Pi Beta Phi - University of Southern California

q q q q q q q q q q q q ENTRE NOUS 4 J oselyn Pomeroy Miller '82 went through recruitment with a group of friends from high school and friends made in the dorm. Without plans to join the same house, each of the girls fell in love with Pi Phi. "I felt the most at home with the Pi Phi girls," said Joselyn. "They were the most genuine and friendly group and they wanted me to be a member." Memories were made in that Pi Phi house: parties, ceremonies, songs for recruitment, water dogs in the Crystal Light machine, and messiest room awards, to name a few. And deep friendships were built. Her sophomore year, along with two Pi Phi sisters, Joselyn decided to participate in Semester at Sea, an experience that would impact the rest of her life. On her second voyage, during her junior year, Joselyn met her husband, Todd, and deepened a love for travel that would carry into their marriage. Joselyn and Todd were married a month after graduation and within a few years Joselyn became a full-time mom and a volunteer for the activities that her family was involved in. Travel continued to be a passion for the family and overlapped with the non-profit they would form—Global Grins—an organization that sends toothbrushes with individuals traveling to areas of the world affected by poverty and poor oral health. They have now distributed more than half a million toothbrushes. In 2012 life took an unexpected turn when Joselyn was diagnosed with Shulman's Syndrome and Aplastic Anemia, rare diseases, which led to bone marrow failure and a bone marrow transplant from her brother, Leason. Throughout the grueling journey, Joselyn faced the illness with positivity, humor, and an incredible support system of family and friends. Among the members of her care net were Pi Phi sisters who had been by her side since college, a group of eight forming a sub-secret society they've named the BLABS. "Through the last two years, those girls have done so much to see me through and pick up any slack. The years we spent together in college were so formative and going through that time together creates a bond that's harder to recreate later in life. It's really an indescribable thing. They are my best, best, best friends who would do anything for me." Even amidst difficult times, these bonds and the memories from college have led Joselyn to give back to California Gamma over the years. "Pi Phi continues to be a top cause that we support. Those years were some of the most amazing of my life and hold my best memories. I absolutely adored my time and of course I want to support that organization." Joselyn and Todd live in Laguna Beach, California, and have two children, Rex and Mychaela '07. Recently, Rex received a call that his stem cells were a perfect match to save the life of a 65-year-old man through Be the Match, an organization that Joselyn champions after her own life-saving transplant. Read more about Joselyn's journey at joselynsbrawlwithshulmanssyndrome.wordpress.com. Left: Soon after returning home from the hospital, friends and pledge sisters celebrated Joselyn's 50th birthday. Sharon Frisbie Macdonald '82, Kristin Josi Baker '82, Karen Frisbie Tucker '82, Joselyn, Jennifer Jackson Martin '82, Tracy Allen Friedmann, Melisa Rigg Paris '82, Marcia Parke Davis '82, and Jody Kniessel Wright. Right: Pi Phi sisters contacted everyone Joselyn had ever known to create a garland of hope, love, laughter, and support for her 90 days in isolation at the hospital. Alumna Faces Life-Threatening Disease with Humor and Pi Phi Sisters "The years we spent together in college were so formative and going through that time together creates a bond that's harder to recreate later in life. It's really an indescribable thing. They are my best, best, best friends who would do anything for me."

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