Alpha Epsilon Phi - University of Illinois

Now that the class has an active email list, Marla has encouraged the women to invite each other out for dinner and other events. "Even if only a few people can meet here and there, I hope we keep it going. I've lived my life with the sisterhood, and these women and friends are still my go-tos; it takes a village, as they say. We get things done and we take care of each other." Marla is also a proud AEPhi mother to her sophomore daughter in the Boston area. If you'd like to connect with Marla, she can be reached at marlagilbert@me.com. Mu Chapter Strand of Pearls 2 Renewing the Bonds of Beauty, Strength, and Wisdom B eing a legacy may have motivated Marla Fisher Gilbert '84 to look into AEPhi, but meeting her member class cemented her decision to join Mu Chapter. All these years later, Marla is so glad she made the right decision. "Many of us now live in the Chicago area, and although we don't all talk daily, we said for a long time that we should get together," Marla recalls. "One day I said to myself, 'Let's just do it!'" With no social media, Marla got the word out to her class through email and picked a date this September to meet at her home. When the day came, nearly 20 sisters from the new member class of '84 met up for a night of laughter and memories. "Not everyone made it, of course, but it was so nice to hear from everyone, even just to express gratitude for the invitation. Thirty-five years later, we're still a sisterhood." In the planning phase for the get-together, Marla asked the sisters to bring whatever photographs, albums, and Mu Chapter memorabilia (such as pins or shirts) they could find. They played trivia games about the chapter and U of I and reminisced over photo albums, which brought back memories of dances, laughter, and friendship. Marla even provided fun prizes such as notepads or candles for those who provided photos, wore their sorority pins, and just laughed and shared memories and inside jokes. Per the suggestion of Jenny Stone Rosenblum '84, they also made a group donation to the annual campaign to support future generations of sisterhood and friendship. "I think what draws you into AEPhi is the common connections among a diverse group of women," Marla said. "You can be very different people but still have fun and laugh together 35 years later. I think we're more similar than we realize in values and morals." Marla Fisher Gilbert '84 on Hosting A Reunion of Sisters The class of 1988 reunites! Joan Neustadt Weil '43 Susan Sherman Helfman '54 Janis Karp '72 Debra Goldberg Dalin '79 Susan Lambert Cohen '81 Jenny Stone Rosenblum '84 Andrea Halperin Kowalski '87 Lindsie Chait Miller '96 Lauren Samuel '00 Lan Eng In honor of Julia Wapner '18 Keith Radner L ast spring, generous alumnae came together to raise money toward maintaining the chapter house. The gifts granted by your sisters demonstrate faith in our undergraduate mem- bers and show that they are worth investing in. As our centennial celebration approaches, we look back on 100 successful years of Mu Chapter. With even more generous alumnae, Mu Chapter can secure another 100 years of sisterhood. Thank You, Generous Donors How Will You Protect Our Legacy? Make a one-time or recurring gift online at tinyurl.com/ y9wlht3c

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