Coming Full Circle as an Alumna Initiate
by Christine Wagner Boettger, Ο, University of Akron
In the fall of 1965, as a freshman at the University of Akron, I pledged Phi Mu. My mother, Betty Swain Wagner, was initiated into the Omicron Chapter in 1933. She never tried to influence my decision, but once I met the ladies of Omicron, I knew that’s where I wanted to be. Unfortunately, I was forced to drop out of school, due to illness, before initiation. For all these years, I’ve always wanted to be a Phi Mu. When my sponsor, Marlene Maxwell Costigan, Ο, brought up the idea of initiation as an alumna member of Phi Mu, the 50th Anniversary Convention in Orlando seemed like a perfect time. Over the last 42 years, Phi Mu and being an alumna initiate have been discussed often. I’d kept my pledge pin in my jewelry box all those years. My mother’s badge joined it after her death in 1996. The ceremony was very emotional and moving. When I walked into the room, the number of Phi Mus in attendance was overwhelming. All my new sisters were so friendly and welcoming. And, after the ceremony, I was finally able to wear my mother’s badge. Marlene and I left Convention and enjoyed Phi Mu on our way home to Ohio. Our first stop was the University of Florida in Gainesville. We wanted to visit the Alpha Nu Chapter house, the home of the sisters who conducted my beautiful initiation ceremony. Our second stop was in Peachtree City, Ga. to tour the Phi Mu National Headquarters. The visit to National Headquarters was a perfect highlight to my initiation. Very impressive were the historical displays, the composites of all the chapter members, and the portraits of those who have gone before us. I will proudly wear the Phi Mu badge that I have cherished for so long.
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