ETTRICK, Va. -- The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority chapter Virginia State University celebrated its 100th birthday in 2021.
Thirteen years after it became the first Greek-letter organization founded by and for African American women in 1908, some of the charter members moved to what is present-day Virginia State University. They invited three other faculty members to form a new AKA Chapter.
"Because we were the 4th graduate chapter nationally, we became Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Omega," Dr. Renee Escoffery-Torres, president of Delta Omega chapter, said.
Escoffery-Torres said the current chapter focuses on service to the community, just like its founders.
"In 1922 and 1923, we were supplying linen to Central State Hospital," Escoffery-Torres said. "We had the first scholarship given to a student who was attending college."
The original six Delta Omega chapter members would earn permanent recognition on campus with their names on some Virginia State buildings and the building that houses the Ettrick-Matoaca library.
Sorority sister Evelyn Jemison, who also turned 100 this year, used her association with Delta Omega to help the elderly in Petersburg.
In addition to Delta Omega becoming the first Greek-letter organization at what is now present-day VSU, the chapter was also the first graduate chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority chartered on the east coast,
A highway marker will be installed later in 2021 commemorating the legacy of Delta Omega.
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