Omega Chapters: Jennifer S
- bacalapristi
- Jun 16
- 4 min read
Omega Chapters is a Blog series from your Alum sisters at Sigma Psi Sigma. There are countless chapters we experience throughout our lives and sharing our experiences is a great way to relate to each other. To be clear: No toxic positivity allowed and no humble brags. Shameless brags are perfectly fine! The goal is to connect and inspire.
Got a story to share? Got a sister who I should chat with? Email us at wsu.axo.alumnae@gmail.com
Book and a Chai
When Jennifer Wohn Steinhagen (MC96) was at WSU, she spent a lot of time reading. Not surprisingly, she was an English major. Also, she was earning a minor in Criminal Justice.
Our Omega sister had a dream to become a mounted police officer. To be clear, a mounted police officer is an officer who patrols on horseback or camelback.
Guess what she does now? It doesn’t involve the legal process. Or horses. Or camels. The crazy thing is that part of her career is in an industry that didn’t even exist when she graduated WSU. For that matter, a lot of words she uses today didn’t exist in 2000.
The possibilities you haven’t imagined yet
Fun Fact: Melinda French Gates once said to recent college graduates “Be excited about the fact that you will encounter possibilities you haven’t imagined yet. And be willing to let what you learn shift your thinking about what you’re on this earth to do.”
After graduating from WSU and back in the greater Seattle area, Jennifer applied to police departments but found that her best opportunity would be to pursue a role as a paralegal in a law firm where she worked for three years.
Bellevue was great but at 25 years old she and her friend wanted to try new things. They thought they’d give Chicago a try. Jennifer packed up her Coug Mug (Yes! She has one!) and hit the road.
Her paralegal experience landed her a job in the Perkins Coie office in Chicago. The Perkins Coie job landed her a great job in the Real Estate group at McDonald’s USA. She loved her job and she was happy.
However…
A revolution was happening. In 2018, social media roared to life. Suddenly, you could follow an author. Suddenly, you could go to Instagram or TikTok to get book recommendations. Suddenly, there were words like Bookstagram and BookTok.
She liked what she saw online and she thought she could be part of this party. At least she could do something online for her friends.
An Instagram account was born
In late December 2018, Jennifer held her first streaming event where she reviewed Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, The Hating Game, The Red Queen, and The Last Mrs. Parrish on her new Instagram account Book and a Chai.
When her account hit 10,000 followers in a matter of months, she thought to herself that maybe this wasn’t just for friends anymore. Her reels/videos range from warm girlfriend chatfests, to very funny voice overs, to solid book reviews from a legit book lover. In 2023, one of her reels went viral and to date has amassed 2.1M views. Fast forward to today and you’ll see her Instagram and TikTok have a combined following of over 80,000 followers.
The success of her social media gave her a thought: Should she try to get a job in publishing?
Once she started looking for open roles at book publishers, she found that there were plenty of jobs that could use her business savvy as well as her passion for reading.
Book and a Chai proved that she knew how to market books. She was 46, married with two tween kids and although she loved her job at McDonald’s, she had a lot of interests too. In early 2024, she made a bold move and switched industries. She now lives books every day in her current role at a publishing house.
And then Oprah’s people contacted her. Oh YES They Did!
I have to think that no matter your area of expertise, if Oprah’s people contact you - you know you’ve made it.
A highlight of 2025 was when Oprah’s people DM’d Jennifer and asked if she would like to come to Oprah’s Book Club podcast!
If you check out Book and a Chai, you’ll see fantastic photos of that day and reels where Jennifer shares the Behind the Scenes tea (well, coffee since it was recorded at Starbucks).
Then; I guess, Mel got jealous because shortly after Oprah, I saw a photo of Jennifer and Mel Robbins on the Book and a Chai insta. :)
Jennifer 2025
Jennifer always thought she’d make it back to the Seattle area but Chicago is home now. She keeps in contact with many of her Omega sisters and even does shout outs to WSU on Book and a Chai from time to time. Several years ago, while visiting a sister in Spokane, they did a day trip to Pullman and paid homage to The Coug.
What’s next for Jennifer? We’ll have to see. Maybe there’s a possibility that she hasn’t even imagined yet in her future…
Editors Note: A great way to stay connected is to become a member of the alumnae chapter for WSU AXO Alums! Sigma Psi Sigma - Only $20 a year and with events in Greater Seattle Area, Tacoma, Spokane, Portland, Greater Phoenix, and more! Join or Renew Now
Sign up for Sigma Psi Sigma Emails at https://www.wsuaxoalumnae.com/ (bottom of page)
Next Alumnae Event: June 21 - Pirate Cruise, Seattle
LOVED this! Any lover of books is a pal of mine.