Alpha Chi Omega Newsletter VOLUME 1 ISSUE 2 December 6, 2009 Happy end of the semester! Dear Parents, As another semester at MIT winds down, we would like to share with you some of the things Alpha Chi Omega has done over the past few months. Inside This Issue 1 Message from the Incoming President, Emily Shao 2 Message from Housing Corporation 3 DVA Week 4 Sophomore Semiformal at the Improv Asylum 5 Initiation and Revelations 6 Election Results for 2010 Incoming President Emily Shao is excited to take leadership of the chapter! Please feel free to browse through the newsletter to read more about our week-long philanthropy event to support Domestic Violence Awareness, our fall semiformal at the Improv Asylum, AXO Fondue, Initiation and Revelations, and many more. We have enjoyed being your Parents Chairs this semester, and hope that you have liked hearing about what Alpha Chi is doing. Happy holidays, and have a fantastic 2010! Sincerely, Minh Huynh-Le 10 and Alex Wright 11 2009 Parents Chairs Message from the Incoming President Parents and friends, I am Emily Shao, president elect for 2010. Alpha Chi Omega at MIT has experienced many successes this past semester. From a well attended annual open house, to a successful family weekend brunch, to raising more than $1500 for the local Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, sisters have taken advantage of the plethora of opportunities to get involved. I look forward to contributing to the growth of the sisterhood and the development of the 130 talented, young women. When I first joined AXO my freshman year, I had no idea how much I would gain from the friendships, support, and strength of my sisters. Now that I am in a position to serve the chapter, I hope to bring a similar experience to all the women in our chapter. Regarding my background, I am a junior studying mechanical engineering and management science. Other than classes and Alpha Chi, I am also a coxswain for the varsity lightweight men s crew team. My past work experiences include internships at Cummins, Weiss Asset Management, and Barclays Capital. I am very excited about the upcoming year and look forward to working with my executive team to improve an already very strong and unified chapter. Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. Sincerely, Emily Shao eshao@mit.edu
ALPHA CHI OMEGA NEWSLETTER - PAGE 2 PAGE 2 A Message from the Housing Corporation Dear Parents and Family Members, Alpha Chi s home at MIT: As the Alumnae House Corporation president of Alpha Chi Omega, I want to welcome you all to the MIT and Alpha Chi community. Having attended MIT myself, I understand the pressures that are on all MIT students, and I greatly appreciated the support and network that joining a sorority gave me. The House Corporation oversees our beautiful mansion in Kenmore Square and is made up of alumnae volunteers. We manage and assist on all repairs and maintenance on the building, advise the house manager and other executive officers of the chapter, and represent our alumnae community of over 500 successful women to the MIT administration, the City of Boston, and the MIT Greek alumni community. We house 25 sisters in our home during the academic year, and open up our rooms to female MIT students during the summer. Our chapter house has, for the past several years, had a waiting list for those interested in moving in, and while there are several undergraduate officers that are encouraged to live in the house, we do not require sisters to move into the house. The chapter's Resident Adviser, Emily Hayes, lives in the house year-round and ensures the safety ALPHA ALPHA NEWSLETTER - PAGE 2 of the women at all times and hosts study breaks and group outings. In addition, the Corporation relies on the support of our National Housing Corporation to oversee our corporation's finances and assist in property management. While each member of our House Corporation has a career and family of her own, we all work together to ensure that our chapter house is the safest, most beautiful, and most soughtafter residence for our women. Our ultimate goal at the end of the day is to make 478 Commonwealth Avenue not only a place to sleep and study for our undergraduates, but also to make it a home for the women of Alpha Chi Omega. I welcome any feedback or questions you may have for the corporation. You can email me or call me anytime. Sincerely, Raffaela Wakeman, AXO '05 MIT '08 SM '09 (518) 577-8874 raffaela@alum.mit.edu
ALPHA CHI OMEGA NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 PAGE 3 PAGE 3 Every fall, Alpha Chi sisters put together a week-long series of events to raise money and awareness for the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. Sisters work at a booth in Lobby 10 all week and hand out flyers with information about domestic violence and rape. We also sell carnations at this booth for anyone to give to their friends/family. Two more events were held throughout the week: 1. Luminaries to show support to DV survivors and 2. A Subway charity luncheon to close out the week. Thank you to the DVA Week Committee for a great week: Minhee Sung 10, Katie Creasey 11, Rui Du 11, and Jessica Bainbridge-Smith 11, and also to the VP Fraternity Relations, Jihye Kim 10. VP Fraternity Relations Jihye Kim 10 poses in front of the Clothesline Project while displaying a great sense of humor. Rui Du 11, Steph Leger 11, and Jessica BainbridgeSmith pose in front of luminaries. An image of the lit up luminaries candles in front of the student center. New sisters Marcelle Nashief 13, Julia Titarelli 13, Liz Simon 13, and Audra Podany 13 show their Alpha Chi spirit at Luminaries!
ALPHA CHI OMEGA NEWSLETTER - PAGE 4 PAGE 4 The Sophomore Class Planned an Amazing Fall Semiformal! Contrary to popular belief, Alpha Chi s Sophomore Semiformal is not just an event for the sophomore class! Sophomore Semi got its name because it is our Fall semiformal (for all sisters) planned by a committee of sophomore sisters. This year, we went to the Improv Asylum in the North End, where we enjoyed comedy and the company of our sisters. We also had some sisters on blind dates, for our fall semiformal is also an opportunity to set up your sisters. The Event is co-named My Tie, for the dates walk in, and their ties are given to the female dates! All in all, a great night! Thanks to the committee: Jane Chen-Liang, Stephanie Moran, Dordy Sugano, Julie Harrow (all class of 2012). Seniors Anya Shafiro and Katie Thomas. Sisters (and some dates!) pose for a glamour shot at the AXO mansion. Juniors Katie Creasey and Carrie Deboer. Seniors Yeseul Kim, Yuri Hanada, and Minhee Sung.
PAGE ALPHA CHI5OMEGA NEWSLETTER - PAGE 6 PAGE 5 Initiation and Revelations On November 7 we officially welcomed our 37 sisters. The entire chapter celebrated as our 37 transitioned from new members to sisters of the Theta Omicron Chapter. Many thanks to our Warden Jennifer Buz 10 and VP Fraternity Relations Jihye Kim 10 for planning a great initiation. In the week leading up to initiation, the entire chapter participated in inspiration week. Each new sisters big secretly gave her new little gifts and notes of inspiration throughout the week. On Friday November 6, 2009, The Alpha Chill Family celebrates their new additions inspiration week culminated in our ceremony of revelations, were each big sister revealed herself to her new little sister. Many thanks for to our Mystagogue Chairs Amanda Grue 11, Sylvie Polsky 11, Maria Frendberg 11, and Tayina Tardeeu 10 for a wonderful revelations and to our VP Education Lauren Cipicchio 10 for a job well done. Big Sister Lauren Rodda 11 reveals herself to her new Little Sister Miriam ZachauWalker 13 Our lovely new sisters! Kasey Rowe 10, Jordan Taylor 11, Sandra Chen 10, and Margaret Cunniff 13 pose for a family picture The Junior Class celebrates after Initiation and welcomes new addition Jillian Reddy 11
ALPHA CHI OMEGA NEWSLETTER - PAGE 5 PAGE 6 Election Results On Sunday October 25 we elected our new executive board for 2010. Led by Emily Shao 11 as President, the new board will continue with the wonderful work done in 2009 by the current executive board. A few weeks later on November 8 we concluded our elections cycle with our non-exec elections. We would like to thank all of the officers completing there terms and wish the best of luck to those starting there new terms: 2010 Executive Board: President Emily Shao 11 VP Chapter Relations and Standards Alex Wright 11 VP Finance - Lauren Sless 12 VP Fraternity Relations Amanda Fried 11 VP Education Amanda Grue VP Intellectual Development Katie Dalrymple 12 VP Communications Nicole Holm 11 VP Membership Development Julie Harrow 12 Panhellenic Delegate Amber Stangroom 12 VP Recruitment Amy Jacobi 11 VP Risk Management Jessica Bainbridge-Smith 11 VP Alumni Relations Elise Hens 12 2010 Non-Exec Officers Vice President Chapter Relations and Standards Freshman CRSB Rep - Steph Greene Sophomore CRSB Rep - Katie Kauffman Junior CRSB Rep - Shireen Warnock Senior CRSB Rep - Lauren Cipicchio Attendance Chair - Cynthia Latortue Vice President Finance Assistant VP Finance - Sheila Lee Vice President Fraternity Relations Community Service Chairs - Connie Lu, Jennifer Fasman, Elizabeth Phillips DVA Week Fall Event Committee - Joann Lin, Cynthia Latortue, Sheila Lee, Sarah Sprague Lip Sync Chairs - Katelyn Snyder, Grace Yao, Ingrid Chaires Parents Chairs - Elizabeth Phillips, Vivian Lee Warden - Steph Leger Vice President Education Assistant VP Ed - Cat Johnson Chi Connections Chairs - Kaitlyn Creasey, Jeanne Yu, Miriam Zachau Walker, Monica Isava KROM Chairs - Alex Jiang, Jessica Perez, Joann Lin, Lizzy Wei Retreat Planning Committee - Katrina Ellison, Margaret Leibovic, Katie Thomas Vice President Intellectual Development Assistant VP ID - Katherine Zhu Personal Development Chair - Claudia Richardson, Jennifer Buz Recognitions Chair - Carrie DeBoer Vice President Communications Historian - Katherine Zhu Webmaster - Vivian Lee Vice President Membership Development Carnation Ball Chairs - Jane Chen-Liang, Stephanie Moran, Dordy Sugano, Cat Johnson Social Chairs - Jane Chen-Liang, Anna Christensen Song Leader - Nifer Fasman Sports Chair - Becca Jackson Vice President Recruitment Assistant VP Recruitment - Katie Creasey College Recruitment Information Chair- Carrie DeBoer Vice President Risk Management Freshman Risk Representative- Sarah Sprague Sophomore Risk Representative - Robin D Junior Risk Representative - Steph Leger Senior Risk Representative - Emily Houston Vice President Alumnae Relations 2011 Class Agent - Shireen Warnock House Manager Assistant House Manager - Alicia Kaestli Steward - Lizzy Wei