Get to Know Alpha Beta Chapter!
School: University of Connecticut
Founded in 1949 at the University of Connecticut, Alpha Beta is a tight-knit chapter of over 80 girls. Between our sisters, Region Supervisor (Renee Savory), and UConn faculty members (Drs. Robin Bogner, Jill Fitzgerald and Marissa Salvo) who help us tremendously each year, we have a strong support system. The chapter consists of six committees dedicated to developing new ideas, strengthening sister bonds and exemplifying our core values. Our most recent addition was our Project HOPE Committee established in 2015. We now find it much easier to focus more attention on fundraising for our national philanthropy.
The best part of our chapter would have to be the sisterhood. We have a very close group of girls who are always motivated to get involved. They’re compassionate, resourceful and generous. That is what really makes Alpha Beta what it is today. Their passion trickles down to the younger sisters as well. We were just fortunate to initiate 27 new members this fall, and they are all eager to see everything that Lambda Kappa Sigma has to offer. With a new executive board for the new year, we are all looking forward to seeing how the chapter continues to grow.
What is your best fundraising event?
Our best fundraising event is our HOPE waLKS 5k that we host each fall. We always have a great turnout of sisters, alumni, family and friends, and we really appreciate when sisters from other chapters attend as well. It’s a fun way to raise money and awareness for Project HOPE. We’ve done a few other fundraisers for Project HOPE, including our first-ever Paint Night this fall, but Hope waLKS tends to be everyone’s favorite..
What has been your most successful professional event?
Because much of our chapter consists of pre-pharmacy students, we focus a lot of our attention on preparing them for the pharmacy school application process and the professionalism it requires. Each fall, we host a “How to Get into Pharmacy School” presentation to explain how to sign up for the PCAT, ask for letters of recommendation, write a personal statement and more. We then host a series of mock professional interviews in the spring. Both events have helped develop professionalism in our younger sisters as well as in our older sisters who oversee the events. For the past several years, we’ve been fortunate enough to have a high program acceptance rate among our sisters.
How does your chapter meet the Core Values of LKS?
We have come to realize that our current committee structure seems to match nicely with the Core Values of LKS. We’ve used this to our advantage when it comes to the new member orientation process. Each week, one committee and a corresponding Core Value are highlighted so PNMs learn more about our chapter’s structure and our national values. Alpha Beta continues to try to expand the variety of our events each semester, and each event aligns with at least one Core Value. In addition, the attendance policy in place requires sisters to attend at least one alumni, one community service and one professional event each semester. We find that many of our sisters go above and beyond this requirement.
Chapter Spotlight: Alpha Beta