Bobcat sisterhood turned family comes together to honor alumna
Monique Mixner King and her Pi Beta Phi sisters took a girls’ trip every other year to maintain their Bobcat bond. Pictured (from left) are Karey (Boals) Schner, AB ’93; Tiffany (Nordby) Takac, BSC ’93; Leticia (Leinard) Weidenhamer, BSC’ 93; Monique Mixner King, BSHSS ’93; Caroline (Cofer) Golon, AB ’93; Carrie (Geese) Dupler, BBA ’93; and Susan Moran, BBA ’93.
What began 30 years ago as an Ohio University sisterhood evolved into a full-fledged Bobcat family that, while scattered across the nation, makes time every year to come together – most recently to ensure that the legacy of one of their own lives on.
When Monique Mixner King, BSHSS ’93, passed away in March 2018 after battling cancer, her Bobcat family was there alongside her biological family. They grieved together, but they also learned together. In the midst of celebrating Monique’s life and the impact she had made in their lives, her family also discovered the impact she had made on the world as a parent, colleague and devoted speech therapist.
In the months that followed, Monique’s Bobcat family came together to make sure that the “ripples she’d made in the world” would continue. Together, they established the Monique Mixner King Memorial Scholarship.
Monique Mixner King and her sorority sisters are pictured outside of the Pi Beta Phi house on graduation day in 1993.
“I just want Monique to be remembered,” said Karey (Boals) Schner, AB ’93, who coordinated the creation of the scholarship. “I want Mike and their daughters to know that her life meant something and will always be remembered.”
Boals met Monique their sophomore year at OHIO when Monique joined Pi Beta Phi. Boals described their friendship as a kind of “love at first sight” and said she always knew she and Monique would become lifelong friends. Before long, their friendship grew to include five other Pi Phi sisters: Carrie (Geese) Dupler, BBA ’93; Caroline (Cofer) Golon, AB ’93; Susan Moran, BBA ’93; Tiffany (Nordby) Takac, BSC ’93; and Leticia (Leinard) Weidenhamer, BSC ’93.
As Commencement day approached and these seven OHIO women prepared to start their lives as college graduates, Dupler shared the fond memories she had of her father and his friends getting together every year with their families. The women decided to start their own tradition, relishing in the “girls weekends” they began holding every year.
As the women began to marry – Monique marrying fellow Bobcat Mike King, BBA ’92, in Athens – and to become “aunties” to each other’s 19 children, their annual “girls weekends” alternated every other year with family weekends.
“It was just something that was in our souls,” Takac said of the group’s annual gatherings. “We love each other, and we’re a family.”
Monique Mixner, BSHSS ’93, and Mike King, BBA ’92, met each other through mutual Ohio University friends in the fall of 1993 and brought their Bobcat friends together again when they returned to Athens for their wedding.
It is in the spirit of that family that each of the families within it, as well as Monique’s parents Donna and Mel Mixner II, contributed to the Monique Mixner King Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship, which will be awarded to full-time undergraduates who demonstrate financial need in the College of Health Sciences and Professions, honors Monique’s dedication to her work and her passion for lifting up others.
“She absolutely loved what she did,” Mike King said of his wife’s work as a speech therapist, including the 10 years she served the Mason City School District. “And it was because she could be an advocate for people.”
King noted that his wife not only advocated for people but for her profession and Ohio University.
“She loved OU and really identified with it, and I think that’s probably true for all of us,” he said. “I think Monique would want more people to not only come into OU but specifically into that college program. She was an absolute passionate believer in speech therapy and building that.”
With that in mind, the scholarship that bears Monique’s name gives preference to students studying in OHIO’s School of Rehabilitation and Communication Sciences.
Monique Mixner King, BSHSS ’93, is seen with her daughters (from left) Margot, Ellie and Lucy.
“We are always honored when scholarships are provided to students within the College of Health Sciences and Professions, and the Monique Mixner King Memorial Scholarship connects students majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a strong foundation of support as they work toward their professional future,” said Sara White, assistant dean for student success within OHIO’s College of Health Sciences and Professions. “It is clear that Ms. Mixner King had a deep love for both Ohio University and her career in speech therapy, and her legacy will be forever honored through her scholarship that supports the success of our students.”
It is that legacy that brought Monique’s Bobcat family – Michael, Elise, Margot and Lucy King, Karey (Boals) Schner and David Schner, Caroline (Cofer) Golon and Chris Golon, Tiffany (Nordby) Takac, Carrie (Geese) Dupler and Brandon Dupler, Leticia (Leinard) Weidenhamer and Chad Wiedenhamer, and Susan Moran and Michael Fisher – together again.
“Monique was such a curious lifelong learner and believed in education so much,” said Boals. “To think about someone being inspired by her drive as an educator and a professional woman in the world – I love that idea.”
Ohio University is raising funds to award the Monique Mixner King Memorial Scholarship to a student for the 2020-21 academic year. To donate, click here.