Honoring today: KAT Founder’s Day

On this day, 141 years ago, the Kappa Alpha Theta fraternity for women was founded. In 1870, KAT was founded as the first Greek-letter fraternity for women as it was modeled after the many fraternities for men; but yes, it is a sorority for women.

Kappa Alpha Theta, or “Theta” as it’s called for short, is the sorority I joined in college, and have gained so many wonderful memories, connections and best friends. A sorority is nothing like the stereotypes, and Theta is so much more than just a sorority. Theta’s purpose is:  To support members to learn, grow, and excel, and our core values are personal excellence, friendship/sisterhood, scholarship, service, and leadership.

Theta was founded by four pioneering college women—Bettie Locke, Alice Allen, Bettie Tipton, and Hannah Fitch—who established Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity, the first Greek-letter fraternity for women, at Indiana Asbury College (now DePauw University) in Greencastle, Indiana. Bettie Locke even has a Twitter account: @BettieLocke.

What’s even more special is my younger sister, Emily, became a Theta in 2008. I was so glad to be able to be there for initiation and help welcome her into the sisterhood! It’s so fun to know Em is experiencing the same experiences I had in college, and that we’ll have that special connection forever.

So in honor of today’s Founder’s Day celebration, here is a flashback to my four years spent in Theta at K-State!

Freshman Year:

Sophomore Year:

Junior Year:

Senior Year: