It was the Fall of 1997 when Bro. Miguel Miranda, a co-Founder of the Bradley University Colony of Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc., saw the need for an organization that catered to his people’s needs. With very little diversity on campus, Miranda saw this opportunity to be very feasible, and thus went straight to work on the idea. Bro. Miguel Miranda would be joined by Bro. José Sánchez, Bro. Diego Steffens, and Bro. Luis Rivera, to be officially recognized on December 6th, 1997, as the Founding Line of the entity. These men also help with founding the largest Latino-based organization on Bradley’s campus to date, known as ALAS, the Association of Latin American Students, in which Bros. Luis Rivera and Diego Steffens held the chairs of President and Public Relations, respectively. During the Spring of 1998, the entity initiated the Alpha Line, which consisted of Bro. José Carrillo. To this day, their work is still revered and acknowledged by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Unfortunately, after unsuccessfully initiating more Brothers into the colony, the entity was left to die out.

However, in 2017, Bradley University had once again seen hope in continuing the legacy of the Founding and Alpha lines, thus marking the beginning of an ambitious young man’s hard work. Having seen the impact that Greek-lettered organizations within NPHC, IFC, and PHC at Bradley University had on its constituents, Bro. Rivaldo Rodriguez was confident that something similar could be done for his people. “There was a lack of male Latino representation in leadership positions,” Rodriguez said, “and no sense of community for Latino men at Bradley, which was most likely the reason why they wouldn’t stay at Bradley very long,” he added. Consequently, during the Fall of 2017, Rodriguez began exploring the various organizations whose values closely reflected his own, as it was clear that Bradley lacked a sense of unification and empowerment for Latino men. In his research, he discovered a different side to Latino- based Greek-lettered organizations, particularly relating to the principles upon which they were founded.

It wasn’t until he encountered Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc. that he knew the possibility of establishing such an organization would become more feasible. The pillars of Brotherhood, Community Service, Cultural Awareness, and Scholarship deeply resonated with this Brother, aside from the fact that its mission closely aligned with one of his long-term goals of making a remarkable impact on campus. To his surprise, he had discovered that the Fraternity had one day existed on the campus of Bradley, only nearly 20 years prior. It was then that he realized that Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc. was exactly what he had been searching for.

On the evening of May 1st, 2018, after months of tireless research and meetings, Rodriguez held the first official meeting for what would come to be known as The Wise Men, the official Sigma Lambda Beta interest group at Bradley University. Though The Wise Men would be faced with some challenges, including losing interest along the way and the establishment of another multicultural, Latino-based fraternity at Bradley, the group nevertheless prevailed. Ultimately, nearly a year after The Wise Men’s first official meeting, L.S. C.O.N.V.O.Y, the Beta Line of the Bradley University Colony, would be initiated on April 28th, 2019.

Fast forward to March 2022, the Bradley University Colony met all the requirements for chapter status and began the application process. The hard work of those who paved the way for this Fraternity to be established on campus did not go unnoticed. On June 8th, 2022, Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc. at Bradley University become known as the Gamma Zeta Chapter. The work and efforts do not stop here as we will strive to promote the latino/hispanic culture through our pillars and our beliefs.