In her final weeks at Drexel University, Nikita Frantz ’20 was showered in confetti – not for graduation, but for “Deepher Dude” (pronounced Dee-fur Dude), the annual “all-dude” beauty pageant she helped Delta Phi Epsilon (DPhiE) organize to fundraise for cystic fibrosis. In that moment, Nikita realized she had found what she came to Drexel looking for: community.
As a student, Nikita formed lifelong friendships through DPhiE. As an alumna, she continues to find her community through Drexel, now as one of over 700 members in the Anthony J. Drexel Society.
Living in Brooklyn, Hong Kong, Pittsburgh and Shenzhen before the age of 18, Nikita always wanted to build a more permanent community. What better place to start than Drexel University, where her dad, Terrill Lee Frantz, BS ’84, EdD, PhD, graduated? With the support of two scholarships, Nikita was able to move to Philadelphia and dive headfirst into unique Drexel experiences: undergraduate research in the STAR Scholar program; study abroad at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland; co-ops at Chubb and Goldman Sachs; and, of course, countless activities with DPhiE.
Six years later, Nikita’s story has come full circle. She not only sits side-by-side with several DPhiE sisters as a financial advisor at her former co-op employer, Goldman Sachs, in New York City – but in November, she also walked arm-in-arm with her sorority “little” into the annual Anthony J. Drexel Society Reception.
The Anthony J. Drexel Society recognizes alumni and friends who give annually at a leadership level of $2,500 to any area of the University. In 2024, it also introduced a $500 level for undergraduate alumni of the last five years. Though members span different classes, careers and corners of the world, they are all committed to one belief: college students need and deserve the experiential education that defines Drexel.
“I'm grateful for all the opportunities I had at Drexel,” Nikita says, “and I couldn’t have had them without scholarships. I'm sure there are a lot of people in that same boat, so I give to help others have the experiences I had.”
Nikita’s journey to the Anthony J. Drexel Society started with a Dragons at Work event at Goldman Sachs in 2024, where she discovered what her alumni journey could really look like. Since then, she has continued to connect with the broader Drexel community: attending events, speaking, mentoring, recruiting additional alumni support and helping relaunch the Financial Services Affinity Group with Alumni Relations. When she learned she could join the Anthony J. Drexel Society at the $500 level – met with a matched gift from Goldman Sachs – she jumped at the chance.
At November’s Anthony J. Drexel Society Reception, Nikita finally connected with her new community face-to-face and learned about her impact from a student with a resume a lot like hers. “The reception was so impactful,” she says. “The student speaker, Jordana Benblatt ’26, shared her experiences, and they were so similar to mine. She’s involved in everything and so well-rounded as a person. It was also inspiring to meet other members from such different backgrounds and learn how they give back to Drexel.”
Though the Anthony J. Drexel Society Reception did not end in confetti, it shares one crucial thing with the 2020 “Deepher Dude” pageant: the sense of community that Nikita always craved. Through exclusive Anthony J. Drexel Society events and communications, Nikita can continue to deepen her connections with other members. They share an unbreakable bond, working together to help today’s students find – and continue finding – their place, purpose and success through Drexel.