Sun Devil alumni build bridges

Sun Devils of all stripes love to gather for ASU Homecoming every year, but in 2019 a group of fraternity and sorority alumni came back to campus to also celebrate their commitment to Greek life at ASU.

On Nov. 23 alumni including Bianca Vargas, who graduated with her BA in business in 2013, and Jesús Chávez, who graduated with his BA in Spanish in 2013, helped host a tailgate for Greek alumni.

For Vargas, being part of Gamma Alpha Omega helped define her experience at ASU in the close-knit group. The sisters studied and served the community together, with programming for girls with incarcerated parents and by hosting skill-building programming for pregnant women in need. Her sorority also influenced her career path to the Girl Scouts, where she works in the accounting field. 

Vargas said she wanted to find new ways to stay involved in her sorority community at ASU, so she joined the Greek Alumni Council and started planning a Homecoming tailgate event for her chapter.

“I like to give back,” said Vargas, who is also involved in events and programming for Gamma Alpha Omega. 

When other Greeks wanted to join the festivities, Vargas didn’t hesitate to welcome them.  

“We need to find people [who are] intrigued to stay and contribute,” she said.

Vargas said she is grateful to have the Greek Leadership Village space to host previous events for her chapter, and she decided to host a tailgate at Homecoming to engage current students and alumni. She said the event was a great way to connect for mentorship and community.

“As alumni we’re trying to build a bridge to the undergrad chapters. … We want to be there for them like alumni have been there for us,” she said. 

Chávez, who joined the Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity in 2009, said the event was a great way to celebrate at Homecoming.

“Being part of Homecoming made it that much better because it offered alumni and their family members of all ages an opportunity to create new memories in ways we didn’t think of when we were students,” he said.

“Although it may seem simple, it is a very profound legacy that is being built by us by coming together and sharing these moments with each other and our families. I am very grateful for the different member organizations who participated and especially for the different offices from ASU who helped make this event a great success.”

Chávez said as a first-generation student at ASU, his experience with his fraternity brothers was invaluable during his college years and beyond, including influencing his career path in higher education. 

“Back then I couldn’t put it so eloquently, but years later after having so many great experiences with my brothers both at ASU and across the country, I’ve always attributed the success I’ve had to being around this group of men and the additional relationships while made in Greek life.” 

The Greek Familia: Alumni Members of Multicultural Greek Council and National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations Council at the Inaugural Multicultural Greek Alumni Tailgate. From left: Xavier Acosta, Maira Beltran, Marisa Camarillo Chávez, Jesús Chávez, Danielle Sosias and Matt Sotelo.

Also a member of the Greek Alumni Council, Chávez said that he encourages all Greek alumni to get engaged because their experience is a great asset to share with current students. 

Director of ASU Fraternity and Sorority Life Gary Ballinger said that ASU is working to engage alumni from the Greek community because of how influential, inspirational and dedicated alumni are to their organizations and to Sun Devils.

“It was amazing that alumni were able to bring their families to this event and introduce them to ASU and the fraternity and sorority community,” Ballinger said. 

“It is important for our undergraduate students to connect with successful ASU alumni who can help guide and mentor them from their time as students to a professional career. We hope to continue to actively engage alumni in positive ways to support our students, organizations and their future.”