Born and raised in Chicago, Beverly Effort Biggs applied to Illinois at the encouragement of a high school teacher in 1961. Up until then, her educational environments had been majority - black. She came to Illinois at the young age of 16 and found a sense of belonging through the Black Greek system by joining Delta Sigma Theta her junior year. She remembers coming of age through the sorority and picketing with sisters in the Civil Rights Movement for fair housing.