San Diego State University

California Epsilon

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Our Roots

A local group of women, Phi Sigma Nu, was formed in 1925 which later became the California Epsilon Chapter in 1949 after installation by past Grand President Amy Burnham Onken, Illinois Epsilon. The Initiation Ceremony took place at the Thursday Club near Point Loma. The installation banquet, themed “The Bonds of Wine and Blue,” was held in the Don Room of the El Cortez, a landmark hotel in downtown San Diego.

Notable Chapter Alumnae

Professional headshot of Anna Lee Fisher wearing a blue NASA uniform with a yellow winged patch and American flag patch sitting in front of an American flag

Anna Fisher

Former NASA Astronaut

Professional headshot of Anna Lee Fisher wearing a blue NASA uniform with a yellow winged patch and American flag patch sitting in front of an American flag

Anna Fisher

Former NASA Astronaut

As one of the longest serving NASA astronauts and the first mother to go to space, Dr. Anna Fisher is a pathbreaker in both NASA’s history and the field of STEM careers. She was first selected as a NASA astronaut in 1978, and the following year, she completed a one-year training and evaluation period. This made her eligible to serve as a Mission Specialist on STS-51A, the second flight of the Orbiter Discovery and the first space salvage mission in history. With the completion of her first flight, Anna logged a total of 192 hours in space and earned the title as the first mother to fly in space.

Following the Challenger accident in 1986, Anna worked as the Deputy of the Mission Development branch of the Astronaut Office and as the Astronaut Office Representative for Flight Data File issues where she served in several technical and leadership roles. From 1989-1996, she took a leave of absence to raise her family and later returned to the NASA Johnson Space Center in the early phases of building the International Space Station. Her last NASA project involved working on display development for the Artemis crew vehicle, Orion, before she retired in 2017.

Anna was initiated in 1989 as an alumna initiate.

Chapter Awards

2001

Historian's Vase

2001

Westchester Club Award

2019

Spirit Award

2019

Jean Wirths Scott Leadership Award for Outstanding Change Leadership