about us

Almost a hundred years ago, seven women attending Cornell University were amongst many women who were discriminated against by Greek organizations since they were part of a minority. In response to such exclusion, these women decided to establish their own sorority that would respect the individuality of its members. Thus, Sigma Delta Tau was founded at in 1917 at Cornell University. At the present time, SDT exists as a National Sorority that is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference.

The mission of Sigma Delta Tau is "to enrich the college experience of women of similar ideals, to build lasting friendships and to foster personal growth. Sigma Delta Tau shall encourage each member by providing intellectual, philanthropic, leadership and social opportunities within the framework of mutual respect and high ethical standards."

The Gamma Tau Chapter of Sigma Delta Tau was founded at Columbia University in 1992. We include a number of girls from very diverse backgrounds and are all involved in various activities all over New York City. Just look our continually growing list of involvement!

Activities...

clubs, organizations, sports, internships, etc. (both in and outside of school) that our sisters are involved in:

In school:

• Clubs/Organizations:
  • Amnesty International
  • Barnard Student Government
  • Cents Ability
  • Colleges Against Cancer
  • Columbia College Student Council
  • Columbia Mentoring Initiative
  • Columbia Women's Business Society
  • CU Couture
  • EcoReps
  • HootMag
  • JumpStart
  • MCAC (McIntosh Activities Council)
  • Musical Theatre Society
  • Now!Here
  • Order of Omega
  • One-to-One Tutoring
  • Peer Health Exchange
  • Performing Arts League
  • Spectator
  • Varsity Show actresses
• Jobs:
  • Barnard Admissions Office
  • Columbia Admissions Office
  • Barnard Instructional Media and Technology Services
  • Biology TA
  • Religion TA
  • Resident Advisors
• Sports:
  • Ski team
  • Archery

Marla Lipsyc

"I have been on the Survivorship and Caregiver Engagement committee for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life at Columbia for three years now, and every year my SDT sisters support me by forming one of the largest teams and raising one of the largest funds of money to a cause that is near and dear to my heart--fighting cancer! Inbar and Alyssa even helped to design a tank top for our team saying "BΣΔΤ CANCER." Kim and Ariela have also been on the committee and made everything SO much easier and way more fun!!"

Outside of school:

• Jobs:
  • On the voting committee for the SAG awards
  • Founded Teens for the Cure
  • Broadway actress
  • Board of a UN Children's Education group
  • Ivy League Tutors
• Internships:
  • Attorney General
  • BlackRock
  • Elle Magazine
  • Merrill Lynch
  • Mount Sinai
  • NBC Digital Media
  • New York Presbyterian Hospital
  • Olympics
  • Prada
  • Seventeen Magazine
  • SONY/Columbia Pictures
  • Urban Girl Squad
  • Vogue

Jackie Fields

"For the past year I've worked for an incredible education non-profit called Let's Get Ready. Twice a week, I run an SAT prep and college guidance program for 90 underserved high schoolers in Harlem. All of my SDT sisters know how important Let's Get Ready is to me--and a lot of them have shared in my love of teaching and giving back! Serena Piol, Leah Messing, Sarah Friedman, Talia Klein, Helen Pfeiffer and a bunch of SDT alumnae have all volunteered. In fact, I actually heard about Let's Get Ready from an SDT sister when I was a freshman! I love my job so much... and working with sisters who support me and my goals makes the whole experience even more special."