Imagine for a moment what life was like in Northern Virginia in the late 1930s and early 1940s.  There was no Beltway, no I-66 or I-95, no shopping malls.  Tysons Corner was still a crossroads in Fairfax County.  Loudoun County may as well have been in West Virginia and Prince William County was considered part of Central Virginia.  While American women were part of the workforce then, most of them held jobs as a teacher, nurse or secretary; indeed, many of Alpha Sigma Tau’s members at that time graduated from “teachers’ colleges”.

This was the era when a group of Alpha Sigma Taus began meeting in Arlington and Washington, D.C. with the intention of becoming an AST alumnae chapter.  This group met intermittently for about ten years, with a period of inactivity due to World War II, before becoming installed as the Washington, D.C. Alumnae Chapter at Meda Ray Elliott Sewell’s home in Arlington on April 8, 1948.  Like Alpha Sigma Tau itself, our chapter was started with eight great women.  Our alumnae chapter founding sisters were from Arlington, Alexandria, Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland.

Chapter membership increased rapidly during the 1950s and 1960s, and the distances that members had to travel to meetings increased as well.  (A note in our chapter files from the 1960s laments the fact that one member moved “so far away” – out to Fairfax City.)  In 1971, the group split; the original group became the Northern Virginia Alumnae Chapter, and the other became the Prince George’s-Montgomery County, Maryland Alumnae Chapter.

Northern Virginia is a different place than it was in 1971 and so is our alumnae chapter.  Our members are from chapters across the country and we’re proud of the diversity in ages and in occupations.  We are educators, business owners, bankers, Congressional staffers, government employees, activists, medical personnel, stay-at-home moms and retirees.  We are one of Alpha Sigma Tau’s largest and most active alumnae chapters! 

But while we as a chapter and our region may have changed over time, we still meet about nine to ten times each year, as we have done regularly since 1948.  Through the years, we’ve celebrated Founders Day each November, sent donations to Pine Mountain, Habitat for Humanity, and not-for-profit organizations in the greater Washington area.  Our meetings have been held in members’ homes, restaurants, parks, and even a movie theater!  Our members live in Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax County, Prince William County, Loudoun County, and Fauquier County; a few of our members live in suburban Maryland.  We were a member of the Washington, D.C. Alumnae Panhellenic when we first became a chapter and have been a member of the Northern Virginia Alumnae Panhellenic for many years.

Any woman who is an initiated member of the Alpha Sigma Tau Sorority and who is in good standing is eligible to join an alumnae chapter after leaving college.  All Alpha Sigma Taus from across the country are invited to join us, and we look forward to meeting you!