The first session of Phi Mu Leadership Institute begins later this week; thank you to everyone who sent an honor card to attendees who will be arriving soon in Atlanta! It won’t be long until the second session begins, and we’d like to invite you to join us in commemorating this life-changing leadership opportunity for emerging leaders across the country with a special gift in their honor to Phi Mu Foundation. Visit www.phimu.org/library and click on ‘events’ and then ‘Phi Mu Leadership Institute.’ You can view the Session Two attendee list there.

With your tax-deductible gift, your honoree will receive a special honor card with your personalized message prior to her Phi Mu Leadership Institute graduation.

Click here to visit the Foundation’s secure website and select ‘PMLI Honor Card’ and apply your gift of any amount. The deadline to send an honor gift is Sunday, July 7 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

Please contact the Foundation office at 770.632.2090 if you have any questions or if you prefer to make your gift over the phone.

When deciding to join a sorority, all young women have one common theme as to why: they want to belong somewhere. Phi Mu has not only given me a home and a community of women who accept me for who I am, but it has also assisted me in finding my true passion. When I joined Phi Mu, I thought I had my dreams and goals of college lined up and planned. I was a seemingly confident, but secretly insecure girl, who thought I knew exactly what my college experience was going to be like. Little did I know that the women of Phi Mu at Auburn University were going to encourage me to be the best version of myself that I didn’t even know
existed before.

I was immediately encouraged to apply for an organization on campus, and just a short two weeks later I was sitting in my first meeting of many in my college career. I quickly realized I had an immense passion for leadership and involvement on campus, and jumped into any other organizations I could. My leadership experience sophomore year gave me the opportunity to serve Auburn as an orientation leader, as well as serve on the executive board of the largest organization on campus. The opportunities presented to me would have never been available if it weren’t for Phi Mu encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone.

After recruitment my Junior year, I was given the opportunity to serve on the Phi Mu Foundation Collegiate Leadership Council. I quickly accepted the position and was immediately immersed into a side of Phi Mu that I genuinely had never seen before. The Phi Mu Foundation is the simplest representation of why Phi Mu is so special to so many people. It is a group of women that have been empowered during their college sorority experience and felt led to join a foundation that gives back to the young women that are just a few steps behind them in life. In my time on the Collegiate Leadership Council, I have learned vital skills that will help me
succeed in life including public speaking, networking, fundraising strategies, team-building, and most importantly, finding my purpose. Because of the leadership council, I have found my passion for inspiring others to find their purpose.

This past year I have declared a minor for Leadership, in hopes to continue to use my skills to inspire others. Looking back at my three years in college, it is evident that my experience would not have been the same if it weren’t for the ladies in Phi Mu. If they had never motivated me to get involved, I would have never been able to serve on the council and give back to Phi Mu with the skills they helped me find in myself.

I have enjoyed my time on the Collegiate Leadership Council, and I am thankful for each of the women I have met as well as the opportunities given to me because of the unique experience!

Katy Grace Liscomb is a member of the Alpha Mu Chapter at Auburn University and was a member of the 2018-19 Collegiate Leadership Council.

As a recent graduate of Georgetown College, and a newly named alumna member of Phi Mu, I see my journey with this organization not ending, but just beginning. I remember running out dressed in pink on Bid Day and meeting the president of Delta Eta at the time. It was from that moment I knew that Phi Mu would allow me, and every other member of the Fraternity, to accomplish extraordinary things.

The personal impact Phi Mu has had on me is immeasurable. I never set out to hold any leadership positions, nor did I think I ever could. Looking back, however, I have seen the imperative lessons I have learned from each leadership opportunity. For instance, I learned how to have tough conversations from being the Director of Harm Reduction. I learned how to organize and execute plans by being a Night Chair for Recruitment. I learned how to be an advocate for Phi Mu and her values by being the Communications Secretary. I learned how to humbly serve during my time as President. And finally, I learned how to be a part of something bigger than myself by being on the Collegiate Leadership Council. These lessons are still relevant and applied every day of my life. The opportunities I was given, the people I have met, and the memories I have gained have forever shaped my future and made me into the better person I am today.

Not only has Phi Mu impacted me personally, but it has positively impacted the world as well. We lend to those less fortunate a helping hand by practicing community service and by being to others what we would, they would, be to us. When disaster strikes from nature, or within the home, Phi Mu is there to keep forever sacred the memory of those we have loved and lost. We empower women by partnering with the National Women’s History Museum, thus being true to the womanhood of honor. And most importantly, through scholarships, leadership institutions, officer training, and fighting against culture’s outlook on sorority life, we strive to esteem the inner man above culture, wealth, or pedigree. We help anyone no matter who they are or where they come from.

This is why Phi Mu Foundation is crucial. The impact that this organization has had on me and on a wide variety of women could not happen without the support and resources of people like you and me. I have spent the last four years learning and embracing what all the Faithful Sister has to offer. Now, I am honored to give all that Phi Mu has done for me to another sister. You never know where Phi Mu will take you, who you will meet, and who you will become. I am proud to be a part of an organization that serves in the light of truth and that leaves a legacy of love, honor, and truth.

Elizabeth Martin is a recent alumna of the Delta Eta Chapter at Georgetown College and a member of the 2018-19 Collegiate Leadership Council.

There once was a cowboy walking alone around the desert when he came upon a genie lamp and hoping for three wishes of good fortune, instead, the genie said he had advice for him.

The genie said, “I have something more valuable than wishes for you. I have advice that will make you the happiest person in the world and the saddest person in the world at the same time.” The cowboy listened intently, and the genie continued, “As you wander through the desert I want you to pick up every stone that you see. Big ones, small ones, shiny ones, and dull ones. Pick them all up and put them in your pack. If you do this, the next day you will wake up and with the most joy you have ever felt, followed by deep regret.” Then the genie disappeared. He thought: “What do I have to lose?” Then he picked up his first stone and put it in his pack. As the day went on, he picked up stones and placed them in his pack. He kept moving, and hour after hour, his pack kept getting heavier and heavier. He stopped adding to the heavy burden and went to sleep. When he woke up in the morning he checked his pack. The cowboy couldn’t believe his eyes! All of the rocks he had picked up and lugged through the desert had turned to beautiful jewels, diamonds, rubies, emeralds! He was so excited and happy. He was rich! But then all of the sudden … a wave of sorrow came over him. “What if I had picked up one more rock?” he thought. The cowboy knew it would have been worth its weight in gold.

My collegiate time in Phi Mu parallels this story in so many ways. Throughout the years, I had the opportunity to pick up so many stones that have turned into my greatest gems. From friendships that have turned into my fondest treasures, to stones of leadership positions waiting to be unturned. I, maybe like some of you, did not expect to gain as much from this organization as I did. I underestimated how much I would gain and how invaluable this organization would become to me. I never would have thought of myself as a sorority woman, and now it is one of my biggest points of pride. Why do you ask? It is all about women helping women… sisters helping sisters. This is precisely what a Phi Mu Foundation does and why it has me forever grateful.

The stone that began it all for me, the one that to this day remains the brightest gem in my collection is the Phi Mu Leadership Institute. In June 2017, I was poured into more than I ever thought possible by sisters from across the country. This was a pivotal moment in my leadership journey and when I first began to realize the power my voice had. We discussed how to become confident women in society today and ways to lift one another up. We became self-reflexive and used introspection to discover our own life values and the mission we wanted for our own lives. I gained support from mentors and sisters alike and was given the opportunity to reciprocate that. I learned that Phi Mu is so much more than just my chapter, but a connection of women across the country who share the same Creed and Bond as me. I can still vividly recall one of my favorite memories that have the power to bring me back to this moment: reciting the Creed with hundreds of sisters who had just met moments before. The beauty of our shared Bond continues to baffle me and humble my heart as I reflect on the magnitude of what sisterhood really means.

The Phi Mu Leadership Institute gave me the confidence in myself to do brave, bold things. After this experience, I went on to pick up many different stones and pebbles. Becoming Chapter President was my biggest, heaviest gem that I am still reaping the benefits from. In this role, I witnessed sisters first-hand receiving benefits from the Foundation through scholarships and support that has had such a positive impact on their collegiate experience. The meaning of “sisters helping sisters” is not one that I take lightly. When I thought my pack was beginning to get too heavy, I had the most miraculous thing happen to me. My sisters helped me carry my load, the shared the weight and encouraged me to keep moving.

As my collegiate years end, I will continue to pick up stones and empower others to do the same during my time as a Chapter Consultant, thanks to the fundraising efforts of the Phi Mu Foundation that help to support this program. My greatest hope and wish for you, no matter where you are on your Phi Mu journey— whether you are a provisional member, collegiate active member, or an alumna— is that you continue to pick up rocks, stones, and pebbles along your way. You never know the value that you may gain and the opportunities to help other sisters that you may get. Investing in Phi Mu Foundation for me is the next gem I have my eye on picking up, and I cannot wait to begin to see the ripple effects to come.

Marisa Kahnt is an alumna of the Rho Eta Chapter at Grand Valley State University, a member of the 2018-19 Collegiate Leadership Council and a 2019-20 Phi Mu Chapter Consultant.