On June 15, 1967 Bowling Green State University founded the Alpha Chapter of Omega Phi Alpha National Service Sorority. 49 years later there are 30 active chapters across the nation, with 1,250 members in the collegiate chapters, Omega Phi Alpha's purpose of friendship, leadership, and service is growing better than ever. What is Omega Phi Alpha? It is a national service sorority that dedicates their time to complete a minimum of six service projects a semester including one project that serves mental health. Along with service, ophia is an organization that builds leaders in their community and friendship that will last a lifetime. Here's fifteen reasons to celebrate and thank Omega Phi Alpha for:

1. Serving the community with your sisters.

Whether it's a chapter event or just volunteering with a group of sisters, there is always a humble experience when serving with sisters who share the same passion for helping.

2. The best friends you make:

"Some of my BEST friends have come from Ophia, and it has made me grow as a person and a sister!" -Katie McGrath

3. The incredible Big that guides you through life:

If there is anything I have learned about having a Big, being a Big, and pairing Bigs, is that this is the one person you will look up to in the chapter, in school, and in life to learn from. My Big is anything but inspiring and has been the perfect definition of an ophia Big sister!

4. Giving you a place to call home away from home:

"OPhiA helped me find where I was meant to be in college, and helped me gain lifelong memories and best friends!"- Lauren Gray

5. District Summits:

Every spring, 2-4 Omega Phi Alpha chapters come together to learn about national policies, meet sisters in different chapters to share ideas, form bonds and become better sisters. This year the heartland district, Alpha Kappa at the University of Kansas and Alpha Gamma at Oklahoma State University became pen pals during the school year to get to know each other more!

6. Memories forever are created:

"OPhiA helped me continue to do what I love, which is help others. Plus all of my favorite college memories come from being with my sisters!"-Emily Beeman

Whether its serving at a local food bank, attending football games, those infamous lip sync battles at sisterhood retreat,or having a movie night the memories made with your sisters are the ones you will hold onto dearly and tell your children about.

7. Your little(s):

This is the person you're unhealthily obsessed with, she's your go-to, you even have a cute duo name. She's who you pass your wisdom on and watch grow up in ophia and college and support 100 percent.

Our duo name: Benson and Stabler.

8. Your pledge class and moms:

Whether or not you all clicked at first, your pledge class is who you spent your first 10 weeks as a member with, you all learned policies, sisterhood and all the service projects together. You get a little nostalgic when a pledge sister brings up a memory from those first days, when you realize how old you guys have actually gotten, and when one of you graduates. You even come up with cute PC names, like hakuna maTAUta. Your pledge moms were the first actives you met, they were there for you when you had questions, didn't know what to do,or had a problem. They shared their passion for ophia in those 10 weeks and educated you on what it means to be a sister. They root for you in everything you do and are excited to see all that you bring to the chapter.

9. The best support system away from home:

"Thankful for the lifelong friends I've made. I feel so blessed to have had my sisters' support when I was in the hospital. Without their love and support, the mental and physical process would've taken a lot longer." - Nina Arszulowicz

During tough times your sisters are the ones who are always there for you, with unconditional love, support and understanding. During the Homecoming tragedy this year at Oklahoma State, the Alpha Gamma chapter held a ophia pass, where we shared our thoughts, concerns, and feelings with each other. During Nina's heart surgeries and recoveries we participated in her Epic Orange Friday. We also support our sisters' outside activities such as attending club events in which they have organized, service projects, dance recitals, pairing with organizations they are apart of. An ophia's love for a sister is really true.

10. Becoming a leader:

"This sorority has helped me develop my leadership skills and I have made lifelong friendships, all while doing service for others!" - Georgia Fruendt

Omega Phi Alpha has wonderful opportunities to grow leadership skills, whether it's being a member of the exec team, apart of standards board, on a committee or just being a leader during a project. As an older member it is exciting to watch younger and even older members become leaders and take new positions.

11. Mental Health Matters:

Omega Phi Alpha's permanent project is mental health, this year the President's project was also selected to serve mental health. In the collegiate chapters sisters participated in projects such as: Saint Baldrick's, hosting a mental health seminar, Operation Beautiful, attending sexual assault seminars, volunteering in nursing homes, Mental Health Mondays, TWLOHA suicide awareness week, and even more projectsthat serve mental health.

12. Membership Events:

Between rush, bid day, pinning, reveal, and activation there are plenty of memories to be made welcoming the newest potential members of the chapter. Big/Little reveal is basically Christmas and you are able to see your family grow bigger and better than before.There is not a more exciting time than activation ceremony. During this time the pledges you have watched learn the law of the chapter become your official sisters! Everyone is all matching, and there is no better way to end the semester than raising some hell for ophia and celebrating the newest members of your chapter.

13. Our wise alumni:

These are the sisters who have come and gone before us, they shaped the way for new members, revised the constitution or even wrote it, they work hard to help serve after graduating. They are apart of our national exec board, they are our G-Bigs, our Bigs, our best friends, and even our family members, alumni we thank you for being apart of our chapter and coming back to visit us for alum events.

14. Your OPhiA family:

You have your Big, your Little, but you also have your G's and GG's, your aunts, cousins, second cousins and other lines in your family. You all claim your family is the best family, you have hand signs,family t-shirts, group messages, inside family jokes, hashtags for reveal or family pictures. You love your line and you couldn't imagine being in any other family.

15. Convention:

Every collegiate and alumni chapter gather in one city for a weekend of sisterhood, service, learning and voting on new legistiation and exec members, sharing ideas from chapter to chapter. Convention is the greatest Omega Phi Alpha event because you get to meet 60+ sisters who share the same passion as you do and explore a new city, new ways to improve your own chapter, and form new friendships. I know I am ready for some sunshine and sisterhood next month!

Omega Phi Alpha we celebrate you everyday for giving us a place to serve our communities, to grow as leaders and to make friendships forever! And founding sisters of Omega Phi Alpha and every collegiate chapter founded we celebrate you the most for spreading your love of service so that we and future sisters can share theirs.