A Summer of Success: ZTA Wins Top Honors at International Convention

This summer, the Gamma Pi chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha (ZTA) at the University of Georgia received major accolades at the 46^th International Zeta Tau Alpha Convention for the 2022-2024 biennium. Their chapter was awarded the Helen Margaret Harrison Award for Most Outstanding Chapter, Crown Chapter Award, Academic Achievement Award, Helping Hands Award, Quota/Total Award, and the Founders Club for the $200,000 level.

The Gamma Pi chapter of ZTA has been around since 1949. It is a tight knit sisterhood of young women on campus. One member Anna Cangelosi acknowledges how their dedication to supporting one another and serving their community has impacted her.

“My sisters lift me up and are encouraging when I need it the most; they inspire and motivate me to be the very best version of myself,” she said. “They have played a huge role in shaping my journey at UGA.”

This year’s president, Emma Kate Williams, and three other members represented their chapter at the convention, held in Indianapolis, Ind. on July 17-21. Their favorite memory from the event was at the Recognition Banquet when they received the Helen Margaret Harrison Award for Most Outstanding Chapter. This award is the highest honor to be achieved by a collegiate chapter. Williams discussed the planning and effort throughout the year leading up to this moment,

“Since the last convention, we have been working on building ourselves up to win this award again,” she said. “When our chapter was called, we found ourselves in happy tears!”

ZTA strives to make a difference in their communities through their national philanthropy of Breast Cancer Education & Awareness. The Gamma Pi chapter supports Think Pink, Race for the Cure, and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. This year, their Philanthropic Chair created a new annual event called the Think Pink 5k, a race of over 200 runners throughout campus. This raised awareness and funding for their philanthropy. Through this addition, it led to them reaching the Founders Club for the $200,000 level and being one of the top eight fundraising chapters in the nation.

The Crown Chapter Award is awarded to a well-rounded chapter that displays excellence in areas of membership, operations, programming, and leadership. One of the biggest contributions from the past year to attaining this award was noted to be their new “Communication Task Force”, which centralized their communications within the chapter to one platform. Another contribution was changes to their overall schedule which their president noted, “provides a more inclusive community for members to come together.”

Emma Kate feels that their Executive Council was able to “lean into change” through the various new initiatives they introduced. She looks forward to continuing in this direction as she finishes out her term and sets up the next Executive Council for success by “capitalizing on the previous changes made.”

ZTA is excited to continue excelling to new heights in this new school year. President Emma Kate says that her goal when her term started in January was to “increase the sense of belonging and sisterhood in our chapter.” This is clearly being achieved through the testimony of many members

Chapters like ZTA Gamma Pi create a space of belonging for students on campus, to achieve more together than apart.