Local Graduate Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Helps Aspiring Business Owners

Members of fraternities and sororities not only help their communities during their undergraduate years, some continue this work on the graduate level. The Upsilon Alpha Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority in Lawrenceville, Georgia has been making an impact in Gwinnett County, GA since 1994.

The graduate chapter of the oldest Greek-lettered organization established by African-American college-educated women recently announced award recipients of their Upsilon Alpha Omega Graduate Chapter Scholarships. The scholarship enables eight budding Green T.I.E. (Training Inspires Entrepreneurship) Affair entrepreneurs to move to a next-level business training session sponsored by the Small Business Development Center in Lawrenceville.

Award recipients included Ms. Shelly Beer, Mrs. Millicent Black, Mrs. Ellen Craig, Mrs. Angela Johnson, Ms. Margaret Johnson, Ms. Tania Saint-King, Ms. Alexia Whitaker and Ms. Carrie Winchester.

Shelly Beer is excited about all of the possibilities available for entrepreneurship. “I realized that it is time for me to step out on my own, after working in the giftware business for nine years and being laid off at my last job, I am very grateful for being selected for the boot camp scholarship,” said Ms. Beer.

Sponsored by the Gwinnett Pearls of Service Foundation, Incorporated, the charitable arm of the AKA Gwinnett County graduate chapter,  the November event drew 49 prospective or current business owners.

The Green T.I.E. Affair, now in its fourth year, targets non-traditional entrepreneurs, namely minority women, in keeping with the focus of Alpha Kappa Alpha’s national service program.

 (Scholarship recipients pose with Upsilon Alpha Omega President Kathy H. Jackson (far left), Gwinnett Pearls of Service Foundation President Debbie Payton (far right), and Mr. Mr. Robert Andoh, Area Director of the University of Georgia's Small Business Development Center-Gwinnett.)

Digitizing Fraternity/Sorority History

As a fraternity historian, I know the importance of tracking an organization's history and securing if for future generations. The older the organization, of course, the more history. In today's electronic age, fraternities and sororities need to find ways to computerize years of history that may only exist in hard copy formats. The history of large organizations can fill volumes in a library and this valued information should be safely stored and if necessary it should be easily transferable from one location to another.

My organization is small but we have been scanning historical documents for years. Older alumni and past historians still possess old fraternity albums, event programs, and other documents, but these items do not yet exist electronically. We hope to one day have everything converted, however digitizing massive hard copy historical documents takes a huge amount of time and effort.

For large organizations with greater financial resources, outsourcing the process of converting historical documents and images makes sense. Sigma Chi Fraternity is one of the national organizations the leads the way in digitizing its history. I am sure more fraternities and sororities will seriously consider taking this step, if they have not done so already.

A company that can assist fraternities and sororities with the work of digitizing history is Digital Conversion Solutions, a division of a company with an unsurpassed history of excellence by delivering services to some of the largest and most prestigious cultural heritage institutions in the country.

Everything it our present time is going digital, so why not the history of individual organizations that make up the greater fraternity/sorority movement? If your organization has experience with this subject, please feel free to leave a comment below.

"You don't know where you're going until you know where you have been."

Happy Anniversary to Kappa Kappa Gamma, The Delphic Fraternity, and Delta Chi!

Three very distinct organizations share the same founding date within about 20 years of each other. Aside from the founding date of October 13, the three organizations illustrate the longevity and diversity of today's fraternity and sorority life. 

Kappa Kappa Gamma - The first of the three groups celebrating October 13th as a founding date is Kappa Kappa Gamma, a women's fraternity founded in 1870 at Monmonth College in Illinois. Kappa Kappa Gamma is one of the oldest women's Greek-letter societies in existence today. Kappa Kappa Gamma is a women's fraternity because the word sorority was not coined until after its founding. The organization's mascot is the owl and its flower is the fleur-de-lis. The women's fraternity has about 135 chapters nationwide. 

The Delphic Fraternity - The Delphic Fraternity, also known as Delphic of Gamma Sigma Tau, is a historic multicultural organization originally founded as a literary society on October 13, 1871 at SUNY Geneseo. It is the second fraternity in the nation to officially promote multicultural diversity within collegiate institutions and the first truly multicultural fraternity to be formed on the East Coast. During the early 1900s the Delphic Fraternity expanded to eight historic chapters throughout New York and Pennsylvania. Today an undergraduate chapter and two alumni chapters represent all 10 chapters of the legendary organization.  

Delta Chi - Delta Chi was founded on October 13, 1890 at Cornell University. It was originally founded as a professional fraternity for law students. In 1922 Delta Chi became a general membership social fraternity, eliminating the requirement for men to be studying law, and opening membership to all areas of study. Delta Chi became the first international fraternity to abolish "hell week". The fraternity has 135 chapters in the United States and Canada. The organization's colors are red and buff and its official flower is the White Carnation. 

Happy Anniversary to all members of Kappa Kappa Gamma, the Delphic Fraternity, and Delta Chi!

(Full Disclosure: The author of this blog is a member of The Delphic Fraternity.)

Happy 100th Anniversary to Theta Phi Alpha Women's Fraternity!

On this day, one hundred years ago, Theta Phi Alpha women's fraternity was founded at the University of Michigan, Ann Harbor. The organization was originally formed in 1909 as a local sorority for Catholic women. At the time, other sororities on campus openly discriminated against Catholic women and would not welcome them into their organizations.

By the Spring of 1912, the local sorority was failing financially and membership was low. However, with the help of a pastor and committed alumnae, the organization was re-organized as Theta Phi Alpha on August 12, 1912. Today the organization is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference and is open to women of all faiths and celebrates a proud tradition of religious diversity amongst its members.

Theta Phi Alpha has 47 chapters and four colonies and its motto is "Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring." The women's fraternity mascots are the compass and the penguin and its colors are blue, gold, and silver

Happy 100th Anniversary to all members of Theta Phi Alpha!

Happy 23rd Anniversary to Phi Sigma Phi Fraternity!

On July 30, 1988, in South Bend, Indiana, Phi Sigma Phi Fraternity came into being as a result of a merger of two other fraternities. Members of seven chapters of one of the two merging fraternities decided to go out on their own and start a new fraternity. These daring men decided to create a new organization that united college men who wished to share in the spirit of true friendship and brotherhood.

The seven undergraduate chapters that became "The Founding Seven" of Phi Sigma Phi were located at: Eastern Michigan University; the University of Wisconsin-Stout; the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire; Northland College, Ashland, Wisconsin; West Virginia Wesleyan College, Buckhannon, West Virginia; Concord College, Athens, West Virginia; and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

The dawn of the 1990's saw Phi Sigma Phi settle into its position as that of a strong and determined new national fraternity. In 1997, Phi Sigma Phi was officially recognized as the 66th member fraternity of the National (now North-American) Interfraternity Conference (NIC).

Phi Sigma Phi Fraternity's mascot is the Phoenix and its colors are cardinal red and silver. Today the organization has 11 chapters nationwide. 

Happy 23rd Anniversary to all members of Phi Sigma Phi Fraternity!

Happy Founders' Day to Sigma Chi and Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternities!

Two national fraternities were founded on June 28th. Sigma Chi Fraternity was founded in 1855 and Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity was founded in 1920. Here is a little history on each:

Sigma Chi - The fraternity was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio by seven founding members who split from Delta Kappa Epsilon. Sigma Chi is one of the oldest and the largest college social fraternities in the world with 240 active chapters and over 300,000 initiates. The fraternity is part of the Miami Triad and its most notable members include David Letterman and Brad Pitt.

Sigma Tau Gamma - The fraternity, also known as "Sig Tau" is an all-male collegiate social organization founded on June 28, 1920 at University of Central Missouri (then known as Central Missouri State Teachers College). The fraternity was born out of the aspirations of seventeen men who became friends while in the service of their country during World War I in France. In accordance with its founding, the fraternity created new chapters on the campuses surrounding teachers colleges (at the time also called "normal schools.")

Happy Founders' Day to both Sigma Chi and Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternities!

Happy 107th Anniversary to Alpha Gamma Delta!

On this date in 1904 at Syracuse University in New York, Alpha Gamma Delta was founded. The organization is an international women's fraternity founded by 11 progressive women. Since its founding, collegiate chapters have been installed at 185 colleges and universities across North America and more than 155,000 women have become Alpha Gam sisters. Alpha Gamma Delta is a member of the Syracuse Triad.

The intent behind Alpha Gamma Delta's founding differed from other groups because it was founded to become a National Women's Fraternity rather than a local group or literary society. Alpha Gamma Delta's colors are red, buff, and green, the organization's mascot is the squirrel, and its vision is to "Inspire the Woman. Impact the World."  

Happy 107th Anniversary to all members of Alpha Gamma Delta!

Happy Anniversary to FarmHouse and Triangle Fraternities!

Not all fraternities are known by Greek-letters. Two of the most famous non-Greek letter fraternities are FarmHouse and Triangle. Today, both fraternities celebrate their founders' day.

FarmHouse - On April 15, 1905 at the University of Missouri seven men founded FarmHouse as an agricultural fraternity. The fraternity became national in 1921. The organization has about 33 chapters and its motto is "Builder of Men."

Triangle - On April 15, 1907 at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 16 men founded the Triangle Fraternity. It is a social fraternity limiting membership to male students majoring in engineering, architecture, and the physical, mathematical, biological, and computer sciences. The organization's motto is "Truth Conquers All" and it has about 30 chapters.

Happy Anniversary to both FarmHouse and Triangle fraternities!

Happy Founders' Day to Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Fraternity, Inc.!

Thirty-two years ago, on the Livingston College Campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, 20 young men of Latino descent created an organization to represent and meet the needs of the Latino student population. The Latino social fellowship aimed to help students achieve their goals and provide a sense of family to those away from home. On April 5th, 1979, Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Social Fellowship, Inc. was established. The official motto of the fellowship was “Latinos Siempre Unidos” (Latinos Always United.) In the Fall of 1987, after much debate, members agreed to change the designation to fraternity, thus the name Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Fraternity, Inc. was adopted.
 
Today, the organization has 52 active chapters and is a member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) and the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO). The symbol of the fraternity is a Taino native and its colors are baby blue and pure white. 

Happy Founders' Day to all members of Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Fraternity, Inc.!

Guest Post: Networking in Post-Grad Life: Think Greek!

By GreekForMe.com -

We network each and every day, sometimes without even realizing it. From idly chatting with our professors about our internship hunt to chatting with fraternity brothers about which classes we like and which ones we loathe. We form real connections with friends who may later turn into colleagues, with internship employers who may be our full-time job bosses one day, and professors who may help us secure that coveted first job. Here’s just a few of the way being a Greek can up your post-grad networking:

Greek Alumni – Greeks are a tight-knit bunch, and we can bet your fraternity chapter has a long list of alumni who would be willing to help you with a mentorship, internship, or even a job referral. Start early by connecting with some Greek alums at Greek events on campus, chatting with them about how Greek life helped them succeed in their professional life, how they got to where they are, etc. Ask for their personal contact information so you can reach out to them with any Greek life and career advice questions. Be sure to respect their time, but start building up an easy conversation with them. Having a base of trusted Greek alumni around you can dramatically help when it’s time to look for internships and jobs.

Fellow Greeks – Your fraternity brothers may not be able to help you land a job right now, but it’s pretty simple to get a sense of which brothers work hard, are trustworthy, and genuine “do right” kind of guys. These are the people you want to form genuine friendships with, as if they’re displaying that kind of maturity in college, they’ll likely go far in life and will help you do the same. Having a group of trusted friends around you throughout your life not only expands your connections, but makes you a well-rounded person.

Social Media – Twitter and Facebook have done a world of good for networking. Privacy is always a concern, as is being careful what you post on social media sites. But beyond that, follow and friend Greek alums, Greeks outside your campus, and those representing your Greek national organization on social media sites. Be yourself, but post intelligently – the whole world (well, all your Facebook friends and Twitter followers) can read what you’re saying, and those words have power. Comment and reply to other’s posts in a respectful, knowledgeable fashion. You’ll be building up your online presence, and can directly connect with those people who may be able to help you find an internship or job – or at least give you some great advice for post-grad life.

How has being a Greek helped you network? Share your real life examples!

(GreekForMe.com knows firsthand what it’s like to be a Greek, and the networking benefits that come along with it. One tip: wear Fraternity Apparel! It’s a great conversation topic, and you’ll be surprised by all the fellow Greeks you get to know.)