Iota Chapter

Established in 1993

 

 

In 1993, four women at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) were interested in joining a sorority that focused on education and community service. These women researched the available sororities on campus, but none of the existing organizations at UIC met their needs. These dedicated and determined women, Raquel "Designada" Garcia, Lisa "Curiosa" Martin, Diana "Fortaleza" Rosa, and Faviola "Escritora" Tovar, decided to bring a new sorority that would show the university the positive side of a Greek organization.

 

Just like a gift from above, they met the Delta Chapter from Western Illinois University and officially became an interest group. After many community service events, fundraisers and the like, these women pledged to later become Las Soñadoras, the Founding line of the Iota Chapter in the summer of 1993. The pledge process was extremely trying for these women because they had to travel five hours to meet with the sisters and they had to deal with very strict parents.

 

With the hard work of pledging behind them, they started the 1993 Fall semester with a bang. The Iota Chapter participated in various activities to get recognition at UIC. In the 1994 Spring semester they pledged their first line called Sol Y Luna, which consisted of one strong-willed individual, Patricia "Primor" Ballesteros. Once this line crossed and the new semester began, the Iota Chapter was in full force. The Iota Chapter helped plan various events for Women’s History Month, Latino Heritage Month, and Black History Month. Community service events were also important for this chapter. Every sister not only helped the community on an individual basis, but also participated in many walk-a-thons in the Chicago area, held food and clothing drives. The Iota Chapter was so dedicated in fulfilling SIA’s goals that at the 1995 National Convention, all the sisters in the chapter received the organization’s Most Dedicated Sister Award. This was the first time that this ever occurred in the Sororities history.

 

In the 1995 Fall semester the Iota Chapter pledged their second line, Las Autenticas. These three hard working women, Ruby "Comprensiva" Camacho, Reyna "Pensativa" Nieto, and Veronica "Noblesa" Nieto, joined the organization and became priceless to the Iota Chapter. Not only did Iota begin to work more with student organizations, but also the faculty at UIC started to notice them. One of the sisters was even interviewed by a faculty member for the Business College newspaper for her involvement in SIA and other student organizations. Throughout the year, Iota remained quite active in various endeavors. At the 1996 National Convention, Iota was given the Most Dedicated Chapter Award.

 

In 1996 and 1997, the Iota Chapter continued to focus on helping the community and assisted on expanding SIA’s presence in the Midwest. Three new chapters were formed because of Iota’s dedication to SIA. These chapters are as follows: Upsilon Chapter at the University of Illinois, Psi Chapter at Lewis University, and Omega Chapter at Northern Illinois University.

 

Now in 2000, you too can be a part of the Regional Iota Chapter…