The Story of
Us
Kappa
Chapter History
The history of the
Kappa chapter of Kappa Delta Chi begins in January of 1994 when Kimberly
Maestas had an idea to begin an organization for Hispanic females at
Northern Arizona
University. With the encouragement of her family and advice from a male
friend who had experience organizing a similar type of organization, she
ventured out and made her idea a reality. Kimberly contacted Rebecca Deal
and together they arranged a general meeting for females interested in
joining the efforts in starting a Hispanic-founded sorority. The meeting was
held on February 8, 1994 and there was an excellent turnout and a lot of
interest.
Thereafter, regular
meetings were held every Sunday until June 8, 1994 when Kimberly contacted
Maggie Dominguez from the Delta Chapter at the University of Arizona. By
this time, only nine members of the original group had survived the many
obstacles and changes the group had gone through to get the new sorority off
the ground. The ladies were: Veronica Hipolito, Kimberly Maestas, Christina
Martinez, Rebecca Deal, Marisol Ramirez, Patricia Romero, Arlene Verdugo,
Katina Redman, and Erika Leyva.
Christina and
Kimberly met with the coordinator of Greek Life at Northern Arizona
University, Frank Shushok on July 13, 1994 to discuss the possibility of
becoming a social sorority. On August 6, 1994 four ladies from the Delta
chapter met the nine future members from NAU in Phoenix for a one day
conference. The conference was very helpful and the nine girls then felt
reassured about where they were headed and how to get there.
The next major
stepping stone was the preparation for the presentation to NAU’s Panhellenic
Council on September 16, 1994. Considerable effort went into the planning
for this presentation and on September 30, 1994 the group was officially
recognized as an associate member of the Panhellenic Council.
A date was set for
the activation ceremony by the Delta Chapter from the UofA, but due to
unforeseen circumstances the girls were unable to become activated until the
fall semester. The activation ceremony was set for January 6, 7 and 8, 1995
in Tucson.
Unfortunately,
Veronica Hipolito was unable to attend and, therefore, couldn’t fulfill the
requirements on activation. Dorian Rivera was then selected to fill the
vacancy.
The Kappa Colony set
forth to Tucson, Arizona to become the Kappa Chapter. During this weekend
the members learned what Kappa Delta Chi was truly about and why Unity,
Honesty, Integrity and Leadership were their purpose. They also discovered
unique and hidden qualities in each girl which brought them closer together
to become a family and to make something special between them.
On January 8, 1995
the nine members of the Kappa Colony became the Kappa Chapter of Kappa Delta
Chi. The positions each of them assumed were as follows:
President, Kimberly
Maestas
Vice
President, Christina Martinez
Pledge Trainer, Rebecca
Deal
Corresponding
Secretary, Dorian Rivera
Recording Secretary, Katina
Redman
Treasurer, Erika Leyva
Sgt. At Arms, Arlene
Verdugo
Historian, Patricia
Romero
Standards, Marisol
Ramirez
Honorary Member, Veronica
Hipolito
The four Advisors were:
Elizabeth Archuleta, Kelly Lloyd, Ann Rivera and Shirley Portillos.
