“My mother instilled in my sister Maya and me the values that we chart,” she said, smiling at the camera. She added, “She taught us to put family first. [Both] the family you're born into and the family you choose.”

Then, she named an important member of her chosen family.

“Family is my beloved Alpha Kappa Alpha,” she said.

Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA)—one of the nation’s oldest black sororities, whose members include luminaries like actress Phylicia Rashad and poet Maya Angelou—had a profound impact on Harris’ life. The vice president-elect joined the esteemed sorority in 1986 when she was a senior at Howard University, a federally chartered historically black university (HBCU), notes Janelle Okwodu in Vogue. But Harris’ affiliation with the group didn’t end when she graduated—her line sisters would become close friends, and many of them encouraged her on the campaign trail by making donations of exactly $19.08, a reference to the year AKA was founded.

The senator’s tribute to AKA highlighted her affection for the group. In fact, her emotional connection to the sorority runs so deep that she wore a symbol in support of her sisters—a 34” necklace bejeweled with Akoya and South Sea pearls—to her acceptance speech.