The University of New Mexico, home of Gamma Beta Chapter, is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a beautiful city that enjoys ever clear and bright blue skies and is bounded by mountain ranges and inert volcanoes. Below these lie fertile valleys, yielding an abundance of fruit and vegetables. Sunsets are masterpieces, and the evening skyline is unsurpassed in brilliance. Albuquerque is a blend of Spanish, Mexican and Indian traditions.

The University of New Mexico was created by an act of the Territorial Legislature in 1889 and began full term instruction in 1892, almost 10 years before New Mexico became the 47th state in January 1912.

Alpha Gamma, a local sorority, was organized in 1914. When members expressed an interest in becoming a Kappa chapter in 1917, Grand Secretary Estelle Kyle Kemp, Colorado, inspected the group and plans were made for an installation. On April 5, 1918, Grand President Lydia Voris Kolbe, Akron, and three Colorado undergraduates initiated seventeen charter members. Gamma Beta became the 51st chapter of the second national sorority at UNM. Phi Mu was the first national sorority on this campus.

For a number of years Gamma Beta rented houses or used a rented dormitory room for meetings and activities. The first chapter house, built in 1931, was an Indian pueblo-style structure, in keeping with the campus architectural style. It housed 26 Kappas and cost approximately $29,000. The mortgage-burning ceremony took place at the Founders Day Banquet in 1948.

The UNM campus grew from 20 acres in 1892 to over 500 in 1966, and the enrollment increased proportionately. Gamma Beta found it needed more space. The current chapter house at 1620 Mesa Vista Road NE was completed November 14, 1966. Civil engineering students carrying placards of protest because the Kappas, who had been their across-the-street neighbors for 30 years, were moving staged an affectionate demonstration. There were tears as Gamma Beta left their hacienda but the new $325,444 multi-level white brick house offered New Mexican spaciousness of 19,000 square feet, more than enough room for 58 members.

Since April 5, 1918, the chain reaction of Gamma Beta’s accomplishments, small and large, personal and professional, continues to be felt. Rosalie Furry Doolittle is a nationally known rosarian and gardener, a recipient of the Outstanding Rosarian Award for the Pacific Southwest district of the American Rose Society. Her book, Southwest Gardening, received a national literary award from the Council of State Garden Clubs. Lucille Lattanner Reid Brock, whose paintings are in collections in 20 states and four foreign countries, is listed in the Who’s Who of American Women 1968-69, Who’s Who in the Arts, 1972, and in 2000 Women of Achievement, Devon, England 1971-72. The accomplishments of Harvena Richter, author of The Human Shore and Virginia Wolfe: The Inward Voyage, are enumerated in Authors’ and Writers’ Who’s Who, 2000 Women of Achievement, and Who’s Who of American Women, 1964-65.

Many Gamma Beta alumnae have remained in New Mexico to give of their time, effort and monies. As nurses, dental hygienists, hospital volunteers, and members of state and local hospital boards, Gamma Betas have shown a constant interest in meeting community health needs. They have been officers and volunteers for the New Mexico Rehabilitation Center Auxiliary and have raised funds necessary to purchase all the equipment for the Center’s Cleft Palate Clinic through the Albuquerque Alumnae Association. Alumnae contributions also aided in purchasing a bus for patient transport. Gamma Betas have presented dental health puppet programs to audiences of school children and gave Christmas parties for indigent children in a daycare center. They are an ever-present helping hand in the All Faiths Receiving Home, take part in urban renewal programs, and Albuquerque’s cultural programs. The alumnae association assumed the delightful task of furnishing the Brides’ Room at the University Memorial Chapel, built in 1963 to honor the deceased of World War II, and completed the project in 1972.

In an effort to maintain high educational standards, Gamma Betas have served not only as members of the University’s Board of Regents but as instructors from kindergarten to university level. The Albuquerque Alumnae Association contributes annually to the Kappa Memorial Scholarship Fund, originally known as the Irene Fee Lighton Memorial Fund. The fund has helped many Kappas complete work toward their degrees and is interest-free while the girls are in school. Panhellenic awards for outstanding scholarship dominate Gamma Beta trophy cases.

The educational atmosphere on this campus today is definitely space age, although there are reminders of the past. Current courses of study, chosen by today’s chapter members, include nuclear medicine and communicative disorders.

The First International World Hot Air Balloon Championship took place in Albuquerque in February 1973. A yellow balloon carried New Mexico’s first licensed female commercial hot air balloon pilots, both Gamma Beta alumnae.

Looking at Albuquerque’s skyline, Kappas can reflect upon the many accomplishments of Gamma Betas since 1918. Through the example of so many members the surroundings have become better and more beautiful. Gamma Beta has helped to achieve a more lasting skyline!

The previous information was excerpted from The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity, 1870-1976. The information that follows has been gleaned from available resources including Chapter History Reports, chapter meeting minutes, letters and comments from chapter members and alumnae, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity Archives, and The Key. Each chapter is expected to update its history record annually. Contact Fraternity Headquarters at [email protected] with questions.

The 1970’s brought new political awareness to the University of New Mexico. Protests over the Vietnam War and the Kent State massacre led to arrests and an eventual state of emergency on campus. Students proudly watched as Mark Spitz won seven gold medals at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany, only to be horrified at the massacre of Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists days later. Earth Day was celebrated for the first time and students demonstrated their concern for the environment.

Hodgin Hall, the University’s oldest building, was listed on the New Mexico Register of Cultural Properties in 1974 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. New facilities for the medical and law schools were constructed on North Campus while new buildings were built on Main Campus on the site of the demolished Zimmerman Field and Stadium. These included Ortega Hall, Woodward Hall, the Humanities Building and the Art Building. A new landscaping plan was undertaken, leading to the construction of the duck pond west of Zimmerman Library and the conversion of many streets to pedestrian malls in order to make the campus more pedestrian friendly.

Embroidered denim shirts and jeans, Dr. Scholl’s wooden sandals, and bell-bottom pants were the dress of the day. Pet rocks were a big hit and students flocked to theaters to see Saturday Night Fever and Star Wars.

The Kappas continued their involvement on campus, participating in various philanthropic events and numerous social events. Baby Triad, held with the Pi Beta Phis and Kappa Alpha Thetas, was a popular barn dance. The end of the fall semester brought Monmouth Duo with the Pi Phis. Formal Triad, once again held with the Pi Phis and Thetas, was held in the spring of each year. Homecoming was a major activity every year, with each fraternity and sorority decorating their house and competing for various awards. Members of Gamma Beta were often selected as members of the Homecoming Court.

The 1974 Kappa General Convention was held in Columbus, Ohio and Gamma Beta received awards for Public Relations and Pledge Training. In the spring of 1975 Gamma Beta chapter hosted the Kappa Province Meeting. Delegates from chapters in Arizona and southern California were invited to the Gamma Beta chapter house to participate in a number of workshops and seminars. It was not long after that Gamma Beta was moved into Eta Province, which included New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.

Housing

A variety of factors influenced Gamma Beta’s housing situation throughout the 1970’s. The costs associated with the new chapter house required as many of the chapter members as possible to live in the house. Over several years, new live-in policies were considered and tested. Some members chose to resign their membership rather than living in the chapter house for four years. At the same time recruitment numbers remained constant, making it difficult to build up membership numbers to allow for flexibility in the housing situation.

Phone and door duty was required of all members, with everyone taking a turn on a rotating basis. Members on duty answered the house phones during the evening, using the intercom to alert others of their phone calls. Door duty required the member to answer the front door for visitors.

The 1980’s began with the election of Ronald Reagan and continued with the selection of Sandra Day O’Connor as the first woman Supreme Court justice. Sadly, the country watched as the Challenger space shuttle exploded just 74 seconds into its flight. Among the seven astronauts on board was a teacher, Christa McAuliffe. Personal computers were becoming more prevalent in businesses and schools.

On campus, the University continued to grow, with an ever-expanding enrollment and new facilities constructed. The University of New Mexico Hospital saw dramatic expansion while new facilities were built for the business and engineering schools. The Centennial Library was also built during this time. A Homecoming King was selected for the first time in 1980 in response to a male student running for Homecoming Queen in 1979.

Recruitment numbers remained stagnant during this time. Sadly, more Panhellenic groups left, leaving just four sororities on campus. More and more women students went to work part-time in order to pay for their tuition and Kappa dues.

Housing

Live-in policies and alcohol consumption within the house were continuing issues for the chapter and House Board. The Standards Committee worked diligently with the House Board to help solve these problems.

Chapter members continued to eat dinner together. Fraternity men who received meals as pay served chapter dinner on Monday nights. On other nights dinner was served family buffet-style. Typically, this was the opportunity members looked forward to as they re-connected with each other after a day of class and work. Lunch was served as a buffet over a period of an hour and a half as members came in from class.

Members relied on the house phones less and less because it became more prevalent for phones to be installed in the individual bedrooms. At the beginning of each semester it was a common sight to see a telephone company employee installing phones throughout the house. Often several sets of roommates would share a phone with a long cord, which could be moved from one room to another.

The 1990’s very quickly became the beginning of the electronic age. The World Wide Web was born in 1992, changing the way we communicated, spent our money, and did business. Amazon.com became the biggest trend in bookselling. The United States military became involved throughout the world, including Kuwait, Haiti, and Bosnia. On the domestic front, President Bill Clinton narrowly survived a trial to remove him from office.

Growth was the mainstay at the University of New Mexico during this time. An Honors College was started, the current bookstore and Dane Smith Hall were constructed, and the Research Park on South Campus was expanded. The University now had one of the largest student and faculty Hispanic and Native American populations in the country.

For the Kappas, the 90’s represented opportunities to be active both on campus and within the Greek community. Numerous chapter members held positions as ASUNM senators, Trailblazers, cheerleaders, Chaparrals, and new student orientation leaders. Several members of Gamma Beta were named as Greek Woman of the Year during this decade as were several Kappa alumnae named as Alumna of the Year.

Scholarship was seen as an ongoing challenge with the chapter striving to achieve a 3.0 average for the overall chapter. After several years of working on this goal, the chapter was able to declare success. They were recognized for their improvement in scholarship both on campus and within the Fraternity. Presidential Scholarship and UNM Scholar recipients were common among the Gamma Beta membership.

The Gamma Betas took great pride in participating in Greek Week, winning the Greek Cup many times during the 1990’s. Greek Sing was also a popular event, with the Kappas often winning the Large Group events, both on their own and paired with a men’s fraternity.

Philanthropy

Philanthropy moved up on the list of priorities for Gamma Beta during this time. The members often participated individually in philanthropic projects with more than 1600 hours of service in a year. In addition, the chapter worked together to put on a Fall Harvest Dance at a retirement community, helped out with the Albuquerque AIDS Walk, and raised funds with a pancake breakfast.

Sadly, the decade was not without great tragedy. In October 1998, a horrible car accident claimed the life of a Gamma Beta undergraduate and three other members were seriously injured. The chapter pulled together with the help of their advisers, alumnae members, Fraternity officers, and the University of New Mexico staff. An award is given annually at Founders Day in memory of the young woman who lost her life.

Towards the end of the decade, Gamma Beta implemented the Fraternity’s new six week New Member Education Program. As with anything new, the chapter had to work hard at incorporating the program. At the 1998 General Convention, Gamma Beta was the recipient of the Heritage Award and received Honorable Mentions for scholarship and standards.

Housing

One of the greatest accomplishments during this decade was the burning of the mortgage for the chapter house in 1991.

During a person’s lifetime, there are certain moments that define who they are, what they’ve done and where they’re going. Furthermore, if the certain moment affects more than just a handful of people, say the entire country, one will likely see an attitude shift and changes in the way things are done. Such was the case when the World Trade Center in New York City was attacked on September 11, 2001. Soon after the United States was involved in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Recession struck around the world. In the meantime, Google became the largest name in online search engines and one of the world’s largest corporations. Social networking became an ubiquitous part of everyday life.

The UNM campus saw a major expansion of medical facilities on North Campus and the construction of the current visitor center, a new engineering center, and George Pearl Hall, the home of the architecture and planning school. In addition, a branch campus was opened in Rio Rancho.

This decade was truly outstanding for Gamma Beta. From 2002-2007 Gamma Beta won the Greek Cup five years in a row. Later in the decade they were named a five star chapter, while meeting UNM’s Greek Life requirements. The chapter began a new philanthropic effort, called Kappa Kakes, to raise funds for the United Way, Reading is Fundamental, and the Kappa Foundation. The chapter participated in a variety of campus activities, including Spring Storm and Greek Week. In November 2006, the chapter was pleased to host the University’s new president, Dr. David Schmidly, and his wife during a Monday night dinner.

Early in the decade Gamma Beta had depended on informal recruitment to help meet its membership needs. However, with the support of leadership consultants during recruitment, a strong advisory board, and increasing numbers of women going through Fall Recruitment, Gamma Beta has pledged and retained larger pledge classes.

Housing

The Gamma Beta House Corporation took on a major project in this decade by deciding to refurbish the bathrooms on all three floors simultaneously. They meticulously planned the timing of the work so that it could be completed in the summer while the members were away. New countertops and plumbing fixtures were installed along with beautiful tile work. The chapter was most pleased!

A number of changes have also been seen in the housing policies of the chapter. For many years the University would allow women who had planned to live in the dormitories and then pledged a Greek group to break their contracts with the dorms and move into the chapter house. That is no longer allowed. Fortunately, the increase in membership numbers has allowed the chapter to maintain the number living in the house. The increase in numbers has also created some difficulties with parking around the chapter house. However, the chapter and House Board continue to be creative in solving these difficulties.

This past year was a wonderful and successful year full of many accomplishments. We were honored to be recognized as a five star chapter by the University of New Mexico's Greek Life. Our most proud accomplishment was our academic excellence. We received first in grades in the Spring and Fall semesters of 2010. Some of our many achievements include winning the Greek Cup and Sigma Chi Derby Days. In the Fall of 2010, we were over quota for recruitment which was very astonishing; it was the largest recruitment we've ever had. We got 37 beautiful new members in our house, and we couldn't be more excited. Every fall semester we put on a community service event called Kappa Kakes. During the event, Kappas helped make and sell pancakes to the campus community to raise money for Reading is Fundamental. We raised an amazing $2600 for RIF.

Campus: Our campus is really proud of the diversity we have. There are around 18,330 undergraduate students who attend The University of New Mexico (UNM). 42% are male and 58% are female. 21% of the students who attend the University of New Mexico are from out of state. There are many different races including: Caucasians, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, African Americans and more. The University of New Mexico represents 102 different countries, which explain our diversity.

Another aspect the campus is proud of is that it has become more environmentally friendly over the past year. The Student Senate, which one of our members is actively involved in, aims toward being a more environmentally friendly campus by adding more recycle bins around campus for better accessibility, limiting paper use, using different light bulbs, and more. It is a slow process but if everyone participates in making UNM environmentally friendly, we could really make a difference.

Chapter: The chapter consists of 94 wonderful members. The chapter tries to be as involved as possible with activities and events around campus. Greek Life at The University of New Mexico is very small, making up only around five percent of the college community. However, we do our best to stand out and have a positive influence on the campus community. The University of New Mexico is a very diverse campus, and Greek Life contributes to the amazing diversity we have at our school.

Chapter Challenges: We have had three major challenges that are hard to overcome for the chapter. The first one is to improve the chapter involvement in the National Panhellenic Council. Our monthly goal has been for each member to increase their involvement with Panhellenic by going to a meeting or informational session; these include Greek Week meetings or officer meetings put on by Greek life.

Our short term goal has been to invite an alum to come and speak at a program meeting about her knowledge and experience with the National Panhellenic Council; and also inviting other houses and the Panhellenic Executive Board to participate. Thus far, there has been more effort in learning about and being involved with the National Panhellenic Council. Secondly, we still plan to improve committee involvement and meeting efficiency by each officer taking minutes during their committee meeting and emailing them to the president and their committee members Monday night.

Our short term goal has been to encourage each committee member to be actively involved by awarding a committee member of the month from each committee. This has really helped the girls get more involved and has shown to be a positive thing. Lastly, we plan to improve attendance and chapter unity having one team building activity a semester in addition to chapter retreat. To improve unity, we will plan to have themed committee meetings monthly. Girls get really excited about this and it really brings everyone together to be silly and laugh.

Scholarship:

First in Grades for Fall 2012 Group Honors: Five Star Chapter Spring 2012 Traditions: Blue and Blue dinner during i-week Fall 2012 Philanthropic Involvement: Kappa Klassic golf tournament Fall 2012, RIF spring and fall 2012, Ronald Mcdonald House Spring and Fall 2012

Chapter Goals: More sisterhoods and more bonding experiences were put as important goals for the chapter to have. In addition, more efficient meetings was a new goal. As a chapter we have had more efficient meetings, and also made meetings more fun. We used to wear black dresses and heels to formal meeting, and have changed that to business casual.

Recent changes to The University of New Mexico's campus was the addition of a new dormitory called Casas Del Rio in the Fall of 2012. This allowed students to now no longer break their dorm contracts once they had signed them. In previous years dorm contracts could be broken. This allowed only five new members to live in the Kappa house, but the house was still filled with actives. In the fall 26 new members were initiated into the gamma beta chapter. The nature of our chapter is upbeat and positive, something that we have wanted to strengthen and did.

Scholarship: First in Grades for Fall 2012 Group Honors: Five Star Chapter Spring 2012 Traditions: Blue and Blue dinner during i-week Fall 2012 Philanthropic Involvement: Kappa Klassic golf tournament Fall 2012, RIF spring and fall 2012, Ronald Mcdonald House Spring and Fall 2012

Chapter Goals: More sisterhoods and more bonding experiences were put as important goals for the chapter to have. In addition, more efficient meetings was a new goal. As a chapter we have had more efficient meetings, and also made meetings more fun. We used to wear black dresses and heels to formal meeting, and have changed that to business casual.

Recent changes to The University of New Mexico's campus was the addition of a new dormitory called Casas Del Rio in the Fall of 2012. This allowed students to now no longer break their dorm contracts once they had signed them. In previous years dorm contracts could be broken. This allowed only five new members to live in the Kappa house, but the house was still filled with actives. In the fall 26 new members were initiated into the gamma beta chapter. The nature of our chapter is upbeat and positive, something that we have wanted to strengthen and did.

January

•All of the new officers attended Leadership Day

•Practices for Greek sing began, we were paired with ATO for small group and Kappa Sigma and Lambda Theta Phi for large group

•Awarded 1st in grades for Fall 2013

February

•Our chapter raised the most money for the Greek Week Philanthropy, Basket of Hope

•For Greek Week we placed 3rd in open mic and large group

•We participated in a community service project at the Zoo

•We also put on a hasher appreciation dinner to thank all of our hashers

March

•At the Greek week Banquet Gamma Beta was recognized as a 5 star chapter

•We had serenades for the Spring pledge class of fraternities on campus

•Kappa, Delilah Davila, participated in the Ms. Silva Rose pageant

•Kappa’s attended the UNM fundraiser Lobothon

April

•14 girls attended the Senior Tea for the pledge class of 2010

•Gamma Beta had a wonderful formal in Santa Fe

•Kappa’s raised over $10,000 for UNM Children’s Hospital and Alumni Foundation from the Spring golf tournament

•LC visited Gamma Beta and offered advice to all the chapter officers

•Kappa trainer, Denise Rugani, talked to the chapter about sisterhood

•1 Kappa ran for UNM’s senate, ASUNM

•Kappa had four members become Rho Gammas, including the Panhellenic president and VP of recruitment

May

•Greek Graduation

•Kappa’s worked hard to finish up finals

June/July

•President Jade Sierra represented Gamma Beta at the National conference where we won the New Member Program award and received an honorable mention for academic excellence

August

•We completed Pre-recruitment and Recruitment right before school started again for the fall

•Welcomed 34 new members

•Had 2 Kappas go on international exchanges, 1 went to Scotland and one to Jordan

•Awarded 2nd in grades for Spring 2014

September

•President Jade Sierra was voted runner up for Homecoming Queen

•Our new members participated in serenades with several fraternities

•Sarah Bartlett attended Leadership academy

•Many Kappas showed support for ALS and participated in a fundraiser walk

•Alex Hidalgo was voted Gamma Beta’s Greek Week chairman

October

•We had an awesome Big-little week

•Many Kappas attended a Founders Day banquet with alumni

•We volunteered for the Campus event Fall frenzy, where many organizations got together and helped clean up campus

•34 members got initiated into the Gamma Beta chapter

November

•Gamma Beta had a great Formal at the Hotel Andaluz

•We hosted our Philanthropy event, Kappa Kakes, at our house

•Our LC visited and helped our new Chapter Council become comfortable with their positions

•VP of Standards, Amanda Flores, put on Spirit week with fun challenges to win prizes

•Kappas showed their gratitude for their bigs during Big Appreciation Week

•We elected a new Chapter Council

December

•Installed the new officers

•Kappas helped with Hanging of the Greens around campus

•Finals week

•Amanda miller was elected for Academic Excellence on Panhellenic Committee

Recent changes on campus: This past year on campus the dining hall, La Posada, was renovated and all freshman living in dorms were required to buy a meal plan. The Cottages were built to increase campus housing. The soccer and basketball teams did well.

Overall nature of chapter: As a chapter we have a mutual respect for all of our sisters and share a strong bond of sisterhood. Kappas continued to be very high achieving and stayed involved on campus in other clubs and activities. We support our sisters and want the best for them and our chapter. Gamma Beta values accountability, respect, and compassion for our members.

Challenges and how they were overcome: Some challenges we encountered as a chapter this past year involved: filling the house, social media, and paying Billhighway with credit or debit cards. The problem of filling the house was conquered through positive encouragements by House board and requiring applications for live-out to be due earlier to allow for better preparation. The challenge of monitoring social media was overcome through diligent monitoring by the PR officer of member’s personal sites. Members who continued to pay Billhighway with a credit or debit card were sent to standards.

In the spring semester of 2015, we won Greek Week on campus and Gamma Beta was recognized as a five star chapter. We also raised the most money for the Greek Week Philanthropy, Basket of Hope. We participated in a community service project at the Zoo and attended the philanthropy event, Lobothon. Kappa put on the annual golf tournament Kappa Klassic and raised money for UNM Children’s Hospital and Alumni Foundation. We had Greek Graduation for our graduating senior members.

In the fall semester, Gamma Beta had pre-recruitment and recruitment in August and welcomed 37 new members. We learned valuable lessons from the LC that visited during this time. A fellow member, Makayla Mondragon, attended Leadership Academy. On October 13, we had our Founders Day banquet and on October 17, we initiated 36 members. We elected a new chapter council and new officers were installed into their positions. Our member, Hannah Glasgow, was elected Panhellenic president.

Gamma Beta’s Spring cumulative was 3.417 and the all Greek Average was 3.252. Our Fall cumulative was 3.308 and the all Greek average was 3.223.

This past year on campus, our sports teams did well; unfortunately, we lost a member of our football team to a car accident. We have a new interim dean of students, and a BeKind organization was formed on campus to promote small acts of kindness.

The overall nature of our chapter is very supportive and respectful. Our members encourage one another in academics and all aspects of life. Kappas continued to be very involved on campus and leaders in many other clubs. Our values focus on accountability, involvement, and respect for all Gamma Beta members. In the spring semester of 2015, we won Greek Week on campus and Gamma Beta was recognized as a five star chapter. We also raised the most money for the Greek Week Philanthropy, Basket of Hope.

Chapter Philanthropy:

What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?

Along with putting on several events at our house to benefit our national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental, our chapter traditionally contributes to a local philanthropy called lobothon. This philanthropy involves a 12-hour non-stop dance marathon that raises money to benefit the children in the University of New Mexico Hospital.

Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?

Our chapter chose this organization to support because it was started by a fellow member of our Greek life community at UNM, who was himself affected by pediatric cancer. We also have several members of our chapter who work on the committee to put on the dance marathon. We felt it was very important to show Gamma Beta’s support for a local cause that is dear to the community’s heart.

Woman behind the badge:

Do any of your chapter officers wear historical badges? Yes, our chapter president wears a historical badge.

What is inscribed on the back of the badge? There is nothing inscribed on the back of the badge.

In the year of 2016, the Gamma Beta Chapter obtained many accomplishments. We proudly initiated 27 wonderful women into our chapter and elected a new officer committee. We raised money for a number of different organizations, including but not limited to; Reading is Fundamental and Children's Miracle Network. We were proud winners of Greek Week, where we raised the most money for Cuidando De Los Niño’s; an organization that helps homeless children in New Mexico.

We have recently upgraded the security and safety protocols on campus with the help of our sisters that sit on the ASUNM committee. We have also upgraded our own safety here at the Gamma Beta House; adding additional key pad locks and patrolling security. The safety and well-being of our sisters is one of our top priorities. Over the last year our chapter has become a very strong, supportive, and close-knit sisterhood.

Our chapter has historically raised money for The Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, Reading is Fundamental, Children's Miracle Network, and Cuidando De Los Niño’s. We have chosen these organizations to support because children are the future. They have a constant pressure put upon them to flourish and succeed and we want provide the support and opportunity they need to achieve their goals.

The University of New Mexico went through some changes in an effort to make the campus more eco-friendly. Some of these efforts included more recycling bins, more eco-friendly electrical options, and the use of solar panels on buildings to provide eco-friendly energy to the campus. As a chapter, we contributed to these efforts by recycling, reducing electrical usage and promoting less water usage.

Our chapter was very active this year philanthropically. We held Kappa Kakes (a pancake breakfast), Kappa Klassic (a golf tournament) and Kappa Con Queso (a chips and queso gathering) for the benefit of RIF. We also raised money for and donated hours towards our first Girls Academy and LoboThon, a local student-run organization that raises money for the children's hospital. Our members also volunteered for numerous organizations throughout the city. Additionally, the chapter donated clothing and basic necessities for the victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas.

Our challenges this year included scholarship and finances. The chapter council set a GPA goal for 3.4 for the chapter. We are currently at a 3.33, .02 lower than the all-women's average for the university. We also chose to cancel our formal due to financial concerns. We are making appropriate changes to our payment plans and distribution of funds to counteract this situation.

Gamma Beta started 2018 by setting two goals: to have the highest GPA among the four Panhellenic groups on campus and to maintain the chapter's five star chapter rating. The Fraternity recognized the chapter's efforts with an academic excellence award at the 2018 national convention in Denver.

The University of New Mexico made history in 2018 by naming its first female president, Dr. Garnett Stokes. The chapter has been pleased to see the positive change she has brought to the university, especially in the area of Greek Life involvement. Additionally, the University has re-built and updated the Anderson School of Business.

Gamma Beta continues to be active in the area of philanthropy. The chapter worked closely with the Albuquerque Alumnae Association as they hosted the annual Kappa Klassic Golf Tournament. All funds raised were donated to Casa Angelica, a home for disabled children started by the parents of two Gamma Beta members. In addition, the chapter works with the alumnae association on a Reading is Fundamental project. Book bags are painted and books are collected to give to the children at a local YMCA child care facility. Finally, many Gamma Betas work individually on philanthropic projects of their own choosing.

During the 2019 calendar year, the chapter faced a number of challenges when there were changes made to UNM's primary recruitment process. Recruitment was moved from the time just prior to school starting to a time period after school had started (Labor Day weekend). The Fraternity and Sorority Life office also implemented the Release Figure Methodology. Despite these changes, the chapter recruited and initiated 24 new members. We were especially glad to have the help of a Leadership Consultant during this time. Gamma Beta also had the most improved GPA among the four Panhellenic groups on campus.

A new University President was also named during 2019. The chapter has attended may open house events at the university president's home, which helped strengthen the relationship between the university and Greek life.

Gamma Beta is pleased to support Reading is Fundamental as their philanthropy. While RIF is Kappa's national philanthropy, it also has a special place for New Mexican children. According to newmexicoliteracy.org, 46% of New Mexico's children are at or below the literacy level. We feel we can make an impact on our state's literacy rate by supporting RIF with book and monetary donations.

We were pleased to celebrate Founders Day with the Albuquerque Alumnae Association at the Albuquerque Country Club. A number of alumnae received their 50, 65, and 75 year pins and both alumnae and active chapter members were recognized for their efforts in Kappa and the community. We very much enjoyed the visit of the Minnie Stewart van and look forward to planning other events to celebrate our 150th anniversary.

This year our chapter operations were affected tremendously by the COVID-19 pandemic and the New Mexico state lockdowns. Despite all of the hardships the COVID-19 pandemic and college life brought to us, we tried to stay as connected as possible and hopeful by planning virtual events. Most chapter events were transformed into virtual events with the help of sisters, advisors and specialists. We held our first ever fully virtual initiation ceremony as well as a fully virtual recruitment in the fall. We did have the opportunity to plan a few in-person and socially distanced events as well. For example, the 2020 Big-Little Sister Reveal was held at The Pit (University Arena) where 5 seniors got to welcome the new members of Gamma Beta via a drive by with goodie bags, shirts and festive Kappa gear. We also held our Formal Pledging ceremony in person and we chose to do it 8-9 times so each new member could come to the chapter house while following socially distancing guidelines.

We were pleased to win the 2020 Greek Week trophy after a week of various events: Community service, Greek Sing, Greek Trivia, Greek Week pie in the face, Skate Social and Greek Games. The Founders Day Chapter Awards included: Christy Barker Award to Mariana Rosas, Helen MacArthur Savage Award to Abigale Aldrich, the Rosalie Furry Doolittle Award to Jessica Maxwell, the Footprints Award to Kristin Woodworth, the Sisterhood Award to Payton Fowler, the Barbara Crosby Trechel Award to Emma Hotz, and the Senior Award to Lynn Midani.

Gamma Beta supported a number of philanthropies in 2020: Reading is Fundamental (RIF), The Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, Girls Academy, Lobothon, Greek Life philanthropies, and other local organizations (school supply and PPE drives for special needs students, donation drive for a homeless student and their family, and blanket making for the Ronald McDonald House). Gamma Beta chooses to support Reading Is Fundamental because we believe that every child deserves the stepping stones and opportunities to receive a full education in the future. By providing guidance, resources, and reading to children, we hope to give children the background in education they may be missing. RIF is so important to our chapter due to the high rates of illiteracy in our state. Reading books to children can help them grow as students in many subjects and provides them with growth in their imagination and possibilities in the world as well. We held a Kappa Karving philanthropy (carving pumpkins) in October to support RIF.

Our chapter implemented an amazing DEI officer in 2020 who created a diversity program for each Monday night meeting. Her programs included "embracing your own diversity" (a group activity where we all filled in what makes us unique on a flower petal and in the center of the flower we wrote a group commonality which were shared with other groups), "Kappa Key" (everyone took time to read through "The Key" and discuss a pioneering alumna who stood out to them personally), education on racism (watching videos on systemic racism) and a presentation about indigenous cultures for Indigenous People Day. Finally, she implemented a book club where we read and discussed race and differences in life paths from a book titled, "The Vanishing Half."

Finally, we celebrated Kappa's 150th anniversary by watching the Facebook Live program produced by Fraternity Headquarters. We also were able to tour the Minnie Stewart Van early in the spring.

Gamma Beta’s goals for the 2021-2022 year was to better aid our members in striving for better academics, more involvement within our campus and community and continuing to keep mental health as a top priority. Working with our Philanthropy chair, we have continuously been able to give our members the resources and opportunities to work with our campus, community, and their own mental health. Our Chapter Council has been doing an amazing job in have more in-person activities and meetings, pushing our members to be more involved with our chapter and ritual procedures, something we struggled with these last years because of Covid.                                             During the Founder’s Day celebration that took place on October 8, 2022 7 members have been awarded with awards of recognition, along with awards for scholarships by the alumni association.Amidst of the COVID-19 pandemic settling down in New Mexico, we were able to partake in our usual traditions for Inspiration Week were also resumed as the following: Tuesday October 18th, we had our Big Sister Letter reading, Wednesday, we held a chapter wide sisterhood event at the house where we had a spa night , Thursday the chapter partook in Gamma Beta’s tradition of Blue & Blue banquet. This event is very special as we conduct the new member unpinning ceremony. Friday, we held the precursor event to Initiation; Fireside, and on Saturday, the Initiation ceremony was held at 8 AM.

Gamma Beta supports NEDA( Natioal Eating Disorder Association), Active Minds, Mental Health Merica, National Alliance on Mental Health, and Jack.or (a Canadian-based organization). This fall semester our Chapter decided to hold a Grooving with the KKGs event where we raised $1850. At this event, we have several different classes that our guests could partake in so they could actively be outside and workout. We were able to donate 53% of our fundraising to NEDA.

We have several members who take part in Lobothon. Lobothon is a local organization who raises money for the UNMH Children’s Hospital. Our members actively promote and engage with Lobothon and keep our members actively knowledgeable about any events Lobothon holds. Our chapter is planning on holding a Gala night at our house were we will have members of Lobothon and families who they aid in celebrate all they have done and continue to do for our community.     

We celebrated Founders Day by all attending the Founders Day celebration with our alumni. At this celebration, our members got the opportunity to share stories and introduce themselves to our alumni all while celebrating our Founding leaders.    

Gamma Beta has had a DEI officer since 2019, and they have added constructive and positive learning materials for the chapter. They work closely with the public relations officer in making graphics that are informative for not just our members, but for our chapter followings. Our DEI officer has a “DEIt of the Week” where she shares a fact of different cultures or engages the chapter in an activity that is both fun and informational. So far this semester we have had a Latinx event where we all got together and celebrated this month. We are also planning on hosting a sugar skull paint night at our house with two other chapter, SAE and ODPhi, as an active way to help teach not only our members, but other chapters about this culture.  

Our chapter had the opportunity to have a group of alumni come and visit the house while they were having a reunion. To celebrate our alumnae association we held a pumkin carving event where our alumni and active members carved pumkins for Halloween. This was a great time for our members and alumni to talk closely and learn more about each other. We are also participating in Derby Days, in the weeks of November, which is a fundrazing event that Sigma Chi hold yearly. Our member, Abigail Trujillo, got the opportunity to attend Kappa Leadership Conference where she brought back fresh ideas and suggestions for our chapter to grow. Our President, Caroline Jamharian, also got an opportunity similar to this when she attended Kappa Convertion. She too brought back many great ideas for our chapter.