLaporte, Ashley’s Little. It is clear that Ashley has, and still continues to make a huge impact on our sisters and the chapter as a whole. Even those that have not met her know that she is extremely important and will continue to uphold her legacy as time goes on. The Pink Carn award, "The Ashley Kopczynski Award," has been named in her honor back in April 2019. It is for sisters who are a true and constant friend, and emulates the spirit of our beloved sister Ashley. Gabi Olson has been the recipient of the award in 2019 and 2020. Video credit to Marisa Ladwig for recording the balloon release for Ashley.
I just wanted to start off first by apologizing for our silence as of late with updates. With COVID-19 effectively moving our semester 100% online, it was a difficult transition for our chapter. Now that we have our feet back underneath us again, it's time to update you on what has been happening with the Gamma Rho Chapter! Originally, we were set to have Moonball on April 5th. With the pandemic, we had to find an alternative to raise money for our philanthropic partner, Girls on the Run. With the help of our creative sisters, we found a solution; bingo cards. With this method, our sisters each had a bingo card with random donation increments, and the overall goal was to "black out" the entire card with donator's names. As a chapter, we raised $810!! However, the donations did not stop there. The Alpha Phi pledge class from 2007 reached out to our chapter president, our lovely sisters collectively contributed $800 to our fundraiser for Girls on the Run; this brought our total to $1,610 that is going out to our philanthropic partner! Thank you, Alpha Phi pledge class, we appreciate your generous donation! This update doesn't stop there. April 25th was the date that we had set to have our Pink Carnation Formal. It broke our hearts to know that we were not able to have our regular formal, that the seniors couldn't celebrate with us in their last semester as active members. The unfortunate turn of events due to COVID-19 did not stop us from having our awards ceremony! The winners will be posted below and the recipients will still receive their plaques/certificates when we are able to see each other again. Lastly, we weren't able to have our normal Senior Celebration in person, but our Education Vice President, Sam Sasin, still made it one to remember. She set up a Google Slides presentation of all the seniors and shared it with us in a virtual Senior Celebration. The seniors were still able to say some parting words to our actives, while the actives got to say their farewells and appreciation. We, as the Gamma Rho Chapter, will continue to supply the love and support to our friends, family, fellow Greek Life members, and many others during this time of disorder and uncertainty. On March 8th, we thought we were dreaming, it turns out our dreams just came true. We had our lovely Bid Day for the five amazing women who accepted their bid into the sisterhood of Gamma Phi Beta. Mary Mattio, our Membership Vice President, turned Bid Day into something that was taken straight out of a dream and did an amazing job with Informal Recruitment!
Switching gears, we are nearing our philanthropic event, Moonball! The kickball tournament is being held on April 5th at the Rec Plex North Field from 11am-2pm. If you are interested in learning more about Moonball, making a team, or about our philanthropic partner, Girls on the Run, find our table in Reeve Union! We will be there starting tomorrow from 9am-12pm, and everyday leading up to spring break from 11am-2pm. We can't wait to see you there! On February 12th, the women of Gamma Rho had a night full of fun events to kick off the semester! Our Membership Vice President, Mary, and Education Vice President, Sam, joined forces to make it a night to remember for potential new members and the sisterhood. With the Galentine's Day sisterhood combined recruitment event, we had a total of nine potential new members join us in the sisterhood festivities! They joined us in eating chocolate covered strawberries, cookies, and plenty of other goodies! This event also turned into a service opportunity for our sisters, with the help of Sam, we created Valentine's Day cards for those in the Aurora Hospital. It's an amazing opportunity to brighten someone's day with something so simple, yet so life changing!
Over the weekend, the majority of the Gamma Rho Executive Team went down to Chicago, Illinois for the Gamma Phi Beta Real Leadership Conference. Held annually, this conference brings in small groups of the collegiate chapter officers and advisors together, from both Region 5 and 6, for a weekend of interactive and inspiring leadership development, activities for chapter planning, peer-to-peer discussions and unique networking opportunities. This is meant to support each officer in transitioning into their new roles and building strong teams between executive officers and their volunteer support teams. The women on the executive board have this amazing opportunity to bring back new visions and ideas for chapter success; we are excited to see what they have learned and what they bring to the table for this 2020 term! The University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh has just started the second semester and the Gamma Rho Chapter is more than excited to get back together with their fellow sisters; and to add some new ones too! Informal recruitment is about to get underway and we want to meet YOU!
Informal Recruitment is the chance to meet the sororities in a relaxed setting and get to know what we are all about! Our events and dates are in the flyer attached below. If you have any questions about Gamma Phi Beta do not hesitate to reach out to our Membership Vice President, Mary Mattio! We hope to see you there! Hello and welcome to the newest addition to the website! This update will be short and sweet since the Gamma Rho chapter is currently on Winter break; but, hopefully there will be monthly updates for everyone who is potentially interested in what these members of Gamma Phi Beta are currently involved in or working on!
The Gamma Rho chapter on the UW-Oshkosh campus was first established in 1966. The chapter envelops the four core values of Love, Labor, Learning, and Loyalty to their everyday lives and strives to inspire the highest type of womanhood. These women have opened their lives to a lifetime of sisterhood and to build confident women who celebrate the sisterhood to make a difference in the world around us. This can be seen with their hard work that is put forth with their philanthropic partner, Girls on the Run. While this has just been a brief overview of what this chapter is, there will be more in-depth posts later on to show the uniqueness of the women of Gamma Rho! |