#GammaIS Leading

    

    Good day to all those reading this post.

    So this year we held our second conference on Drake’s campus, the GIS Actuarial Conference. We had six different speakers come in to talk to us about the actuarial/insurance profession, and overall it was a great success. However, it was not easy in the beginning. Speakers didn’t respond to our e-mails, and the committee scratched their heads about how to publicize the event on campus and what topics to have our speakers present. But slowly, things started falling into place.

    Firstly, we were able to get a great deal for the lunch Sodexo provided, and people genuinely enjoyed the buffet set out for them. We also invited DASS to the event, and this really felt like a right move in terms of letting more actuarial science majors on campus know what Gamma Iota Sigma is about and the kind of events we host. Technical aspects were taken care of well in advance, and in the end, we were able to secure the right number of speakers so that there would be a good selection of topics at each speaking session.

    This year our speaker lineup was diverse in the topics they covered, and we could tell from the packed rooms that they were well-received. Topics included working as an actuary outside the U.S., the Excess and Surplus Lines industry, how actuaries work with other professionals in the insurance industry, and the meaning of being an actuary. We were also able to get a hold of their presentation slides, which were uploaded to our website under member resources. So if you couldn’t attend the conference, or if you wanted to see what the other sessions were about, be sure to go check it out.     Finally, I just want to thank the Professionalism committee again for all their hard work. Without them, this event wouldn’t have been able to go as smoothly as it did.

Mickey Kian Ngiap Chew

VP of Professionalism

#GammaIS Experiencing

To all my 18 amazing 30 Hour Famine committee members and all the lovely participants, THANK YOU! Without you, this event wouldn’t have been as meaningful as it was.

30 Hour Famine is a program of World Vision to raise awareness to fight against hunger all over the world. With about 2 months of preparation, all Gamma members did some fundraising activities together by making some DIY crafting, including bracelets, bookmarks, photo frames, string art, and more. We managed to sell most of them around Drake’s campus before and after spring break. We also collected direct monetary donations to save the lives of hungry kids and families.

The event was held on March 24^th and 25^th at Trinity Lutheran Church right across from Drake’s campus. All participants were required to fast for 30 hours to learn about the experience of hunger. More than that, many activities and games were planned for them to learn to appreciate what they have now. All of the participants stayed overnight at the church to complete the 30 hours of fasting. During the last few hours of fasting—while doing an activity which requires every team to build their own houses using recyclable materials—everyone was exhausted but their spirits were always there to make it to the very end.

Through all these activities, we managed to raise quite a large amount of money to send to World Vision to help those in need. Once again, thank you everyone who supported this event. Your help is greatly appreciated!

Have a Great Summer!

Fraternally Yours,

Su Khim

Director of Service

#GammaIS Helping

Years ago, we used to do some community service at Wesley Acres Nursing Home in Des Moines. One of Gamma’s favorite activities is to play Bingo with the elderly folks. To sprinkle the folks with a little entertainment, our Gamma members visited them once again. It was a wonderful, shiny day. Seeing them having difficulty walking, listening, and responding made everyone cherish their youth. Surprisingly, throughout the games, the folks were focusing and were able to interpret quite well when the numbers were called out. Gamma members were sitting beside them, lending them a hand whenever needed. Gifts like candies and snacks were given as a reward to those who got a Bingo. We were with them for about 2 hours as the games went as slowly as possible to accommodate the speed everyone can go. This truly has shown the patience of our members throughout. We can feel that they were so happy deeply inside their hearts. The wink from a lady who sat beside me will be never forgotten, the presence of youthfulness still strong inside her. It was a splendid day for everyone!

A week or two later, after visiting the elderly, we went to CFUM to meet up with some lovely kids. As usual on Thursday, a few Gamma brothers went to supervise the kids who were studying their Kindergarten homework. Mathematics is our members’ favorite subject to teach, but of course we were very willing to tutor on the other courses as well. The next day, more members joined and had a crazy day filled with lots of enjoyable moments. Everyone went under the sun, playing lots of different games including basketball, soccer, and also having fun at the playground with slides, monkey bars, and much more. All the kids were super excited and hyper, running around non-stop. At that moment, my mind surged with all the childhood memories I have…

 

Fraternally Yours,

SuKhim See

Director of Service

#GammaIS Fundraising

I would say one of the best decisions I have made so far was joining this big family. The second best decision I have made was to continue the legacy of our founding fathers from the finance side. In Fall 2015, I officially took up the role of VP of Finance. Aside from collecting and paying dues to the Grand Chapter, my awesome team and I would constantly come up with various fun and interesting ideas to fundraise for our chapter.

Based on past experiences (which is good actuarial practice to look at), people love dessert a.k.a anything sweet! Day and night, after meetings and meetings, we decided to go along that line and aim for the bullseye by doing a Krispy Kreme Fundraiser. We started contacting Krispy Kreme to get the best deal out of it and picked the optimal date where there was the most customer flow throughout the day. Everyone in the committee was assigned different responsibilities to pull out this event successfully. On the day of our donut sales, the result was very satisfying and a grateful smile was seen on all the committee members’ faces.

I wouldn’t say it was a big project but it surely was an efficient one. We had 15 dozen donuts and it was all sold out swiftly and effortlessly. Many would think that coming up with fundraiser events would be a tedious obligation, but to me, I treasured it as valuable time I spent improving our chapter’s future and bonding with my fellow brothers.

We, as students and as brothers, spend most of our time rushing through assignments, preparing for exams and being home during break. Time to bond is limited. That was against my value of being in a fraternity. I value brotherhood more than anything else. I love every single one of my brothers. We all came from different backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities, but magically we all met each other and, fortunately enough, we can still call each other brothers in the future. Who would have thought, at least for me, that I flew 30 hours across the globe to be here spending most of my time being so involved in an organization. Throughout the Krispy Kreme event—from planning to execution to post-event analysis—we all not only learned how to get things done efficiently, but we also discovered how much fun we could have while realizing that teamwork is the key to success.

On a more serious note of my passion to this fraternity, I always strive for the development of our brothers. I believe that to grow as a chapter requires higher individual intellectual contribution. That was why every team member had a project on hand to lead the rest of the team, including me, to complete the task.

At the end of this blog post, I would like to take this opportunity to advertise about our upcoming big event, which is during Relays Week. We will be tabling to sell homemade candles to bring in more contributions for our beloved Gamma Iota Sigma. I hope to see you there!

 

With Gamma Love,

Sean Ho

VP of Finance