On the 14th of October, members of the Theta Rho Chapter at California State University/Los Angeles and Pasadena-Foothill Alumnae brought together more than 140+ guests for a pre-Founder’s Day Celebration at Luminaries Restaurant in Los Angeles. “I was privileged to have such an amazing group of women come together and pay tribute to the values our founders set forth for us. The event was a true highlight of how much growth this chapter has gained and how much more there is to come from our current membership,” gushed Tania Roney, ΘP’95, College Chapter Director.
More than 41 alumnae were in attendance including dignitaries of Delta Zeta: Michelle Albrecht Smith, AX '87, Past National President; Elaine Lee Jeffers, ΘP '76, Area Alumnae Director; Nancy Bach Colman, EΩ '75, State Alumnae Coordinator & Pasadena-Foothill Alumnae President; Karen Severloh Moffitt, ΓO '65, Past National Chairman & Pasadena-Foothill Treasurer; Tania Vasquez Roney, ΘP '95, College Chapter Director; Aida Alvarado, ΘP '02, New Member Education Advisor; Ally McKinney Bader, ΓΛ '06, Membership / Programs Advisor; April Provencio, ΘP '02, Ritual Advisor; Destinee Cordeiro, ΘP '09, Public Relations Advisor; and Sonjia Wicke Leyva, ΘP '87, Faculty Advisor.
Theta Rho was also overjoyed to share in the bonds of sisterhood as five sisters traveled from the San Marcos Pi Psi chapter to celebrate with us. “It was so much fun to see the sisters and we loved the location, it was so pretty,” shared Pi Psi Chapter President, Ashley Persson. Jordan Gaydos, Pi Psi Vice President Philanthropy expressed her love for the service project idea included in the event.
Highlights of the event included a special American Sign Language presentation of the Delta Zeta Creed by multiple members of the chapter. Theta Rho Chapter President, Diana Campos, led the Creed and signed alongside Estefania Aguirre, Vice President of New Member Education, Brenda Rodarte, Parliamentarian and Teresa Vu, Public Relations. Additional members of the chapter are currently learning to sign our beautiful creed, so this was a special moment to be shared.
Past National President, Michelle Albrecht Smith, delivered an eloquent address coinciding with the celebration of our Founders, and the growth and success the Theta Rho chapter continues to display. The chapter was grateful and honored to have her and all of our dignitaries in attendance.
Theta Rho’s executive board presented a special acknowledgement to our advisory board members for all their work and guidance provided during the years. Elaine Lee Jeffers, Area Alumnae Director, also coordinated a presentation of the Acoth Award, and once again honored our Faculty Advisor, Sonjia Leyva, as one of this year’s 6 National award recipients.
Chapter Historian, Destiny Martinez, guided a presentation celebrating milestones and recognitions. Following the event she divulged, “ I was really nervous and excited at the same time. It was very rewarding to hear such great feedback from our CCD and many alumnae in attendance. I think is amazing that our Delta Zeta values are celebrated in this way and we can show that our values live through the ages”. In Destiny’s presentation, two Theta Rho alumnae, Tomie Lopez Gutierrez and Teresa Vargas Salazar, ΘP’93, were honored for their 25-years of membership. Attendees who were celebrating their 10th and 15th anniversaries and any golden roses were also praised.
During the event, Theta Rho sponsored a service project to benefit The Painted Turtle Camp. Craft projects with paint brushes, wood shapes and paints were assembled to send to the kids. Hand sanitizer and supplies were placed at each table for all guests to take part of the service project. More than 100 packets were assembled that will be donated to the Painted Turtle Camp.
In addition, the alumnae of Pasadena-Foothill hosted a giving tree opportunity. All attendees were welcome to participate by donating a minimum of $5 to purchase each or all of the 3 shapes being sold. The Golden Lamp benefited the Delta Zeta Foundation; Rose benefited Starkey Hearing Foundation and a Turtle benefited the Painted Turtle Camp. Pasadena-Foothill has plans to gift all money raised on behalf of the alumnae and Theta Rho chapter.
A fun portion of the event also included opportunity baskets & raffle. Tickets sold during the raffle raised money to fund scholarships gifted by the Pasadena-Foothill Alumnae. The alumnae group generously funds scholarship opportunities that are only presented to Theta Rho members. This year, three scholarship recipients were awarded the Lucille Beal Scholarship: Isabella Corcuera, Alaina Ross and Teresa Vu.
Some of the raffle prizes included a Free Month’s Dues Check and Turtle won by Isabella Corcuera; a Big/Lil Sis basket won by new member Sabrina Agarie; a Coffee specialty basket won by Lorena Ramirez; and Orange You Glad You are a DZ won by Danna Muss just to mention a few.
Krysta Pae, Theta Rho’s Ritual Chairwoman, led the closing Founder’s Ceremony. As she named each of our six founders, members of the chapter lit up a candle in tribute, recited a portion of our creed and placed a pink rose on the photograph of our founding sisters. Three active sisters (Estefania Aguirre, Isabella Corcuera, Teresa Vu) and three new members (Jessica McDonnald, Siena Rasmussen and Brittney Tremblay) performed the beautiful ceremony. “As I new member, I felt very welcomed at the Founder’s Day Ceremony. It was fun to meet new actives and to see alumnae at the event. I also enjoyed being involved in presenting the Creed,” beamed New Member, Brittney Tremblay.
The celebration came to a close as attendees held hands while singing Delta Zeta Lamps Are Burning. It was a marvelous day to reconnect with sisters near and far to celebrate 116 years entwined in the flame.
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Delta Zeta Theta Rho Chapter
Delta Zeta Theta Rho was founded at the California State University/Los Angeles campus on April 30, 1966. It is one of 166 international chapters of Delta Zeta Sorority which was founded at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 1902. Theta Rho is a part of Delta Zeta’s Region X and serves the greater Los Angeles community. With a roster of over 100, the chapter takes pride in developing the greater world’s strong future leaders and global citizens. To learn more about Delta Zeta Theta Rho, visit www.deltazetacsula.com