About Us
Sigma Psi Zeta's national history, beliefs, and symbols
National History
In the fall academic semester of 1993, the 10 Founders of Sigma Psi Zeta came together as friends, realizing the apathy towards Asian women and the dual-disadvantage of being the “Silent Minority.” They decided that they wanted to initiate change and agreed to create an organization to fight against the injustices historically suffered by our gender and race.
On March 23rd, 1994, the SYZterhood of Sigma Psi Zeta was formally recognized at the State University of New York at Albany, signifying the birth of many firsts. Our Alpha Chapter was established on that date, as well as the birth of the first Asian-Interest Sorority on the East Coast.
Our Founders struggled to establish our organization, our purpose, and most importantly, precedence by fighting the odds. In turn, they became the first organization oriented towards Asian-American women in the history of the University at Albany, and the first Multicultural Asian-Interest Greek Letter organization out of the total of 46 existing fraternities and sororities on their campus at that moment in time.
Our 10 founding mothers: Gina Han, Sally Hsieh, Jean Kim, Jenny Kim, Sandra Lam, Winnie Liu, Yan-Chieh Liu, Michelle Macaraig, Sung-Yon Noh, and Loan Trang.
The 10 Rays of Syzterhood
Sigma Psi Zeta upholds ten beliefs, one for each Founder, that are central to the foundation of the sorority. These beliefs should be exemplified by all SYZters as they work towards personal growth and empowerment.
Symbols
Colors: Red and Gold
Flower: Yellow Rose with Baby’s Breath
Motto: “Lead from the Front"