Everyone loves a good underdog story, and Greek life members were lucky enough to witness one at the Greek Life Appreciation Ceremony.
The ceremony for the 13 social clubs on campus was to honor the achievements of Greek life over the past school year and to crown this year’s boy and girl club of the year.
“The event was to celebrate all the accomplishments in Greek life and all the work ICC and Sam Parnell have put into the Lipscomb Community,” Sam Smith, Dean of Student Life, said. “We wanted to celebrate the service, social events, relationships, and drug and alcohol awareness events social clubs have participated in this year.”
The winner for the male social club of the year was Theta Psi, a fairly new club on campus, and the winner of the female club of the year was Kappa Chi.
Kappa Chi seemed like the underdog of the competition, being one of the smallest clubs on campus, but the club insists this is the recognition they deserve.
“The competition was stiff,” Melissa Pinhal, a Lipscomb senior and president of Kappa Chi, said. “”I feel for every girl in the club it’s a lot of validation. [As a smaller club], we don’t get recognized, so to get recognized is great and gives us a goal for next year.”
Kappa Chi was the winner out of seven female social clubs, most of which are quadruple the size of it.
“It’s unbelievable that our little club is doing such big things,” Kappa Chi senior Whitney North said. “It’s the highest honor us sisters could get, and it’s great that out of everyone on campus we won. I’m so glad we could share a piece of our club with Greek life.”
Club of the year was chosen by Sam Smith, Sam Parnell, Laurie Sain, random faculty members and random students. The clubs were judged by videos they sent in describing what set them apart as a club, how their club honored God, impacted Nashville and what their club did for Lipscomb.
As the winners for the night, Theta Psi and Kappa Chi’s videos were shown to Greek life. Karsten Winegeart was the videographer for Kappa Chi.
The awards ceremony was the first of its kind, and offered a unique way for clubs to get together and celebrate the year.
“There wasn’t a final capstone moment for Greek life to celebrate all we do with social events, Singarama, rush, and we needed a moment to reflect on all we’ve done,” Sam Parnell, the Dean of Greek Life, said.
Students at the event enjoyed the change and hope to see the ceremony become a tradition.
“I thought it was really well done,” Lauren King, a senior in Pi Delta, said.” I’d love to see the event to grow and for more awards to be given out. Maybe Singarama awards and intramural awards could be added.”
The night featured a slideshow of photos of club events, recognition of intramural winners and recognition for Greek Life’s role in Lipscomb’s Relay for Life. It was announced that Greek life raised over $17,000 for Relay for Life, with Phi Nu and Delta Tau bringing in the most money.
The night ended with a prayer from Sam Smith and refreshments while Greek life members mingled on the steps of Collins Alumni Auditorium.
“This is definitely the beginning of something great,” Laney Overton, a sophomore in Delta Sigma, said. “More events that focus on bringing Greek life together could only lead to a greater community at Lipscomb.”