April 25, 2001

DALLAS, TEXAS—Sigma Lambda Upsilon/Seņoritas Latinas Unidas Sorority, Inc., was the recipient of four awards at the first ever Latino Greek Awards presented by the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations held on Saturday, April 21.

The sorority received the award for Community & Education Planning for the outstanding success of its Sigma Lambda PEARLS Program, a mentor program launched in March of 2000. There are currently 25 middle-school girls involved in the program, which stands for Promoting Education, Arts, our Roots, Leadership and Service.

"As an organization, we are honored and humbled by this recognition. The awards gala served as the first opportunity for Latino fraternities and sororities to celebrate and showcase their contributions on a national level. We would like to thank NALFO, Latinogreeks.com, and the rest of the winners for their support," said Alina Ocasio, director of Expansion.

Sigma Lambda Upsilon is very proud of the accomplishments of its chapters and Hermanas, who also received recognition for their continuing success in academics, their commitment to the community and their promotion of cultural awareness and sisterhood.

The sorority’s Theta Beta Graduate/Professional Chapter (Providence, RI) was named Alumni Chapter of the Year. The Chapter consists of over a dozen alumnae continuing to uphold the organization’s goals and ideals in addition to the daily challenges of graduate school, careers and family. Theta Beta’s accomplishments include the mentoring and establishment of 4 new chapters for the organization and its relief efforts for the many natural disasters that occurred in 2000.

Liliana Polo, a member of the Theta Beta Chapter, was the recipient of the Academic Excellence Award-Graduate. Liliana will be graduating in May with a Master’s in Education from Brown University, where she also obtained her Bachelor of Arts in African-American Studies last year.

Rosann Santos, Eta Chapter (Syracuse University) alumni, was the recipient of the Alumni of the Year Award. Rosann graduated from Syracuse University in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Math. She is currently obtaining her Masters and Ph.D of History with a concentration in gender and society in Latin America and the Caribbean at the University at Albany, State University of New York.

"I am honored. Being in this organization is a great source of pride for me and acknowledgement like this is just icing on the cake," said Rosann.

Sigma Lambda Upsilon/Seņoritas Latinas Unidas Sorority, Inc., is a non-profit, Greek-lettered organization established in 1987 to provide sisterhood, support, promote academic achievement, service to the community and cultural enrichment across college campuses and within communities across the country.