I get a lot of questions, looks, and stares about my decision to be in two different Black Greek-Lettered Sororities. In honor of my business org, Iota Phi Lambda Sorority Incorporated’s, Founders Day - June 1, and the fact that I recently turned 5 in the world of my first love, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated, I want to address my sorority life.

In the Spring of 2014 I was initiated as a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., Alpha Chapter at Howard University. Zeta Phi Beta is an international, historically black Greek-lettered organization, a part of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (Divine-9) and was founded at Howard University January 16, 1920; we are quickly approaching 100 years of service! Our 5 illustrious founders are Arizona Cleaver Stemons, Pearl Anna Neal, Myrtle Tyler Faithful, Viola Tyler Goings, and Fannie Pettie Watts; also known as our Five Pearls. Scholarship, Service, Sisterly Love, and Finer Womanhood were the pillars that roped me in, and the intimacy of needing to be invited to join gave me peace in knowing all I had to do was be myself and if they thought I fit great, if they didn’t great. If I was open and real about who I was and they decided I was worthy to be a part of the change they wanted to bring to the world that was good enough or me because God had already made me amazing and I knew I was going to take the world by storm. Zeta was a way to be in service to the community to help make it better for people like us and I admired that.

Howard University, Spring 2014 - Zeta Phi Beta, Alpha Chapter Initiates

My love for Zeta stemmed from the women that I came in contact with on campus that had the fire of Zeta running through their veins. I had spent years at Howard uninterested in the woes of Sorority life, watching friends jump through hoops to be accepted by something that I didn’t understand, and honestly to this day I still don’t understand. Zeta never gave me the feeling that I wasn’t good enough and it always gave me a sense of integrity, love, and sisterhood, and that is was attracted me to my interest of becoming a sorority girl. Not for the looks and “popularity”, but for the mission, work, and dedication to the community and it’s members. I met women that had amazing personalities and welcoming spirits before I had any clue they were Zeta’s or interested in becoming Zeta’s, and that is what spoke volumes to me. I didn’t need sorority life to make me feel accepted, and that is where many people get confused on their perceptions of sorority life; especially those that have lately come out about feeling it wasn’t a good decision and they regret what they chose to do.

Disclaimer, you should join nothing if you don’t have any idea of who you are or what your goals are to impact the world. If you join any type of organization for some type of acceptance when you haven’t first accepted yourself, the thoughts and influence of others will overcome you and that will cause you to regret the decisions you make because you made them for other people.

Four years later, in the Spring of 2017, I was then initiated as a graduate chapter member of Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, Incorporated - Gamma Chapter, Washington, DC. Iota Phi Lambda is the first Business Sorority for Business and Professional African-American women founded June 1, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois; 2 days ago we just successfully celebrated 90 years of service and leadership in the black community. Centered around black woman leaders, Iota was the best kept secret, and ever since joining I have helped spread the word and expose the world to some really D.O.P.E. black women that are out here making a difference and influencing more black women to be leaders in the business and entrepreneurial world. Iota is filled with black women that are CEOs, CFOs, Project Manager Professionals, IT Specialists, engineers, architects, and so much more.

Spring 2017 Initiates of Iota Phi Lambda Sorority - Gamma Chapter, Washington, DC attending the Public Presentation (Probate) for the Chartering Spring 2018 Initiates of Delta Phi Chapter at Howard University.

Iota rapidly taught me sometimes there is a calling on your life that you don’t even see or you may be afraid to fully realize. This D.O.P.E. Howard Alumna, Tangila Sanders, took a chance on me and helped me transition into a new career path, which changed my life for the better. From working with her she saw potential in me to be a D.O.P.E. black businesswoman the way she is and invited me to take a look into the world of Iota that she had joined fresh out of Howard. Needless to say, with a little push and influence Tangi led the way for me to take a another chance, expand my network, and find another sisterhood that would help me influence other young women like me to do what their heart desired. Ever since joining in 2017 I have held an e-board position for my chapter and was just recently voted into a vice president seat for the upcoming sorority year which is scary, but definitely exciting and the leadership development I know I need to continue my growth.

I know many don’t understand what the purpose of being in multiple sororities is, but it’s not for everybody to understand. The only person that needs to understand your purpose is you. Zeta and Iota give me two different worlds to grow in, two different sets of people to influence and help in two different ways. They both hold special places in my heart and have given me unbreakable relationships that I never thought I would find, with women that I can relate to and love the same way I love my biological sisters. We are all geared towards making the world better for little black boys and girls and creating more D.O.P.E.ness in a world that tells us we aren’t enough.

Both of these sororities have helped mold me into a powerhouse and give me an outlet to safely explore who I am and how I want to effect change in the world. Thanks to Zeta I have a network of women that join together to educate and aid our community that is beat day everyday just for the color of our skin. With Iota I have a network of women to help create new leaders to help stop the cycle that plagues us because of the color of our skin. AND THEY’RE BOTH SAFE PLACES FOR WOMEN.

When I was in college my favorite part was working with incoming freshman girls to help them get acclimated to college life and being away from home. Mentoring is my favorite thing to do for young black women, and with the position I am in I have the opportunity to mentor and help women that are both younger and older than I am. We all learn from one another, help one another, encourage and pray for one another and it’s truly a beautiful thing. There’s an amazing uplifting power that resides in communities where black women encourage black women and the world does not want us to experience that. We are each other’s backbones and deserve to prove to each other it’s okay to be D.O.P.E. in your own right, interest, and passion. It’s okay to love on each other and build one another up, and it’s okay to bring along a friend that’s ready to grind and make it to the top with you.

I keep seeing this message, and it rings true to my beliefs, that there is enough success to go around for all of us. There is enough space for us all to eat good, and flourish in the blessings God has promised us. Both of my sororities are geared towards helping the black community get to that success and experience that wealth that has been kept out of our reach for so long. That is why I love being a sorority girl… it’s more about being an impactful black woman than anything else, and that is what Zeta and Iota help me do on a daily basis. They help me impact the lives of those I come in contact with and leave a lasting impression on the hearts of those that hear me speak and see me work.

Sorority life has given me all of this and so much more. There’s a true love you can only experience when you come in contact with the organizations and experience the out pour of love, knowledge, and nurture that comes from no other place than the heart of a black woman.

If you’re interested in learning more about either of these prestigious organizations go check them out!

Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc: http://zphib1920.org/
Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc: http://www.iota1929.org/

You can definitely ask me or any members you may know about these wonderful orgs as well!

Be D.O.P.E. Black Girl!

Sorority Life