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Alyssa McCrystal, a sophomore social work major and president of Alpha Omicron Pi (AOII), has quickly become a fixture within �鶹��ýӳ��’s community. Citing her warm presence and empathy, the �鶹��ýӳ�� Valkyries employee resource group named McCrystal one of four recipients of 2025’s Wise Women awards during Women’s History Month. She has made a significant impact, particularly in Greek life, during her first two years on campus, embracing leadership roles and displaying a dedication to inclusivity.

McCrystal’s foray into Greek life began in her first semester at �鶹��ýӳ��, in fall 2023. Coming to Highland Heights from Frankfort, Kentucky, she pursued recruitment as a way to meet new people. Nobody that she knew from high school was attending �鶹��ýӳ��, and joining a sorority sounded like the best way to get involved while starting fresh. By November of the same year, just two months after joining AOII, McCrystal ran for and was elected the organization’s vice president of operations. 

“I just threw myself right in,” McCrystal says. “I think that that's been the best philosophy for me: To get myself involved and feel like I'm making a bigger impact. I fell in love with my sorority, and I wanted to be as hands-on as possible.”

At the end of the following year, McCrystal was named president of AOII, running with the promise of fostering a stronger sense of belonging within the sorority. 

“That was just something that I felt like we could improve on,” she says. “All the people in my sorority obviously joined for a reason, but I wanted to take things further than just being friends, doing events and wearing our letters. My like number one goal going into all of this was to make sure everybody was getting a deeper sense of belonging than they even bargained for.”

McCrystal’s connection to �鶹��ýӳ�� goes beyond Greek life. From the moment she toured campus, she says that she’s felt at home. 

“I knew that this is where I wanted to be,” she says. “I really fell in love with the sense of community. It wasn’t some crazy huge campus where everyone's spread out you don't see anybody you know. You’re always going to be around others.”

That sense of connectedness was a major factor in her decision to attend �鶹��ýӳ��. Her involvement in Greek life has only strengthened that feeling. 

“It feels like we’re all friends here,” she adds. 

Majoring in social work wasn’t McCrystal’s initial plan. She began college as a pre-law major, but realized it wasn’t the right fit. Her true passion lay in serving others. She loves interacting with and helping people, and social work offers direct connections.  She's particularly interested in working with the police as a social worker, addressing the disconnect between law enforcement and the community, especially in mental health situations.

“A big part of the work that police officers do is interacting with mental health calls or agitated people, which is something they don’t tend to be experts in. As a state right now, we are moving toward this new wave of adding social workers to our police departments, so that social workers can be deployed with these police officers, and they can better help the community in the most effective way.”