“When I moved from Johannesburg to New York City, the busy streets felt isolating. As an international student, Greek life, to me, was the epitome of the American college experience. What motivated me to rush was my faith in making friends that I would call family.
The nerves I’d felt sitting side by side with 400 other Potential New Members (PNMs) during recruitment quickly went away as I found myself loving every authentic conversation I had with the women of Alpha Chi: the ones you look at in awe, who carry themselves with kindness, grace, and courage.
To the PNMs who search for loving bonds in this big city, adventures filled with laughter, and more than a hundred sisters to stand by you in the good days, and the bad, I hope you find that in Alpha Chi because I did.
Being an Alpha Chi means receiving warm, inviting smiles from your sisters, in every corner of campus. Being an Alpha Chi means being backed by a strong sisterhood, whose unwavering support and encouragement spur you to take risks and celebrate your efforts. Being an Alpha Chi means sharing a home with the most assiduous women you will find. Our differences in background and identity unite us. I can best explain the feeling of being part of such a powerful sisterhood through a phrase I embraced in South Africa: Ubuntu, “I am because you are”.
It is thanks to the encouragement I received from my fellow sisters that motivated me to take leadership. My passion and vision for this chapter are kindled through the many impactful women that I am blessed to share a community and lead with. Firstly, I owe being here to Amalia Blood, my Big sister who showed me what AXΩ is really about: Real Strong Women who carry a bond of love. I’m proud to follow in her footsteps. Secondly, I am thankful for the support, passion, and friendship of my mentor Anika Tsapatsaris, a true leader with a heart of gold. Thirdly, I look up to our outgoing President, Ashley Pelham who showed me how to lead with resilience, and elegance, especially when faced with tough battles.
Finally, I am indebted to this Chapter – Theta Psi, thank you for trusting me. I can confidently say: I am because we are. “
LITB,
Lara <3
Alpha Chi Omega was founded on October 15, 1885, at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. At a time when women were just beginning to occupy seats in college classrooms, seven female students were encouraged by Professor James Hamilton Howe, dean of DePauw’s School of Music, to form a women’s society within the school.
Inspired, our Founders formed the sixth women’s fraternity in the country—the first to be in a music school. Sure they would be the last, the founders chose Alpha and Omega—the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet—to form their name, with “Kai” (meaning “and”) in the middle, later changed to the Greek letter Chi.
Dedicated to advancing “the intellectual, social and moral culture” of its members, our founders’ vision has grown to include our women’s Fraternity, the Alpha Chi Omega Foundation and the National Housing Corporation. Together, they serve more than 200,000 members in more than 130 collegiate chapters and 200 alumnae chapters nationwide.
The Alpha Chi Omega - Theta Psi chapter was chartered at Columbia in 1989.
