Sisterhood

The Sisterhood Chair is the "Sunshine" of our chapter. The sisterhood committee is designed to acknowledge exceptional examples of sisterhood as well as designating a particular sister, as voted on by her chapter, as "Sunshine of the Week." One is usually named "Sunshine of the Week" because of her generosity and care that she has shown towards a member of the chapter or because of her efforts towards a personal or chapter project. In addition to presenting this award, the sisterhood chair makes sure all upcoming birthdays are recognized.

Sisterhood themed events are held at least once a month so that the members of our chapter have a chance to enjoy each other's company in social situation. No boys are allowed but do from time to time open up our events to other women- inclusiveness, after all is one of our core values.

Last Thursday, the Phi Sigs gathered for a "Spooky" Halloween themed sisterhood. Sisters decorated pumpkins and exchanged their favorite trick or treat candy with each other. Upcoming sisterhoods will most likely have a festive holiday feel in accordance with the holiday season!

A big thank you goes out to Michelle McCoy, Revathi Chandra, and Kaitlyn McNaney hosting the event at their on campus apartment.

An even bigger thank you goes out to Stephanie Layne! Stephanie has served as our Sisterhood Chair for almost a full year now. She has gone above and beyond her call of duty making sure that the sun is always shining in Phi Sigma Sigma. Sisterhood Chair is not the only position Stephanie holds in the chapter; she also serves on the Executive Board as our Scholarship Chair. Whether she's planning awesome sisterhoods or making sure that sisters get recognized for their hard work, she is always smiling and always taking the time to make everyone happy. She truly embodies what it means to be a sister and a Phi Sigma Sigma.

You are the best, Steph! Thank you!

Picture: (Top) Sisterhood and Scholarship Chair, Stephanie Layne; (Bottom) Sisters decorate pumpkins at the "Spooky Sisterhood."

Why So Much About Homecoming?

Recently, there has been a lot of blogging about Phi Sig's participation in the Homecoming 2009 festivities. Why is that? Sister, Katie Dix has served as the Homecoming chair for the past two years (2008 and 2009) and was happy to include her fellow Phi Sigs in the process. Whether it was hosting the Talent Show, burning mixed CDs for events, serving thousands of chicken wings at the tailgate, setting up tables and chairs, or just showing up for to support her- the Gamma Pi's found some way to contribute to the cause.

Katie is not the the only sister involved on campus though. Every member of the chapter is required to participate in at least two activities outside of Phi Sigma Sigma. Phi Sigs participate in a variety of campus activities including SGA, Service Learning, Crew, Admissions Ambassadors, Dance Team and many more! The Phi Sigs really know how to make their presence made on their campus and in the community.

Picture: Phi Sigs gather in the Student Events Board office to assemble Homecoming Promotions.

UMBC Talent Show

On Friday, October 16, Jen Kent and Katie Dix hosted the UMBC Homecoming Talent Show.

It was hard to capture a great picture of the two on stage but they did an amazing job! Way to go, ladies!

Extra, Extra! Read All About It!

Our new Gamma Pi, Lia Roper is a new staff writer for The Retriever Weekly, UMBC's campus newspaper. Be on the look-out for her articles every Tuesday! Congratulations, Lia- we are so proud of you!

Greek Challenge

On October 7, Phi Sig participated in the UMBC
Athletic Greek Challenge. All Greek chapters were asked to participate and were judged on chapter attendance, attire (black and gold/ Greek letters) and spirit during the UMBC Men's Soccer game.

The Phi Sigs gathered in Lot #17 prior to the game to make banners, blow up balloons and decorate their cars. Heather Jones' car was even transformed into a retriever- complete with a giant red tongue and wagging tail.

Quite a few sisters had to leave for class once the game started but the chapter still managed to grasp 2nd place in the challenge! Congratulations, ladies!

Pictures: (Top) Stephanie Layne and Kaitlyn McNaney take a break from blowing up balloons to pose for a picture; (Middle) Sisters gather in Lot #17 prior to the soccer game(Bottom) Kelsey Williamson,Lia Roper and Katie Gauvin paint a banner for the the game.

Midnight Madness!

On Friday, October 16, the Phi Sigs headed to the UMBC RAC to participate in Midnight Madness!

While most our sisters were in the cheering in the stands, some of our members played a more active role in the program. Katie Dix and Jen Kent took the stage to announce the winners of the Homecoming Talent Show and New Member, Olga Etkina, performed with the UMBC Dance Team. Way to go, Phi Sig!

Picture: (Top) Sapphire Sisters, Sam Bryant and Casey Little in the fan section; (Bottom) New Member, Olga Etkina, with the UMBC dance team. Olga is the third from the top left.

Congratulations, Christine!

Christine Stryzak, Gamma Pi's current Archon and member of the UMBC Equestrian Team, competed in her first horse show on Sunday, October 4 at Goucher College. She competed in the Walk Trot Division and received third place! She will be competing with the UMBC Team in three more shows in the next coming weeks and is looking forward to updating everyone on hers and the rest of the team's progress. Congratulations, Christine!

Kidney Walk

On October 3, Phi Sigma Sigma traveled to Georgetown to participate in the National Kidney Foundation Kidney Walk. Together, the chapter raised almost $2000 and is still accepting donations! The chapter would like to thank all of our friends and family that supported us in this effort- we couldn't have done it without you!

Welcome Aboard!

Gamma Pi would like to welcome the following women as New Members of Phi Sigma Sigma:

Sophie Cazarez

Olga Etkina

Katie Gauvin

Neha Kapoor

Kathrine Komowal

Casey Little

Andrea Murphy

Congratulations, ladies! We wish you the best of luck (and tons of fun) during your New Member process!

Welcome, Lia!

The Gamma Pi chapter has an amazing new sister- Lia Roper! Lia transferred to UMBC from Stevenson University, where she was a dedicated sister of Phi Sigma Sigma. She is a biology major, is very outgoing, and loves to dance!

She has already proven to be a great asset to the Gamma Pi chapter- contributing in meetings and providing support for our sisterhood. It feels like she's always been here, and we are very excited that she is part of our chapter.

Congratulations, Lia, and welcome!