Delta Gamma - Northwestern University

A lwAy s ANCHORED Sigma Chapter of Delta gamma * NorthweSterN UNiverSity FA L L 2 0 2 1 T his has been a difficult year for many of us. On behalf of the house corporation, we give our sincere condolences to any of our Delta Gamma sisters who have lost family and/ or friends this past year, for any reason. For many of us, this year has been a journey of reevaluating our priorities. I, like most of you, have realized that despite COVID-19, family is first and foremost in our lives. We are fortunate that, besides our biological family, we have our Sigma sisters—family creat- ed from shared experiences, friendships, and love. In the past year, there has been a group of collegians through- out the country that has chosen to advocate for the abolishment of the Greek system. Their reasons were not always clear, but sadly, we did lose members who felt compelled to resign. Please rest assured that Sigma is still flourishing. This year, Sigma has welcomed 37 new members who are excited and committed to living the ideals of Delta Gamma and seeing our fraternity thrive. New configurations to our chapter house include repainting the bedrooms, a fitness room, and a future library renovation. As we begin a new school year—masked and on campus—we wanted to take this time to reach out, renew communications, and wish everyone a safe and restorative year. In the Bonds, Wendy Zun '83 Sigma House Corporation President (773) 426-3764 wendy.a.zun@gmail.com Delta Gamma Continues to Thrive Updates from Sigma Chapter S ince she was 12, Melanie Koff Weiss '86 knew she wanted to write a novel. Over time, she experimented with different genres and was happily surprised when she found that her voice and storylines fell easily into the young adult world. She loves writing about teenagers as they discover their passions and begin to find their own place in the world, and she loves telling stories that have a social action message. When her younger child went off to college, she finally had the time and focus to sit down, write, and self-publish her first novel, Spoken, in 2019. Her debut novel won a 2019 Readers' Favorite Book Award for Young Adult – Social Issues. "I took writing courses at Story Studio in Chicago, which gave me the confidence to go from aspiring author to published author," she shared. "The biggest wisdom I can share is to refine, rework, and then believe in your masterpiece enough to show it to early readers and listen to their feedback." Her daughter loves to take credit for being the inspiration for much of both her novels' characters, and while there are a handful of scenes taken from Melanie's experience raising teens, much of the inspiration for Spoken came from connecting with students at Oak Park and River Forest High School's Spoken Word Club. "The Spoken Word Club is a magical place where students from all walks of life come together in respect and admiration to share their truths. They bond over words and work together to tell stories that resonate," she said. "My only role with the Spoken Word Club is as a fan and admirer who wanted to tell their stories, so the Spoken Word Club coach let me sit in on their club events for a number of months." In addition to being a self-published author, Melanie is also her own graphic designer, FINDING HER VOICE Melanie Koff Weiss '86 Shares Success as Self-Published Author (Continued on back)

• Cover