4
The Bow
The Unending Impact of a Supportive Sisterhood The impact of Pi Beta Phi is one of commitment, loyalty and
While in school at Pennsylvania State University, Marianne
Sincere Friendships. The love and care we show one another
experienced the tragic loss of her mother to cancer. At only 20
as sisters extend beyond the bounds of our chapter facilities,
years old, Marianne was coping with profound grief and loss,
reunion gatherings or virtual connections. The power of Pi Phi
while fearing she may have to resign from Pi Phi or leave
sustains us in all we do, and that power has the potential to
school altogether without the financial means needed to
impact the lives and priorities of those beyond our sisterhood.
continue pursuing her education. While this was the early
Growing up, Lauren McDermott Powelson heard about the power of Pi Beta Phi from her beloved aunt, Pennsylvania Epsilon MARIANNE MCDERMOTT HART. Marianne had a special connection to Lauren as her godmother. Without
1970s—prior to the establishment of Pi Beta Phi Foundation— Marianne approached a chapter Advisor to find a way to remain in Pi Phi and in school, and her sisterhood made sure she was able to do so.
children of her own, Marianne doted on Lauren and helped
“I’m not sure how she did it, but her Advisor helped find extra
show her values and the joys of life while imparting knowledge
money to make it possible for Marianne to pay her tuition and
based on her own lived experiences. Some of those experiences
her dues to stay in Pi Phi,” Lauren says. “That meant so much
were positive, but others marked periods of loss and grief in the
to her and helped her stay in school after losing her mother. It
elder McDermott’s life.
was both a show of financial and emotional assistance from her
Marianne as a collegian at Pennsylvania State University, photographed by a Pi Phi sister.
sisterhood while she dealt with her grief at such a young age.” Having heard about the care Marianne’s Pi Phi sisters extended to her at a time of need, Lauren was inspired to make a gift to Pi Beta Phi Foundation in Marianne’s name after her passing earlier this year. Even with multiple giving opportunities—from leadership development to emergency grant funds—Lauren knew the kind of gift she wanted to make to honor her aunt’s legacy and pay homage to her own experience in college. The Marianne McDermott Hart Scholarship will first be awarded for the 2023-2024 academic year and is restricted to collegians from the Pennsylvania Epsilon Chapter. “I chose to establish a scholarship because it’s what Marianne received, and also so it could carry her legacy forward,” Lauren says. “Choosing to benefit the Penn State chapter was driven by the fact that my sorority chapter had scholarships specific to us, but Pennsylvania Epsilon didn’t currently have that opportunity. Now hopefully someone from that chapter will receive a scholarship every year, and Marianne is the reason for it.” Lauren, an alumna of Phi Sigma Sigma from Temple University, says that as a fellow sorority woman, she knows the value of scholarships as both tools to help students and opportunities to honor the memory of a loved one. Her hope is for Pennsylvania Epsilon members to come to know there are others working toward their academic achievement, cheering them on and
