Phi Sigs in the Summer!

Many college students see their summer vacation as a time to relax. But to Phi Sigs, summer break is yet another opportunity to Aim High! Here are a few of our sisters who are making great strides for their goals in their downtime..

Revathi Chandra, our beloved Sisterhood Development Chair, is in Belgium! She is interning for Times Warner Public Policy Office in Brussels. Her office works with the European Commission and the European Parliament on a number of different issues. She is having a great time, and we are so happy for her!

Sophie Cazarez, our wonderful Social chair, is in her hometown of Los Angeles, California interning for KTLA, a local television station. Within that department, she working mostly for Sam Rubin, a journalist who reports for the KTLA morning entertainment news, and "Hollywood Uncensored," a show on ReelzChannel. Sophie is a Media and Communication Studies major, so this is right up her alley. We are so proud of her for Aiming High!

Last, but certainly not least, our awe-inspiring Archon, Rachana Haliyur, is spending her summer at New York University's Summer Undergraduate Research Program. This is a highly prestigious program for juniors and seniors aspiring to attain M.D. or Ph.D degrees. Each student enrolled in this program is given a specific research project and are expected to perform at a graduate level. Rachana will be applying to medical schools in the fall, and we know that her participation in this program will impress every admission committee she meets! Keep up the great work, Rachana!

Maria Satyshur was in the Baltimore Sun!

Maria Satyshur, recent alum of the Gamma Pi chapter, was recently featured in an article in the Baltimore Sun! The article discussed Harry Potter, and Maria was quoted on the topic of the importance of the series in her own development as a writer. Way to go, Maria!

Here is a link to the full article:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/movies/bs-ae-harry-potter-impact-20110713,0,31098.story?page=2

Baltimore's Dog Whisperer!

Our Sisterhood chair, Becca Steinbach, has recently taken classes to become a fully-certified Dog Whisperer! In the meantime, she is offering her services to any dog owners in need! Becca has received training to work with dogs that have problems with barking, jumping, aggression, and more!

We are so proud of Becca! Through hard work and dedication, she is turning one of her lifelong passions into a reality. Keep aiming high, Becca!

If you have a "problem" dog and think you need professional help, please refer to Becca's Dog Whisperer facebook page for additional contact information: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150309611843455&set=a.484022893454.279103.687368454&type=1&theater

National Kidney Walk

Summer is in the air and once again it is time to start planning for the National Kidney Walk. Since Fall 2008, the Gamma Pi Chapter of Phi Sigma Sigma has participated in the Kidney Walk; that year we set a goal for $1913 and raised almost $3,000 in just a few weeks!

Last year, many alumnae joined the Gamma Pi team and together raised funds to support the Foundation. In hope of encouraging more ladies of Gamma Pi to participate in the event and creating some friendly competition within the chapter, a Gamma Pi Alumnae team will participate in the Walk this year alongside their collegiate sisters.

For those of you who do not know...the NKF's Kidney Walks are designed to help people understand the need for early detection of kidney disease. There are over 26 million people that have chronic kidney disease and another 20 million are at risk. The NKF's Kidney Walk presents an occasion for dialysis patients, organ transplant recipients, donor families, living donors, the medical communities, and the general public to celebrate LIFE and support the Foundation's mission. In addition to raising funds for research and help for patients and their families, the Kidney Walk is a great way to raise awareness about the National Kidney Foundation and bring the community together. This would also be a wonderful opportunity to meet collegiate members of the Gamma Pi chapter and other Phi Sigs that will be participating.

If you are a Phi Sig Alumnae, join the team or make a donation! If you are unable to make this event on October 15, please consider joining the team as an "online walker" and participating in the team's fundraising efforts. If you have any questions or would like to talk about the team or the event, please feel free to contact Katie Dix at kdix23@gmail.com.

Diokete Hupsala!

Click here to view the Gamma Pi Alumnae Team Page.

Congratulations Seniors!

We are so happy to congratulate Maria, Hannah, Samantha, Kelsey, Leanne, Gina, and Tash on graduating from UMBC on May 23rd, 2011. There are no words that can express our pride and joy to see each of our amazing seniors go out into the world and embody our core values and lessons learned through Phi Sigma Sigma. Each of these women have truly exemplified our open motto, Aim High, in their own unique way, and will be dearly missed. However, there is a saying amongst Phi Sigma Sigmas that once a Phi Sigma Sigma, always a Phi Sigma. We are sure we will see you all soon at upcoming events in the fall as alum. We love you all and miss you so much already. Diokete Hupsala!

Greek Week 2001: We're In It To Win It!

Every year, UMBC Greeks from every chapter participate in a wonderful weeklong event known as Greek Week. This is an opportunity to learn about the amazing men and women that make up the different chapters of our unique Greek Life at UMBC, as well as a time to flaunt our pride as powerful, dynamic women of Phi Sigma Sigma! The week was jam-packed with an event per day; most of these events were competitions and all points earned by each chapter were tallied up at the end to decide the Greek Week Winner. Phi Sig particularly dominated at an event called Greek Games, which was an event composed of competitions and races. We won every competition! Many sisters also enjoyed Service Day, an all-day long event in which every chapter was awarded points quantified by amount of service done! Here are some pictures of sisters participating in Greek Week!

Sisters participating in a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich-making event. All sandwiches were given to a local homeless shelter!

Phi Sigs celebrate greek unity with the lovely sisters of Delta Phi Epsilon at our Greek Week Social. The brothers of Phi Kappa Sigma and Phi Beta Sigma were also in attendance.

Gorgeous Phi Sigs at the end of Greek Week celebration, the Greek Ball!

Sisters participating in Service Day of Greek Week, picking up trash at the local Arbutus Middle School!

Sisters throwing up Phi Sig gang signs with the brothers of Phi Beta Sigma, the fraternity we teamed up with to organize "Pie a Phi," during Relay for Life!

Steph Pully: Service Extraordinaire!

In early April, Steph Pully, our amazing Vice-Archon, was awarded the Student Award for Civic Engagement! This is a monumental accomplishment as Steph is the very first person to receive this award. Through this award, the Shriver Center recognized her never-failing devotion to service and she was able to give the monetary portion of the award to College Gardens, a program where she previously volunteered last year. Steph is an amazing representation of one of core values, Leadership through Service, and she is constantly aiming high! Steph, you are an example for us all.

Here is a link to the announcement on umbc.edu:

http://my.umbc.edu/groups/umbcnews/news/6138