Sigma Phi Omega Sorority, Inc.

Websites

UCB Chapter: www.ucbsigmas.com

Year Founded

UCB Chapter: 1997

Additional Information

Chapter Summary/Information: Sigma Phi Omega is a unique organization built on the foundations of diversity, leadership, philanthropy, lasting friendships, and social and professional networks. Zeta Chapter at UC Berkeley strives to bring each sister amazing opportunities for academic excellence, intellectual pursuit, social enrichment, and personal development. Furthermore, while we strongly believe in promoting our ideals within our sorority, we also work tirelessly in giving back to the community by hosting a number of annual community service events. In a large and dynamic campus such as Cal, we are all confronted with new faces, endeavors, and experiences. Sigma Phi Omega has helped young women adjust to college life for over fifty years. Among this whirlwind of unfamiliarity, being in a sorority can help brighten your path and put things into perspective. Our close-knit family of friends and alumni provides a strong support system and professional connections to conquer the obstacles and milestones of the college years, providing a base for lasting friendships and special memories. Over the years, our vibrant group of sisters has included members of different backgrounds, perspectives, beliefs, interests, fields of study, and career goals. Sigma Phi Omega prides itself for its diversity in membership as we embrace the unique qualities and gifts each member brings. Yet, despite our differences, we have come together to help each other grow, learn, and be the best that we can be so that we may live our college experience to its fullest and prepare for success in the near future. Being a Sigma has been the stepping stone for many of our members to achieve their goals and flourish in bright careers. Our alumni have gone on to pursue degrees and successful careers in business, law, health, entertainment, and education. But, most importantly and above all else, our group of fresh and genuine women forms an unbreakable sisterhood that begins in college and continues long after.

Message from the President: Being in a sorority is one of those few organizations that you only have the chance to join during your collegiate years. Like any other opportunity that comes our way, you have the choice of rejecting or seizing it when it is presented to you. And, like any other opportunity that comes our way, it has the potential to impact, change, and/or add an entirely new path to the course of your life. So, how do you decide whether it is the right decision for you? Not in a million years could I have told you that I imagined myself as a member of a sorority. However, this opportunity came knocking at my door and I chose not to pass up that chance. As a result, I found the most incredible group of women that I have ever encountered and known in my entire life, people whom I never would have met or given a second chance to know if I had not taken up this offer, and friends that will certainly be by my side as bridesmaids when I finally walk down that aisle. I cannot fully describe the magnitude in which Sigma Phi Omega has touched each of its sister’s lives. It has opened new doorways, changed perspectives, and helped each sister discover a deeper connection and relationship that surpasses that of any friendship. It has been able to expand each sister's college experience to an infinite degree. On an individual basis, I have watched many of our members, including myself, grow and find the direction in which they want to pursue in the future. I have seen each sister realize that they are able to do so much more and make a difference to others and the community because of this amazing organization and the women who are the very foundation of this sorority. The beauty lies in the fact that each sister chose, each from a different set of circumstances, to seize this opportunity to become a part of something that she had never been a part of before. In doing so, each sister, originally following her own isolated and narrow course, suddenly found a point in which all their pathways converged. From this destination, every sister has found that they can move forward even stronger, more prepared, and with a new light along with her sisters. Looking back as a senior at Cal, though my reasons for joining are unclear, I am very grateful for having the opportunity and making the decision to be a part of Sigmas.

Annual Events: - Summer Retreat - Informals - S.A.F.E. (Stop Abuse in Family Environments) Week - Turkey Dinner - Holiday White Elephant Gift Exchange - National Mid-year Retreat - Winter Retreat - Divinity Benefit Party (with Sigma Omicron Pi) - Date Night - Relay for Life - Formals - National Convention

Chapter Philanthropy: Sigma Phi Omega is heavily involved in promoting Domestic Violence Awareness. Our mission is to bring Domestic Violence Awareness to prominence, especially it being one of the least addressed issues in America. Every year, we and our sister chapters simultaneously hold a week-long philanthropy in October at our respective campuses aimed at educating the community about domestic violence, which includes passing out informational fliers on Sproul Plaza and holding a special public session with a speaker. In addition, we collect donations and raise funds to donate to battered women's shelters across the San Francisco Bay area. Throughout the rest of the academic year, we also volunteer at these shelters and donate food and clothing.

Chapter History: CHAPTER In the Fall of 1996, nine young women from Cal, unable to find what they were looking for in the existing organizations on campus, took it upon themselves to establish one of their own. They sought an organization of diversity, leadership, and lasting friendships and eventually chose to charter a new Greek organization at UC Berkeley. They traveled up and down the California coast that Fall, learning the traditions of the sorority from Sigma Phi Omega's chapters at USC and San Diego State. At the same time, they began meeting and introducing themselves to the other Greek organizations both on and off of the Cal campus, gaining respect and garnering support for their growing sisterhood . After successfully completing their new member orientation the following semester, these nine young women chartered the Zeta Chapter of Sigma Phi Omega at UC Berkeley on April 5, 1997. In the years that followed, more women crossed into the sisterhood, working to keep Sigma traditions alive while proving their love and commitment to the organization. NATIONAL Sigma Phi Omega was founded at the University of Southern California in 1949, and is the oldest Asian-American sorority at USC and third oldest in the United States. It was originally established as a social organization for Japanese and Japanese-American women at USC as a result of much anti-Asian sentiment left behind by World War II, which had ended in 1945. As one alumni said, " At that time, it was understood that Asian women could not become members of a sorority. It has since changed. Thank goodness." The Greek letters were chosen at random and were not used by any other existing fraternities or sororities at that time. One could speculate that the choosing and display of Greek letters was a public way of voicing a dissatisfactory opinion about the treatment of Asian Americans, specifically Japanese Americans, by the campus and community. Since it was founded, Sigma Phi Omega has established eight other chapters located in both California and Texas.

Contact Information: Ann Luong (President): president@ucbsigmas.com Carol Nguyen (Vice President): vicepresidnet@ucbsigmas.com Jean Lee (New Member Director): newmemberdirector@ucbsigmas.com Julie Luu, Dahlim Kim, Olivia Han (Recruitment Chairs): recruitment@ucbsigmas.com

Posts by Sigma Phi Omega Sorority, Inc.

No posts have been made by this organization