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Phi Sigma Sigma chapter installed at IU Kokomo
December 11, 2003 | |||||
KOKOMO, Ind.—Angie Pepper of Noblesville was excited a few days before the installation of IU Kokomo’s first national sorority. “We’ll finally be able to call each other ‘sister’,” she said with a broad smile.
Iota Epsilon Chapter of Phi Sigma Sigma sorority was officially installed at IU Kokomo on December 6, with 39 student members. Formed as a colony in September, Iota Epsilon joins 110 Phi Sigma Sigma chapters in the United States. Pepper, a psychology major, and Sarah Schroder of Logansport, studying dental hygiene, said they pledged to the sorority in order to get better acquainted with other students. “I’m just so glad I joined. I’ve made a lot of friends,” Schroder said. Colony members developed a family feeling quickly, according to Pepper. “When one member’s grandmother got sick and she had to miss class, other members in her classes took notes for her.” The chapter’s scholarship committee is forming study groups and has helped members match up for academic tutoring under its “I Need Help/I Can Help” program. Members have also bonded during movie parties and volunteering at campus events. “I’m really looking forward to getting the chapter organized, so we can do more things in the community,” Schroder said. The installation marked “a very special day for this campus,” said Chancellor Ruth Person. “We have turned another corner in student life programming by bringing a nationally affiliated group to IU Kokomo.” (Phi Sigma Sigma is part of the National Panhellenic Conference.) Person praised chapter members for their work during the more than year-long effort to introduce Greek life on campus. “They’re the ones who really did it.” “I have seen a dedication in the women [of Iota Epsilon] that continues to impress me,” said Corinne Wade of Fishers, key chapter advisor. “This really shows that they want to make the chapter a success.” An alumna of Theta Theta chapter at IU South Bend (IUSB), Wade helped Iota Epsilon members write a constitution and understand the organization’s national policies. Phi Sigma Sigma’s emphasis on welcoming members from all walks of life and backgrounds makes the sorority a “good fit” for IU Kokomo, Wade believes. “As a commuter campus, you have many students who are of ‘non-traditionalage’ (i.e., older than 24),” she said. “Phi Sigma Sigma welcomes diversity in student populations and believes that chapters are enhanced because of it.” IU Kokomo faculty and administrators “have been extremely helpful and accommodating” to the needs of the fledging group, Wade added, particularly administrative advisors Sarah Hawkins, director of Student Development and Campus Life, and Cathy Hightower, director of Alumni Relations and Public Affairs. Additional sorority alumnae advisors are Patricia Yarian of Warsaw and Juliana Patrick of South Bend, who both attended IUSB, and Melissa Schmidt of Indianapolis, a member of Beta Delta Chapter at Ohio University, Athens. Iota Epsilon Chapter will recruit additional members in February 2004. For additional information, visit http://www.iuk.edu/student/PhiSigmaSigma. Newly installed members of Iota Chapter, Phi Sigma Sigma sorority, are listed by hometown and academic major:
Claypool: Leslie Herendeen, criminal justice
Denver: Mary Hall, elementary education
Galveston: Brittany Clark, business
Greentown: Samantha Coate, elementary education, and Casey Washam, elementary education
Kokomo: Jennifer Bryant, elementary education; Stephanie Calvert, psychology; Weida Caraballo, guided study; Shantel Cienfuegos, business; Jessie Dillard, psychology; Jenna Easter, elementary education; Kelly Flack, English; Tracey Gabbert, communication arts; Laura Hawkins, pre-radiography; Amy Hewitt, business; Amber Kirk, dental hygiene; Jessica Mamaril, business; Reeta Piirala-Skoglund, finance and economics; Leah Sand, English; Echo Shappell, sociology; Meghan Smith, psychology and business; Christina Sommer, psychology; Angela Tanner, psychology; Brooke Wilson, elementary education; and Casey Zehner, psychology
Logansport: Jennifer Hamm, University Division; Nikki Schramm, nursing; and Sarah Schroder, dental hygiene
Macy: Emily Alwine, mathematics
Marion: Carrie Gamble, pre-radiography
Mexico: Betheny Parson, dental hygiene
Noblesville: Eryn Ilhardt, psychology, and Angela Pepper, psychology
Peru: Rebekah Walker, University Division, and Billie Williams, pre-radiography
Sims: Tara Yeakle, guided study
Tipton: Amanda Collis, management and human resources, and Jeanie Savage, criminal justice
Walton: Haley Deeter, elementary education
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