Priding themselves on being the first and only female Asian-interest sorority on campus, Alpha Kappa Delta Phi paves the way for their members, shaping them into tomorrow’s leaders.

The CSUSM chapter Alpha Kappa Delta Phi was established May 2, 2015 and was originally an interest group called KPDL, which stands for knowledge, perseverance, diversity and legacy.

“We were an interest group for six years before we finally got established and with that, we functioned as a normal sorority interest group to try to bring on the first API [Asian­Pacific Islander] sorority and we gained interest in Alpha Kappa Delta Phi,” said Jacy Ann Fong, Chapter President of Alpha Kappa Delta Phi.

The inclusion of Alpha Kappa Delta onto our campus has greatly shaped the school’s community because it shines light on the various culture within the Asian community.

“Our chapter promotes spreading Asian American awareness through cultural events and fundraisers during which cultural-­based foods are sold or brought to share. We usually educate others on all the different cultures that we are apart of and also ones we are not apart of,” said Fong.

In addition to spreading Asian American cultural awareness, Alpha Kappa Delta Phi strives to shape its members into strong leaders within our community.

“We go on a lot of retreats that emphasize leadership development and we have national conferences in the beginning, middle and the end of the school year. These meeting are meant to enhance the effectiveness of each chapter member’s leadership skills,” she said.

“So with women from over 50 chapters attending, we are given the opportunity to compare different leadership methods and see what does or does not work and apply the use of learned skills within our chapter’s management and also for our postgraduate careers,” said Fong.

As well as experiencing personal gain, the organization is also involved in giving back to the community.

“We have an exclusive partnership with the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, so we focus on breast cancer awareness,” said Fong. “For our personal chapter, we established our own annual event, which takes place every October, called Stroll Case for Second Base, where we invite different school organizations on campus to participate in stepping and strolling. We also do breast cancer awareness facts, games and we also invite breast cancer survivors to speak. All the proceeds go to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade,” said Fong.

Even though the sorority has only been active for almost a year, they have accomplished a lot in such a short time including the establishment of the first Asian-­interest sorority at CSUSM and receiving the Academic Cup for two semesters in a row for having the highest GPA of all the greek organizations on campus, in addition to having the highest GPA out of all their SoCal region chapters.

As for short term goal, Fong said that the ladies of Alpha Kappa Delta Phi would like to “gain a bigger active body, try to get the Academic Cup again, make the Stroll Case for Second Base bigger and incorporate diversity and inclusion amongst members.”

And for long term goals the sorority would like to expand their level of recognition to prove that they are aligned with all of their sorority pillars.

“Right now, we are a colony proctor, so my goal within the next five years is to be able to apply for associate chapter, so that we can up in level and have a bigger impact within our national sorority.”

Alpha Kappa Delta strives to be well­-rounded, professional women.

“We want to convey being a premier network of innovative female leaders within the community and with that we encourage the growth of our members through cultural diversity and expressing individuality and we also empower our members to become pioneers for philanthropic, cultural and scholastic programs,” said Fong.