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Unicorn News KAPPA EPSILON – TAU CHAPTER
TABLE OF CONTENTS 2…Supporting Worthy Causes 3…Sister Spotlight 4…Chapter Activities 6…Weddings & Engagements
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Greetings, Sisters! It has been a busy fall semester for our growing chapter. We had a great turnout for our Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk with breast cancer survivor family members of some of our sisters in attendance, really hitting home what all our efforts are going toward! We also had a great time at our new venue for Skate for the Cure this year - drawing students and even faculty members including Dr. Peron, Dr. Mack and Dr. Ogbonna in their 80's gear finest! We were able to donate $2,500 thus far to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and hope to send off even more funds as reimbursements are received by our chapter. Thank you to everyone who came out and supported us in these endeavors and we hope to see you again in the coming weeks with our exciting rush and pledging events soon underway! I look forward to seeing many of you July 17-20, 2013 as we act as hosts of the KE National Convention here in Richmond this summer! Much unicorn love, Kristen
Save the Dates! KE Initiation th
Relay for Life th
[April 4 ]
[April 20 ]
In you are interested in joining us make sure to contact our pledge educators for more details!
Held yearly at the Cary Street Field, come support our team as we walk to support the fight against cancer!
National Convention
[July 17th – 20th] At the Richmond Marriott in Richmond, VA. Register today!
6…Making Strides 6…ASHP Mid-Year 7…Special Recognitions 7…Socials 8…Announcements 9…A Letter About National Convention
THE UNICORN NEWS
FALL 2012
SUPPORTING WORTHY CAUSES Kappa Psi Putt Putt Tournament Thank you to Staci Barnard, Maimuna Bruce, Sheryl Villanueva, Jillian Stanton, Allison Smith, Kristen LaCoe, Aneeza Ahmad, and Natalie Nguyen for representing KE at the KY Putt Putt Tournament to help fundraise for the Center for High Blood Pressure.
Kappa Psi Chili Cook-off KE showed a lot of support for KY at their annual Chili Cook-Off which took place at the Alumni House. Several of our girls showed up and they also swept in all the awards! Congratulations to Jillian Stanton and Allison Smith who won Best Presentation, Cat Quinn and Christine Rolfe who won Crowd Favorite, and to Dani Nguyen and Jessica Lam who won Spiciest Chili and Faculty Favorite!
Thompson Middle School Health Fair Thanks to Lauren Grecheck, Kristen LaCoe, Sydney Nguyen, Amanda Terry, and Han Vo who all participated in the Thompson Middle School Health Fair to help raise awareness for breast cancer.
Massey Cancer Center Bags This past Fall our chapter created breast cancer bags for some of the patients undergoing chemotherapy at Massey Cancer Center. Some of the items in the bags included: nail polish, magazines, candy, lotion, lip balm, hand sanitizer, puzzle books, fuzzy socks, tea bags, and hot chocolate. A big thanks to everyone who donated as well as to all the girls who helped to put the bags together! In total we made 36 beautiful bags. Thanks to Jillian Stanton for coordinating the event and another special thanks to those who put together and hand-delivered the bags! 2
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THE UNICORN NEWS
FALL 2012
SISTER SPOTLIGHT Spreading the word on some of the individual accomplishments some of our KE Unicorns have done in the past semester.
Whitney Zentgraf This past summer I participated in a research fellowship that was one of the most rewarding experiences of my pharmacy career thus far. Not only did I get to get to see the full process of research from start to finish, but I was able to form beneficial relationships for the future. Going into it I was debating whether or not to take my interest in research towards getting a PhD and this experience helped me make my decision. I worked on several projects, but my main focus was a continuation of an independent study project I had been working on the semester previously. With the guidance of Dr. Patricia Slattum, I submitted my own IRB, created and distributed a survey to the independently living residents at Imperial Plaza, and analyzed the resulting data. I am very proud of the resulting poster, "Medication Use for the Treatment of Insomnia in Independently Living Older Adults," which I presented at the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists' annual conference in November 2012.
Hibah Rehman As a participant in the summer research program, I had the opportunity to work one-onone with faculty and students in drug research. I mentored a high-school student, ate lots of pizza, experimented with human blood, gave a few presentations, and got an acknowledgement out of it. My project dealt mainly with a new investigational drug, and its potential as an antisickling agent for sickle cell disease. Furthermore, I got to see the exciting research our very own faculty and students actively take part in. I had no idea of the amount of patience, time, and effort required to build and implement such experiments. The entire experience was fruitful and allowed me to build close and lasting relationships.
Liz Budko on Hombre Over the winter break, I traveled to the Dominican Republic as part of a medical team and help set up a clinic at a local school in Paraiso. Our patients were mostly mothers with multiple children and elderly. Despite whatever hardships they faced, they were excited to be there and at the prospect of getting better. The most common complaints were easily treatable – headache, muscle aches, stomachaches, fever, parasites, skin infections, and allergies. It felt so rewarding to help these patients. There was a tremendous opportunity for us to counsel patients on correct usage and expected side effects of their medications. Overall, the trip was a success, and I was happy with what we accomplished for the community. I returned from the trip and fully appreciated the little things in life that I had taken for granted. Wholeheartedly, I would love to go back again. 3
THE UNICORN NEWS
FALL 2012
CHAPTER ACTIVITIES Skate for the Cure Skate For The Cure was a big success this year. The event took place at Skate-A-Way and had 80’s trivia, a relay race, a costume contest, and many raffles throughout the night. There was a lot of attendance from other fraternities, and we even had some faculty show up (Dr. Mack, Dr. Ogbonna, and Dr. Peron)! 124 people registered for the event, and we raised over $3000 towards Susan G. Komen. A big thanks goes out to the girls on the planning committee and to all the girls who helped to get sponsors for the event. We hope that everyone had a great time in their 80’s gear!
Cake-Off & Bake-Off The yearly Cake-walk and Bake-Off is one of the most anticipated and fun-filled KE traditions and was held during the Fall 2012 VCU SoP picnic at Byrd Park. Many of our sisters participated by either baking a dessert for the Bake-Off or providing one as a prize for the Cake-Walk. The Bake-Off for the most part was a standard baking competition pitting sister versus sister to garner the most votes to win the titles of “Best Tasting,” “Best Presentation”, and “Most Unique.” This year’s winners: • • •
Best Tasting – Oreo Truffles by Whitney Zentgraf Best Presentation – Red Velvet Panda Cupcakes by Melanie Li & Tiffany Yoon Most Unique – Samoa Cake by Dani Nguyen
The Cake-Walk has many participants all hoping to land on the magic number when the music stopped. The winner got to choose from a variety of delicious cakes to take home. Lucky thing for the participants is that we had 7 cakes so there were many opportunities to win a sweet treat! Big thanks to Sarah Pearce for letting us use her car’s stereo to blast the music across the parking lot! 4
THE UNICORN NEWS
FALL 2012
CHAPTER ACTIVITIES Christmas Angels This year we adopted three Christmas Angels through MCV's SGA! Deloris, Deondre, and Damontae are participants in the after school program CHAT (Church Hill Activities and Tutoring) just up the hill from campus. They send their thanks to Kappa Epsilon for making their Christmas that much more special. Thanks for spreading the Unicorn Love to everyone!
KE Dean’s Hour
PHARMCORP
This Fall we had our “Women In Pharmacy Deans Hour” hosted by Dr. Rudenko, Dr. Gatewood, Dr. Van Tran, Dr. Ashley Allmond, Mrs. Rita Quinn, and Dr. Kerri Musselman. They all provided us with their CVs and some of their favorite memories from KE. Afterwards, we had a luncheon with cookies and sandwiches in the glass room.
Tau Chapter is honored to receive the Foundation Grant Award from the Kappa Epsilon Foundation to fund a Pharm-CORP Program at VCU! The Pharmacy Career Opportunity Recruitment Project (Pharm-CORP) is a National KE Project that was taken on at our campus by members of the Tau Chapter last year. This grant will allow us to implement a program to spread the word about all the opportunities in the field of pharmacy to students at local middle and high schools. We are so excited to see what this grant allows us to accomplish in recruiting students to the field of pharmacy over the coming year!
Fall Rush Potluck & Dinner This year we held a Fall rush potluck in the glass room. Many P1s showed up for the event and joined us for yummy drinks and food. That same night we also held a Fall Rush Dinner at Bar Louie, with delicious appetizers and drinks. It was fun to see the variety of KE shirts we’ve created over the years. The event was also a success and was a great opportunity to meet a lot of new faces! Thanks to Cat Quinn, Margaret Robinson, and Christine Rolfe for planning these events.
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THE UNICORN NEWS
FALL 2012
WEDDINGS & ENGAGEMENTS
Congratulations to Kelly Miller, Courtney Martin, Alyssa Stucke, Amanda Walls, and Mackenzie Page on their engagements. Also, congratulations to Kim Sellers and Dr. Kennedy on getting married!
MAKING STRIDES Making Strides is a walk against breast cancer, a support for breast cancer awareness, and a celebration of breast cancer survivors. Held on October 21st, it’s an opportunity for KE to support a cause so near and dear to our hearts. We had 20+ girls come to walk in their pink attire complete with tutus, hot pink leggings, ribbons, balloons, and handmade KE letters (thanks Dani Nguyen)! Starting from Kanawha Plaza in Richmond, the group traveled several miles around the city of Richmond proudly holding our KE letters proudly. Our chapter raised over $1000, and the entire Making Strides event raised a whopping $344,925.86!
ASHP MID-YEAR ASHP Mid-Year 2012 was held in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay. VCU/MCV School of Pharmacy was well represented by the 75 students that went. The professional conference was full of activities for students that included seminars, poster presentations, the residency showcase, and more. KE sisters, Abbie Arches and Sarah Kropp Pearce, attended especially for their poster presentations. Abbie represented the SVSHP chapter in the Student Society Showcase to present a poster on "Clinical Roundtable Session: Bridging the Gap Between Student and Practitioner." Sarah presented her poster on "Impact of Shadowing Program on Student's Perception of Health-System Pharmacy." KE sisters also got a chance to network with other chapters by stopping by the KE table at showcase. The conference provided KE sisters many memories and a chance to look forward to the upcoming KE convention. 6
THE UNICORN NEWS
FALL 2012
SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS
Our KE sisters not only strive to have a strong chapter but also to be strong members. Several of our sisters were recognized by PLS for their commitment to leadership. Shelby Evans, Shaema George, Lauren Grecheck, Bri Hughes, Erika Lambert, Tina Lowe, Dani Nguyen, Andrea Ravelo, Hibah Rehman, Margaret Robinson, Alyssa Stucke, Tiffany Yoon, Whitney Zentgraf
In addition, we had several P2 sisters recognized by Rho Chi for their excellent academic performance! Linda Barstow, Kelly Cain, Lien Do, Bri Hughes, Juli Jones, Uzma Khan, Erika Lambert, Lindsay Martin, Sarah Park, Holland Parrish
SOCIALS Grand Illumination Thank you to Natalie Nguyen for hosting an IFC Social at her apartment before Grand Illumination. She served plenty of snacks, hot chocolate, and hot apple cider. We all donned out tackiest Christmas gear to join in on the festivities, then we all head out to view the lighting.
Sister Chat
Semi-Formal
Dani Nguyen & Jessica Lam hosted the first ever Sister Chat! Using the famed faculty “Fireside Chats� as a reference, these two lovely ladies hosted 6 girls at their house and served them a plethora of delicious and homemade dishes. With this event such a great success, we hope to have more in the future.
This year some of our KE Unicorns were at the forefront of planning and executing this popular event. As leaders on the Class of 2014 exec board our own Dani Nguyen, Natalie Nguyen, Abbie Arches, Jessica Libuit, and Andrea Ravelo played a strong role in creating this unforgettable night! Semi-Formal was held at the gorgeous John Marshall Ballrooms on November 2nd. 7
THE UNICORN NEWS
FALL 2012
ANNOUNCEMENTS New Advisor Dr. Emily Peron, assistant professor from the Department of Pharmacotherapy & Outcomes Science is now our faculty advisor. We thank Dr. Mary Jayne Kennedy for all the help and guidance she provided to us during her term as our advisor, and we are excited to see the new and exciting places our chapter goes with Dr. Peron!
New Officers
Congratulations to the newly elected President, Vice President, and Treasurer for the 2013 – 2014 school year. We are confident these ladies will represent KE well and lead our chapter into an even brighter future! President – Tina Lowe Vice President – Anna Wu Treasurer – Jessica McDaniel
National Convention
We are pleased to announce that our Tau Chapter, the Richmond Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Richmond Marriott will serve as hosts for the 2013 KE Convention from July 17 to 20. Richmond is a wonderful city and the co-hosts at the CVB look forward to welcoming you to their city. We invite you to be a part of KE's 49th National Convention and experience historic Richmond! News and updates for the Convention will be highlighted in the new KE Website with an overview of the agenda, program highlights, travel tips, interesting facts about Richmond, link to book your hotel room and other exciting news. A Registration Form is now available for download from the current website and located in the Member Area / Chapter Management & Forms Section. Take advantage of the Early Bird Special and plan to register by March 1, 2013. Submitting your registration by hard copy along with a check for payment to the KE Office will assist the budget and reduce expenses for online payment fees. Final deadline for registration is June 1 and daily rates are available for those who cannot attend the entire convention. Several of our sisters are planning to attend, and we’d love to have a strong representation of our chapter! Register today! 8
THE UNICORN NEWS
FALL 2012
A Letter about National Convention Dear Sisters, I am so excited that our Chapter will be hosting National Convention this year! If you are wondering whether or not you should be attending, I'm here to let you know you SHOULD! It was a completely rewarding experience for me and I was so sad to see it end. At our last convention, many other chapters and alumni were so excited to see the growth of our own chapter. Many struggling chapters looked to us for advice on recruitment and bonding--having such a strong showing at convention will further solidify our chapter's commitment to the whole organization. I just wanted to share some benefits of attending convention: 1) They feed you. If you have been to Midyear or Annual, you know that you were on your own for food. With the exception of 1 meal, we were fed for every meal (it may have to do that our resort was completely isolated) 2) We attended workshops where we learned other chapters' tips and tricks on recruitment, fundraising, and other things. In fact, we learned about flocking flamingos and the t-shirt campaign at the last grand council. 3) You develop close bonds with members from other chapters--some of whom I talk to on a regular basis. 4) Some of the alumni are RESIDENCY DIRECTORS, with whom you can network and get to know really well. I actually had a delayed flight with a past president who is a residency director and she and her husband treated me to a nice meal. She handed me her card and told me to contact her first if I decided to apply to her program *wink 5) Speaking of alumni, there are some amazing and successful women who made KE what it is today. Many of them still keep in touch with each other and plan a "booze cruise" for the years that they do not have a convention. 6) You get to vote for the next grand council (2 votes per chapter, regardless of how many people show up) 7) The breakfast is normally a CE program, at no extra cost. Since we don't need CE right now, it's good to see what a normal program is like. 8) Chapters are invited to bring their KE merchandise to sell in the "show case". It is extremely basic. We can have the opportunity to sell our stuff, as well as see what other chapters sell as fundraisers, or just to swap our swag! Our Meeting in 2011 was rather small because it was "all the way out" in Phoenix. From what I have heard from other chapters, the close proximity on the East Coast is calling MANY members from each chapter to go, since driving is very doable. Let's have our fantastic chapter welcome the rest of KE to RVA! It would be very nice to have a couple sisters from our chapter buddy up with other schools so we can guide them around Richmond and help them pick places to eat! Kathy Nguyen, Class of 2013