Gamma Phi Seton Hall University Newsletter

Alpha Omicron Pi

Gamma Phi

SETON HALL UNIVERSITY
SPRING 2020

A message from
Our President

Hello Everyone,

My name is Kelcey Sheeley and I serve as the Chapter President for Gamma Phi at
Seton Hall University. Since my term started in November 2019, I have had
ambitious goals for our chapter to continue our growth. This LC is extremely
dedicated and driven to lead our chapter to reach new heights. Together right at
the beginning of quarantine, we attended a virtual leadership workshop that was
a part of AOIIs virtual engagement. Heather Adams, recruitment advisor at Middle
Tennessee State University taught us We were striving to achieve Ruby Level for
SOE before those got cancelled for the 2020 year. Since then, we have shifted
focus to individual member and internal chapter goals such as overall chapter
wellness, individual career opportunities and building leadership skills. These
women are taking this time to do great things for themselves and the world! The
rest of Gamma Phi and I are very proud of our sisters and alumni who are
essential workers and have been showing up to help fight COVID-19. We cannot
wait to return to campus in the fall, to initiate our amazing Spring 2020 class and
enjoy the sisterhood that we so deeply miss.

ALAM,

Kelcey Sheeley

Vice President of

Administration

Hi everyone,
My name is Erin Beik and I currently serve as the Vice President of
Administration for the Gamma Phi Chapter! I am thankful for all the
opportunities I’ve had to help our chapter grow in the first semester of my
term, even with the unprecedented challenges we faced!
At the end of January into formal recruitment this year, we were able to have an
ELC, Haley Joyner visit us! She gave us helpful feedback during recruitment and
our sisters were grateful for her help and support! Since January, our Leaders’
Council has been working hard to accomplish many of our SOEs already, we set
the goal of Ruby Level to aim high, however our focus has changed with the
pandemic and now many of the officers have been using them to set goals during
virtual engagement and for the upcoming Fall semester.

Throughout March, we were still able to finish updating our chapter bylaws and
handbooks to send to headquarters on time. Additionally, we were able to add
new positions to these bylaws, a second New Member Educator, Marketing
Chairman, Fundraising Chairman and Service Chairman, and we had virtual
elections to elect new sisters into these positions and our other Spring
positions!

In April, as a chapter, to show our gratitude
to the Seton Hall faculty and employees,
sisters signed up to send appreciation emails
to the deans of all the colleges and the
different leaders of each department
throughout Seton Hall, such as Health
Services, The Career Center, Public Safety,
Admissions, and more. The responses to the
emails were extremely positive and helped to
show our chapter’s appreciation for the Seton
Hall community during the pandemic.

I am grateful to have been able to serve
Gamma Phi as Vice President of Administration during this unprecedented

time. I cannot wait to return to campus for the Fall semester and see my
sisters once again! 

ALAM,

 Erin Beik

Vice President

of Membership

Recruitment

Hi everyone!

My name is Carsen Essing and after
spending a year serving as the VPMR elect I
was elected to serve as the VPMR for the
Gamma Phi chapter at Seton Hall university
for the fall 2020 and spring 2021
recruitment seasons! Spring 20 recruitment
was a huge success and we were able to
welcome 28 wonderful women into our
sisterhood!

We have big plans in the works for the upcoming
recruitment seasons. Our main goals are to focus
heavily on conversation in workshops to perfect
our recruitment skills and creating a strong AOII
presence with the PNMs before recruitment. Due
to the current events I am in contact with HQ
keeping up to date on the potential changes to
formal recruitment and making plans accordingly.
Despite potential changes we are very hopeful
that next year will be extremely successful and we
will take a large new member class in the spring.

I am looking forward to returning
to campus in the fall and
reuniting with our sister and the
Seton Hall community.

ALAM,

Carsen Essing

New Member
Educator

Hi Everyone!

My name is Megan Herschel and I served as the New Member Educator from November

2019 - May 2020. Following formal recruitment in February we welcomed home 27 new

members. I was lucky to get to know each of these amazing women individually through

our new member lessons in which we discussed Alpha Omicron Pi as an organization,

focusing on the structure, history, philanthropy and values that AOII represents.

Unfortunately, with the COVID-19 crisis taking away nearly three months of our semester,

we had to discuss alternate plans to finish the new member lessons and for initiation

when we return to campus in the fall. For the New Member lessons, I met with the new

members through zoom on Monday nights and we continued to do the lesson as we would

have if we were still on campus. All 27 of our wonderful women in our Spring 2020 class

are excited and ready to be initiated come August. We as a chapter are dedicated to

making that day special for them just as it was for all the other members of this amazing

organization. We also were able to have big little reveal in person before leaving campus

so that all of our new members have a big sister to guide them through these

unprecedented times and help them through their unique process until we are able to be

together again in the fall. When we asked the new members to provide us with a

sentence to describe their experience so far, Kacie Wright expressed that "being a part

of AOII while we have been away has given me an incredible support system that I can

count on." We are extremely excited to see what these incredible women do in our

chapter.

ALAM,

Megan Herschel

Vice President of
Finance

Hi everyone!

My name is Hailie McManus and I serve as the Vice President of Finance for
the Gamma Phi chapter of AOII. During my time as officer, I have set goals
to keep patience among our chapter, as well as stay transparent with our
members. Since the closing of our school during quarantine, I have issued
refunds to our members for the loss of time on campus - for missing social
events and our formal. On top of that, I have noticed that some of our
members were affected by these hard times and I have worked closely with
them to make sure we set deadlines that work best for them when it comes
to paying dues.

ALAM,
Hailie McManus

Vice President of
Academic

Development

Hi everyone!

My name is Emily Nix and I serve as the Vice President of Academic Development for the
Gamma Phi chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi. Before submitting a preference sheet for this
position, I noticed that there was a negative stigma around academics. Both in the classroom
and out, sisters were putting themselves down if they did not do perfectly on an assignment,
and little achievements were being overlooked. My goal in being elected to VPAD was to
encourage sisters to celebrate themselves and their academic achievements, as well as end
the negative stigma around academics. In order to change attitudes towards academics, I
included a “Study Tip of the Week” during chapter, as well as a study playlist that anyone
could add too. Also, I continued the “A Jar” and AO Smartie Pi. After we were put online, I
wanted to make sure that I was giving our sisters equal amounts of encouragement and
space, because I know that sometimes it can feel overwhelming when too many people are
reaching out at once. When people came to me for academic advice, I always made sure to
tell them to try their hardest and to do their best, and that everything they had done so far
was awesome. I wanted sisters to feel encouraged to push themselves, rather than feeling
weighed down by someone else pushing them too much.This semester was especially
challenging after we were put online, and I am extremely proud of the Gamma Phi chapter for
their achievements, both academic and otherwise, during this crisis. Myself and the rest of LC
are looking forward to the fall semester where we can attend in-person classes and AOII
events again.

ALAM,
Emily Nix

Vice President of

Chapter Development

Hi everyone! 

My name is Christine Connelly, and in November 2019, I was elected to serve as the Vice
President of Chapter Development for Gamma Phi at Seton Hall. Two of my main goals for my
term was to increase the sisterhood activities available as well as to increase the feeling of
belonging and sisterhood for the chapter.
In terms of having more sisterhood events, throughout the beginning of the spring semester, I
held studyhood events- opportunities for sisters to study and spend time together. One of our
sisters, Allie, offered for us to come to her house for a pajama and game night,  playing card
games about two weeks before recruitment. This was a great opportunity for us to bond and
connect before such an important weekend. Movie and tv viewings were also a big hit as they
are very casual to plan and the chapter can decide what they would like to watch. Once we
switched to virtual sisterhoods, feedback from what the chapter wanted to do was more
important than ever. I hosted a pet show and tell as a stand in for the puppy yoga event that
was planned for May. One of our new members, Kaylee, led a virtual paint party, leading sisters
on painting a beautiful mountain scene.

For increasing the feeling of sisterhood for the chapter, my
main focus was on sentiment. During a recruitment workshop,
time was allotted to hold a sisterhood activity which focused
on reminding sisters how we feel about them. The whole
chapter sat in a circle, facing outwards, and were given a
number. When their number group was called to the center, I
read various statements (“A sister who lives out our ritual”, “A
sister who always has a smile”) and the girls in the middle
tapped the shoulders of three sisters who they thought of.
After, many expressed how loved they were without even
knowing. Virtually, girls were encouraged to reach out and
FaceTime sisters they may not always talk to.  While I have
replanned this activity for the fall, I did not want the seniors to
miss out on a memory jar from their time in Gamma Phi. I made
a Google Form for each senior, shared their respective form
with them, and shared the compiled list with the chapter. This
enabled sisters to remind the seniors of the amazing memories
and admiration they have from Gamma Phi.

I know we are all looking forward to our return in the fall as our
sisters miss getting to spend quality time with one another that
cannot always  be replicated through a screen.

ALAM,

Christine Connelly

Philanthropy Chair

Hello everyone! My name is Amanda Szeles and I have proudly

served as Gamma Phi’s Philanthropy Chairman since November of
2019. Coming into the position, I had a few goals in mind.
Mainly,  I was determined to establish a local philanthropy for our
chapter, and host events in order to raise $10,000 by December
of 2020.  In January of 2020, I made arrangements with
Associated Humane Society (AHS) in Newark, NJ for Gamma Phi
to adopt their local animal shelter as our local philanthropy.
Before the COVID-19 outbreak, we were able to have about 20
sisters volunteer in person at AHS before quarantine began. With
the help of Madison Vance, our VPCOMM, we have advertised
our commitment and support to AHS on our instagram, reposting
information on adoptions of the dogs and cats, and events that
AHS was promoting. When our chapter made our efforts virtual
due to quarantine, we were able to donate $178.25 to AHS of
extra supplies, toys, and food for the animals during this time, as
they were struggling without having any volunteers. In addition,
some of our sisters have dropped off things like old blankets and
towels to the shelter on their own time. I am proud of our chapter
for diving right into being involved with our local philanthropy,
despite all of the social restrictions currently! Since March of
2020, Alexandra Ryan has been working alongside me as our
Service Chairman. We are currently working on a manual together
to describe and define this new position’s role for our chapter.
She is transitioning into being our main contact for AHS and will
organize our local philanthropic efforts!
Our chapter hosted two in-person tablings this semester, as the COVID-19 quarantine prevented u
from doing much more unfortunately! At the first tabling in January, we gave away free blue hair-
ties with arthritis facts attached to them. The second tabling in February involved our chapter
asking people of the Seton Hall community passing by to write some words of encouragement and
love to Juvenile Arthritis kids! I mailed them out to a local JA camp for the children and families.
We called it “Kards for Kids.”

We have hosted two ‘Venmo Wars’ on our personal instagrams to
raise money for the Arthritis Foundation. Our presence on
instagram regarding our philanthropy has been extremely

prevalent. Our VPCOMM held a Blue Week for our chapter and
encouraged each sister to post themselves performing the
challenges on their personal instagrams to raise further

awareness for the cause! In addition, our chapter hosted an
opportunity on our AOII instagram for people who follow us to
write a card for residents in nursing homes. We called it, “COVID
Cards of Care” the cards were divided and sent to a total of four

locations! Through our Venmo Wars efforts, our chapter has
collectively raised $1,001.64 for the Arthritis Foundation!

Our chapter has proudly completed 815 service hours collectively this semester! Our Leader’s
Council and Cabinet have been working hard together and meeting weekly in order to make our
presence on campus in the Fall stronger than ever!

ALAM,

Amanda Szeles

Vice President of

Education

Hi!

My name is Lynnie Tecza and I am currently
serving as the Vice President of Education
for the Gamma Phi Chapter of AOII. One of
the goals I had set at the beginning of my
term was to have a 100% pass rate on the
IME this year. I planned on completing this
goal by holding review sessions and asking a
few questions similar to the IME during
chapter.

Being that we had to go virtual prior to the
IME being taken, I was still able to provide
sisters with a Kahoot and Quizlet to study
from and we even hosted a IME Review
Kahoot session for those who wanted to
attend. Due to the studying our sisters put
forth we were able to have a 100% pass
rate on the written portion! This is fantastic
news due to the fact that even though we
had to switch to an online format, our
sisters still did a great job!

The ritual portion will be held in the fall
and I am eager to share the successes of
the Gamma Phi Chapter after the Ritual
section is performed!

ALAM,
Lynnie Tecza

Panhellenic Delegate

Hi everyone!

My name is Isabella Valentino and I currently serve as Gamma Phi’s Panhellenic Delegate.
One of my goals coming into the position was to increase the organization of our events
and to encourage more participation. I created a calendar of Greek events happening
across each of the councils: CPC, IFC, MGC, NPHC and the service and business councils.
This calendar was posted on the facebook as well as my weekly slide to encourage sisters
to attend events from other organizations. Due to the early dismissal from campus,
unfortunately we were unable to attend Greek Week and the Relay for Life annual
ceremony. I have been remaining in touch with CPC and GMA as we continue to vote on
new bylaws to better recruitment for next year as well as vote for new members for the
execute council. I am eager to get back on campus in the fall to see all of our sisters
again and continue to spread Greek unity on campus the best I can!

ALAM,
Isabella Valentino

Vice President of
Communications

Hi Everyone!

My name is Madison Vance and I was elected in November 2019 to serve as Gamma Phi’s VP of

Communication. One goal of mine was to increase the frequency of our posts, and I have

accomplished this goal through creating weekly Why AOII Wednesday and Inspire Ambition posts.

These posts let us showcase and celebrate our wonderful sisters; they also provide an opportunity

to communicate to our following how loving, uplifting, inspiring and caring AOIIs can be! Working

by my side is Alfre Stevens as Marketing Chairman. Elected in March, Alfre has already

successfully orchestrated two merchandise orders and is in the process of creating a manual and

resources to help better define the newly reestablished position.With a turn to virtual classes and

social distancing requirements, I have amped up our social media efforts as it is a key way to

connect with our sisters, alumnae and potential new members. Through Instagram story campaigns

and adding interactive elements (i.e. questions) to feed posts, I have created ways to engage the

sisterhood and promote our organization. Additionally, I have made an effort to expand our

presence on different platforms. We have business accounts on Pinterest and Youtube which

allows us to post new types of content. Most importantly, Facebook has been reintegrated into

our social media plans, and will be further integrated in the fall through use of the event

features. Stay in the loop with the going ons of Gamma Phi by connecting with us!

Instagram: @aoiisetonhall

Facebook: @AOIISetonHall

ALAM,

Madison Vance

Congratulations
Seniors, Class of 2020

In Seton Hall's May 2020
Graduation Ceremony, we were set
to graduate 23 seniors, 4 of which
finished their degree in December
and 19 that finished their degree in
May. We as a chapter are so proud
of all the accomplishments they
have achieved, we will miss them,
but can't wait to see what the
future holds for them. We wish you
love and luck in all your endeavors!

DECEMBER GRADUATES:

Meghan Healy, Christina
Gryzbowski, Hanna Wargula and
Madison Guerrero

MAY GRADUATES:

Mackenzie Banta, Julia Casalino,
Morwenna Cory, Megan Daniels, Stephanie
Diiorio, Jennifer Dunsheath, Seleme
Goncuoglu, Katherine Gray, Lindsay
Henning, Julia Lazzara, Josie Martinez, Evi
Mosheqaj, Alyssa Narduzzi, Erin Newell,
Isioma Oye-Onwuka, Evan Robinson,
Gabriella Scimemi, Laura Sorrentino and
Brittany Tomore

A message from our
Chapter Advisor

Hello everyone!

I am Alyssa Morgan and I serve as the Chapter Adviser for the Gamma Phi Chapter since
December of 2019. This has been such a honor and growth experience for me to help advise
these women. I am a 2010 initiate of the Tau Lambda Chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi at
Shippensburg University. I have been as adviser of Gamma Phi since colonization in 2014. Our
AAC is comprised of alumnae from Gamma Phi, Alpha Nu, Theta Pi, Alpha Epsilon, and Iota
Sigma. We have advisers who are essential workers and showing up to help fight Covid-19 on a
daily basis and we are grateful to have them on our AAC. On behalf of the AAC, I want to
acknowledge the determination and dedication of the sisters of Gamma Phi. They apprise their
advisers of what they are doing and are always open to hearing our ideas and collaborating
with each other. During the Spring 2020 semester the Leader's Council and Cabinet has gotten
together to ensure wellness checks are being done on our members and have ensure our seniors
were installed as alum and had the appropriate send off. Our New Members had a unique
experience as well with completing their New Member period virtually and are awaiting to be
initiated. Our new members are determined to run for leadership positions in the fall and are
already great assets to Gamma Phi. The amount of ideas this LC has for recruitment, PR,
philanthropy, and sisterhood is inspiring and I know that their enthusiasm will continue into the
fall. If anyone has interest in a volunteer position for Gamma Phi or inetrested in advising
please reach out to me at AlyssaGMorgan@Gmail.com.

ALAM,
Alyssa Morgan