Delta Tau Lambda - History

History

Founders Maria Victoria Ramos and Darilis Garcia-McMillian

At the University of Michigan, two women came together to create the first Latina-based sorority founded in the Ann Arbor campus. Their mission was to build an organization that would bring about empowerment to their collegiate and surrounding communities, while working with women that strived for professionalism and leadership. On April 2, 1994, Delta Tau Lambda Sorority was founded.

The founders, Darilís García and Maria Victoria Ramos, focused their efforts on academic achievement, community service and professionalism. They wanted to establish a strong foundation for the sorority to ensure its growth within the university and the U.S. During the summer of 1994 the women selected their charitable causes, Brest Cancer, Diabetes, and HIV/AID. That fall they hosted the first Salute to Latinas, Fuerza de la Mujer Latina, which has become a staple event for the sorority. In March 1995 the founders created the Lydia Cruz and Sandra Maria Ramos Scholarship, named after Darilís’ grandmother and Maria’s older sister. As part of establishing the identity of the organization they ensured that the events they sponsored always represented the diversity they embraced. They wanted to meet the needs of Latinas while supporting all women and all communities.

The first line of the organization—Alejandra Montes, Carmela Kudyba, and Adriana Rendon—was initiated on April 5, 1996. The sorority tag line was created by Damaris Madrigal, “Women by chance, sisters by choice, phenomenal by nature.” The Beta chapter was established in 1999 at Roosevelt University by Michelle Gonzalez and Rocio Dominguez. In 2003 the first graduate chapter was created for the Detroit metropolitan area.