I’s on the World: Stylish Sisters

Oh, the places we go … University of Illinois alumni are globetrotters who travel near and far, but never forget their Alma Mater!

Sisters wearing matching blue Illini jackets in front of snowy mountains. Janet Barczak Niehoff (left) and Joyce Barczak Sterk model their orange and blue in front of an Alpine panorama. (Image courtesy of Joyce Sterk)
Oh, the places we go … University of Illinois alumni are globetrotters who travel near and far, but never forget their Alma Mater!

While back on campus in May 2024 for a Pi Beta Phi sorority reunion, sisters Janet Barczak Niehoff, ’84 LAS, and Joyce Barczak Sterk, ’77 LAS, hit on a grand idea. “Let’s buy matching Illini gear for our trip to the Swiss Alps and the northern Lakes Region of Italy,” Janet said. And so they did.

In October 2024, they modeled their orange and blue ensembles atop Piz Nair, an Alpine peak above St. Moritz, Switzerland. “At almost 10,000 feet above sea level,” Joyce says, “this peak offers a 360 degree view of lakes, villages and the majestic Alps.” Both agree the Alumni Association’s EXPLORERS Travel Program trip exceeded every expectation.

For more photos of alumni around the world, check out our Flickr album. Send pictures of yourself clad in orange and blue to IllinoisAlumni@uillinois.edu. You also can post to www.Facebook.com/IllinoisAlumni and twitter.com/uiaa using hashtag #IlliniWorldwide.

Alumni Stories