The University is an excellent place to meet people, but that doesn't necessarily mean you will run into someone you know on UD's beautiful campus--even if they're relatives.

Take the case of Jennifer (Jenn) and Christine (Christie) More and Jenna and Lindsay Mullen, four step-sisters, all enrolled at UD, whose busy schedules and diverse interests make it difficult to get together on campus even when they try. No wonder there's so much conversation when this freshman, sophomore, junior and senior manage to connect.

"None of us is really quiet anyway, so when we all get together it's really loud! We always have so much to talk about and catch up on," Jenn and Lindsay try to explain at the same time.

Jenn, the oldest, is a senior history major with a journalism concentration, who says she enjoys writing for The Review and working part-time in the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. She lives in University Commons apartments on Haines Street.

"The best thing about UD is all the new people I've gotten to meet. One of my best friends is from the state of Washington. I just love the spontaneous things that are a part of college life," she says.

After working for two summers for an insurance company, she already has job offers for after graduation, and she also is interested in freelance journalism.

Jenna, a junior majoring in marketing and economics, chose UD because "all the family went here, my grandmother worked here and in-state tuition is great, especially when there are four others sisters who need to go to college." (A fifth sister, Kim, is still in high school.)

One of the officers of the women's volleyball club team, Jenna says she is looking forward to studying in Australia during Winter Session. She says she hopes to land a summer internship working in marketing for the U.S. Marine Corps in New York. At UD, she lives in the Christiana East Tower.

Christie, a sophomore, says she thought about going away to college, but was impressed with UD's nursing program. With financial aid and the help of an MBNA scholarship, she decided to join her sisters at Delaware. As a member of the Delaware Repertory Dance Company, she says she enjoys choreography and performing in shows that benefit local charities. The group incorporates all sorts of movement from modern dance to ballet to jazz and hip hop, she says. Last summer, Christie worked for MBNA and is looking for a job in the field of nursing this summer. Her long-term goal is to live in Philadelphia and work in pediatric nursing. On campus, she rooms in Harrington Hall.

Lindsay, the youngest sister, had high school grades and SAT scores that qualified her to go to Ivy League schools, but she chose to apply only to UD. Now enrolled in mechanical engineering, she selected her major after participating in engineering workshops held at the University while she was in high school.

"I was always interested in math and strong in science. The field trips to UD helped me understand the different areas of engineering and to choose a major," she says.

While Lindsay spent last summer managing an ice cream parlor on the boardwalk at the beach, she says her long-term goal is to design roller coasters. Meanwhile, she has joined sister Jenna on the women's volleyball team. She lives in Smyth Hall.

While Christie and Linday see a lot of each other in the dining hall on Academy Street and Lindsay sees Jenna at volleyball, all four have such diverse interests and schedules that they have to make a concerted effort to meet as a foursome.

But, there are benefits to having so many sisters just phone calls away. Before applying to UD, each successive sister spent a weekend with her older sister on campus. And, on the social side, they occasionally try to fix each other up with dates.

"It's not something we've been real successful with," Jenna says as the other three laugh out loud. And, of course, there are all those clothes available to borrow....

None of the girls feels competitive with each other and all say they appreciate the differences they bring to the family mix.

Family in this case means Jenn and Christie's dad, John, who married Jenna and Lindsay's mom, Margaret, in 1990. The girls knew each other from school and, from the start, were delighted to become sisters. All four, then in grades one to four, were flower girls in the wedding. Although Jenn and Christie continued to live with their mother, Denise More, in Wilmington, the girls got together on the weekends, many of them at the beach in Avon by the Sea, N.J. Jenn and Christie went to Conrad High School, and Jenna and Lindsay went to St. Elizabeth High School.

Mom and step-mom Margaret Kowal More, BE '78, known as Tootz while growing up in Newark, was a high school business teacher for many years and now supports her husband's consulting firm. He is a retired lawyer who travels the country holding seminars for school officials and local police. Jenna and Lindsay's dad, Michael Mullen, AS '77, is now married to Julanne Mullen. Together, they have another daughter, Kaitlyn, Jenna and Lindsay's half-sister, who is 3.

--Beth Thomas