Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha at the professional clothing drive.
Rhavyn Bradshaw|Courtesy
Virginia Wesleyan’s chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sigma Omicron, celebrates their 20th anniversary of Skee-Week through socials and service.
Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) is a historically Black sorority, founded in 1908 at Howard University. Their core mission is “service to all mankind.” This mission has guided the Virginia Wesleyan chapter throughout its 20 years of service. Each year, their chapter, Sigma Omicron, holds a weeklong event, “Skee-Week.” This event allows the group to give back to the community through a series of events, including some members-only events, a mental health workshop, business panel, aerobics class and professional clothing drive. This Skee-Week was the Virginia Wesleyan chapter of AKA’s 20th anniversary.
Skee-Week kicked off with a Black Business Panel on April 7 featuring three entrepreneurs: Maerine Mitchell, Baba Brett and Carla Baliey. The business leaders met with the audience to share insights on their business journeys. They discussed success stories, strategies and mentors they had growing up. One of AKA’s initiatives is economic health. The sorority aimed to have people from the community give down-to-earth, realistic advice. Jayden Upton, a freshman, hoped to take advantage of this by attending. “I want to start my own business a few years after college, so I wanted to come and get a first-person perspective and as much advice as I could get,” Upton said.
On April 9, AKA hosted a Women’s Wellness event. This event featured guest speaker Dr. Jenay Garrett, a certified Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist. Dr. Garrett was brought in to explain the importance of women’s wellness and how women should care for themselves physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
“I feel like that’s a really representative topic; what women go through and how we can navigate that especially as college women,” Kaiya Jenkins, a senior and member of AKA, said. The seminar was an important event to the members as they wanted to create a space for wellness awareness and help women navigate through struggles and emotions.
Members of Sigma Omicron joined the Lambda Gamma Omega chapter as they gardened alongside young learners.
Rhavyn Bradshaw|Courtesy
On April 10, aerobics athletic trainer Jordan Davis led an hour-long exercise class open to campus. Elias Paulino, a sophomore, attended this event. “I went to the class because I really like to workout and thought this was a great opportunity to connect with my peers, especially in the Greek community,” Paulino said.
April 8 and April 11, the sorority hosted exclusive members-only events. Tuesday’s event was Gardening With The Little Ones. Members of Sigma Omicron joined the Lambda Gamma Omega Chapter as they gardened alongside young learners. They taught them the importance of stability, responsibility and environmental stewardship. AKA is also committed to environmental stewardship. Therefore, this specific event is very crucial to Skee-Week. “We’re always excited to build new relationships within our community, so we’re looking forward to seeing all of our hard work sprout this spring and summer,” Sandra Hernandez, senior and AKA member, said.
On Friday, the members of Sigma Omicron originally planned to join residents at Our Lady Of Perpetual Hope for a game of Easter-themed bingo. Unfortunately, due to a COVID outbreak at the facility, they were unable to do the event. To continue giving back, the group assembled some Easter baskets to share some of their kindness and spirit.
“It was our way of letting them know we were still thinking of them and sending good energy their way,” Rhavyn Bradshaw, a senior and member of AKA, said.
Due to AKA’s mission, they constantly want to empower all ages, but at this event they aimed to emphasize that no group, especially seniors, who can sometimes be overlooked, should be excluded.
To end the week of giving back to the community, AKA hosted a professional clothing collection. They collected 26 gently used professional clothing items, including blazers, blouses, shoes and dress pants. “We always want to make sure we give back to our campus community and do whatever we can to make a positive impact,” Bradshaw said. College students are still trying to figure out where to go and how to keep going so AKA wants to help students jump start their careers while feeling confident doing it.
Skee-Week gives Virginia Wesleyan students an opportunity to interact with AKA in case they decide to become involved with the organization. It also gives AKA members service opportunities.
“Our goal was to find that perfect balance between serious and fun, so we could make an impact in all areas of students’ lives, not just one,” Bradshaw said. The chapter hopes to continue building on their legacy through acts of service.
By Lora Young
