We last spoke about how college fraternities honor their brothers on graduation day, and now it’s time for the sorority sisters!

Originally called “women’s fraternities,” sororities began in 1851 marking what was considered a hugely progressive move in women’s rights, overcoming restrictive social traditions and the unequal view in law that women were lesser than men in many aspects of life. The coined term of “sorority” means “sisterhood” and the first recognized sorority came from a group of women at Wesleylan Female College who formed a literary circle called, The Adelphian Society, now known as Alpha Delta Pi. According to their website, Alpha Delta Pi describes themselves as, “the first secret society for women in the world and forged the way for women in the fraternity system.” They say their founder, Eugenia Tucker Fitzgerald, “recognized the importance of women coming together for personal development and improvement,” which drove her to start the organization with five of her friends at the young age of 16.

Sororities mimic male fraternities in that they are social societies built on the idea of grooming leadership and serving the community. Also a part of “Greek life,” sororities largely focus on philanthropic work, typically remaining faithful to a select number of causes, some even starting their own charitable organizations. They, like male fraternities, may also have off-campus houses, offering affordable options for students exploring the possibility of joining the club. Today, you’ll find active sororities on more than 650 college campuses in North America.

Once accepted into a sorority, members take their new roles very seriously and create lifelong bonds with their new sisters. You’ll often see members around campus wearing their Greek letters on shirts, bags, hats, mugs -- you name it! And it doesn’t stop there. Sororities deservedly celebrate their sisters on graduation day, too, with grad cords and custom stoles with their organization’s colors. Their graduation honor gear serves as a reminder of the work they’ve put in and the bonds they’ve created, giving them a keepsake for years to come.

As a reminder, our team continues to operate with a modified business solution, complete with remote and isolated order processing locations. Our goal is to safely deliver honor and recognition gear to schools and institutions to have ready for their students once graduation dates have been reworked. We understand the importance of graduation regalia and what it means to students and faculty and want graduates to mark their accomplishments in a way in which they deserve.

An early congratulations to our sorority sister grads as they embark on the next chapter of their lives!