Chi Omega - Kansas State University

2 The Cardinal and The Straw F or Jodi Thierer (Groves) '77, walking into Kappa Alpha was like coming home; she had stayed overnight before while visiting friends. Jodi was quickly impressed by the Chapter's commitment to balance and getting involved in different areas of campus. "We were usually in the top two sororities in terms of grades, consistently won intramurals, and excelled at Panhellenic events like University Sing and Derby Days," she recalled. Jodi earned bachelor's degrees in human ecology and business administration. "After college, I moved to the Dallas area to pursue my love of marketing with Dillard's regional office," she said. "I ended up in human resources, which brought me back to the KSU campus to recruit and visit with student groups." When her boyfriend (now husband) wanted to stay in Manhattan, Jodi decided to move back and get her MBA so she could teach marketing and retailing at KSU. "I used to tell my students that I gave up my first career to be with the love of my life," Jodi recalled. "I taught for 15 years at KSU before deciding to pursue a career in real estate." Since her husband was a developer and custom home builder, it seemed a good fit that would also give Jodi flexibility to raise their two children. "I've been licensed for 28 years and have been a managing broker for Grand Mere Realty for 14 years and Legacy Realty of Kansas for 10 years." Three women in her office are also Kappa Alpha Chi Omegas! While Jodi did not hold any offices as an undergraduate, she served as Panhellenic recruitment advisor during her senior year. "After graduation, I was the personnel advisor for about 10 years and president of the House Corporation for five years," she shared. Last year, Jodi led a grassroots campaign to raise funds for Kappa Alpha to address some tornado damage to the house that was not covered by insurance. "I spent many hours studying in the dining room, enjoying functions, participating in pledge sneak and senior sneak, and raiding the kitchen after hours," Jodi said. Preserving the Chapter House is a cause near and dear to her heart. Jodi and Larry have been married for 40 years and have two children. Morgan, also a Kappa Alpha, lives in Manhattan with her husband, Kyle, and their two boys (4 and 18 months). Their son, Jakob, and his wife, Liz, also live in Manhattan with their son, who was born in May. "Most of my spare time is spent with my precious grandsons, but I also enjoy flower gardening in the spring and summer!" Jodi encourages all alumnae and undergraduates to follow her lead in looking for opportunities to fill Chi Omega's needs when they arise. "Take advantage of the chance to give back to Kappa Alpha! The experience of working with the Chapter is invigorating and life-changing," she said. "The women who are currently serving in leadership roles as advisors, on house corporations, and in alumnae groups do so much to make our sisterhood so incredible." Summer Stepping Stones Through Internships SISTERS GETTING EXPERIENCE These are just some of the amazing works the actives did this summer. Reese Althouse '21 Marketing and events intern at Alliance Integrated Marketing Services Abby Colburn '21 Asset and wealth management summer analyst at J.P. Morgan Sydney Cress '21 Food safety and quality intern at Ardent Mills Taylor Hindes '21 Wealth management intern at Linscomb Wealth Kyndal Holland '21 Marketing/proposals intern at Kiewit Anna Maganck '21 Human resources intern at Garmin International Ellie Reese '21 Data analytics Intern at Kiewit Lauren Taylor '21 Lead event, sales, and fundraising intern at Big Brothers Big Sisters Meredith Ford '22 Marketing intern at DM Law Abby Ness '22 Pollution prevention intern at Manko Window Systems Alayna Sutton '22 Pre-physical therapy intern at Lafene Health Center Kadence Riddick '23 Farm intern at Prill Land and Cattle See a Need, Fill a Need Jodi Thierer (Groves) '77 Shares the Power of Giving Back "Chi Omega was my favorite house I visited during recruitment." "Sisterhood is a lifelong blessing." Reese Althouse Karen Arnold Kat Artiles Kate Boydston Grace Burgett Keaton Coad Abby Colburn Sydney Cress Maggie Decker Anna Desmarteau Maddie Dodd Laura El-Koubysi Mallory Farrar Libby Farrell Megan Freeman Halle Green Taylor Hindes Kyndal Holland Caitlyn Jenkins Kristin Kaufman Abigail Knuth Grace LaSala Jayde Madel Logan Maurer Heidi McCormick Lydia Micek Paige Miranda Ava Modin Elizabeth Morrissey Abby Nyhus Jane Oltjen Annabella Peterson Madison Plattner Emma Popkess Sophie Pringle Presley Reinertsen Kinlee Roberts Avery Rosenhagen Payton Ryan Alexis Scherzer Sara Schierling Hayley Scott Lauren Seals Aly Smithwick Taylor Sonner Kira Stambaugh Grace Stobbs Alayna Sutton Clare Taylor Lily Thompson Alex Ward Kadin Waterman Emma Wells Lindsey Whorley Megan Whorley Meryn Wills WISE OWLS 4.0 List 3rd place in Panhellenic with a 3.6 GPA!

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