Our Founding
In the fall of 1994, five young women, Zuleyka Heredia, Ricki Robles, Amelia Schustz, Erica Solorzano, and Bernadette Vargas decided to establish a new Chicana/Latina support group at UC Berkeley. This organization was created with the intention of giving Chicanas/Latinas on campus an opportunity to find a home away from home; while providing academic and community resources and a family networking system through a basis of three pillars: academics, community service & collegiate and social networking. Inspired by the familial connection to HaU, founders Evelyn Cruz and Sandra Alvarez worked to establish Hermanas Unidas de USC in the Fall of 2004.
Three Pillars
Academics
Through the emphasis of academics we not only empower our minds, but our future as well.​
Community Service
In the struggle to empower ourselves, we must remember our communities and support them as they support us.
Collegiate/Social Networking
In stressing Hermandad, a family network is created to foster an environment of mutual respect and unity, while upholding individual interests and talents.
Our Purpose
To reach out to women of all ethnicities and backgrounds in our community and provide resources as well as a family networking system through the avenues provided by the three pillars of Hermanas Unidas. To provide a place where women can come together and be themselves. We accept any and all ideologies. We are a sisterhood attempting to provide a healthy transition to and from the university.
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Motto: “Poder de la Mujer” is what all Hermanas strive to embody, both as individual women and as an organization. The motto symbolizes the strength and will of each and every Hermana in their quest for higher education, the empowerment of their families and communities, as well as equality in education, the workplace, and the rest of society.
Colors: The official colors of Hermanas Unidas are blue and silver.