A dramatic, cool-toned photograph of a floating dancer overlooks the newly renovated Delta Gamma library, filling the space with color and movement. The artwork was deliberately hand-picked by DG alumnae to capture the spirit of a late member of the sorority during a years-long renovation effort.
Just feet from the photograph hangs a plaque dedicating the room to Melissa Doi (Weinberg ’91).
On 9/11, Doi was 32 years old working as a senior manager at IQ Financial Systems, located on the 83rd floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. When United Airlines Flight 175 struck her building, Doi was among those trapped inside.
In her final moments, she made a 24-minute phone call to emergency dispatchers, expressing love for her mother. Her call was later used in the prosecution of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only criminal trial resulting from the attacks. Doi’s remains were identified three years later, and she is memorialized at the National September 11 Memorial.
Now, two NU DG alumnae are leading a renovation of the sorority’s library to honor their fellow alum.
The project is spearheaded by Inci Ulgur (Medill ’91, ’92) and Sara Mason (Medill ’91) who were both in the same DG class as Doi. Mason said the library aims to create a reflective and memorable space for current and future DG members.
“Melissa’s composite still hangs at DG. People have walked by her for decades and have no idea who she is,” Ulgur said. “We wanted to make sure Melissa’s history was recognized in the house.”
Juggling multiple stakeholders, managing construction timelines and selecting artwork have all posed challenges for the pair, but they remained committed to completing the project, Mason said.
Most of the money was funded by the DG Housing Corp., although Ulgur said careful budgeting was still essential to ensuring that the project could be completed.
“We still needed to stretch every dollar,” Ulgur said. “Michele Levy Bender, (Communication ’91, Medill ’92), her mom is a well-known interior designer in New York who lent her expertise, and her team spent many hours with us and put the bones into the room — the paint, the light fixture, the carpeting — and with their help, we were able to save a lot of money.”
While the project started in 2018, Ulgur said the pandemic halted progress until 2021. The actual renovation of the library took place primarily during spring break of 2025, Ulgur said.
According to Mason, the memorial was designed to capture elements of Doi’s spirit. She described Doi as a deeply “artistic soul” who “loved to dance and paint,” a trait that guided their decisions about which artworks to include in the memorial.
“We went through a bunch of photographs of these dancers, and we ended up picking one that’s reminiscent of Melissa with short dark hair and a white tutu,” Mason said. “It’s in ascension, like the dancer is floating in an upward moment with light.”
Current students have also been involved in the renovation. DG President and SESP senior Zoe Lively has been working closely with alumnae to ensure the memorial reflects both the chapter’s history and its ongoing mission.
When asked about the memorial’s impact on current DG members, Lively said she wants them to carry their memory of Doi with them and feel more connected to graduated DG members.
“Being able to connect Melissa to DG and keep her memory alive will help future DG members want to learn about and have more empathy for the event that happened,” Lively said. “When you come 30 years out from an event like that, it can be harder to connect to, especially if you didn’t live through it.”
Other than a few final touches, the library renovation is essentially complete, Ulgur said. She believes the space will connect students who weren’t old enough to live through 9/11 to the history of that day.
“Whoever walks through that space, Melissa is their human connection to that story,” Ulgur said. “And there’s great value in that.”
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the artwork’s medium and sources of fundraising for the project. The caption of the main photo was also clarified to identify the composite as the 1987-1988 chapter, and Mason’s last name was updated to a preferred name. The Daily regrets these errors.
Email: [email protected]
Related Stories:
— Football: Twenty years ago, Northwestern saw its world upended by the 9/11 attacks
—Twenty years later, Evanston residents, officials gather to remember 9/11 attacks
