Kappa Kappa Gamma, Zeta Beta Chapter

We are excited to share that the alumnae newsletter for the 2023-2024 academic year is ready to share! The newsletter is attached below. We hope you enjoy staying up-to-date on what Zeta Beta has been up to this past year! As always, Dream Boldly and Live Fully! *An unfortunate typo, our faculty advisor is Joshua Miller, not Joshua Smith. So sorry for the confusion.

Congratulations to the 21 Graduating members of the Class of 2024! We are so proud of you and all you have accomplished over the past 4 years. You have been the best role models and big sisters. We cannot wait to see what the world has in store for you all! Keep dreaming boldly and living fully. 

On Sunday, May 28th, the Zeta Beta Chapter came together for our annual Marina Day celebration in honor of the life and legacy of Marina Petersen, a sister who tragically passed away in 2009. Although we never had to opportunity to meet Marina, through the stories shared by her sisters, we’ve learned that Marina represented all that a sister should be. She was an amazing friend and gave the best advice. She had a special ability to make everyone laugh and brought people from all corners of campus together. In the spirit of this infectious quality of hers, Zeta Beta hosts a carnival themed, fun-filled event each spring in hopes of bringing campus together the same way she did. We are proud to share that Marina Day this year was a truly joyous day that successfully gathered over 300 participants from the Lafayette Community. The day was filled with engaging activities, including grilling, an obstacle course, face painting, sweet treats, games, and raffles, creating a fun-filled atmosphere that honored Marina’s memory and fostered strong community bonds. The day raised over 5,000 dollars towards the Marina C. Petersen Study Abroad Scholarship Fund which supports a Lafayette College Student in financial need each year to attend a Study Abroad Interim Trip.  A special thank you to our wonderful Philanthropy Director Madeleine Cannon and Event Coordinator Hailey Messer for organizing such a wonderful celebration of Marina’s life. Thank you to Kendra Scott and all of the Greek and campus organizations who participated and contributed to making the day so special. Lastly, thank you so much to our advisors, alumni, and Marina’s friends and family for making this day possible and for helping us keep Marina’s memory alive each year!

This past April, Kappa Kappa Gamma hosted a DEI Bake Sale event in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness month. Alongside the Lafayette chapters of Pi Beta Phi and Pards Against Sexual Assault (PASA), we successfully raised $300 which was all donated towards Take Back the Night, an international organization and movement standing against sexual violence. We are so grateful to have had this opportunity and to educate ourselves and our college community regarding the harm of sexual assault. Special thank you to our incredible Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director Sophia Lombardo for all of the hard work she put into the event. Pictured: Members of Kappa Kappa Gamma and Pi Beta Phi held a baking sisterhood event in preparation of their Bake Sale.

Make sure to check out the official Kappa Kappa Gamma, Zeta Beta website to stay up-to-date with changes and events occurring in our chapter! There is so much information available on KKG as a national sorority, scholarships, chapter history, national and chapter-specific philanthropies, involvement, recruitment, and so much more! The website was also recently updated to reflect the new chapter officers, so if you are interested in learning more about some of our members who hold positions, this is a great way to stay in the loop! This is the link to the website: https://lnkd.in/ehmaJpnp This is the link to the new chapter officer section of the website: https://lnkd.in/eKZSmxs6

Last Thursday, we welcomed Alana Klass, M.Ed. (she/her) from Gateway Career Center for a “LinkedIn or Left Out” presentation! She shared helpful information about creating a polished profile and how to utilize LinkedIn to your advantage for networking and internship/job search. She offered helpful insight and tips while answering any and all questions! A huge thank you to Alana for her time and guidance, Lafayette College Gateway Career Center, and to Olivia Boeckman, our VP Internal Affairs for organizing! This was such a useful event to help our sisters stand out and shine!

February 6-9th we held our Kappa Kisses fundraiser to benefit the Rose McGill Foundation! The Rose McGill Foundation provides financial assistance to sisters of Kappa Kappa Gamma who find themselves in an unexpected time of need. Bags of Hershey Kisses were packaged and sold for $3, and customers who made a purchase were given the option to include a personalized message which would then be delivered to the recipient's mailbox. We were able to raise a total of $462 to support our sisters threatened with financial emergencies and unexpected personal situations, while also providing opportunities for further education and work opportunities. This would not have been possible without the hard work and careful planning of our philanthropy chair, Madeleine Cannon and the help of everyone who tabled. Thank you so much to everyone who donated, and we are thrilled to have helped make a difference!

I am thrilled and honored to announce that I have been elected as Chapter President of the Zeta Beta Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at Lafayette College. I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity and eager to begin working with our new Executive Board, the Panhellenic and Interfraternity Councils, various student organizations, and the college’s administration to make a positive impact within our chapter and the campus community at large. I look forward to a collaborative and productive year ahead!