ALUMNA INITIATE SPOTLIGHT
Mother and Daughter, Sisters in the Bond BY LAURA KNOBEL (IOTA ALPHA, ALUMNAE INITIATES), ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF LIFETIME ENGAGEMENT
W
hen someone says something is “peanuts,” they usually mean it’s a very small thing, perhaps not even worth considering. But it’s the smallest things that can make the biggest impact. For Alyssa Overmyer (Iota Alpha, Alumnae Initiates), if it weren’t for peanuts, she wouldn’t be an Alpha Chi Omega – or perhaps even be here! In 1977, Dennis Overmyer stood up in his Alpha Gamma Sigma agricultural fraternity meeting at The Ohio State University and said, “My wife could be walking down 15th Avenue and I would never have the opportunity to meet her.” This persuasive argument was enough to convince his brothers they should host more social activities with the sororities on campus. Deborah “Debbie” Pfeifer was in one of those sororities – the Alpha Omicron chapter of Alpha Chi Omega, to be exact. At a mixer between the two groups, Debbie spotted Dennis from across the room, and to get his attention, she threw peanuts at him! As Debbie (now Overmyer) says, “The rest is history.” That history has included marriage, making a home together, a myriad of career changes and raising two children, one of whom is Alyssa, now an accomplished CPA and audit senior manager at a respected firm. Like her parents and her older brother, Alyssa attended The Ohio State University, but unlike her parents, she never found herself in a Greek organization given her challenging coursework and the many other student activities she enjoyed.
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ALPHA CHI OMEGA
Yet Alyssa always knew the power of sisterhood as she witnessed her mom’s connections with her Alpha Chi sisters deepen over a lifetime. “I have always admired the bond my mom shares with her sorority sisters. [They] were with her the day she met my dad, they were in their wedding and they have been ever present in my life,” she recalls. “They are each glowing examples of real, strong women.” One sister in particular to whom Debbie has remained close is Mari-jean Siehl (Alpha Omicron). “It was Mari-jean who was instrumental in bringing Alyssa into the sisterhood of Alpha Chi Omega,” Debbie shares. “She had mentioned that the sorority offered to women who never joined a sorority during their undergraduate years the chance to become an Alpha Chi through the National Alumna Initiate Program (NAIP).” Alyssa knew right away that this was the right path for her. “I have always admired what Alpha Chi stands for,” she says. “To me, Alpha Chi is about not only elevating yourself but the women around you. When I recite The Symphony, I get emotional. The words are so beautiful and relevant to everyday life.” Alyssa also has a servant’s heart and resonated with Alpha Chi’s philanthropic endeavors. She has represented her firm for the past eight years as a 50-mile bike rider for Pelotonia, which
ALYSSA AT THE ALPHA OMICRON CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
