Alpha Chi Omega - University of Missouri

F ollowing in the footsteps of her aunt, Suzanne Gregory Tyson '60, whom she always admired, Linda Gregory Fahrig '87 immediately felt at home at AXΩ. She quickly connected with Krista Clark Zahner '86, who recruited her and became her pledge mom. Four recruitments later, Linda was blessed to have found confidence in how to approach people, strike up a conversation and find commonality—a skill that has served her well in her 30 years with Nestlé Purina. "Recruitment teaches you to be quick on your feet, meet new people, find a common ground and get to know each other through conversation," she shared. "In my corporate job, I have no problem doing that with people. This skill has been especially helpful when I need to get support from senior management on new business opportunities." While at Alpha Nu, Linda served as what is now a recruitment counselor and helped women going through recruitment—something that made a huge impact on her at 20 years old. "Dealing with ladies going through recruitment was tough, but I learned how to counsel them as they were experiencing joy and disappointment," she said. "Helping them and empathizing with them is what piqued my interest in mentoring young women as they enter the workforce." Staying true to Alpha Chi Omega's values of wisdom, devotion and achievement, as well as her passion for mentoring, Linda spent 10 years on Alpha Nu's House Corporation Board. She served as the secretary and the president, which was an equally rewarding and challenging experience. "The challenge was driving two hours there and two hours back while having young children," she shared. "But there were lots of great rewards: all the home improvements, seeing women come back during recruitment and seeing how excited they were about all the changes at the house." Eventually, her lifestyle as a working mother with a four-hour roundtrip commute for board meetings wasn't working, but she still found ways to live the Alpha Chi Omega values, stay connected to her Alpha Nu roots and help young women entering the professional world. "I was fortunate enough to have someone mentor me as a young professional," she stated. "This mentor had one request of me, and that was to pay it forward to other young women." As a mentor, Linda enjoys sharing her career story, as well as discussing things to watch out for when forging a professional path and how to learn from inevitable mistakes. She also teaches the power of perseverance and not giving up on goals. "I had a vision about seven years ago to create a new department within Nestlé Purina that would handle the functional training needs of our commercial business," she said. "It took a lot of persistence and grit to finally convince management to make this dream a reality." The Center for Functional Excellence was created three years ago under Linda's leadership and handles the training needs for sales, marketing and market development organization. "This is my dream job. The success of this group is due to bringing the right team together," Linda shared. "The most rewarding aspect of this position is my team. I get tremendous satisfaction helping them develop their professional role." Linda lives in St. Louis with her husband, Steve, and sons, Brad and Andy. Linda and Steve together enjoy her other passion: traveling. You can connect with Linda at linda. fahrig@purina.nestle.com. Empowered by Alpha Chi Omega Linda Gregory Fahrig '87 Found Voice and Passion for Mentoring Young Women at Alpha Nu LINDA'S FAVORITE ALPHA NU MEMORIES: • The weekly cinnamon rolls ("Our cinnamon rolls were epic.") • Orange Crush parties • Watching Days of Our Lives with sisters in the TV room • Studying with sisters in the pits House Corporation Board President | Bev Wood Nichols '75 Vice President | Jeannine Bax Brickey '81 Treasurer | Karen Knoblauch Neylon '79 Secretary | Ginny Shellhorn Hermanson '90 Members Mary Ann Eggers Beahon '65 Lori Rigdon Herman '81 Julie Erselius Abeln '84 Megan Schaeperkoetter Jahnsen '04 If anyone is interested in serving on the chapter's house corporation board, please contact Bev Wood Nichols '75 at kc5cents@aol.com. Chapter Advisory Board Chapter Advisor Ellie Butler, Delta Rho '15 CRSB Advisor Christine Weddle Curtis, Alpha '91 Finance Advisor Megan Eldridge, Delta Chi '05 Risk Management Advisor (Vacant) Ritual and Fraternity Advisor Emily Abbene '14 Recruitment Advisor (Vacant) New Member Advisor Shelby Cobb, Delta Chi '11 PR and Marketing Advisor Lou Ann Wilcox '75 Membership Advisor Megan Schwedtmann, Zeta Psi '02 Panhellenic Delegate Advisor Aren Koenig '08 Intellectual Development Advisor Krystin Nichols Cooper '87 Facilities Advisor Jennell Ryan Austin '95 Philanthropy Advisor (Vacant) Recruitment Information Advisor Kristin Donnell '08 If anyone is interested in serving on the chapter's advisory board, please contact Ellie Butler, Delta Rho '15 at butlerelliek@gmail.com. page 3 | University of Missouri

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