Greek Week 2016

Well that went fast! Greek Week 2016 was one full of laughter and excitement! We were paired with Beta Theta Pi and the Multicultural Greek Council, and they were such a respectful and hardworking group to be paired with. On Monday we had almost 50 generous people from our pairing donate or attempt to donate blood for the annual Blood Drive, which was the most of any Greek Week Pairing.

Junior Abby Renner donates blood during Greek Week. Photo by Melissa Quaiyoom

Tuesday kicked off the second event of the week, GREEK OLYMPICS! We can’t thank those who participated enough, especially a few of our awesome seniors, Anna Santaga, Ashley Hoff, Grace Rafferty and Rhea Veal for winning SECOND in Tug of War! Sarah Barsness and Katherine Crosby competed in the obstacle course; and Kenadie Wicks, Bertha Mahama, Darby Drenzek, Olivia Grubbs worked fabulously together as a Relay Team. The rest of us had so much fun cheering every on!

Tug of War during Greek Olympics. Photo by Melissa Quaiyoom

The highlight of the week was the Follies Competition. This year's Follie's theme was 'Once Upon a Greek'. Each pairing creates skits that tell a story related to theme with actors, singers, and several dance routines. It feels like yesterday that we were picking the wonderful theme of Toy Story, editing music, and practicing hours upon hours to perfect the skit. The fraternity men of Beta Theta Pi and MGC were talented and committed from the get-go. Our lead men, Sam Farrell, Emre Senturk, and Christian Vadevoulis, played the roles of Buzz Light Year, Woody and Andy. Our two women leads were Jenna Heeren (myself) as Barbie and Elena Alvarez as Jessie.

Our performers in the girls dance included Kelsey Lox, Alicia Orr, Kathryn Lorenger, Katie Cabel, Nicole Anderson, Elizabeth Recker, Madeline Lawerence, Abby Workman and Jenna Heeren. Our performers in the partner dance included Brooklyn Ophoff, Darby Drenzek, Elena Alvarez, Gillian Fiandaca, Olivia Grubbs, Sarah Barsness, Ella Paris, and Jayde Price.

We waited patiently as they announced the awards. We felt confident in our skit after hitting all of our stunts, nailing our lines, and performing with synchronization and huge facial expressions. After receiving the award for best banner, we circled up and waited for the announcement of the winner. Then, “CHI OMEGA, BETA THETA PI, and MGC”, rang loudly through the speakers at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Our cheering section and performers erupted in excitement. All of our hard word had paid off! It was a night to remember.

The Polar Plunge was the final event of Greek Week and it was one of our favorites! Leading up to the Plunge, each person has to raise $75 in order to jump into the Coralville Reservoir to raise money for the Special Olympics of Iowa. Throughout the week Special Olympic athletes spoke on their past experiences to remind Greek community members the many reasons why the Plunge is important. The money raised went to crushing stereotypes and allowing many a chance to become a champion! A major thank you to our girls who raised the money and spent their beautiful Saturday morning plunging into chilly waters to give those who have never been given a chance, a chance to succeed!