By Kiera Cannon
While walking down Fraternity Row in State College, the Alpha Phi house stands as a familiar part of the Highlands neighborhood. For many residents, the large homes that line the street represent a long-standing tradition of student life at Penn State. For the women who live inside of the Alpha Phi house, however, it is more than just another campus residence; it is a home.
Alpha Phi (pronounced “Al-fa Fee”) is an international women’s fraternity [this term predates the adoption of the word sorority] founded in 1872 at Syracuse University. Since its founding, the organization has grown to include more than 170 collegiate chapters and thousands of alumnae around the world. The mission of Alpha Phi centers on sisterhood, leadership, academics, and service.
The Penn State Gamma Rho chapter is one small part of that larger history. Like many Greek organizations on campus, Alpha Phi offers female students an opportunity to build friendships, develop leadership skills, and be a part of community service during their time at Penn State.
At Penn State, the Alpha Phi chapter is located along Fraternity Row in the Highlands neighborhood. The house is home to 38 members during one academic year, creating a close-knit living environment that differs significantly from traditional college living.
While university residence halls may house hundreds of students across multiple floors, the Alpha Phi house functions more like a home shared amongst sisters. Members that live in the house share meals together, study tougher, and participate in chapter meetings and events under the same roof. Living together helps to create the strong sense of sisterhood that many strive to find in their college experience.
For many members, living in the house also offers a unique connection to the surrounding Highlands community. Students become familiar with neighbors, local traditions, and the long-standing history of the neighborhood itself.
Fraternity Row has long been a part of Penn State’s student culture. The houses that line the street reflect decades of campus history, with each organization contributing their own traditions and stories.
For Alpha Phi members, life on Fraternity Row includes balancing academic responsibilities with sorority involvement, social activities, and service work. Many members are involved in leadership positions within the sorority.
Despite the busy schedule of college life, the house has become a place where members can relax, connect with their sisters, and always come to when they need support.
Service and philanthropy are central to the Alpha Phi experience. Leadership members regularly organize events for the entire chapter to attend and participate in at the Alpha Phi house. Alpha Phi participates in campus-wide philanthropy events and organizes service opportunities that benefit both the university and the broader State College community.
Some events that Alpha Phi has hosted within the past year are card making for hospitals, food and clothing drive donations, as well as philanthropy events where they are able to incorporate other organizations to raise money for The Alpha Phi Foundation. These efforts allow members to give back while strengthening relationships within the sorority and the community around them.
For the women who call the Alpha Phi house home during their years at Penn State, the experience is about far more than just a place to live. The house represents friendships, shared traditions, and memories that will last long after graduation.
As new members join each year and older members move on after graduation, each Alpha Phi knows that the house will continue to serve as a gathering place for generations of Penn State students who share the sisterhood of Alpha Phi.
It’s not just four years, it’s for life!
Kiera Cannon is a broadcast/journalism major at Penn State, and a member of the 2024 pledge class of the Alpha Phi Gamma Rho chapter. She has been involved with the sorority since she joined, holding the position of Vice President of New Member Education on the 2024-2025 executive board term. During which, she led the 2025 pledge class through their six-week new member process and initiation into Alpha Phi.
Kiera has lived in the Alpha Phi house for the past year, since August of 2025. The experiences she has shared in the Alpha Phi house with her best friends and sisters have brought her the greatest college experience she could have hoped for.