Nu
Pi Chapter, Cal State Fullerton
The Nu Pi
chapter of Kappa Omicron Nu, now in its second year at
California State University, Fullerton, has made its mark on
campus. As of the 2005-2006 academic school year, our chapter is now
open to students of the following Human Science majors: Child
& Adolescent Studies, Human Services, and Kinesiology.
During the fall semester of 2005, we were able to
enlist approximately forty new members, and our chapter
continues to grow.
The fall
semester of 2005 was full of events hosted by our chapter,
including an Induction ceremony in early November, in which we
inducted about forty new members and recognized the academic
achievements of our fellow inductees.
We were graced with the presence of many of our
University faculty, administration staff, students, and their
family and friends who came and showed their support.
Our keynote speaker, Dr. Zinder, addressed “honor”
and what it meant to be honorable, in what became one of the
memorable moments of the night.
The evening was complemented by great food and music
and wonderful people, all which contributed to the
overwhelming success of the ceremony.
During the fall
semester, we were also able to organize a workshop on writing
successfully in APA format.
This workshop was conducted by another outstanding
faculty member from within the Department of Kinesiology, Dr.
Wiersma. We had a
great turnout for this event and were also able to recruit a
few more members as well.
Kappa Omicron Nu’s Nu Pi Chapter is committed to
enhancing leadership skills through our trend-setting
organization.
Striving for
creative concepts and innovative ideas in serving their
community, the Nu Pi Chapter achieved tremendous success while
impacting the lives of children in the hospitals of Orange
County. Project
Kare Bears, the teddy bear drive that would reach beyond the
walls of Cal State Fullerton, is one example of our commitment
to making a difference. In
the fall of 2005, the Nu Pi Chapter launched it’s first
annual Project Kare Bears. The immediate goal of this holiday
project was to attempt to deflect the children’s attention
from their difficult circumstances through their cuddly
companions. The
executive board members were able to gather more than 200
stuffed animals and deliver them to St. Jude Hospital and
Orange County Children’s Hospital.
The commitment and participation from all who donated,
including the faculty, made the project the tremendous success
that it was. “Touching the lives of those whose future may be unknown,
is proof that a few caring people truly can make a big
difference,” says Tim Snyder, the KON board member who
organized the event.
Kappa Omicron
Nu’s Nu Pi Chapter will continue to strive and become an
organization that is more significant and active within the
community campus each semester.
Aside from the many projects and workshops our chapter
sponsors, our Honor Society participates in several
campus-wide events. Such
events include Discoverfest and Honors Week.
These two events offer the opportunity for our Honor
Society to promote our organization and recruit members, as we
are able to host tables providing students with information
regarding our Kappa Omicron Nu Honor Society.
During Honors Week, we were able to gather canned foods
from our members as well as from other students wanting to
contribute to the canned food drive.
The canned foods were then collected and donated to the
Orange County Food Bank.
Kappa Omicron
Nu’s Nu Pi Chapter is also associated with and recognized by
the Honors Council and the College Interclub Council, on
campus. This
Honors Council serves as an umbrella organization for all the
Honor Societies on campus, in which representatives of each of
the Honor Societies organize events such as the Honors Fair to
better serve the students and local community.
The College Interclub Council is a branch of the
University’s student government ASI, Associated Students
Inc., which governs all organizations within the College,
distributing funds for scholarships, fellowships and special
events that are academic-based.
It is important to note that the many successes could
not have been possible without the dedication, persistence and
commitment put forth by the executive board, namely: Carmen
Renteria (President), Kristin Werner (Vice President), Bonnie
Lutz (Secretary), Stephanie Luk (Treasurer), Mark Gonzalez
(Editor, Publicity Manager, Honors Council Representative),
Ariana Mota (Events Coordinator), and Tim Snyder (Inter-Club
Council Representative).
As for the
Spring of 2006, Kappa Omicron Nu’s Nu Pi Chapter plans on
hosting another series of workshops including a Stress
Management workshop, Personal Statement workshop, and a
workshop to be put on by a Motivational Speaker.
Our Honor Society also plans on hosting the
end-of-the-year awards ceremony for the Department of
Kinesiology. We
look forward to another successful semester.
Kappa
Delta Rho Chapter
Tabitha Bontrager — Olivet Nazarene University
As a new president
I wanted to make a difference with my school's chapter of
Kappa Omicron Nu. I met with my adviser and we talked about
activities for the year. She gave me a packet she had received
and I read through the materials. It was in the contents of
that envelope where I learned each chapter is expected to
perform a required program. This news was new to both my adviser
and me, so I did a little research. Reviewing the society's
Web site I found the different program prototypes. It looked
like it would be a great motivating assignment for our little
group, and I was ready for the challenge.
We met as a group,
discussed the topics, voted, and made a decision. Since doing
this project I've come to learn that being a president of
a small chapter is not as easy as it looks. What they say
about leaders and followers is true. Some people are naturally
leaders and some people just follow. I did not think that
it would be so hard for people to give their input, but for
some reason it was. Not many members seemed to have an opinion;
they just wanted to go with the flow. So I set the flow and
everyone went with it. We chose the "Professionalism
and Career Networking" topic.
Our plan was to
present the seminar as an open forum to the student body near
the beginning of the second semester. As incentive we made
it free and offered door prizes. We took the pre-made PowerPoint
and added some creative quotes about professionalism. Three
of us did the presenting while the other members helped by
gathering information or doing other tasks. For a little interaction
we had some members dress "unprofessionally" and
then we asked the audience what was wrong and what was right.
I think all of us were a little worried that no one would
show up, but on the night of the seminar we had 20 people
trickle in. Of course some them were FACS majors who would
receive Professional Development Units from our department,
but there were others as well.
Of the majors outside
the FACS department in attendance were communications majors,
engineering majors, business- related majors, a youth ministry
major, psychology majors, and an elementary education major.
Other demographics taken to assess the audience were gender
and year of schooling. There were 17 females, 3 males, 5 freshman,
9 sophomores, 5 juniors, and 1 senior. As this was the first
year for our chapter to perform such an undertaking we had
attendees fill out a survey to receive this information. There
were also questions about what they had learned and suggestions
for the future. Many people answered that they learned it
was important to contact someone in their desired profession.
Others said they learned the importance of ethics on the job.
Some people said they learned the importance of being a member
of a professional association as a student. This was something
we really stressed because it is an important factor in the
FACS department at our institution.
So we made it a
point to ask on the survey how many people were currently
members of a professional organization. Of the 20 persons
surveyed 6 of them were members of a professional association,
and 3 of those were from the FACS department. Of the 14 who
were not members, 5 indicated that they would become members
of an organization within the next 6 months. The question
of whether our seminar influenced their decision was not asked,
but it would be nice to know that we helped encourage others
to make such a decision regarding professionalism. We did,
however, ask if the seminar was helpful and 17 people gave
a "yes" with comments, one person said no, and two
others just gave suggestions for making the seminar better.
I was very pleased
with the results, and although some would say that 20 people
in attendance is hardly something to get excited about, I
felt that our chapter had done a great thing that day. We
had learned to work together and accomplish something outside
our little group and ourselves. I found that it was hard to
motivate members to participate and volunteer their time when
there was no obvious reward in return. I like to think that
all members of Kappa Omicron Nu recognize the importance of
giving back to their communities. Although that may not be
entirely true, I felt this project helped our group to do
just that. I am grateful that the national association has
instituted such a requirement for chapters. Some chapters
may be leaders when it comes to performing community events,
but others of us are still just learning to follow. I think
that for Kappa Delta Rho the project allowed us to spread
our wings a bit and find out what we were really about.
Omicron Alpha
Kappa Chapter
Wanda Rummage — University of North Carolina,
Greensboro
A revitalization
of the service spirit of Kappa Omicron Nu has taken place
in Greensboro, North Carolina on the campus of the University
of North Carolina at Greensboro. The Omicron Alpha Kappa Chapter
of Kappa Omicron Nu takes great pride in the initiation of
what promises to be a long-standing spring service project.
Nineteen fifth-graders
from a local elementary school were invited to experience
the various departments within the School of Human Environmental
Sciences and explore the UNCG campus for a day. Bonds between
UNCG Kappa Omicron Nu members and the students were formed
before their first visit via e-mail and visits to the students'
classroom. Activities for the students encompassing the fundamental
ideas within each department (Human Development and Family
Studies, Textile Design and Merchandising, Food and Nutrition,
and Housing Interior and Design) were created and implemented
by Kappa Omicron Nu departmental representatives. The students
went on tours of the library and residence halls and had lunch
in the cafeteria with Kappa Omicron Nu members. The project
was much more than a great success. Not only has it renewed
the spirit of service into the OAK chapter of Kappa Omicron
Nu, it has also made an indelible impression on the lives
of all involved. Kappa Omicron Nu members learned that it
doesn't take much time or effort to add more hope and promise
to the lives of children. The children learned that the university
experience is unrestricted for those who choose to make it
their own, and that support and guidance for their own educational
careers is readily at hand.
We hope to continue
this bond next year with a new fifth grade class.
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