Our
Mission
Our mission statement is to foster lifelong character, collaborative and creative storytelling, ethical and productive business practices, philanthropic action, and fraternal bonds by and between students of the cinematic arts.
What is DKA?
The Gamma Chapter of Delta Kappa Alpha (ΔKA) is the oldest professional, gender-inclusive, cinematic society at New York University. Established in 1950, the societal siblings of the Gamma Chapter foster lifelong personal and professional bonds between students interested in the cinematic arts.
Our values-based organization strives to provide opportunities for professional growth and leadership development for students of all genders with an affinity for film, television, and entertainment. DKA members benefit from professional development programming, networking, and real-world experience in writing, filming, producing, editing, and more!
The Gamma Chapter belongs to a national organization with over 75 years of history. The first chapter was created at USC in 1936 and today, DKA alumni include Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Lucille Ball, Alfred Hitchcock, and Julie Andrews. Currently, there are over 20 chapters across the USA, including USC, UCLA, Berkeley, Chapman, LMU, UT Austin and more. DKA prides itself in emphasizing timeless personal and professional values in its members.
You can learn more about our national organization here:
Our Values
Creativity
Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity is characterized by the practiced ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions. Creativity involves two processes: thinking, and then producing. If you have ideas, but don’t act on them, you are imaginative but not creative. Creativity is taking risks and challenging previous limits and processes for the sake of higher performance or understanding. Such risks and challenges are only possible after the achievement of dedicated practice and study of fundamentals. Without such foundation and mastery, a risk or challenge is simply an act of reinventing the wheel - which does not raise performance or previous limits. Creativity is a result of mastery and accumulated experience, not a tool that can be used at random. Before creativity, there must be many years of instruction, practice, humility, and intentionality: mastery. And after creativity, there must be many years of instruction, practice, humility, and intentionality: mastery. Life and fulfillment is a never-ending path, creativity is just a resulting step somewhere along the way.
Curiosity
Curiosity is a state of active interest or genuinely wanting to know more about something — allows you to embrace unfamiliar circumstances, giving you a greater opportunity to experience discovery, growth, and joy. Curiosity is what fuels empathy, learning, community, and meaning. The act of questioning what is known, having the courage to step outside of your comfort zone, and having the motivation for taking risks all comes from the cultivation of curiosity. This quality is the perfect weapon against fear, complacency, and boredom. Curiosity is the perfect counterweight to fear and anxiety. Learn to focus on the positives of any situation. Be optimistic and approach every experience with the intention to gain something positive from it. You’ll probably find that many of your worries don’t serve a purpose anyway. Curiosity disarms and reframes the negative effects of the new and the unknown.
Enthusiasm
Enthusiasm is the energy, the fuel, the blazing fire that brings about a successful collaboration and results. A famous writer once said that nothing great ever happened without enthusiasm. If you want to accomplish great things; if you want to realize great goals; if you want to live a great life, you absolutely must possess enthusiasm for everything you do. The best part is, it is contagious and will improve every one of your collaborations. It will also make everything much more enjoyable. Why is enthusiasm so important to success? The reason is that the difference between success and failure is often minute. Two people with virtually the same amount of skill and talent can differ vastly in the amount of success they achieve. This difference can’t be attributed to having more ability than the other person. In fact, in many cases, the more successful person actually has less ability. A key difference is in enthusiasm. Enthusiasm requires an investment of energy. It does not require arm waving, raising your voice and being melodramatic. That can be faked—and instantly recognized. Real enthusiasm is a state of being. Practice giving 110%. Don’t fail to make an impression; don’t fail to make an impact, because you didn’t put anything out there. By recognizing and cultivating your own personal expression of enthusiasm, you raise yourself above the crowd of blank faces and flat voices. You distinguish yourself as an engaging collaborator and colleague. You become a compelling communicator that people enjoy, admire, and remember.
Generosity
Generosity makes our world a better place. It improves the life of the receiver. And it improves the life of the giver. Yet, despite the benefits, generosity is still too rare in our world today. Instead, our society craves and pursues more at every turn. We seek enjoyment by directing most of our resources towards our own pursuits: security, possessions, experiences, enjoyment, and luxury. Meanwhile, significant opportunities for generosity surround us every day at every turn. In order to rewire our thinking in a consumer-driven world and begin taking greater advantage of the abundant benefits of generosity, we need to shift our worldview.
Honesty
Honesty is a facet of moral character that connotes positive and virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, and straightforwardness, along with the absence of lying, cheating, or theft. Honesty requires a lot of courage, respect, responsibility, and good judgment. It is the cornerstone to building sincere, lasting, and fulfilling relationships and collaborations. The value of honesty cannot be overstated. Every time someone lies, alarm bells aren’t going to go off and that person’s nose isn’t going to grow longer, but something definitely happens. The liar may suspect that the only reason the customer said, “yes” to his proposal, the only way she dodged the blame, and the only reason the recipient of the lie thought highly of him or her was due to the lie itself. The question remains: Even though they fooled someone else, how do liars feel about themselves? The obvious truth is that they thought they didn’t deserve the outcome or else they would have told the truth in the first place. They may explain away the lie by telling themselves that everybody does it or that the lie fell in a gray area. But no matter how much effort goes into lying, the truth will always come out and nothing false can ever bring the right results. Oftentimes, being honest with yourself is the hardest truth – but it is the most important because you cannot be honest with others until you are honest with yourself. When you stand for honesty, you believe in yourself and everything you represent. When you stand for honesty, everything you say carries the voice of credibility. But, when you’re dishonest, your soiled reputation will do the speaking for you.
Humility
Humility is not thinking more highly of one’s self than is warranted. The nuance is that humble people are not self-deprecating but rather accurate in how they regard and present themselves. Without humility, I feel it’s very easy to lack self-awareness and if you’re not capable of being self-aware, it becomes really difficult to distinguish when your anger is useful or when it is self-destructive – when it is making you resolved and when it is making you stubborn. Humility takes courage. Humility sometimes means surrendering your own hard-won proficiency from time to time in order to reach a higher or different level of proficiency. This is especially true when you’re stuck at a familiar and comfortable skill level. Surrendering, especially to entitlement or your own ego, takes courage and vulnerability. The early stages of any significant learning invoke the spirit of the fool. It’s almost inevitable that you’ll feel clumsy, that you’ll take literal and figurative pitfalls. There’s no way around it. The learner / beginner who stands on his or her dignity becomes rigid, armored; the learning can’t get through. One must approach without even a hint of ostentation.
Proactivity
Proactivity means taking responsibility for your life and actions rather than just watching how things happen to or around you. Being proactive takes time, since you have to consider your options, weigh alternatives and make your own decisions in order to achieve your goals. A reactive behavior is influenced by the environment and outside forces. Proactivity is the combination of intentionality, forethought, and prompt initiative. Being proactive means anticipating problems, seeking new solutions and doing your best. Being reactive, on the contrary, means solving problems when they turn up, not wanting changes and doing the minimum effort.
Reliability
Reliability is the timely honoring commitments and meeting expectations in a timely and consistent manner. It fosters other qualities such as punctuality, dependability, and reciprocity. We want to collect reliable people in our lives. We do not want to deal with those who aren’t. Reliable people get and keep friends more easily, forge deeper relationships, receive the best opportunities, are granted more autonomy at work, have more self-confidence, live with integrity, and carry a clear conscience. So, to realize these benefits of being reliable, here are eight simple actions you can take.
Resourcefulness
Being resourceful is one of the most important aspects in an artistic and collaborative field because it is inherently dependent on multiple resources in order for anything to happen. Resourcefulness doesn’t just apply to effectively using the resources required within the process of creating something, but also applies to the process of learning and improving anything. If each person is full of knowledge, then each person is an incredible resource. If anyone has done something that you want to do, they are a resource for learning. There are some people who are proactive enough to share their experience and knowledge and create literature, documents, articles, etc. to share their resources. The most important part of being resourceful is taking the time to focus your need/problem, seek and acquire different types and amounts of resources, creatively combine those resources, and to share your solutions with others.
Respect
Respect, especially in a professional work environment, is essential to success. It is important that as leaders, professionals, and artists, we always treat ourselves, others, and our environment, with the highest levels of courtesy and respect.
Selflessness
Selflessness involves embodying a genuine concern for the well-being and preferences of others, placing their needs and desires as a higher priority than one's own. This quality entails a heightened sensitivity to the feelings and requirements of those around you, fostering a mindset of empathy and a willingness to go beyond personal interests in order to contribute to the welfare and happiness of others.
Loyalty
Loyalty is an unwavering commitment or allegiance to a person, group, cause, or principle. It is characterized by a deep sense of faithfulness, reliability, and dedication, where individuals remain resolute in their support and devotion even in the face of challenges or adversities. Loyalty extends beyond mere surface-level adherence; it involves a profound emotional connection and a sense of responsibility to uphold commitments and stand by those to whom loyalty is pledged. This virtue is rooted in trust, mutual understanding, and a sense of belonging, fostering enduring relationships built on a foundation of shared values and mutual support.
Constant Learning
Constant learning is an ongoing and intentional process of acquiring new knowledge, skills, and insights throughout one's life. It is a proactive and dynamic approach to personal and professional development, emphasizing a mindset of curiosity, adaptability, and openness to new ideas. Individuals committed to constant learning actively seek opportunities to broaden their understanding, whether through formal education, self-directed exploration, or experiential learning. This dedication to continuous improvement fosters not only the acquisition of diverse information but also the cultivation of critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Constant learners recognize the evolving nature of knowledge and are driven by a passion for staying informed and adaptable in an ever-changing world.
Adapatability
Adaptability is the capacity to adjust, evolve, and thrive in response to changing circumstances, environments, or requirements. It is a quality characterized by flexibility, resilience, and a proactive approach to navigating unforeseen challenges. Individuals who exhibit adaptability demonstrate a willingness to embrace novelty, learn from experiences, and swiftly modify their strategies or behaviors to align with shifting conditions. This trait extends beyond mere tolerance for change; it involves a proactive and positive response, enabling individuals to effectively cope with uncertainty and capitalize on opportunities for growth. Adaptability is a valuable skill in both personal and professional realms, allowing individuals to navigate the complexities of an ever-changing world with resourcefulness and a constructive mindset.
Problem Solving
Problem-solving is the systematic and cognitive process of finding effective solutions to challenges or obstacles. It involves the identification and analysis of a problem, the exploration of potential strategies, and the implementation of a well-reasoned and practical resolution. A successful problem solver demonstrates critical thinking skills, creativity, and the ability to approach issues methodically. This process often requires the gathering of relevant information, the evaluation of various options, and the consideration of potential consequences. Problem-solving is not only about addressing immediate issues but also about developing a skill set and mindset that can be applied across different contexts. It is a fundamental skill in both personal and professional domains, enabling individuals to navigate complex situations, make informed decisions, and contribute to innovative solutions.
Inventiveness
Inventiveness is the creative and resourceful capacity to generate novel ideas, solutions, or concepts, often in the pursuit of innovation. It involves the ability to think outside conventional boundaries, combining existing elements in new ways or introducing entirely original concepts. An inventive individual exhibits a flair for imagination, problem-solving, and a willingness to explore uncharted territories. This quality is not confined to the realm of product development but extends to various aspects of life, fostering a mindset that seeks unique approaches to challenges and opportunities. Inventiveness is a catalyst for progress, driving advancements in science, technology, arts, and everyday problem-solving scenarios, as it propels individuals to envision and implement groundbreaking solutions.
Diversity
Diversity, particularly in the context of minority identities, encompasses the rich tapestry of human experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives that extend beyond the dominant or majority group. It emphasizes the recognition and celebration of differences, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and cultural heritage. In acknowledging and valuing this diversity, a commitment to inclusivity and equal representation is fostered. Embracing diversity is not merely a numerical concept but an acknowledgment of the unique contributions and perspectives that individuals from minority identities bring to a collective societal or organizational whole. It involves creating an environment where everyone's identity is respected, appreciated, and integrated, fostering a more equitable and enriching space for collaborative growth and understanding
Equity
Equity refers to the fair and impartial distribution of resources, opportunities, and privileges to ensure justice and parity for individuals irrespective of their background or identity. It goes beyond a one-size-fits-all approach, recognizing historical and systemic disparities that have disproportionately affected certain minority groups. Achieving equity involves addressing and dismantling these barriers to provide everyone with the tools and conditions necessary to thrive. It is a commitment to rectifying imbalances, promoting inclusivity, and fostering an environment where individuals from minority identities have access to the same opportunities, rights, and benefits as their counterparts. Equity acknowledges that diverse groups may require distinct considerations to achieve genuine equality, striving for a society where each person can reach their full potential regardless of their background.
Inclusion
Inclusion refers to the deliberate and proactive efforts to create environments that embrace and value diversity, ensuring that all individuals, regardless of their background, identity, or abilities, feel welcomed, respected, and fully engaged. It goes beyond mere tolerance, advocating for the active participation and contribution of every person within a community or organization. Inclusive practices strive to dismantle systemic barriers, foster a sense of belonging, and celebrate the unique perspectives and talents that individuals bring. Inclusion is a commitment to recognizing and appreciating differences, fostering a culture where everyone feels empowered to express themselves authentically and where diverse voices are not only heard but actively sought. It is a fundamental aspect of building equitable and harmonious societies, where the richness of human diversity is regarded as a strength and a source of collective enrichment.
Accessibility
Accessibility refers to the design and implementation of environments, products, services, or information in a manner that ensures equitable and inclusive access for individuals with diverse abilities, disabilities, or limitations. The goal is to eliminate barriers and create environments that can be navigated, understood, and utilized by everyone, regardless of their physical, sensory, cognitive, or other functional characteristics. Accessibility extends beyond physical spaces to encompass digital platforms, communication channels, and societal structures. It involves thoughtful considerations in design and policies to guarantee that no one is excluded or disadvantaged due to differences in ability. Achieving accessibility is a commitment to promoting equal opportunities and fostering a more inclusive society where everyone, regardless of their capabilities, can participate fully and independently.