#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 Hosting Recruitment!

Chi Chapter's Recruitment Chair, Kate McCoy (pictured right)

Recruitment week is officially over, and it could not have gone better! All of the stressing, running, and planning was completely worth it. When I was voted as the director of recruitment and ritual, I knew how hectic recruitment week would be, but I was excited to help with the process that made me want to be a member of Gamma Iota Sigma. I’d like to think that anyone can plan a successful week of events as long as one is passionate and organized, and have awesome committee members to assist you.

Gamma recruitment week began on Monday with a Meet and Greet. Right off the bat, I could see the prospective members’ excitement. Gamma Game Night was a hoot as the room roared with laughter, causing our neighbors to ask us to quiet down. Did we lower the volume? Not exactly. It’s difficult not to laugh when 30 Actuarial Science majors are attempting to have an arm wrestling competition. Our off-campus event was ice skating, and everyone had fun trying not to fall while in the midst of foam noodle fights.

Finally, we held interviews Saturday, and the EC was impressed with the quality of applicants. The prospective members showed a drive to be involved in Gamma Iota Sigma, and our chapter is interested to see these members contribute positively to our business fraternity.

I would like to give a shout-out to my amazing committee members, Shang Shin Gan and Matt Odum, for making this week run smoothly and for putting up with my craziness.

I can’t wait to start working with our pledges; they show great potential. Welcome, Epsilon Class!

Fraternally yours,

Kate McCoy

Recruitment: Chelsea Smith

Running from class to Olmsted Center I kept thinking to myself, “What if no one comes?  What if no one wants to join”. These thoughts haunted me for weeks before recruitment. I was worried that all my hard work leading up to recruitment would have nothing to show for it. I was pleasantly surprised the first night that not only were my brothers there and helping set up, but we had potential new members ready as well. After seeing that, I knew everything was going to be okay. With the activation of our new members I think back and laugh at how nervous I was. 

The reason I wanted to be the Director of Recruitment and Ritual was to spread my Gamma Spirit and enlist new members who could truly benefit. I initially joined Gamma to meet other people in the industry, but ultimately the greatest lesson I have learned is who I am as a person. By meeting new brothers who are from all over the world, I have opened myself up to new experiences, new people, and new opportunities on the Executive Council. I thought I was only joining for the professional aspect, but Gamma and my brothers are so much more than being young professionals. My own personal growth stemmed from getting to know these people. I have seen how Gamma has helped me grow to be more confident and outgoing and that is what I want other actuarial science students to experience. I know being an actuary has many stereotypes and I believe through Gamma we break those stereotypes for the best. 

Through Gamma, we are all one network.  Every chapter meeting, social event, or service event is a professional event as we learn to become people who can talk to anyone and increase our networking skills. This is what I am hoping our new members get out of being a member of this fraternity. Not only should Gamma help them get a job, but also help them grow into a better employee, take lessons, and use them throughout their career and life experiences.

Looking back, as this is my senior year, I will never forget all the memories I have made.  Through this experience, I have gained knowledge, made friendships, felt the power of fidelity, and grew my integrity.

Fraternally yours, 

Chelsea Smith