Alpha Phi

Purpose and Mission

Alpha Phi is a sisterhood of outstanding women supporting one another in lifelong achievement.

The sisterhood of Alpha Phi stretches from coast to coast through 160 collegiate campuses and more than 200,000 members.  Sisters share a commitment to excellence and a strong desire to help one another and their communities.  Alpha Phis are leaders, scholars, contributors and lifetime members of a sisterhood that values these traits. 

Alpha Phi assists college women in making informed choices to reach their highest potential. Alpha Phi enhances and promotes each member's development and learning by focusing on sisterhood, service, scholarship, leadership, loyalty and character development. 

The innovative leadership and organizational practices of Alpha Phi's Founders in 1872 set the spirit for the Alpha Phi of today -- a sisterhood that values the past but looks forward to the progress offered by the future, valuing development and support every step of the way.

Sisterhood

Particularly strong bonds of sisterhood are one of the many things that we feel make Alpha Phi unique. Our sisters come from a wide variety of backgrounds and hometowns, but our shared values and experiences ensure that everyone can call themselves at home in Alpha Phi.

Our house serves as a space for all our sisters to come together, whether it be to study together, to get ready together, or to eat together (ask any Alpha Phi what her favorite memories of sisters are, and chances are high that 2am Vocelli’s or an emergency Starbucks might pop up in the same conversation as Big/little reveal or Greek Sing rehearsal). (Note: Living in the house is considered mandatory unless there is a medical or financial reason it would not be feasible.)

In terms of structured events, our Director of Sisterhood works diligently to plan fun sisterhood events including weekly sisterhood lunches and dinners, our sisterhood retreats, and Bachelor nights. Last year these monthly events included a trip to a local ice skating rink, cupcake baking and decorating, a movie night (complete with lots of ice cream), and several brunch trips (we’re very serious about brunch).

However, sisterhood isn’t just about brunch and the Bachelor, and here at Alpha Phi we’re committed committed to supporting and empowering each other. Whether it be taking time during chapter for a self-care pep-talk, getting lessons about self-defense, or doing yoga right before finals week to center ourselves, the sisters of Alpha Phi are committed to being there for one another.

Aside from our structured sisterhood events, our sisters meet up daily around campus and at our chapter house to chat, study, and relax, and you can often find us in groups at Au Bon Pain or Starbucks, or taking a break from the campus life in Shadyside or Squirrel Hill.

Service and Philanthropy

Our national philanthropy is the Alpha Phi Foundation which supports women's heart health and leadership development. To support this cause, we host Heart Health Week, Wear Red Day, Mac 'n' Phis and Alpha Phifa on Carnegie Mellon's campus each year. Sisters donate on average 6 hours a year to fundraising and supporting the Foundation at philanthropy events. 

Our sisters participate in a variety of community service events with the chapter as well as with other organizations during the year. Past events included hosting birthday parties for children living in group homes with Beverly's Birthdays and pairing up with various fraternities to pack meals for those in need or spending a Saturday morning cleaning up a neighborhood.

Our sisters also participate in campus-wide service events throughout the year volunteering in the Pittsburgh area with other Carnegie Mellon students. Individual sisters also give their time to organizations like CMU in Haiti, UNICEF, Engineers without Borders, and many other service organizations on campus. We are especially proud of our sisters who devote their summers to Camp Kesem, working with children whose lives have been impacted by cancer.

Fun fact: In 2017, we raised over $10,000 in just three months to support Camp Kesem, taking home a philanthropy trophy at Greek Sing (just one of three trophies we took home that night, can you tell we're proud?) in recognition of our dedication.

Our sisters complete a minimum of 5 service hours each semester with many sisters choosing to go above and beyond what is expected of them. 

Academics

Academic success is important to all sisters of Alpha Phi. We're always pushing each other to do better, with study hours in reserved rooms of the library and in eateries on campus and a study room in our house that offers peace and quiet (as well as a wide variety of textbooks from all classes and disciples across the university, in case you find yourself in need).

As CMU can be a pretty stressful place, especially around finals, our Director of Academics organizes events to be held at the house to encourage healthy self-care routines during studying, supplying Chipotle and Starbucks, or hiring a private Barista for unlimited coffee, tea, and smoothies.

Alpha Phi’s strive for success in all we do, especially when it comes to academics. As evidence of our efforts, we have been recognized as having the highest “All Greek” and Panhellenic Chapter GPA in the past, in addition to counting many University and College Honors recipients among our alumni, and seeing our upperclassmen participate in several honors societies.

Scholarship

The Alpha Phi Foundation provides both merit-based and need-based scholarships. Though these scholarships cannot be applied to Alpha Phi dues, they can be used for academic-related expenses such as tuition, course-related fees, and books/supplies.

Sisters can be of any academic year to apply (even in graduate school) but must be either an initiated member, or be initiated by May 15 of the year prior to when the scholarship is awarded.

Values

Official: Character, Innovation, Generosity, Sisterhood

Unofficial: Genuine, passionate sisterhood.

Be sure to check out our website too!