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Kappa Is Home

Summers during college can be filled with internships, study abroad, and for many students, a summer job to help make ends meet. Alice Hryhorovych, Cornell, an international student from Ukraine, works two jobs on campus during the summer. Going home to Ukraine for the summer is not an option. Her parents are unemployed because of the war in Ukraine, so they cannot help her pay for housing. She lives in the Kappa house during the school year but summer housing in Ithaca, New York, is limited and expensive.

Since Alice began her pursuit of education, she’s paved her way with hard work and a hand up. Her first exposure to the U.S. education system was through a grant she won in high school to spend a year as an exchange student in Indiana. Later, she took a gap year in Ukraine to apply to colleges while teaching English to children. She was accepted at Cornell University, where she now studies information science. Her future plans include working in the intersection of data science and tech to solve problems.

Alice’s first year at Cornell was online because of the pandemic. She longed to meet more people and make more friends. She admits she didn’t envision herself as a sorority woman — Greek life was completely unfamiliar. But her desire to expand her circle was strong. Alice says she was inspired to go through Recruitment when she met sorority women who shared similar goals and had a good balance of social, professional and academic focus. Joining Kappa and living in the house has been one of her best experiences and she says her parents are so happy that she’s never alone.

“I found sisterhood and family within Psi Deuteron Chapter and … cannot imagine my life without the connections I built in Kappa, the memories I made living in the house, and the work I am gladly putting into my chapter,” Alice says.

When it became clear that Alice’s parents would not be able to help her with her summer living expenses this year, she applied for a grant from a campus organization but was rejected. She kept searching and found the Rose McGill Grant application on the Kappa website and applied. Kappa was already there for Alice for friendship and a home. Now she found financial assistance through Rose McGill during her time of need. She says the support helped so much and her parents are so happy that she has the financial help but also for the community of friends and the emotional words of support that mean so much.

Alice echoes her parents’ feelings about what Rose McGill and Kappa have meant to her: “So many have reached out to me expressing their support. But when I saw the [inter]national organization showing support, it has meant the world to me. I’ve received support in so many ways — in every way possible — I feel even more accepted and at home,” Alice says.

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Kindness Is Key

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month in May 2022, the Kappa Foundation launched a virtual series on the impact of kindness. In this series, Kappas learned how being kind to others, ourselves and our minds is vital to living fully. A generous gift from Christina Eichler Bullock, UC Davis, made this series possible.

Lives Full Lived — Kindness

This series included the following speakers and topics:

• Whisper Out Loud with Jessica Gendron Williams, President & CEO of The Center for Leadership Excellence, empowered women to talk about and do the things they should, but often don’t.
• Better Fraternity, Better You with Dr. Lori Hart, Director of Educational Initiatives at Holmes Murphy & Associates, utilized research on kindness and connection to show how both are key to living a happy life.
• Kind to Whom with Tina VanSteenbergen, Professional Speaker and Facilitator, discussed practical strategies for showing yourself the kindness and respect you show others.
• Because I Said I Would with Alex Sheen, Four-Time TEDx Speaker and Founder of Because I said I would, examined the social movement and nonprofit dedicated to the betterment of humanity through promises made and kept.

“I was inspired to support this kindness series because I wanted to promote the change I wish to see in the world,” Christina says. “I couldn’t be more excited about this project and hope it inspires not only our Kappa sisters but all women to always be kind and supportive of one another,” she says.

A participant shared, “You have enhanced my life exponentially this past month. I know I have learned a great deal and I have been all that much more capable of going out in the world and sharing my compassion and appreciation. I am so grateful for your gift and support of this very special series.”