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Becoming a sister of Alpha Lambda Phi Alpha (Alpha for short) was the greatest decision I ever made at �鶹��Ƶ. After nearly eight semesters here, I can say that definitively. Alpha gave me the courage I needed to take risks and make big decisions and was the support system I fell back on when risks didn’t pan out or life didn’t go my way.

For those of you who may not know, Alpha is one of the sororities at �鶹��Ƶ, and more specifically, is one of the three local sororities. Alpha was founded in 1900, 13 years after �鶹��Ƶ was founded in 1887. We just celebrated our 113th birthday, which makes us the first and oldest sorority at �鶹��Ƶ. Alpha ladies have seen it all—we are entrenched in the history of �鶹��Ƶ and have been a campus institution since our inception. One of my favorite things to do is to go to the library archives and look at newspaper clippings and yearbook pages about Alphas, because even way back then Alpha ladies were kicking butt and taking names and having an awesome time together doing it. It is commitment to fidelity, scholarship, and justice, but it is also belly laughs (no ladylike giggles from Alphas), bare feet in each other’s laps, philanthropy in our local community, deep friendship, and the cutest apparel sported on campus.  It is songs and traditions and a beautiful big house and someone to sit with in the library. Alpha is incredible academic achievement (we had the highest GPA of all Greeks last semester, both for the semester and cumulatively, followed closely by Delta!) but even more impressively, Alpha means strength, loyalty, success, and joy that follows you for the rest of your life, whether that be in career, love, family, or personal development. My favorite stories about Alphas are not from last week or last year, but from fifty years ago, told by spunky and feisty Alpha alumnae when they return to the house. They share in our traditions, in our history, and in our sisterhood.

Alpha has been there for in every capacity I needed throughout my time at �鶹��Ƶ. When I was a first year, I had wonderful friends that I lived near in my dorm. If you’re a prospective student or committed student reading this, chances are you will too. �鶹��Ƶ people in general are wonderful. But I found I didn’t have much in common with them outside of proximity, and I wanted to meet girls with similar interests and values and older girls to see what they were doing differently with a few years under their belts. I got the feeling right away at Rush that Alpha was the sorority for me. The girls were down to earth, funny, leaders on campus, and I saw my best possible self in them. I was hooked.

It’s been a long time since then. Since then, I’ve lived with many Alphas, held officer positions every semester I was eligible, went abroad with two Alphas, lived at the Alpha House, and given every bit of love I could to my little sisters, whom I will miss more than anything at �鶹��Ƶ. When I graduate, Alpha will become my legacy at �鶹��Ƶ, and I will donate my money in support of Alpha’s activities, because I firmly believe that Alpha and Alphas do good for �鶹��Ƶ. I believe that by donating to Alpha, I am by extension donating to the health of the college.

This is my endorsement for giving Greek life a chance. Alpha gave me order at a time in my life when there was very little order, gave me a safe place to take chances and grow into a confident person, and within Alpha I formed the greatest friendships of my young life. And in return, I gave Alpha my loyalty, time, and assistance. Alpha has thrived for over a century at �鶹��Ƶ because of the love she inspires in our sisters, and it is my hope that long after I am gone from this campus, future sisters continue to do the amazing things that my sisters and I did here, and our sisters did before us.