About
Mission Statement
We hope to give the strong community of women at UCF the tools necessary to thrive and become more involved within their community. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and functions in different ways. We hope this website assists and allows more students to become involved.
Goals and values
Alpha Sigma Kappa Nu’s goal is to provide a vast community and support system for women in STEM. The sorority strives for a blossoming environment, academically and philanthropically. Their community based events all consist of volunteering and helping those in need. You can read more about it on their website.
summary of aSKNu
Alpha Sigma Kappa Nu (or “ASKNu”) is a chapter of Alpha Sigma Kappa at UCF. Alpha Sigma Kappa is a sorority for women in technical studies, commonly referred to as “STEM.” The sorority was formed from the Little Sisters of the Triangle organization, a fraternity with a similar premise to ASK in the 1980s. While the Little Sisters of the Triangle was planned to be phased out, the sisters at the Institute of Technology at the University of Minnesota wanted to keep the organization alive, and created the sorority known as ASK today in 1989.
At the time, only 17% of the students enrolled at Institute of Technology at the University of Minnesota were women. The founders strongly believed in the importance of having a group for women in such fields and situations. Thus, ASK serves these women both socially and academically. ASK has grown largely since its founding, now being at 15 universities in the United States with hundreds of members and thousands of alumni.
The UCF chapter itself was founded in 2018, and has continued to grow a larger presence each year.
What ASKNu Does
UCF’s ASK has a structure similar, but not entirely the same, as traditional greek life on campus. Members join the organization during s recruitment period once a semester, and then are a member for life (you are still a member as alumni) once initiated into the organization after completing requirements.
Members must be a woman or non-binary individual pursuing a major in a technical field to join.
UCF ASK’s core is contained in its three pillars: Social, Academic and Professional, and Philanthropy. ASK also does a variety of special events outside of these pillars.
- Social: Intended to promote friendship amongst sisters and fun for women in fields who often have strict academic and professional obligations. Social events and thrown often and encouraged. There are different events every semester, with things such as game nights, potlucks, picnics, and things of that nature. Events occur on and off campus.
- Academic and Professional: Intended to aid in the advancement of members academic and professional careers. Events such as resume workshops, group studies, and events with speakers from different industries help connect members to resources in their field and assist in their academic journey.
- Philanthropy: Aimed at giving back to the community. Members participate in volunteering events like area cleanups, community canvassing, and more. The sorority also hosts a donation drive contributing to a different organization every semester.
- Special Events: ASK hosts a yearly retreat trip for its members, along with a formal every fall.
- Big/Little: As is traditional in other sororities, ASK has a mentorship/friendship program with an established member known as a “Big” is paired with a new member, a “Little” to help guide them during the joining process. As the organization grows, “families” become established as the interconnected relationships between bigs and littles grows as new members are joined and paired together.
- Recruitment: As ASK is a sorority, it has a recruitment process and is not an open ended club.There is a process to joining that occurs once at the beginning of every semester. (There are rules to how much I am allowed to share about this process. I can’t talk about the exact requirements of joining and how it works beyond recruitment unless someone is already in the sorority. We can only discuss how recruitment works and when it occurs.) Recruitment is typically held over a two week period and allows members to attend events to learn more about the sorority, and determine if they would be a good fit.
How To Join
Alpha Sigma Kappa Nu hosts recruitment events towards the beginning of the semester. These events occur over the span of two weeks and you must attend the events as they occur. You must also have a STEM major. All of this information is present in their website along with a list of majors and the events as the dates are confirmed.