Sigma Lambda Alpha - Beta Chapter

Name: Sigma Lambda Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Greek Letters: Σ Λ Α

Founding Date: October 1992

Colors: Burgundy, Forest Green, Gold

Flower: Red Rose

Mascot: Bald Eagle

Motto: “Latinas Helping Others”

Foundation: Community Service and Academic Excellence

Philanthropy: Boys and Girls Club of America

In the summer of 1992, Angeles Gonzalez, a Student at Texas Woman’s University in Denton Texas, read an article in Hispanic magazine about a national Hispanic sorority called Sigma Lambda Upsilon-Señoritas Latinas Unidas, located at the University of Pennsylvania. Upon reading this article, she came to the realization that Latina Greek organizations were a cultural median at universities. She became interested in forming an organization that would serve as a cultural outlet on her campus.  Miss Gonzalez wrote to the sorority for more information regarding their organization and Latino Greeks in general. She promptly received a response and was advised to begin an interest group, elect officers and choose an organizational name to start the sorority process. With the assistance of Director Linda Weber in the Office of Student Development, Angeles Gonzalez began the process of establishing a Latina sorority at Texas Woman’s University.

In the fall of 1992, Miss Gonzalez began recruiting girls to be the “founding mothers” of the sorority and attend the first meeting. In this meeting, they discussed goals of the organization, elected officers and chose their organizational/interest group name. Sigma Lambda Alpha- Señoritas Latinas en Acción was founded in October of 1992 on the campus of Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. The founding mothers and first officers for the sorority are as follows:

President: Angeles Gonzalez

Vice President: Alicia Gonzales

Treasurer: Andrea Quinones

Social Chairwoman: Brenda Sotelo

Historian: Alicia Padilla

Community Service Chairwoman: Maria Lozano 

With the interest group of Sigma Lambda Alpha established, excitement grew with the thought of having Latina representation at TWU, however Sigma Lambda Upsilon of Pennsylvania decided against beginning a chapter in Texas, because of the distance between the two states. Determined to have Hispanic representation at TWU, the founding mothers did not let this hinder the establishment of an organization. They chose to launch a new sorority based on their original group goals and combined beliefs. They elected to carry on the name of Sigma Lambda Alpha/Señoritas Latinas en Acción, and created a sisterhood on the basis of cultural awareness, community service, leadership and academic achievement.  The first pledge class of the Alpha Chapter was inducted in the spring of 1993.