Traditions
Sisterhood retreats (past trips include Santa Cruz and Bodega Bay), pledge class presents, lock-ins, sleepovers, photo shoots, formals, the Tahoe trip, and senior banquet.
Our history
The Sisters of Pedagogy
Sigma Omicron Pi was founded at San Francisco State University in 1930 by ten Asian American women pursuing the interest of teaching: Elizabeth Hall, Frances Hall, Dorothy Lau, Gertrude Lee, Hannah Lee, Louise Lee, Fannie Lim, Nancy Lim, Emma Lum, and Beatrice Ng. They chose the Greek letters Sigma, Omicron, and Pi to represent themselves as the "Sisters of Pedagogy," and drew the constitution from an existing Honorary Society of Education.
Though the sorority no longer centers on teaching, its commitment to the Asian American community never changed. Every chapter stays involved in its community, volunteering at local agencies and raising money for causes that matter to its sisters.
- 1930Ten women found Sigma Omicron Pi at San Francisco State University.
- 1945After fifteen years of service in the Asian community, the outbreak of World War II forces the sorority to go inactive.
- 1946A group of women at UC Berkeley re-establish Sigma Omicron Pi on their campus as the Alpha Chapter.
- 1953Founding sister Elizabeth Hall becomes San Francisco's first Chinese American school principal.
- Today13 chapters across California, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York, and a sisterhood approaching its hundredth year.
Founding sister
Elizabeth Ling-So Hall
Born in San Francisco on May 19, 1911, Elizabeth Hall was one of the city's few Asian American children granted permission to attend Pacific Heights School instead of Chinatown's Oriental School. She was the only Chinese American girl at Polytechnic High School, then won a scholarship to UC Berkeley, taking the ferry across the bay to class.
She later transferred to San Francisco State to study education, co-founded Sigma Omicron Pi, and served as its first president. Each spring the sisters put on a fashion show with the UC Chinese Alumni Association to raise scholarship money. In 1953 she became the San Francisco school district's first Chinese American principal.
Life in the house
Lifelong friendships & guidance
Alumnae
Sisters stay in touch long after graduation: bridesmaids at each other's weddings, roommates after college, and weekly alum lunches in San Francisco. Alumnae return for rush, the alumnae luncheon, and formals.
Growth
The sisterhood gives every member a network for academic and social growth, and the chance to lead by holding a position within the house.
Philanthropy
The Berkeley Project, the Out of the Darkness Suicide Awareness & Prevention Walk, local food banks, Asian American Donor Program tabling, and clothing drives for the Malala Fund.