#GammaIS Celebrating Itself

    The second half of this semester just flew on by! My committee and I kept busy with some of Gamma’s most exciting events! This included Gamma Jeopardy, Initiation, and Graduation. Aside from those events, we also got to award the Big / Little Bonding Competition champions! Congratulations to Kew and Ashlyn! They submitted 50 photos throughout the semester and proved that they were truly the best big and little!

    Gamma Jeopardy was a new event to be held under Recruitment and Ritual. The goal of this event was tailored towards educating the pledges about all things Gamma. They learned some things about the Chi Chapter, Grand Chapter, GIS on Social Media, and much more. Not only was this helpful to the pledges, but it scraped off some rust for our active members!

    Initiation was an exciting night! But like almost all of our rituals it is very hush hush. What I can say is that I am very happy that Gamma got to initiate 11 wonderful people into the organization. I am also so proud of each member of the Eta class! Gamma is growing!

    While we gained 11 wonderful members, we also had to say goodbye to 12 of our seniors this year, including the last of the Alpha class. Gamma Gradation was such a bittersweet day. It was so easy to be excited and say congrats to our seniors, but it was hard not to shed a tear or more to see them leave. These seniors have been more than just members in Gamma. They have been our friends, our family, our role models, the reasons we laugh, the reasons we smile, and the reasons why we fell in love with Gamma. With Graduation, we sent them off into the real world to make us proud to call them our alumni. Congratulation class of 2016! We will miss seeing your faces at least once a week.

With Gamma Love,

Krista Hutchinson

Director of Recruitment & Ritual

#GammaIS Graduating

The Chi Chapter Founding Fathers: Then

Founding Fathers Say Good- Bye

                It’s hard to believe that less than four years ago starting a Gamma Iota Sigma chapter at Drake was only a thought in the minds of a few freshman.  After months of planning and convincing the Drake faculty that this would be a great opportunity for actuarial science students, we held our first recruitment.  We were nervous that not many students would be interested, but in the end we had no reason to be.  We could not have asked for a better Alpha class.  Without these committed members, Gamma would not have grown so quickly.  After hearing what everybody loved about Gamma at the first initiation, I became extremely passionate about the chapter.  It was the first time I realized that we were making an impact not only on people’s professional success, but on their time at Drake.  We were no longer just a group of students striving for the same career goals; we had become brothers.  

                I have seen so much growth not only in the chapter as a whole, but in each individual member, including myself.  Gamma has allowed me to grow professionally, learn about different cultures, create lasting friendships, and grow tremendously as a leader.  I would encourage every member to take advantage of the leadership opportunities that Gamma opens up for them.  Starting Gamma and being President has been the most rewarding aspect of my college experience.  Not every leader has to be outgoing and a great public speaker; I am extremely introverted and usually pretty quiet, but that didn’t make me a bad leader.  I think that every person has qualities that allow them to successfully lead others.  My final advice to members would be to step out of your comfort zone, because that is the best way to grow.  

                I hope that Gamma will continue to be a family and a place to grow for many more students in the future like it was for me.  Looking at our current members and the new executive council, I have no doubt that it will.  I think I speak for all of the founding fathers when I say that we could not be happier with what Gamma has become.  

With Gamma Love and Loyalty, 
Emily Kessler

The Chi Chapter Founding Fathers: Now about to Graduate! (Our writer, Emily is pictured third from left)

 

 

 

#GammaIS Fun!

 

Ee Kean Kew (furthest right) and his Gamma family!

     Just about a month ago, my friends and I became new members of Gamma Iota Sigma. It was nerve-racking and exciting at the same time, as it was the first time that I was joining a professional fraternity at Drake. But the members at Gamma were all very friendly and welcoming. I still remember the cheer and applause everyone gave us when we walked into chapter that night. I knew at that moment that Gamma was going to be a whole lot of fun. 

     And I was right! The weeks that followed were a series of activities and events that not only bonded the pledge members and other Gamma brothers and sisters together, but also provided us the opportunity to grow intellectually and professionally. A speed dating event worked out really well as an ice-breaker, as we got the chance to introduce ourselves and have casual conversations with other members. I also found out that Hui Ying was my big that night, and she has been really helpful and supportive to me since then. Another event showing our Gamma spirit, Super Service Saturday, was a huge success with 238.5 hours of service provided by Gamma members in just one day. We sold raffle tickets for donations to Make- A- Wish Foundation and made thank you cards for veterans. Finally, the actuarial exam and LinkedIn recommendation workshops gave me really useful tips in building my LinkedIn profile and forming a solid foundation to Excel.

     It has only been about one month since I joined Gamma, but I have already gained so much experience, knowledge, and friendship. Being part of Gamma is already and will continue to be a life-changing experience. I love Gamma Iota Sigma more and more every day and I can’t wait for other future exciting events!

Fraternally yours,

Ee Kean Kew

#GammaIS Organizing Super Service Saturday!

    

 

     This past weekend our chapter organized Super Service Saturday! First of all, I would like to thank all of you who had participated in this enormous event. I am very happy with how it all turned out. I especially want to thank my 8 fellow brothers who were volunteering at the Restore for more than four hours. I truly appreciated all of the help!

     I believe service is an action of helping others voluntarily, without wanting any return. Seeing all of our brothers laughing, cheering, and having fun during the service hours made my heart smile. All of these memories are eternal.

     While some planning things could have gone smoother during preparations, we managed to fix them as a chapter. Preparing for Super Service Saturday with my lovely committees was worth everything. We were able to provide 238.5 hours in total of service in one day. That was great! On top of that, we have raised around 250,000 rice grains. Finally, we sold about 200 raffle tickets to raise funds for the Make- A- Wish Foundation, and made a total of 117 cards for our Veterans. All of this happened in just 6 hours!

     Last but not the least, I would like to thank all my brothers, my service committee members, Alicia, George, Shafiq, Evelyn, Matthew, and Ri Yang, not forgetting our leader, Mitchell, who has been leading us along the way since early this semester. Looking forward to seeing more exciting upcoming events!

With Love,

Su Khim See