2016 YEAR IN REVIEW

Another year has come and gone at 603 Kentucky Boulevard and the women of Alpha Mu have ensured that it is a year not to be forgotten. As always, our members have been busy juggling commitments to academics, service, friendships and family. However, a few new strides have also been made this year.

As many have heard, our beloved Facility Manager, Mama Gee, retired in May. The beginning of the fall semester required a little adjusting as we began a new school year without Mama Gee, but our new Facility Manager helped ease the transition. We welcomed Mama Kathy in August and have discovered a new reason to love her everyday since! Mama Kathy has been in the MU Greek community for a while. She previously managed another sorority and a fraternity, but we are determined to make Kappa Alpha Theta her favorite home in Greek Town! We are already so thankful for the endless love and candy Mama Kathy has shared with the women of Alpha Mu and we can’t wait to spend more time with her. We are even lucky enough to get to see her three-year-old grandson around the house fairly often, which is always a wonderful form of stress-relief.

While Mama Kathy is a wonderful addition to our home, Mama Gee is still missed by many. And so this fall we were able to initiate Ms. Paula Gee into the Kappa Alpha Theta sisterhood so that she may be a part of us, and us her, for the rest of our lives. The Alpha Mu Chapter is so lucky to have had the opportunity to know Mama Gee and we are absolutely delighted to now have her as a member of the Alpha Mu Chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta.

Mama Gee wasn’t the only new sister Alpha Mu received this year. In August we welcomed 82 beautiful, brilliant new members into our home and we have been absolutely thrilled with everything they have already brought to our chapter. You can learn more about each of them by checking out our new member spotlights posted earlier in the semester. We love MC ’16!

With the help of our wonderful new members, we were able to add a new component of our already successful fall philanthropy event, Flapjacks and Quarterbacks. In November, we hosted the first Theta 5k Glow Run benefitting Heart of Missouri CASA and The Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation. The race began at the chapter facility, wound through campus and back to the chapter facility where participants were welcomed into our home for our late night pancake dinner. Our Fall Philanthropy raised $14,500 in 2016.

To provide the best possible Theta experience for MC’ 16 and those to come, a few of our older members initiated several new programs this year. Chief Executive Officer, Maddie McMillian (MC ’13), began the Leading Women Speaker’s Series back in the spring semester and has continued to improve the program throughout the year. In October we were incredibly excited to welcome Senator and Alpha Mu Alumnae Claire McCaskill to one of our chapter meetings. Senator McCaskill shared what it meant to her to be an ambitious and successful woman and how her Theta experience shaped her into the woman she now is.

Additionally, Scholarship Director Sarah Gillespie (MC ’13) and MC ’13 Lily Zacharias began the Theta Career Mentors Program in the Fall 2015 semester. The program is designed to allow freshmen and sophomore members connect with a junior or senior member of their academic discipline for academic and career advice. Mentors help mentees select future courses, design resumes, apply for internships and much more.

A few more things the women of Alpha Mu have accomplished in 2016:

Continued facility renovations – we invite all alumnae to stop by and check out our newly renovated basement, TV room, laundry room and bedrooms! All bedrooms, the Facility Manager’s suite, the foyer & front rooms and all new studies are set to be complete by the beginning of 2017 recruitment.
Hosted an international student from the U.K.. We are so happy to have Bea join us at 603!
Had three members of MC ‘ 15 selected as part of Omicron Delta Kappa’s Top 14 Freshman. Congrats Jane Kielhofner, Becca Zeiger and Anna Jaoudi!
Placed 5th overall in 2016 Homecoming with our Cat in the Hat themed decorations and performance.
Sent another group of members on a Mizzou Alternative Break in Springfield, Missouri in November where they worked with Habitat for Humanity, The Boys and Girls Club and more.
Three members, Hope Watson (MC ’14), Ashleigh Atasoy (MC ’14) and Sarah Gillespie (MC ’13) along with two other Mizzou students began an organization on campus called Roots. Roots seeks to impact the Columbia community by providing art clinics at after school programs for low-income families. Learn more on their Facebook page, Roots at Mizzou, or by visiting them in the MU Student Center when you’re in town. We’re so proud of them!

The women of Alpha Mu continue to exceed expectations by engaging in the campus, community and world around them. We are so grateful for everything these women have come together to accomplish in 2016 and we can’t wait to see what 2017 will bring. Happy New Year!