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KAPPA ALPHA THETA

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The spring and summer have flown by for Gamma Tau. We have participated and hosted many events throughout the spring and many of us spent the summer traveling and working.

We started out the spring semester by raising money for the Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation (more on page 4), then went on to participate in multiple Greek philanthropy weeks, volunteer on campus and in the community, join the “Give to Lead, Give to Learn” letter writing campaign, support TU Athletics, and host several sisterhood and social events. Additionally, we were extremely excited to welcome four new freshmen to our sisterhood through continuous

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open bidding (page 3).

The end of our semester was a great one which included our Spring Formal with Kappa Kappa Gamma, receiving multiple awards at the Greek Life Awards Banquet (more on page 3), and the bittersweet graduation of twelve Gamma Taus (see more on page 2).

The summer has been filled with studying abroad (page 4), road trips to see sisters, internships and research opportunities, and fun vacations. We are looking forward to being reunited and returning to campus for another wonderful year!

2015 Spring & Summer Newsletter

Gamma Tau, University of Tulsa

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Donec interdum

Pellentesque:

Consectetuer:

The Graduation of the Pledge Class of 2011

Members of PC ’11 before TU’s Final Bell ceremony.

This spring, our chapter had twelve members finish their undergraduate degrees. Listed below are each senior’s post-grad plans:

• Caitlin Rudd- acting in “About a Year” in Chicago, IL.

• Carter Scarbrough- pursuing a Master’s Degree in Applied Mathematics at the University of Tulsa.

• Grace Davenport- working for XTO Energy in Fort Worth, TX.

• Hannah Smith- pursuing a Masters of Accountancy at the University of Tulsa.

• Kaitlin Jackson- accepted a position as a Newborn Nursery Nurse at St. John Medical Center in Tulsa.

• Kelsey Kindbom- teaching reading at Edison Middle School in Tulsa.

• Lauren Stanley- attending Harvard Law School.

• Maggie Hegenbart- working for Apache Corp in Houston, TX.

• Sarah Corder- pursuing a Master’s Degree as a women’s health practitioner from Vanderbilt University.

• Sarah Freeman- working for Centene Corporation in St. Louis as an accountant.

• Sascha Mills- applying for medical school in spring 2016.

• Torri Russell- working in McPherson, KS for Williams’ engineering development program.

Summer Internships & Research Many Gamma Tau Thetas are gaining experience through internship and research opportunities this summer with the companies and organizations listed below:

• Abigail Obana (PC ’12)- Perspectives Behavioral Health Systems Intern in Ft. Smith, AR.

• Blaire Reynolds (PC ’12)- IT intern at Phillips66 in Bartlesville, OK.

• Claire Thompson (PC ’13) – Finance intern at ConocoPhillips in Bartlesville, OK.

• Claire Wood (PC ’12)- Intern for ONEOK as a commercial analyst in Tulsa, OK.

• Ellis Bender (PC ’13) – Intern at St. John’s Hospital in Tulsa, OK.

• Hailey Kim (PC ’13) – Conducting Speech Pathology research on Aphasia at TU.

• Hannah Smith (PC ’11)- ConocoPhillips finance intern in Bartlesville, OK.

• Karoline Newell (PC ’14)- with the Communications and Public Affairs Department at the Port of Muskogee.

• Kathryn Thompson (PC ’12)- Presenter at the American Pain Conference in Palm Springs, CA. She will also be doing research at TU and the Laureate Institute for Brain Research this summer.

• Lauren Eck (PC ’13)- Intern for Devon Energy in Gillette, WY.

• Meghan Kelkar (PC ’12)- Intern for Occidental Petroleum in Houston, TX.

• Rachael Gantner (PC ’12)- Accounting intern for Phillips 66 in Bartlesville, OK.

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Gamma Taus celebrating after the Greek Awards Banquet.

TU Greek Awards Banquet

The 2015 Greek Life Awards Banquet was held on April 26th where a variety of awards were presented to sororities, fraternities, and Greek individuals. Gamma Tau won the following awards:

• Overall Circle of Excellence Award (given to the top chapter on campus along with a $1,000 gift)

• Alpha Kappa Alpha Outstanding President Award- Kelsey Kindbom (PC ’11)

• Panhellenic Spirit Award (given to an individual nominated by other sororities)- Abigail Obana (PC ’12)

Meet the Newest Members of Gamma Tau!

This spring semester, Gamma Tau hosted “Continuous Open Bidding” and accepted four new freshmen into our chapter. We are so excited to expand our sisterhood and cannot wait to see how these women impact Gamma Tau.

The New Members include:

• Jennifer Kealey- a Biopsychology Pre-Med major from Kansas City.

• Jennifer Shelton- a Mechanical Engineering major from St. Louis.

• Julia White- an undeclared major and Gamma Tau legacy from Tulsa.

• Katarina Webster- an accounting major from Pryor, OK.

We would like to thank our wonderful advisors, alumnae, House Mom Debbie, and families for all they do for us! We are so lucky to have an awesome support system surrounding our chapter that made it possible for us to achieve these awards. We send extra thanks and recognition to Holly Marvin for all she

has done for Gamma Tau!

The new members from left to right: Katarina, Jenn K., Julia, and Jennifer S.

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In February, Gamma Tau hosted our spring philanthropy event titled “KATch Me If You Can” in order to raise money for the Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation. KATch Me If You Can is a campus-wide scavenger hunt that costs each participant $5 to play. Students across campus try to “KATch” each other during “KATch Week.” The participant who has the most “KATches” by the end of the week wins the grand prize, which included a one-night stay at the DoubleTree Downtown and tickets to a concert at Cain’s Ballroom. We also were able to distribute over 30 door prizes donated by Tulsa businesses. This spring we had over 150 students participate in the third annual KATch Me If You Can, which helped us raise over $1,100 dollars for the Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation. This was $300 more than we fundraised last year and we are so excited by the growth of this event!

KATch Me If You Can

Thetas Abroad Several Gamma Tau Sisters have had the opportunity to study abroad recently. It is wonderful to share in these memories with them as a chapter and display Theta Love across the seas. Spring Break:

1. Rachael Gantner (PC ‘12) and Teresa Statsny (PC ’14) – International Business trip to Brazil studying emergent economies.

Summer Semester: 2. Jennifer Steere (PC ’12)- taking Spanish courses in

Buenos Aires, Argentina. 3. Kaitlin Mar (PC ’13)- living in Copenhagen, Denmark

to study neuroscience and medical biotechnology. 4. Kelly Cosgrove (PC’13)- studying Spanish in Palma

de Mallorca, Spain. 5. Madeline Cook (PC ’14) and Hayley Miller (PC ’14)-

studying in Germany & Hungary through the TU Global Scholars Program.

6. Megan O’neal (PC ’13)- learning about global challenges in alternative energy in Italy and taking French classes in France.

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Accomplishments & Awards

Points of Excellence • Cait Rudd (PC ’11)- Starred as

Amy in TU’s production of Little Women.

• Erin Wilcox (PC ’14)- Competed in the Miss Oklahoma Pageant as Miss Green Country.

• Hannah Smith (PC ’11)- Received the “Outstanding Accounting Graduate Award” given to one senior at TU.

• Kathryn Thompson (PC ’12)- Was a coauthor for a published psychology research article.

• Kelly Cosgrove (PC ’13) and Madi Springer (PC ’14)- Completed Half Marathons in Oklahoma City.

• Kelsey Kindbom (PC ’11), Maddie Ottsen (PC ’14), and Shelby Hackney (PC ’14) were this year’s recipients of the Gamma Tau Founder’s Day Awards.

• Kristen Gabriel (PC ’12)- Presented at the TU Student Research Colloquium and the Tri-Beta Regional Conference.

• Lauren Stanley (PC ’11)- Won the TU Medicine Wheel Award for Community Service

• Lauren Stanley (PC ’11)- Organized the Route 66 Conference for Communication Disorders

• Rachael Gantner (PC ’12)- Received both Theta Foundation and Tulsa Area Alumnae Panhellenic Scholarships.

• Rachael Gantner (PC ’12)- Was named a Phillips 66 Shield Scholar.

• Teresa Statsny (PC ’14)- Hosted a premiere of the documentary “Half the Sky” for Students Against Slavery.

• Gamma Tau completed over 1,100 hours of community service during the spring semester.

• Gamma Tau won the Intramural Co-Rec Softball Championship during the Spring Semester. Our team also won the Student Association’s 1st Annual Soccer Tournament.

• Gamma Tau participated in multiple Greek Philanthropy Events, winning the KD Quidditch Tournament and Sigma Chi Field Day.

• Gamma Tau raised $130.00 for Tulsa CASA at the Rusty Crane for the TU Coaches’ Radio Show. We raised $200.00 for Tulsa CASA on Mom’s Day with the help of Suite One Boutique.

• We had several members participate in TU’s Relay for Life and raised $452.00 for the American Cancer Society.

• We have raised over $10,000 from the Give to Lead, Give to Learn letter writing campaign.

• Our chapter has fifteen TU University Ambassadors. • Gamma Tau women hold over 50 leadership positions

on campus organizations other than Theta. • Claire Wood (PC ’12), Kathryn Thompson (PC ’12),

Rachael Gantner (PC ’12), and Kelly Cosgrove (PC ’13)- appointed as Orientation Leaders for the 2015 Freshmen Orientation.

• Erin Worley (PC ’12) and Katie Tombridge (PC ’13) were accepted as Recruitment Counselors for 2015 Formal Sorority Recruitment.

Left: The Theta Co-Rec softball team after winning

the intramural championship.

Right: Gamma Tau sisters with Madi

Springer after she completed the OKC

Memorial Half Marathon.

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3rd Annual Homecoming Open House, October 24th: Stop by the Theta house during TU’s Homecoming Weekend. There will be house tours and an auction benefiting the Friendship Fund.

If you or another alumna is not receiving emails from Gamma Tau please contact kelly-cosgrove@utulsa.edu to be added to our database. Don’t forget to update us if your email changes!

Mock Rush with Alumnae, August 18th 7-9 PM: All Theta Alumnae are invited to help the Gamma Tau chapter practice for Day 2 (house tours) of Formal Recruitment during Theta Work Week at the Gamma Tau house.

Rock the CASA, October 12th, 5-7 PM: Join us for our annual cookout at Allen Chapman Activity Center and help us raise money for CASA.

Alumnae News

1. Claire Wood (PC ’12), Kaitlin Mar (PC ’13), and Erin Wilcox (PC ’14) at the American Athletic Conference for women’s basketball.

2. Members delivering the crafts made on Mom’s Day to the Ronald McDonald House.

3. Members volunteering at CASA Casino. 4. A Big/Little family at Spring Formal. 5. PC ’14 at Founder’s Day Brunch hosted by

the Tulsa Alumnae Chapter. 6. Gamma Taus at our “Paint-Your-Date”

social function. 7. Members and Alumnae with the blankets

they made for Catholic Charities. 8. Some of PC ’14 at our sisterhood function,

“Sorori-tea Party.” 9. Members at TU’s Annual Service Day. 10. Gamma Taus working on the Give to Lead,

Give to Learn Letter Writing Campaign.

Theta Events

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