Alpha Psi Induction Weekend

It was a very busy weekend in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! Last Saturday, April 5th, 2025, Omega Phi Alpha inducted the newest chapter into our sorority, Alpha Psi Chapter at the University of Pittsburgh. We inducted 22 founding members into Lifetime Membership, and activated 28 Alpha Class members! The ceremony was led by National President Nanda Jayaseelan (Chi), Expansions Director Katrina Dydzuhn (Alpha Phi), Managing Director Brittany Thornton (Alpha Kappa), Chapter Health Specialist Stormy Scott (Alpha Alpha), and Chapter Advisor and Communications Director Alyssa Harris (Alpha Phi).

Alumni from all over came to celebrate the new bees, with visitors from as far as Texas, Tennessee, and Georgia making their way up North to Pennsylvania for the festivities. The weekend started slowly, with lineages splitting into family dinners as their bigs arrived in the city. Alumni who did not have littles joined other families, letting everyone get to know each other!

Saturday was the main event! The morning started off with a presentation on their successes as a potential new chapter, given by Chapter President Sameera Vankamamidi and Events Director Alexandra Windows. It was so amazing to see all of their accomplishments in such a short period of time! Once that was over, though it was a bit rainy, Events Director Alex took advantage of a gap in the drizzle to start their sisterhood event: a campus scavenger hunt! Broken up into teams, we spent the morning figuring out clues to find landmarks on Pitt’s campus, like their panther statue, the room they hold chapter meetings in, and some other gorgeous landmarks, like the 35th floor of their Cathedral of Learning!

Once each team made it back inside, we began their service project, tie blankets and toys for the Kitten Queen Cat Shelter. Members had so much fun working together to make the cutest blankets for the cats! It was so wonderful to participate in service alongside our new sisters.

After a quick lunch, we went into the chapter induction ceremony. It was fulfilling to culminate all of the founders’ work and reward them with their charter. Members were so excited to be officially sisters of Omega Phi Alpha, receive their active member pins, see their names on the chapter charter, and sign the membership ledger as Alpha Psi’s founding members!

We then got to watch our newest active members activate twenty-eight more! This was the first time they had conducted a ceremony, but they took it in stride and did fantastically, with alumni ready to support when needed. Alumni were so proud to watch them succeed so soon after their induction! The action-packed day concluded with Pass the Rose, allowing everyone to reflect on their weekend, and members of their time as a prospective new chapter.

Sunday morning held a quiet senior ceremony for the six founding members who are set to graduate this May. Some alumni present had not seen a senior ceremony before, so this was a special experience for everyone involved! It was a very sentimental and hopeful end to a very special weekend as we celebrated our seniors’ accomplishments and all they have to look forward to and alumni members of Omega Phi Alpha.

To the Alpha Psi Chapter – Thank you for a super fun induction weekend! Your dedication to service on Pitt’s campus is admirable, and we are so excited and honored to have you officially installed as the Alpha Psi chapter of Omega Phi Alpha. Thank you for all of your hard work – it has paid off tremendously and the Expansions team is so proud of you!

Congratulations to the newest active members of Omega Phi Alpha and the founders of Alpha Psi Chapter at the University of Pittsburgh!

Adriana Sostre Martinez

Alexandra Windows

Alexis Boyer

Alyssa Schulties

Anna Minor

Areebah Jafri

Autumn Barrows

Ava Donnelly

Charlotte Cuff

Cindy Rocher

Meadow Winters