it began with a vision

Traditionally, the role of the Latina woman was that of maintaining the family institution and falling into the realm of the machismo stigma. However, as the Latino migration to the United States increased, so did the emergence of independent Latina women who were eager to be at the forefront of an era of a new educational, political and social consciousness. College and university enrollment mirrored this influx. With this growth, the need for support groups and outreach programs were at an all time high, primarily for the low percentage of Latina women in higher education.

In 1975, Kean University introduced bilingual and Latino/Caribbean studies. Although this enabled the educational advancement of the Latina woman, still missing was the support needed to bridge the equality gap. It was during this time that 17 women convened to discuss the formation of a sorority for Latina women. Its focus would be to actively integrate itself into the social, political and community service arena that other students had been involved with. Together, they could collaborate and assist with any student-run programs, thus making their voices as loud as the majority voice and their concerns equally as important.

Thanks to the tremendous strides made by our 17 founding mothers, this dream was realized, and took form as the entity: Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Incorporated, the first Latina sorority in the nation.

In the Fall of 1979, Alpha Chapter welcomed in their Line One. These ladies played a significant role in the early years of the sorority and remain a strong presence to this day. Line One continued the legacy that the Founding Mothers had set forth, helping to build beautiful and rich traditions for Lambda Theta Alpha.