Some legacies aren't destined to move in a
single direction. In fact one legacy line has the potential of going up, down, left right and maybe a few steps in between.
With a sister, daughter and possibly mother (Whaaat?!) looking into joining KDChi, Rosa's legacy looks like a KDChi road map to success.
The Emerald: How did the legacy tradition start?
Rosa: I’m a first generation KDChi. But I’m not the only Greek. My brother and myself were both going through our process together, at the same time, and we didn’t know it until the end haha (He’s an ODPhi). My sister is about to attend TAMU-San Antonio and she’s expressed interest in starting a chapter if it’s possible. She’s attending St. Phillips college and had asked me if she could start a chapter there, but it isn’t possible because it is a 2-year community college :( I’m excited for her to actually start getting involved! My mom is actually a graduate student at Our Lady of the Lake in San Antonio and she recently started asking me how the KDChi Graduate Program works. She’s emailed the chapter and member educator just last week, I’m hoping she follows through and becomes a sister. I have my 7 month old daughter whom I’m hoping to introduce to the Greek World at the end of the semester once presentations are underway.
TE: How does if feel to have a younger daughter/sister (and mom!) that you could possibly share this wonderful sisterhood with?
Rosa: It feels so exciting to potentially have, not only my sister, but my mother join this amazing sisterhood. I’ve talked to them about it, the feeling you get with having this connection with a sister you’ve met for the first time. I explain to them that all of us sisters are connected to each other even though we’ve never met the majority of them. And the fact that I have a daughter that I can introduce to the sisterhood right now feels fulfilling, it feels natural.
TE: Have you taken them to events?
Rosa: I’ve taken my sisters to presentations and Greek showcases and she’s fallen in love with the Greek Community! My mom went to see my presentation after I was initiated and said it was something different but she was intrigued. I haven’t taken my daughter to any. I’m hoping to take her to her first even in a couple of months.
TE: Any other stories?
Rosa: My chapter sisters loved that I incorporated KDChi (and hubby’s ODPhi) letters in our pregnancy announcement. She’s destined for the Greek world :D
Rosa A Hernandez - Alpha Iota
Samantha - sister ; Rachel - mom
Carissa - daughter
By Gina Garcia, VP of Public Affairs
Kappa Delta Chi Sorority Inc. is proud to announce and congratulate Retired Marine Major General, Angie Salinas on her induction as an honorary sister of Kappa Delta Chi while in Austin, Texas. The ceremony took place during the National Conference and was attended by national leadership and those in attendance.
The relationship between Salinas, now CEO of Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas, began in 2012 at KDChi's 25th year while at the Annual National Conference held in Lubbock, Texas, the home of the first chartered chapter of the sisterhood. Salinas was part of
the Marine troop who was then sponsoring a portion of the organizational leadership conference and was a guest speaker at the luncheon. While attending, then still active in the Marines, Major General Salinas, the first and highest ranked Latina ever to hold the position in the Marines asked to stay and attend some of the workshops being held at the national conference. She immersed herself into the network, found life long friends and asked how she could be more involved in this sisterhood she felt made such a difference in young women's lives. It was then that the forever relationship was formed.
Upon taking the oath as a KDChi, Salinas chuckled and shared that her experience as a marine taking the oath, and now overseeing the oath of little girls as young as three years old who take the oath as part of the Girl Scouts has her well prepared to commit and immerse herself into the Kappa Delta Chi Tradition.
KDChi is so proud to welcome CEO of
the Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas to our sisterhood with open arms and we look forward to building on this relationship.
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Top to bottom, heart to heart
sisters we are til death do us part
Welcome to Our Newest Honorary Sister
“What a great adventure…to develop young women who are tomorrow’s leaders and the foundation of our nation.”
- Major General Angela Salinas
Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas (GSSWT) named Major General Angela Salinas, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret) as chief executive officer on July 1, 2015.
Salinas served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 39 years. She was the first Latina selected and promoted to the general officer ranks in the U.S. Marine Corps. At the time of her retirement in September 2013, she was the senior ranking woman and Hispanic in the Corps.
A Girl Scout alumna, Salinas is a role model to girls and women seeking to break through the glass ceiling. She was the first woman to command the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego and the Western Recruiting Region, the firstwoman assigned as an Assistant Chief of Staff for plans and policy of a major combatant organization and the first woman assigned as a ground major’s combat service support monitor. Her personal decorations include the Navy Distinguished Service Medal; the Defense Superior Service Medal; the Legion of Merit with gold star; the Meritorious Service Medal with two gold stars; the
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal; the Army Commendation Medal and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with two gold stars.
Salinas’ accolades extend past her military experience. She is a 2016 San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame inductee and will serve as Honorary Grand Marshal for the Battle of Flowers Parade in April. She was named as an inaugural Top Latino Leader by the National Diversity Council and was awarded the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award; the Hispanic Heritage of Texas Estrellas de Texas; Lifetime Achievement awards from Latina Style Magazine and North Star; the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Leadership Award; Women’s International Center’s Living Legacy Award; as well as being named one of 15 Phenomenal Women by Latina Magazine and one of six Power Latinas in 2015 by Vivala.com.
Salinas serves on the board of directors for the Admiral Nimitz Foundation, Young Marines, The First Tee of Greater San Antonio and Prospera Housing Community Services. A native of Alice, Texas, she holds a Master of Arts from the Naval War College and a bachelor’s degree from the Dominican College of San Rafael California. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Dominican University in 2015 and named a Distinguished Alumni in 2016.