We stand for the awareness of Latino and diverse cultures, promote sisterhood and leadership, and strive for excellence in education and achievement.
National History
Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha, Inc. is a Latina-based sorority devoted to serving our community while fostering a sense of pride and respect in our heritage. The sorority was founded on September 29, 1990, by thirteen inspiring young women from four different schools in the state of New York: SUNY Albany, SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY New Paltz, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Our founding mothers are: Dora Maria Abreu, Elizabeth Coats, Tina Colberg, Eulogia Diaz, Angelica Hernandez, Teresa Herrero, Norma Porras, Miriam Ramirez, Saida Rodriguez, Grecia Sanchez, Maria Trujillo, Clara Vasquez and Dulce Williams. This diverse group of women came together with the goal of creating an organization that would help their communities, unite women and promote scholarship.
Since its inception in 1990, our organization has expanded outside of the State of New York and has chartered chapters in the states of New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Illinois, Michigan, Texas and California. We dedicate ourselves to service, academic excellence and professional development.
Chi Chapter History
In 1996, several women at the university of Maryland came together in search of an organization that would promote unity, academic excellence, community service, leadership, and the Latino culture through the bonds of sisterhood. After months of research, they found the organization they had been searching for in Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha, Inc. In the spring of 1997, six women went on to undergo the membership process. On April 27, 1997, the women of "Perseverancia Distinta" realized their dream as they became the founding Hermanas of the Chi Chapter at the University of Maryland, College Park.
