Before I lest western Pennsylvania to head to Ashland for my freshman year, my grandfather told me to make sure I meet the “Brandt girl.” At the same time in Dayton, a similar conversation was occurring between my friend Heather and her grandfather. I didn’t give my grandfather’s request much thought until January 1996 when, after receiving my bid from Alpha Delta Pi sorority, I first met Heather. As it turns out, she was the “Brandt girl,” but Brandt is her mom’s maiden name, and her last name was Wiltrout. Even sillier, she was instructed to find the “Simmermon BOY.” This was the first of many laughs we shared for the next 3.5 years of college. We were sisters, friends, roommates, and often had to do our “Laverne & Shirley” routine during sorority recruitment. We laughed and cried at our last sorority formal in 1999, just as we had done through college and for the last 23 years. Although the circumstances have changed, she’s still the person with whom I have more inside jokes, secrets and stories that we will never tell our children. The “Brandt girl” and “Simmermon boy” were brought together by AU, Alpha Delta Pi and two well-intentioned grandfathers.
