Gamma Pi Gets 10 Fabulous New Members!

Some of our active sisters eagerly awaiting the arrival of our new members.

Becca, Paige, Hillary, Kara, Alex, Frances, Hayley and Michelle
Some of our new members at bid day.

Gamma Pi would like to congratulate and welcome 10 new members into our chapter. We are so excited to have them experience true sisterhood and learn the ideals we uphold.

Congratulations, Holly!

Holly (Woodhouse) Hammonds (alum) gave birth to a beautiful baby boy at 6:47pm on September 22nd. Bradley Jacob Hammonds was born 8.2 pounds and 20 1/2 inches.
Holly and her husband Scott are enjoying time with baby Bradley who, as you can see in the pictures above, is absolutely adorable.

Congratulations, Holly! We can't wait to meet him!

Michal Levitas: singing her way to the top

After her extensive education in Vocal Performance (including international courses), Michal Levitas (alum) will be gracing audiences with her presence yet again this weekend at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. She is going to be a guest soprano in the Choral Arts Society of Washington Chorus and the National Symphony Orchestra's Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with their new conductor Christoff Eschenbach.

We all miss hearing Michal's lovely voice singing the liebestraum but we're happy other people get the experience her true talent.

Congratulations and Good Luck - Aim High, Michal!

Are you an alumnae with exciting news you'd like to share? Email phisigalumnirelations@gmail.com or message Fay GammaPi Chertkoff on Facebook.

Recruitment!

It's that time of the semester again. Fall recruitment picked up with full speed at PHA Orientation on Monday night. Over 80 girls came out to rush 5 sororities, one of which is the Gamma Pi chapter.

After meeting so many lovely ladies, we hosted a Philanthropy night. Sister and Potentials made banners for the NKF Walk in DC on October 2nd and Gamma Pi's Race for Autism on October 9th at UMBC. Discussion about individual community service and our National and Local Philanthropies filled the room and offered plenty to talk about throughout the night.

Other highlights of recruitment will include social and sisterhood activities. Check back for pictures from the events and more posts about recruitment including updates from Thursday's Luau and Saturday's Yacth Party.

For more information about our events, visit http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=2249343022 and scroll down to see the events box.

Sam Bryant for Miss Sinergy 2010!

Sam Bryant is hoping to compete in the Miss Sinergy 2010 pageant in D.C. The competition raises funds and awareness for breast cancer. The winner of the pageant is able to promote any national or international charity of her choice for a 12 month reign.

Go vote for Sam to enter the top 20 contestants so she gets a chance to compete in the pageant!

http://misssinergy.com/

Click on Miss Sinergy and then click on Top 20.

Steph Pully: UMBC's service-learning advocate

Steph Pully (Bursar) is currently the Shriver Center Senior Intern. She assists in running the service-learning program that the Shriver Center operates by interacting with all the other
student service-learning interns. Each intern works for a specific service site.

Steph dedicates a large chunk of her time to making sure the program runs smoothly and greatly enjoys her internship.

Want to learn more about service-learning opportunities? Visit http://shrivercenter.umbc.edu/service.html.

Julia Smearman: helping Chinese students succeed

Recent Gamma Pi alum, Julia Smearman, is currently teaching English in Changsha, China as part of the World Teach program. Julia will be in China for a year and deferred her enrollment to the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies Masters Program until she arrives home.

For more information about the Wolrd Teach program, visit http://www.worldteach.org/.

Gamma Pi participates in the DC NKF walk

Some sisters snuggle up to keep warm at Rock - A -Thon last fall.
Rock-A-Thon is another philanthropic event where Gamma Pi donates to the NKF.

The national philanthropy of Phi Sigma Sigma is the Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation which donates directly to the National Kidney Foundation. Gamma Pi has always been dedicated to going above and beyond when it comes to raising funds for this cause.

This year the Gamma Pi chapter will be participating in the NKF Walk in DC on October 2nd. If you'd like to make a donation or join our team, please visit http://donate.kidney.org/site/TR?team_id=81361&pg=team&fr_id=2790&et=Kpd-kJk6eZGk1-Y8bxe3Jg..&s_tafId=31842.

Katie Gauvin: making strides for MS research

Last spring, Katie Gauvin (scholarship chair) put together a team for the MS walk at Towson University in honor of her mother who suffers from the disease. She is currently the winner of the MS t-shirt design contest, which she decorated after completing the walk.

To learn more about MS or to vote for Katie's design, please visit http://www.iwalkbecause.org/index.aspx.

Steph Layne has done it again!

Stephanie Layne (sisterhood/sunshine chair) has just been appointed as the Graduate Student Association Senator for the Sociology Department at UMBC.

Steph is always aiming high and making the sisters of Gamma Pi proud. She never misses an opportunity to become an emerging leader in the UMBC community.

Keep up the great work, Steph, and we know you're going to do a great job!