Lisa (Lipkind) Leibow, CCAS BA ’88, knocked at the door on room 418 in Thurston Hall and made a love connection one day in September 1984. But it wasn’t quite so obvious from the start.
The GW sophomore who answered was not the friend she had come to see, but one of his roommates named Phil Leibow, GWSB BBA ’87, MAccy ’89. The two had never met. He was “dressed” only in a towel. It was hard to tell who felt more awkward, and the meeting ended quickly.
Sensing her embarrassment, Phil chased Lisa down the hall to her room.
“In spite of this creepy first impression,” says Lisa, “we became friends and then more.”
Their first date came a few months later, at a Halloween party sponsored by Phil’s fraternity, ZBT. Lisa was dressed as Princess Leia from Star Wars using a bed sheet and a hairstyle that looked like two bagels. Phil couldn’t find a costume, so some of Lisa’s friends dressed him as a gift, plastering red wrapping paper over his clothes.
The pair bonded and met a lot of lifelong friends through ZBT parties. Other bonding occurred at the Exchange, Mr. Henry’s, 21stAmendment and Odds, taverns where they spent plenty of nights together with friends.
They took just one class together – business law – and there’s probably a good reason for that.
“For some reason we became competitive with each other and we may have ruined the curve,” says Phil, “as we both got nearly 100 on every test.” Lisa ultimately won, he says.
The pair knew marriage was in the plans, but decided during their time at GW to wait until they had stable financial footing.
In the fall of 1988, prior to Phil’s graduation from GW with a master’s of accountancy degree, he was interviewing with accounting firms in Boston, Mass. At an interview with Arthur Anderson, Phil received his first job offer.
He returned home, walked through the front door and exclaimed: “They offered me a job. We’re getting married!”
They tied the knot at the Ritz Carlton in Boston on Jan. 13, 1990. They’ve raised three sons together — “our best work to date,” says Phil — and recently celebrated their 29th anniversary.
“It really has been an amazing partnership and marriage,” says Lisa.
Eventually, Lisa and Phil chose to make the D.C. metro area their home, back where it all began.
“During the years of raising family and pursuing careers, we have kept close ties to [GW]. It’s a big part of our community, ” Lisa says. “Staying connected has enriched our lives through athletic, arts, and cultural events on campus. We are fortunate that GW prepared us to be lifelong learners who have continued to grow and prosper.”
–Dan Simmons
