Elegant Eta Beta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Happy 110th Founders' Day to the men of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated! Special shoutout to ! 🩷💙

Thank you to everyone who joined us for AKAdemic Hour! We hope you enjoyed studying with the Elegant Eta Beta Chapter, and we wish you the best of luck this finals season! 💞

Happy Founders’ Day to the men of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.! Congratulations on 117 years of brotherhood, scholarship, and providing service and advocacy for our communities. Special shoutout to ΚΘ 💖🖤

The Elegant Eta Beta Chapter welcomed 15 new members to the illustrious sisterhood of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated on Sunday, November 12th! We can’t wait to foster a lifetime of sisterhood, service, and scholarship with our newest sisters! 💞💚

Happy Founders' Day to the Men of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated! Congratulations on 112 years of Manhood, Scholarship, Perseverance and Uplift! Shoutout to ! 💖💜

The Elegant Eta Beta Chapter would like to wish a happy Founders’ Day to the Rhoyal Women of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Congratulations on 101 years of “Greater Service, Greater Progress!” Shoutout to ! 💖💙

Fifty-one years ago today, the Elegant Eta Beta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. was chartered on the campus of Vanderbilt University by thirteen illustrious trailblazers. Since that day, HB has achieved greater heights of sisterhood and service to all mankind. We can’t wait to continue this legacy of excellence for the next fifty years and beyond! 💕💚

Visit the link in our bio to read more about our history ✨

Thank you all for joining the Elegant Eta Beta Chapter in raising breast cancer awareness this week! 🩷 We hope you feel informed and equipped with knowledge to help detect and prevent breast cancer! 🎀

We would like to extend an extra special thank you to everyone who joined us in fundraising for breast cancer survivors this week! Thanks to all of you, we raised $360 for the Sisters Network! 💞

Join the Elegant Eta Beta Chapter in increasing our breast cancer awareness on Tuesday, October 17 at 7:08 PM in Buttrick 309 💞 We will watch a documentary followed by cookie decorating. Pepper Pot will be served, so come hungry! Don’t forget to wear pink to show your support! 🩷

Also, stop by our table at Rand on Monday and Tuesday to learn more about how to screen yourself for breast cancer and support Sisters Network Nashville! See you next week!

To everyone who joined us in serving the North Nashville Community Garden yesterday, thank you! We did great work together preparing the garden for autumn planting and contributed to feeding our local community! 🌾

This evening, join the Elegant Eta Beta Chapter of AKA and the Omnipotent Omega Pi Chapter of ΖΦΒ for 𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒊𝒆! Meet us in the Multicultural Community Space Grand Room at 7:00 as we foster a safe space to discuss personal wellness and the importance of mental health among Black women! 🧸 We will pack and decorate self-care bags for the Mary Parrish Center to support female victims of domestic violence. 🛍️ Dinner will be provided!

See you tonight! 🩷💙

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Eco Barbie feat. SPEAR last night! We hope you all gained vital information regarding the climate crisis and enjoyed decorating your new plants!

Join the Elegant Eta Beta Chapter this evening for 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒊𝒆! 🌱 Uplift our community by serving at the North Nashville Community Garden! We will make a positive impact on a local community by increasing their access to a healthy and sustainable food source. 🥗

If you would like to join us but have not yet RSVPed, we have 5 spots left. Sign up using the form in our Linktree! 🩷💚

Today kicks off our fall mini-week, “𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝”! 🩷 Join the Elegant Eta Beta Chapter for 𝑬𝒄𝒐 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒊𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒕. 𝑺𝑷𝑬𝑨𝑹 tonight at 7 PM in Buttrick 305. We will discuss the significance of climate change and the importance of climate justice! We will hear from Vanderbilt SPEAR and how their organization is working to preserve our planet, as well as some ways we can personally help fight the climate crisis. 🌎 We will be adopting plants to take home and have some fun decorating their pots. 🪴 Dinner will be provided!

We can’t wait to see you there! 💚✨

We hope you enjoyed getting to know more about our chapter members! We can’t wait to serve our community this year! 🩷💚

Stay tuned for information on the Elegant Eta Beta Chapter and our upcoming events! ✨

Meet the members of the Elegant Eta Beta chapter for 2023!

─────── ·𖥸· ───────

Kayla Anderson is a senior from Rock Hill, SC, majoring in Medicine, Health, and Society on the pre-med track. Kayla is serving as Chaplain for Eta Beta. Kayla’s involvements this year include:

🩷 President of NPHC
💚 Vice President of BCC Ambassadors
🩷 STRANDS Mentor
💚 MAPS
🩷 Vanderbilt Student Volunteers for Health
💚 Vanderbilt Community Garden

Meet the members of the Elegant Eta Beta chapter for 2023!

─────── ·𖥸· ───────

Nya McClain is a senior from Montgomery, AL, majoring in Communication Studies and minoring in Cinema & Media Arts and Human & Organizational Development. She is serving as Secretary and Ivy Leaf Reporter for Eta Beta. Nya’s involvements this year include:

🩷 Senior Consultant in Anchor Marketing Group
💚 Teaching Assistant in the Communication Studies Department

Meet the members of the Elegant Eta Beta chapter for 2023!

─────── ·𖥸· ───────

Vanessa Asapokhai is a senior from Atlanta, GA, majoring in Law, History, and Society and Human & Organizational Development. She is serving as Treasurer for Eta Beta. Vanessa’s involvements this year include:

🩷 President of The Women’s Network
💚 Treasurer of the BSA
🩷 UNICEF Co-Fundraising Chair

Meet the members of the Elegant Eta Beta chapter for 2023!

─────── ·𖥸· ───────

Bianca Long is a junior from northern Virginia majoring in Medicine, Health, and Society and minoring in African American Diaspora Studies. She is currently serving as Vice President and Financial Secretary of Eta Beta. Bianca’s involvements for this year include:

🩷 Vanderbilt Programming Board Homecoming Committee Co-Chair
💚 Women’s Center Ambassador
🩷 Research Assistant for the Political Science Department

Meet the members of the Elegant Eta Beta chapter for 2023!

─────── ·𖥸· ───────

Brooklyn Clark is a senior from Houston, TX, majoring in Law, History, and Society and Psychology and minoring in African American Diaspora Studies. She is serving as President of Eta Beta. Brooklyn’s involvements this year include:

🩷 Vice President of STRANDS
💚 Membership Committee of Studio V

Thank you all for coming out and supporting our annual Chicken & Waffles yesterday! 🍗🧇 We hope everyone enjoyed good food and company with us! 💖🖤

Special thank you to everyone who joined us in fundraising for the Maui Strong Fund! Thanks to all of your support, we were able to contribute $600 to Maui’s recovery from the tragic fires. Thank you for helping us make an impact! 💞

On behalf of the Elegant Eta Beta Chapter, welcome back Vandy! ⭐️ We had a wonderful time meeting new faces and reconnecting with our community at Move Crew, Harambee March, and Founders’ Walk! To the class of 2027, we wish you an amazing first year at Vanderbilt 💗

We can’t wait to engage with you all for another great year! Stay tuned to see what Eta Beta has planned 💕

MJ Rodriguez is a trailblazing actress who has made history as the first transgender woman to earn an Emmy Award nomination in a major acting category. Her talent and hard work have paved the way for greater representation and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community in the entertainment industry. As Blanca Evangelista in the FX television series Pose, she captivated audiences with her powerful performance and garnered critical acclaim. Her success is a testament to her resilience and determination to break down barriers and shatter stereotypes. 🩵🩷🤍🤎

Meet the trailblazing Sir Lady Java, a Black gender non-conforming woman who started a revolution of her own in 1960s Los Angeles. Born in New Orleans in 1943, Sir Lady Java transitioned at a young age with the support of her mother and found her passion in singing and dancing. She quickly became a mainstay of the nightclub circuit in Los Angeles, sharing the stage with legendary figures such as Redd Foxx, Sammy Davis Jr., Richard Pryor, and more. Her performances were a mix of dancing, impersonations, singing, and comedy, inspired by icons like Lena Horne, Mae West, and Josephine Baker.

But when the Los Angeles Police Department started shutting down Sir Lady Java's performances in 1967, citing a local ordinance prohibiting "impersonation by means of costume or dress a person of the opposite s*x," she did not back down. Instead, she picketed Redd Foxx's club and hired the ACLU to fight the rule. Although the courts ultimately rejected her case, her efforts were not in vain. Rule Number 9 was struck down after a separate dispute in 1969.

Sir Lady Java's legacy is one of resilience, courage, and determination. She stood up for what she believed in, despite adversity, and paved the way for future generations to live their truth. Her impact on the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color cannot be overstated, and her story serves as an inspiring reminder that change is possible when we stand up for what is right. 🩵🩷🤍🤎

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy is a Black trans woman who helped shape the trans rights movement in the US. Miss Major grew up on the South Side of Chicago in the 1940s and 50s but moved to New York City in the early 1960s after facing discrimination and threats of violence for her trans identity. Like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, Miss Major frequented the Stonewall Inn and participated in the Stonewall Riots. On the first night of rioting, a police officer took her into custody. After being incarcerated for five years in the late 1970s, Miss Major moved to California to continue her work as an activist. She worked for a nonprofit addressing the epidemic in the 1980s and 90s and advocated for prison abolition. In 2005, she began working as the Executive Director for the Transgender Gender-Variant & Inters*x Justice Project (TGIJP). At TGIJP, she advocated for incarcerated transgender women of color who have suffered from police brutality, poverty, racism, and gender discrimination. In 2015, Miss Major moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, where she founded the House of GG (the Griffin-Gracy Educational Retreat & Historical Center), a retreat house for the transgender community with programming on survival skills, healing, advocacy, community organizing, and more. 🩵🩷🤍🤎

Marsha “Pay It No Mind” Johnson was an extraordinary individual who dedicated her life to advocating for marginalized communities. She was a trailblazing leader who fought tirelessly for the rights of trans and homeless people/youth, s*x workers, people living with HIV/AIDS, and incarcerated people. At just 23 years old, Johnson played a pivotal role in the Stonewall Riots, which sparked the LGBTQ+ movement. Following this, she co-founded STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) with Sylvia Rivera, which provided a safe haven for homeless transgender youth. Johnson's work with STAR was revolutionary and made a lasting impact on the LGBTQ+ community. Tragically, Johnson's life was cut short, but her legacy continues to inspire generations to fight for equality and justice. Marsha P. Johnson's unwavering commitment to social change serves as a reminder of the power of activism and the importance of standing up for what is right. 🩵🩷🤍🤎

Aria Sa'id, Honey Mahogany, and Janetta Johnson are three remarkable women who have made history by founding the world's first legally recognized transgender district. Their vision and determination have created a space where transgender and q***r people can feel seen, heard, and supported. The district, named after the Compton's Cafeteria Riots of 1966, was established by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2017 and has been a beacon of hope ever since.

As co-founders of the district, Sa'id, Mahogany, and Johnson have shown that it is possible to create change through advocacy and community building. They have fought tirelessly to ensure that transgender and q***r people have a place to call their own, where they can celebrate their history and plan for their future. Their commitment to the cause is evident in the district's many projects, including a coffee shop that will provide job training for local trans people of color. Their dedication to creating a better world for all transgender and q***r people is truly inspiring. 🩵🩷🤍🤎

Laverne Cox is an incredible actress and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. She has broken barriers and shattered ceilings in the entertainment industry, becoming the first transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for her role on Orange Is the New Black. She has continued to make history, winning a Daytime Emmy Award as the executive producer for Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word. Laverne Cox's impact extends beyond the screen, as she uses her platform to promote equality and acceptance for all. 🩵🩷🤍🤎

Breaking barriers and making history, Andrea Jenkins continues to inspire us all as the first openly transgender Black woman elected to public office in the U.S. and now as the first transgender official to lead a city council. She is also a published poet and an oral historian at the University of Minnesota. Andrea Jenkins is a true representation of the strength, resilience, and determination of transgender women everywhere. 🩵🩷🤍🤎

The Elegant Eta Beta Chapter wishes you a happy Pride Month! 🏳️‍🌈💞🏳️‍⚧️ We remain committed to our support of LGBTQ+ communities. Demonstrating our support and advocacy is especially important today in the midst of the hateful increase in attempts to codify anti-transgender legislation into law nationwide. This month, we encourage you to join us in supporting Transgender Law Center in their efforts to combat these oppressive laws and secure human rights for transgender people. You can find the link to support in our linktree!

This month, we will be celebrating iconic Black transgender women that have left a lasting impact in the ongoing movement to ensure equal rights for all. Stay tuned to learn more about these trailblazing women! 🩵💗🤍

Congratulations to Sister Nyah Webb on graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Medicine, Health, and Society with a concentration in Health Behaviors and Health Sciences! 🎓

Throughout her academic career, Nyah has consistently achieved recognition on the Dean's List each semester by maintaining a high level of academic performance. In addition, she has demonstrated her commitment to her field of study by serving as a Learning Assistant for a Biological Sciences course, providing guidance and support to fellow students in their pursuit of academic success. Further demonstrating her dedication to her academic and professional goals, Nyah was awarded the Joe C. Davis Fund in Summer '21, enabling her to pursue further research opportunities as she worked as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Peck Lab. Here she gained valuable hands-on experience in a biochemistry lab by contributing to ongoing research projects that mainly focused on musculoskeletal degeneration as a consequence of neurodegenerative disease. Beyond her academic pursuits, Nyah has been an active member of her community, re-founding and serving as Co-President for the Minority Association of Pre-medical Students. This organization’s purpose is to support and empower underrepresented groups in the medical field by providing resources and creating a sense of community. Additionally, she has served as a Hostess of the Eta Beta Chapter, enhancing our bond through tireless demonstrations of sisterhood. Finally, Nyah was a member of the Student Advocates for Public Health Advisory Council, where she worked alongside fellow students to promote public health initiatives around campus during the COVID-19 academic year. ✨

Next, Nyah will be working for a startup company intended to improve health literacy and patient comfort and outcomes in children with chronic conditions. This fall, she will enroll in Diagnostic Medical Sonography School to become a registered sonographer! We are beyond proud of you, and we are anticipated the positive impact you will make in the world! 🩷💚

❝ The people really make a place a home. ❞ - Sister Nyah Webb

Congratulations to Sister Rachael Holly on graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Medicine, Health, and Society! 🎓

Rachael has consistently earned a spot on the Dean's List for three consecutive semesters, from fall 2020 to spring 2023. She has also made significant contributions as a leader and community servant. As a Next Steps at Vanderbilt Ambassa'dore for two years, Rachael has worked to empower and inspire students to achieve their goals. She has also served as Treasurer of the Eta Beta Chapter, demonstrating exceptional organizational skills and her strong commitment to our sorority. In addition to her leadership roles, Rachael has also dedicated herself to serving her community. She has served as a Team Leader for Vanderbilt Student Volunteers for Science, helping to inspire and educate young students about the wonders of science. Her passion for learning and service has also taken her abroad, where she has expanded her horizons by studying Psychology in Copenhagen and Stockholm. ✨

Next, Rachael will be taking a gap year to work as a research assistant before pursuing a masters in Clinical Psychology! You are a spectacular sister to us all, and we are excited to see what you do next! 🩷💚

❝ I’m so thankful to be a part of Vanderbilt’s Class of 2023. While it has made me experience many stressful times, I’ve also had some of my happiest moments here! I’m sad to leave but excited to reach my next milestones with my family, friends and amazing line sisters! ❞ - Sister Rachael Holly