Founders’ Day Message

Happy Founders’ Day, Sisters!

As we gather to celebrate the founding of Alpha Omicron Pi, we have the opportunity to reflect on our Founders and how they inspired ambition. During a time when women were just beginning to be heard, our Founders were breaking stereotypes and redefining the roles of women in society. They were on the forefront of women in education, women in politics, and women in business. They crafted a sisterhood that empowered our members to seek and maintain relevance in academic circles, in political and business arenas, and in the arts. They sought to make their world – and ours – a better place in which to live.  

When asked how our Founders felt about establishing our sisterhood amidst the challenges of their own times, Founder Stella George Stern Perry shared that “we did not know to be afraid.” Today, while our challenges are different, we are still striving toward so many of the same goals, including our right to freedom of association; supporting women in professional, philanthropic, and leadership roles; and empowering our members to become role models for positive change on their campuses and within their communities. Our Founders embraced courage as they set out to redefine their roles in history. Now, we must do the same. Our very existence depends on it.

As we celebrate 123 years of sisterhood, we honor Helen, Stella, Elizabeth, and Jessie, women who lived their lives unafraid. We, too, must live our own lives unafraid, exemplifying what it means to be members of Alpha Omicron Pi – living our lives with character, dignity, scholarship and college loyalty – while seeking to inspire ambition in our thoughts, our words, and our actions. Our Founders would have expected nothing less! 

Fraternally, 
Crystal Grafton Combs, International President
Susan Bonifield, International Vice President of Finance
Jaynellen Behre Jenkins, International Vice President
Ashley Dumat, International Vice President
Lee Gray, International Vice President
Lisa Niedenthal, International Vice President
Koren Phillips, International Vice President
Jessie Wang-Grimm, International Vice President
Gayle Fitzpatrick, Past International President