ΑΣΚ Holiday Secret Sister Exchange

Every December, since 2015, Active and Alumnae Members come together from across the country to spread Sisterhood and Holiday cheer through the ΑΣΚ Secret Sister Holiday Exchange. This year, we're taking a look at how it got its start, as well as learning a bit more about the Sisters who created the annual gift exchange and have kept it going for so long.

Katelynn Orona is an Alumna of the Eta Chapter, who graduated in 2014 with a Mechancal Engineering degree and a minor in aeronautical engineering. Mary Matthews is also a Mechanical Engineer, who works for the US Army. She is an Epsilon Alumna, part of its Founding Class.

The Secret Sister gift exchange got its start in 2015 when Katelynn Orona had graduated and wanted to connect with the Sisterhood. " In the Eta chapter we would do this every year. It was a great way to get to know your Sisters and spread some joy," she explained. " When I graduated I didn't really have much time to be as active as I wanted at the national level, so I thought " Why not try to bring more Sisters together for the Holiday season?" . I wanted to try and give everyone a chance to get to know Sisters from other chapters, Alums and Actives. Spreading some sisterhood and joy on a larger scale."

And it worked! Sisters were open to the idea and willing to participate. So much so that the next year those who had participated wanted to know if it would continue. Katelynn wasn't able to commit the

time needed to organize it that year (making sure everyone received gifts and clues) so, that's when Mary Matthews took over the organizational role. " I'm so glad Mary was able to take over when my life got crazier," Katelynn continued. " It's pretty much been the same since I started it. I'm so glad Mary was able to come up with a way to still do it."

There is a Facebook group where participating Sisters share pictures of the gifts they receive and make guesses as to who the sender is (based on 3 clues). Over the years, the exchange has grown, approximately doubling in number of participants from 2015 to 2019. Mary noted " I see new Sisters coming in each year; there have been a lot more younger Sisters participating." She expects that the number of Actives and new Alumnae might grow even more if the platform was moved off of Facebook, but for the time being this group set-up provides the most convenient way to easily share photos and info only with the year's participants.

Each year, participating Sisters fill out a spreadsheet with information about their likes and hobbies. This information has expanded a little bit; Mary noted that shirt size was added in 2017 and Amazon Wishlist added in 2019, each intended to provide gift-givers with more ideas. Otherwise, the process hasn't changed much over the years.

However, 2020 being what it was, it was also the first year with bigger changes. In 2020, Sisters decided to send one larger gift rather than three $10 gifts, to reduce the shipping burden. This also meant Sisters had almost the entire month to meet the shipping deadline (December 21), rather than meeting multiple, spread out deadlines. Unfortunately, 2020 also meant fewer Sisters able to participate. However, on the bright side, what was learned in 2020 will move forward - the option for one larger gift and sending clues about the giver through the exchange coordinator will each be carried into future exchanges.

So, let's learn a little more about Mary, the Sister who has been coordinating the exchange since 2016. Helping ΑΣΚ on the National level is not new to this Epsilon Alum. She has served as NDoE, NDoA and on numerous committees, including Membership Development and Philanthropy. She currently serves as Secretary for the Educational Foundation and chairs the Closed Goal and National Documents Committees.

It's no surprise that she took on the task of connecting Sisters across the country through the exchange, as connecting with Sisters is central to what she does. Since most things ΑΣΚ happened online or on the phone, Mary shared that her favorite ΑΣΚ moments are in-person: Sisterhood retreats and National Convention. ?I like catching up with Sisters from my chapter,?" she explained. "That's also why I like going to Convention, because most of the year we are just doing things on the telephone." This could explain why she has attended a whopping 16 National Conventions, including every Convention since 2005.

Her advice for those just starting out in ΑΣΚ is "Go to Convention, because you see that the Organization is bigger than just your chapter."Which is just what she did in 2002, attending her first National Convention while Epsilon was still an Interest Group.

So, what does it look like each year when she does the pairings for the ΑΣΚ Holiday Secret Sister Exchange? Of course, she has the spreadsheet. It doesn't matter if a Sister is Active or Alumna, so that column gets deleted, but keeping the Chapter column is important. She told The Lioness Loop that there is often one chapter which has more participants, but which chapter that is could change from year to year.

Mary also mentioned that the hardest part of pairings is making sure she's not matching Members from the same Chapter, so she color codes the lines before proceeding with the sort. After that, the pairings are random and she goes through to double check and make sure everyone has a Secret Sister. In 2016, each pair was a direct swap, but that is not something she intends to repeat.

As much as Mary does for the Organization, she isn't all ΑΣΚ all the time. In her free time, Mary enjoys craft projects, including AR Workshop wood painting. "I like to make things for people," she shared. One of the favorite pieces she has created was a lazy Susan for her mother.

Her parents are not too far away and she lives with her in-person supervisor, a "mini black panther" who is a social media favorite and keeps her on task in her role as the Assistant Product Manager for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected - All Terrain Vehicle for the US Army. And, who knows, the Members of ΑΣΚ may also have this " supervisor" to thank for just how productive Mary stays with all things ΑΣΚ.

We asked Sisters: " Do you have a gift from theexchange that was particularly memorable?"

Heck yes! I have so many memorables, but I think the one that is really sticking out right now is my unicorn mug that says "I'm fucking magical". In these days of Zoom meetings, I can use it while working and no one can really read it. - Katie O'Toole (Eta Alum)

Yes! One gift that I got that I loved and used a bunch was cookie cutters in my favorite animal shapes which I thought was so cute because it combined two things I loved and it was something that I was also able to actually use a lot. - Alex Reimers (Iota Alum)

In the 2018 gift exchange, I got an insulated cup that holds ~95% of a venti Frappuccino. It keeps my Frappuccino cold and frozen from 0630am until I'm done with it around 0830/900. When I'm at work at my desk, I would use it everyday. - Mary Matthews (Epsilon Alum)

I love participating in the Secret Sister Exchange. I think it's such a great demonstration of how well our Sisterhood thrives across chapters.The year before last, I got a pair of sapphire-blue earrings from an etsy shop. I wear them to every ceremony I go to! - Kellee Hartjen (Epsilon Alum)

I got my favorite necklace ever from Katie Jacobson. - Katelynn Orono (Eta Alum)

I've gotten so many wonderful gifts over the years, but I realized this year that I still use the cozy socks Mary gave me in the very first exchange back in 2015! - Ali Kidder-Mostrom (Epsilon Alum)

I got a pint glass with my favorite female scientist, Rosalind Franklin. I drink out of it all the time! I also got a stethoscope case which has a permanent place in my backpack. - Adele Vrooman (Theta Alum)

The Inside Loop with Mary Matthews

Royal Blue or Silver? Royal Blue

Do you know your Hogw art s House and, if so, w hat is it ? Um? technically, depending on how I answer it ? Slytherin or Ravenclaw

What is your favorit e branch of science? Chemistry, cuz you make things explode

What w as your first job? Front desk check-in when I was like 15, don?t really count Babysitting as a job

Favorit e season? Spring

Who is your Wom an in STEM icon (living or dead)? That one's hard, because there a lot of women I like, but the one I?ve read the most about is Katherine Johnson (from NASA).

If you could live anyw here, w here w ould it be? Probably New Orleans, because I went to visit one summer and it was really hot, the food was really good and there is just so much history in NOLA.

What m ight som eone be surprised t o know about you? Oh, I don?t know. That I almost dislike lima beans as much as beets.

What w as your m ost m em orable vacat ion? Probably the first time I went to Brainerd, MN; it was just fun to hang out with my cousins for a whole week.

What is your favorit e book? I read so many books, that it?s hard to pick a favorite. One that affects me every time I read it is Brothers Forever.

When w as t he last t im e you laughed so hard you cried? Probably 2 days ago, when Facebook reminded me of the crazy conversation we were having on a work trip about whether you would bet for tacos or beer. Just to see that was funny, the responses that I got were pretty funny.

What ?s one superpow er w ould you w ant ? To fly ? because I hate to wait in line

If you could only have one food for t he rest of your life, w hat w ould it be? Tacos