Four house directors of the Greek houses will be leaving their current positions soon, whether they are moving across the country or just down the street.
House Director of Pi Beta Phi Beckie Miller will be leaving to retire to her house in Florida, and House Director of Sigma Chi Debra Nevins will be taking her position. Alpha Tau Omega has already said goodbye to their house director Kevin Foeman, who is the new head volleyball coach for Lake Erie College. House Director Deborah Zeiler is retiring from Chi Omega next year.
“We are losing a lot of years of experience,” Dean of Men Aaron Petersen said. “We will miss them.They’re an extension of the mission of the deans and student affairs to oversee the well-being of students physically, intellectually, emotionally, and socially.”
Miller has been a house director at the college for 16 years, splitting her time between a former sorority and two other dorms before directing Pi Phi for eight years.
While Miller admits she does not want to leave, at age 75, she is looking forward to having the opportunity to return to doing crafts, having inherited a house in the Sunshine State with plenty of space.
“It’s about time I use it,” Miller said. “I love the people on this campus. I haven’t had a bad experience at all. I hate leaving the girls, but I just need to. It’s time.”
Pi Phi will miss Miller’s humorous wit, according to the sorority’s president junior Elise Rempel.
“Beckie is really spunky and secretly loves pranks, but at the end of the day, she’s really kind and loves being with us, and we love having her,” Rempel said. “We were having a formal dinner, and she started a bread roll fight, and she thought it was absolutely hilarious that someone threw it at me. Then she kept the roll and put it on my desk, and it kept showing up.”
Rempel also expressed how caring Miller is to the girls.
“Beckie would also get up in the middle of the night to go to the hospital with a girl who has breathing problems,” Miller said. “She always makes sure we’re okay.”
Miller herself said she will miss attending the girls’ recitals, concerts, and sports games as well as watching them grow to graduate. Nonetheless, Miller said she is excited for a new journey.
“It’ll be an adventure, just like college is,” Miller said.
Leaving the college is one adventure, but moving from a fraternity to a sorority will be the adventure for Nevins as she changes from Sigma Chi to Pi Beta Phi.
Having been a fraternity house director for around 10 years, Nevins said she is ready to share her feminine experience as well as a clean building.
“I would stay here. I don’t mind the dirt that much. But I wanted girls because I’m older now, and I wanted a little femininity on my mind,” Nevins said. “I want to be more involved. I want to share my feminine experience. I want to nurture them. I’m looking forward to seeing the diversity between them, and it’ll be clean.”
Nevins said she loves seeing the boys grow into men. Though she said she looks forward to having similar experiences with the sorority, she will miss the casual relationship with the guys and the occasional back-and-forth banter.
The Sigma Chis expressed their regret to see her, as well as her grandson Eaton, who visits often, leave the house. They said they look forward to still seeing Nevins around campus, according to Sigma Chi president senior Gregg Coughlin.
“Deb is like our aunt,” Coughlin said. “She is good-hearted to point out our faults, but she’s not condemning about it. She’s always had an open-door policy. She cares about her boys and wants us to do the right thing.”
Coughlin said he hopes her move to Pi Beta Phi will also bring about the opportunity to have the fraternity work more closely with the sorority.
Foeman left Hillsdale and ATO for Lake Erie on March 31. While Foeman said he has enjoyed his experience at Hillsdale and working with the men of ATO for two years, he said he does not plan to work as house director at another fraternity in his new position.
“They’re great guys,” Foeman said. “You learn to live next to people who make a lot of noise. They kept things nice and orderly. I came at a great time. The leadership there was respectable, honest, good character.”
President of ATO senior Daniel Vandegriff said Foeman was especially busy as the assistant to the director of recreational sports, but he fondly recalls the workouts the men of ATO and Foeman did together.
“He was there for us,” Vandegriff said. “We worked out a lot together. Coming back from a volleyball tournament, he’d text me, ‘Want to workout?’ He has the keys to the gym. We’re going to miss him.”
Zeiler is also leaving from Chi Omega. After five years with ATO and four years with the sorority, Zeiler is retiring to spend time with her mother and grandkids.
“Kids keep you young,” Zeiler said. “They care. My husband had passed away in ‘05. I hadn’t decorated for Christmas since he died, and the guys of ATO had decorated for me. The girls, they’re very thoughtful. They look at you and know when you need a hug. No matter your age, women can connect.”
President of Chi Omega junior Sophia Coyne-Kosnak said the sorority will miss Zeiler’s attention to detail and generous care.
“She really pays attention,” Kosnak said. “One time I was sick, and I didn’t even realize she knew I was sick, but she brought me a bunch of Powerade and crackers and stuff. She’s very good about getting what you need.”
While Zeiler will no longer be a house director, she has a house five miles from campus and said she hopes to continue attending the performances and sports games of the Chi Omega women.
As a result of all the changes, a new atmosphere will develop in each household, allowing for a new chapter to start for the house directors and their students.
“It’s going to be a fun transition to have someone new,” Rempel said. “It should be fun to see the new dynamic the house takes on. We’re looking forward to the new changes.”
