Gamma Iota History...
The Gamma Iota chapter of Phi Sigma Sigma was started at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1977. The founding sisters, consisting of mainly basketball players, felt the need for a sisterhood in a school dominated by males, and thus they began the lengthy process of establishing the first sorority on campus. The very first composite, including founding Archon Karen Chesney Honold, still hangs in the dining room of our chapter house at 15 Elbridge Street to remind us of our roots.
It was humble beginnings for Gamma Iota, as the campus got used to having a sorority in the already strong Greek system. We started out with our very own closet in Higgins House, moving up to a house on Wachusett Street a few years later. We moved into our present day house in 1989, which initially housed sisters and their friends in order to cover rent. Over the years, our house has undergone many changes in order to make it what it is today. Thanks to efforts by alumni Cathy Connelly and Megan Lindberg, the gallery kitchen was opened up into a large and beautiful space. Each floor has a large, comfortable common room for sisters to relax in, as well as a scholarship room on the first floor for studying and chapter work. Our Housing Corps, run by active chapter alumni, took over ownership in 2003. This allows for some special perks, including more renovations and free laundry!
On campus, our sisters are involved in every facet of campus life, from athletics to student government, and everything in between. We have the highest GPA of sororities at WPI, as we place a priority on academics and reward scholastic achievement. Many of our sisters are involved in WPI sports of all levels, from varsity to intramurals. Our sisters are consistently recognized on campus for their leadership and service, as our very own Teri Hannon was named the Risk Manager of the Year and Megan Holmes was named the Sorority Woman of the Year by the Greek Alumni Council. Our strength as a greek organization is also well known, as we have been awarded Greek Chapter of the Year by the GAC for several years. We also receive accolades from Phi Sigma Sigma's national organization for our strength in programming, academic performance, outstanding sisters, and an all-around exceptional work in campus and sorority efforts.
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A Quick Look At Gamma Iota...
Nationally...
Motto: "Diokete Hupsula" (Aim High)
Maxim: "Once a Phi Sigma Sigma, Always a Phi Sigma Sigma"
Colors: King Blue and Gold
Symbol: Sphinx
Flower: American Beauty Rose
Jewel: Sapphire
Philanthropy: National Kidney Foundation
Twin Ideals: The Brotherhood of Man and The Alleviation of the World's Pain
At WPI...
Founded: 1977 (first sorority on campus)
Number of Members: 78
Chapter GPA: 3.39
Major Annual Events We Participate In:
- Holiday Extravaganza with Sigma Alpha Epsilon
- Swing-a-Thon with Tau Kappa Epsilon
- Faculty Reception with Alpha Tau Omega
- Fundraising with Gilette Stadium
- Mr. WPI
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Our Officers...
Executive Board
Archon: Ashleigh Wood (aewood@wpi.edu)Vice Archon: Elizabeth Schreiber (lizsch@wpi.edu)
Bursar: Nina Bass (nrbass@wpi.edu)
Scribe: Lindsey Kut (lindseykut@wpi.edu)
Membership At Large: Paige Bourne (prbourne@wpi.edu)
Tribune: Hilary Rotatori (rotatori@wpi.edu)
Sisterhood Development Chair: Kelly Pastor (kap10@wpi.edu)
Membership Recruitment Chair: Julie Marquis (jmarquis@wpi.edu)
Risk Manager: Casey McKenna (caseymckenna@wpi.edu)
Panhellenic Delegate: Kristen Garza (kgarza@wpi.edu)
House Manager: Katelyn Comeau (comeaukd@wpi.edu)
Executive Council
Activities Chairman: Kathryne Kulzer (kkulzer21@wpi.edu)Alumni Chairman: Hailey Taylor (hjtaylor@wpi.edu)
Assistant Bursar: Suzanne Najem (snajem@wpi.edu)
Assistant House Manager: Lauren Ketschke (laurk1013@wpi.edu)
Assistant House Manager: Juliana Rose (julianar@wpi.edu)
Assistant MRC: Abaigeal Caras (abcaras62@wpi.edu)
Assistant SDC: Lindsay Mullins (lmullins@wpi.edu)
Community Service Chairman: Briana Rawson (brawson@wpi.edu)
Fundraising Chairman: Ariel Hyman (a.hyman@wpi.edu)
Fundraising Chairman: Sarah Beth Johnson (sbjohnson@wpi.edu)
Historian: Olivia Shepherd (oshepherd@wpi.edu)
Philantropy Chairman: Kristine Zeeb (kzeeb@wpi.edu)
Public Relations Chairman: Bhavika Shah (bhavika@wpi.edu)
Scholarship Chairman: Meghan Linskey (mlinskey@wpi.edu)
Social Chairman: Meaghan Busteed (mbusteed@wpi.edu)
Sunshine Chairman: Amanda Bowden (amandab@wpi.edu)
Webmaster: Becky Yang (beckyyang@wpi.edu)
Senior Class Representative: Brenna Colleary (colleary@wpi.edu)
Junior Class Representative:Samantha Kingsley (slkingsley@wpi.edu)
Sophomore Class Representative: Celena Dopart (cdopart@wpi.edu)
Judicial Board Alternate: Samantha O'Connor (samoconnor@wpi.edu)
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Our Sisters...
|
Class of 2010
Paige Bourne Meganne Chiasson Jillian Cohen Brenna Colleary Jenny Encarnacion Meagan Foley Debra-Ann Franck Kimberly Gallagher Allie Griffin Bethany Lagrant Julie Marquis Jackie McDonough Lindsay Mullins Kelly Pastor Katelyn Perkins Ashley Perry Hilary Rotatori Elizabeth Schreiber Hannah Shapiro Nadia Skorinko Ashleigh Smeal Elizabeth Tuite Danielle Volpe Ashleigh Wood |
Class of 2011
Nina Bass Colleen Brinkmann Samantha Brown Meaghan Busteed Abaigeal Caras Lillian Clark Nicole Comosa Karalee Conover Jenna DeFilippo Cailah DeRoo Maggie Fulton Kristin Garza Christin Grygorcewicz Rachel Heller Sarah Beth Johnson Samantha Kingsley Lindsey Kut Meghan Linskey Casey McKenna Kelsey McMenamy Meaghan Paris Kathryn Partridge Kelly Roberge Bhavika Shah Kelsey Thomas Becky Yang |
Class of 2012
Julie Bliss Amanda Bowden Caitlin Chase Katelyn Comeau Celena Dopart Colleen Heckley Carolina Herrera Victoria Howland Ariel Hyman Sarah Beth Johnson Caitlin Kelley Lauren Ketschke Kathryne Kulzer Antonia La Bella Sasha Markhovsky Katherine Milligan Suzye Najem Samantha O'Conoor Erika Ortiz Emily Pearce Caitlin Quinn Briana Rawson Juliana Rose Olivia Shepherd Hailey Taylor Juliana Wakeman Kristine Zeeb Joanne Zhang |
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Our Chapter's Campus Involvement...
Along with Phi Sigma Sigma, many of our sisters are actively involved and hold leadership positions in a wide variety of organizations on campus. These range from varsity sports to community service to honorary societies! Listed below are all the organizations our sisters are currently involved in:
VARSITY AND CLUB SPORTS:
Varsity Cross Country
Varsity Field Hockey
Varsity Men's Crew
Varsity Soccer
Varsity Softball
Varsity Swimming & Diving
Varsity Track & Field
Varsity Women's Crew
Wrestling Team
Cheerleading
Club Lacrosse
Ice Hockey
Rugby
NCAA Leadership Program
Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC)
MUSIC AND PERFORMING ARTS:
Alden Voices
Brass Ensemble
Concert Band
Jazz Ensemble
The Odysseans
Orchestra
Stage Band
VOX
Woodwind Quintet
WPI Dance Team
HONORARY AND PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES:
American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME)
Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
Chi Epsilon (Civil Engineering Honorary Society)
Hellenic Student Association (HSA)
Order of Omega (Greek Honorary Society)
Mu Sigma Delta (Pre-Health Society)
National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH)
Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honorary Society)
Rho Lambda (National Leadership Recognition For Sororities)
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
Women in Computer Science (WICS)
SOCIETAL AWARENESS AND COMMUNITY SERVICE:
Alpha Phi Omega
Big Brothers Big Sisters Mentor Program
CAS 101
Colleges Against Cancer
Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS)
Engineers Without Borders
Habitat For Humanity
Relay For Life
Students Promoting Animal Welfare (SPAW)
Student Support Network (SSN)
MISCELLANEOUS:
Actuarial Club
Class Board of 2010
Class Board of 2011
Community Advisors (CA)
Crimson Key
Excellence in Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Program (EMSEP)
Panhellenic Council
Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC)
Social Commitee (SocComm)
Student Ambassadors
Student Government Association (SGA)
Trustee Mentor Program
Women's Industry Network (WIN)
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Our Philanthropy...
Phi Sigma Sigma values making a difference in the lives of others - our sisters have an incredible commitment to seeking out opportunities for selfless service and for the betterment of the world around us.
The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) was adopted as the fraternity's official national philanthropic cause in 1971 - the NKF was selected because of the high prevalence of kidney disease in women of all ages, and as a mean by which to channel the fraternity's national philantropic efforts toward one core, meaningful cause. In the nearly four decades since Phi Sigma Sigma's adoption of the NKF, the fraternity has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars. Over this same period of time, the NKF has expanded the scope of its work from research funding to include increased awareness for all diseases requiring organ transplants, as well as lobbying for health care policy and patient advocacy reform. We believe the work of the National Kidney Foundation to be powerful and significant, and our chapter is proud to raise funds and awareness for the cause within the WPI community.
Our chapter has raised thousands of dollars for the National Kidney Foundation over the years. We organize and participate in a variety of philanthropy events each year to raise donations, including:
Swing-a-Thon: held each spring with the brothers of Tau Kappa Epsilon
Silent Auction: held during WPI Homecoming annually
Mr. WPI Pageant: formally known as the Mr. Greek Pageant, this event is held each spring in conjuction with the sisters of Alpha Gamma Delpta and Alpha Xi Delta.
Our sisterhood also participates in a variety of other philanthropic work each year, including Shamrocks for Muscular Dystrophy with the brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon (to benefit Muscular Dystrophy Association), Passionately Pink! (to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure), and Relay for Life (to benefit the American Cancer Society).
We are always looking for new ideas and new ways to get involved in any philanthropic cause and welcome your input!
Silent Auction 2009!
This year's Silent Auction will be held on Saturday, October 31st from 10AM to 2PM, location TBA. Check back for more details, or contact Kristine Zeeb, Philanthropy Chairman, for more details at kzeeb@wpi.edu![ Back to Top ]
Our Community Service...
COMING SOON!
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Our Awards...
2009
GAC AwardsOutstanding Facilities and Fiscal Management (Honor Roll)
Outstanding Member Development (Honor Roll)
Outstanding Leadership Development
Outstanding Recruitment
Outstanding Risk Management (Honor Roll)
Sorority Woman of the Year
Greek Officer of the Year
Humanitarian of the Year
Living the Ritual Award
Other Awards
Scholarship Summa Award
Outstanding Faculty Advisor
Outstanding Advisory Board (Honorable Mention)
Outstanding Housing Corporation
Membership Recruitment Award
Outstanding Greek Advisor
Foundation Scholarships
Collegian of the Year
2008
GAC AwardsChapter of the Year (Honor Roll)
Outstanding Facilities and Fiscal Management
Outstanding Member Development
Outstanding Educational Programming (Honor Roll)
Outstanding Public Relations
Outstanding Risk Management (Honor Roll)
Sorority Woman of the Year
Risk Manager of the Year
Living the Ritual Award
Other Awards
Sigma Society
Efficiency Award (Honorable Mention)
Public Relations Award
Outstanding Chapter Advisory Board
Anniversary Awards 30 Years
Scholarship Summa Award
Outstanding Membership Recruitment Award
Chapter Excellence Award - Gold Level
Membership Recruitment Award
Goldwater Scholar
WPI Crimson and Gray Award
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Pictures...
COMING SOON!
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