2017-2018 Proud to Be Greek Scholarship Winner Announced

Congratulations to Lizeth Rios - Our 2017-2018 Proud to Be Greek Scholarship Winner!!

We had hundreds of applicants this year who wrote an essay sharing how Greek life has impacted them in a positive way. With all of the negative things that the media portrays about Greek life, Greek U thought it would be important to create a scholarship that allowed sororities and fraternities across the country to share 1st hand how Greek life has helped them. Below is the winning essay by Lizeth. My name is Lizeth Rios and I decided to attend UCLA right after high school. I was the only one in my graduating class to get accepted to this university. At first, I was extremely happy yet concerned because all of my friends would be going off to the same college together and I was the only one going off alone. Undertaking this journey on my own, I began to feel depressed entering an institution where there are not many people of color. I was scared of making friends because I would have to tell them that I was a non-traditional student, meaning: a commuter, a parenting-student, and a Latina. Although my presence at UCLA was significant, I failed to see myself as someone worthy.  I then began to look into Latino/a/x clubs and came across the Latino Greek Council. Within this council I found members of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority. I was amazed by the community service work, academic excellence, and values that they held. For the first time, I felt comfortable sharing about myself and when I told them I was a parent they welcomed me with open arms. After becoming a sister, I began to realize that many incoming and continuing Latina students have difficulty finding that needed support group and although our population on campus is minimal we should extend our helping hand for support to other women of color. At the end of the day my sorority deeply believes in “Latin by tradition not by definition” and we strongly hold the values of Unity, Love, and Respect close to our hearts.  Within Lambda Theta Alpha, I have taken upon chairs such as treasurer, fundraising committee, and philanthropy chair. Currently at the moment, I hold the philanthropy chair within my chapter in which I promote and execute C.A.M.B.I.O (Changing Attitudes through Mentoring, Belief and Inspiration for Opportunity). This is a program geared towards empowering high school students by presenting workshops related to higher education, political awareness and overall academic support. We have partnered up with Neuwirth High School, a school located in South Central Los Angeles. My passion towards helping youth has been exemplified through my work with C.A.M.B.I.O. I aspire to become a social worker, and thus far Lambda Theta Alpha has enhanced my career path through the C.A.M.B.I.O program where I am able to interact with students and often times parents in answering questions and concerns about college. Also, I coordinate for the students to have the chance in experiencing a small glimpse of what college life is really like when they get to spend a day at the University of California, Los Angeles. During this day, we provide workshops, a detailed tour, and discussion panels that the students partake in. All in all, joining Lambda Theta Alpha has changed my life and given me the opportunity to partake in life changing community service opportunities while also giving me firsthand experience working with youth in order to enhance my path towards social work. Congratulations again to Lizeth. The 2018-2019 Proud to Be Greek Scholarship is now open.