Senior Dannae Miller is used to being recognized: “I still have people come up to me and say, ‘Oh my God, you’re the girl who orgasmed on stage!’” They are, of course, referring to her recent show-stopping performance in “The Vagina Monologues,” hosted by CAPE (the Center for Advocacy, Prevention and Empowerment) and REAL (the Relationship Equality and Anti-Violence League) on Valentine’s Day. Miller’s performance, however, will only be a small part of her legacy when she graduates this June with degrees in history and English.
“And I’m almost there! I’m almost there!” As she sits down to look back on her time at DU, Miller sings Princess Tiana’s infectious tune from “The Princess and the Frog” at full volume. She situates herself on her all-pink bed—her entire bedroom is an explosion of pink, in fact, a definite representation of her princess personality. She’s gorgeous, grounded and goofy, never taking herself too seriously. Miller holds nothing back as she examines how she’s made her mark on DU.
“Baby Dannae,” as she fondly calls her younger self, was the first member of her family to go to college. She wasn’t sure what to expect in her early days at school, recalling, “I didn’t have any notions about DU. I was like, yes, it’s a college that accepted me! Woohoo! Let’s go!” Despite going into the experience blindly, it didn’t take her long to fall in love with the campus and its people: “I remember those first days; moving in and meeting everybody in our hall, seeing all the cute boys and gossiping with the girls next door. ” she says. “Freshmen year was the greatest.”
Miller’s new home at DU was only enhanced when she joined the Delta Zeta sorority early in her first year. Remembering her first time in the Delta Zeta house: “I felt like I could walk in and sit on the couch and no one would look at me [strange]. All of them felt like they were my friends already … We were just same minded people.”
Miller is proud to be a part of Greek life, Delta Zeta in particular. Whether it’s helping put on the Turtle Tug, a tug-of-war competition over vats of green Jell-O on Driscoll Green, or Big Man on Campus, a competition between fraternities and other groups for masculine dominance, she feels like she’s really made a difference.Both events have helped raise thousands of dollars for Delta Zeta’s many charities.
For Miller, though, the best part of being in her sorority is the sense of sisterhood.
“It’s really great in college. You’re leaving all your high school friends, and then you get to college, and you’re like, ‘Oh, gosh, new friends. How do I do this? I need a support system.”
Her sorority has been there for her during her lowest points. In her first year, two of her best friends from back home passed away within five months of each other.
“I was not a functioning human being; I was a robot. Everything was on a schedule because if I [didn’t] have an outlet, I [was] not going to make it—I [was] going to breakdown. So just having my sisters there to just … be there. They weren’t trying to uplift me, they were just there,” she remembers. “That was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through. I think that was one of the moments that I was really grateful for my sorority.”
Miller’s sorority isn’t her only family on campus. Between hanging out with her friends in the Black Student Alliance, swapping bad jokes with her history major friends and forging lifelong bonds with her fellow performers in “The Vagina Monologues,” Miller has also found time to work at the library front desk for the last four years.
“I loved the library,” Miller gushes. “You get to know so many people working [there], because eventually, someone’s gonna have to walk through those doors—to study, or to get a book or to print something.” She adds with a laugh, “It’s actually really fun when you get library regulars, and they see you outside the library and they go to wave at you and forget [how they know you].”
Recently, Miller finished her senior thesis on the United States’ cultural relationship with the supernatural. She considers this feat her biggest accomplishment, joking, “I feel like I birthed a child.” Now, though, after another quick verse of “Almost There,” she sums up her DU experience: “I was involved in a multitude of organizations. I’ve done the class thing, I’ve done the party thing, I’ve done the study all-night thing, I’ve done the work-study thing, I’ve done the midnight escapades in the snow thing—yeah, I feel like I’ve done the college thing pretty well. Proud of that. I think I’m good. I’m gonna miss it, but I think I’m ready to move on.”
