One of Ours
The Sigma Tau Delta convention returns to Pittsburgh in 2025 and features exciting keynote speakers, our Common Reader When My Brother Was an Aztec, by Natalie Diaz, and Willa Cather as the Spotlight Author. Cather spent over ten years living and working in Pittsburgh, but she has additional ties to many Sigma Tau Delta regions. Cather’s connection to various places influenced our adoption of her Pulitzer Prize winning novel’s title for our 2025 Convention theme: One of Ours.
So what does it mean to be “one of ours?” This phrase evokes belonging and community and membership, all of which reflect the values and mission of Sigma Tau Delta. Perhaps you will spend time reading and admiring the work of many of fellow Sigma Tau Deltans whose names you may recognize from past programs, including Naomi Shihab Nye, Donika Kelly, Tess Taylor, Micah Dean Hicks, and Jake Adam York. Perhaps you might wish to claim one of the many honorary Sigma Tau Deltans—Julia Alvarez, Alison Bechdel, Anthony Doerr, Mark Doty, Marlon James, Ursula K. Le Guin, Sharon Olds, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Amy Tan, Natasha Trethewey, and many more—who have spoken to us over the years at our annual conventions. As honorary members, they are also “one of ours.”
When you visit Pittsburgh, you automatically become one of our neighbors, thanks to Mister Rogers, whose neighborhood was (is) actually in the same area where Willa Cather lived, near the Carnegie Museums of Art and Science. Pittsburgh is a city of neighbors, which is why City of Asylum houses artists and writers who are in exile for their works, offering them a safe place to live and create; we are truly a Sanctuary City. The convention hotel is across the river from the Andy Warhol Museum, which neighbors the Pittsburgh Pirates’ PNC Park, as well as Acrisure Stadium (formerly Heinz Field) where the Steelers play. Heinz Field replaced the former Three Rivers Stadium, where Roberto Clemente not only made history as a local and national baseball legend, but was also an international role model, calling for all of us to serve our communities. A few blocks up the street is the August Wilson Center, built to celebrate another Pittsburgh neighbor. And Mary Lou Williams wrote and performed amazing jazz nearby. These are just a few of the individuals who are “one of ours” and part of this welcoming city’s rich history. As a convention attendee, you become one of ours—a Sigma Tau Deltan, a Pittsburgher, a neighbor, and a friend.
You will always be one of ours.