When you think about how we started 85 years ago and all that’s happened and all that has changed we have a beautiful family history in Legacy there are no limits to our trailblazing to our Cas setting we set the standard Alpac Kappa Alpha sori Incorporated was founded January 15th
1908 at Howard University just 30 years later betai Omega was the 73rd graduate chapter established having served the Austin and surrounding communi since 1938 beta saai Omega has been and remains to be a community change agent and a beacon of light for over 85 years this is their Diamond reflection
Commemorating 85 years of service the story of Alpha Kappa Alpha sori Incorporated beta Sai Omega chapter you know we get to enjoy East Austin and we get to enjoy all of the things now um but I really wish people knew about our earlier members who really fought to make an impact in
Austin and to make Austin what it is today for the black community the beta Omega chapter was chartered on May 7th 1938 during the Great Depression led by the chartering president Connie ywood and 12 other distinguished women our charter members were Visionaries they were Educators they were leaders who
Understood the need for change in Austin and they were there to motivate and to inspire a community Connie Yearwood she was the first African-American physician to serve at the Texas Public Health Service and she was the first woman from the beta s Omega chapter to serve as Regional director as the third person
From the beta s Omega chapter to serve as Regional director it is such an honor to follow in her footsteps Dr Yearwood chartering a chapter I mean in the middle of the Great Depression in the middle of Austin um with segregation lynchings and all of those things still
Occurring she got that drive to go and she knew that it was going to work you know she was dealing with the Great Depression I was dealing with the global pandemic um but we both just had to look up and trust that God was going to get us through and Connie’s vision for
Chartering this chapter has led us 85 years and here we are today The Sisterhood these women have fostered amongst themselves is unmatched I can’t remember every experience every moment but what I can tell you is that in every significant moment of my life since College there’s
Has been a woman in this chapter who’s been there to support me and to love me it’s been it’s been an unring support of love and uh just true family bonds that beta Sal maker provides so it’ll always be home for me uh it’ll always be family
For me because this is where I learned who Bridget was I am where I am today because of betas Omega and the members that make up betas Omega s Joya she’s dressed me she’s helped me she’s wrote speeches she’s you name it she’s really taken the time to invest in me and she
Has really impacted me because of her her leadership and her drive it made me want to be better and she’s always been like that and she’s like that to everyone and she’s just been that sister to me that I needed you know even when I didn’t know what I needed she knew
The person that stands out that made me wanted to be a part of betas Omega was SAR Pat Wilkins she made me feel that I was a part and once I had that feeling I knew that I could provide 100% of my service my time to the Austin Community
Jackie has made an impact in my life uh we’ve known each other since we were 18 but I know that she’s always here I appreciate her I love her my graduate advisor Marjorie Mackey because she has continued to be my second mother and if she wasn’t a member of beta Sal Omega I
Never would have met her and that’s what I needed in my life and I thank God for that Susan Johnson she has been a great mentor to me throughout um my AKA life but also my personal life when my father passed away two people showed up to the location she was
There Mary Elizabeth Scott was a golden S at the time I became a remember when my mother passed away she would drive to my home pick me up take me out and she just really made me feel special she made me feel welcome she made me feel
Like you know I was necessary my presence was necessary so having her come and embrace me that way it was like a family we support each other and it’s just not one or two individuals that will rally behind me or behind each member of our chapter it’s just we all
Support each other who I am and who becom an AKA was because of so many women that have come through this chapter in the 30 years that I’ve been a part of it and so there’s so many different moments and times where people have helped me pay my bills where women
Helped me understand how to be a wife where people helped me through my divorce where people taught me how to be a leader and taught me how to take my leadership to new levels and so I am most inspired by the collective women of Alpac Kappa Alpha Beta sa
Omega for 80 5 years the beta SI Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sori Incorporated has infused Millions into the Austin economy through conferences and Retreats and they have been change agents in the fight for equal rights and education they plan to continue serving Austin and all mankind for the next 85
Years to come the future of our sorority lies in the hands of our undergraduate members and the beta Omega chapter is very very proud to sponsor three undergraduate chapters in this community the Beta Kappa chapter at Houston tilletson University the Delta zai chapter at the University of Texas at
Austin and the Upsilon Alpha chapter at Southwestern University I want betai Omega to continue its Rich history and its Legacy I want us to reach and soar to Greater Heights it stood the test of time it’s 85 years I get excited when I say it you don’t just survive after 85
Years it’s God’s work in our hands our impact has reached far and wide and the incredible work we have done to illuminate the path towards a more just and Equitable world has been done with style Grace and tenacity just like a diamond our journey is far from over
With each passing Year we will continue to shine brighter Inspire others and leave a lasting Legacy for generations to come we are beta side Omega E He f
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