CLASS OF 1988 | 2016 | ISSUE 3
Peter writes for this issue. Justine Gubar reports: “I’ve moved to Miami to work at Fusion, Univision’s English-language cable network and digital platform, as the supervising producer of investigations.”
Pat McDarrah connected with some classmates in San Francisco, notably Jono Marcus, Andy Weissman, Robert Wilder, and Michael Shaffer. Pat writes, “Rob’s new novel, Nickel, is now available in stores and online. Jono just became a father for the second time. Andy came out to Bay Area to see a Phish show with Wilder, and they also had a mini-Wesleyan reunion at Toronado. Shaffer just started at Dropbox after a long stint at EA (Electronic Arts). He has a new son named Dylan. I’m good. All settled into NorCal life and will celebrate six years here this December with my wife, Emma Gardner ’89. We are up in Petaluma, Sonoma County. Look us up if you’re visiting wine country! I still keep in touch with other classmates. Perry Klebahn is a professor at Stanford and makes occasional appearances out. Dylan MacDonald comes out for beers. I saw my freshman roommate Chris Strobel ’89. His family moved to Dallas.”
Steve Pike writes, “I have retired from the Foreign Service in July 2016 and am now assistant professor of public relations at Syracuse University’s S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. My wife, Jenny, my kids, Aubrey and Zach, and I are getting used to a whole new life in Central New York, and looking forward to staying in one place for a while instead of moving every two to three years!”
Harry Berger sends an update: “I have taken a position as the tier one Canada research chair in ethnomusicology at Memorial University of Newfoundland, where I will serve as director of the Research Centre for the Study of Music, Media, and Place, and professor of music and folklore. It’s a great gig at an excellent university in a wonderful town, St. John’s. My family and I are very happy to have made the move.”
Rob Wrubel shares, “David Mendels and Leila Yassa put together a weekend for their birthdays and invited a bunch of Wes friends and their families to celebrate at Squam Lake in New Hampshire. We spent the last weekend of June with Rob Krulak, Judy Haas, Laura Flynn, Karin Stack, Ryan Alexander, Carrie Corrigan, and other friends. There were close to 50 people paddle boarding, swimming in the lake, and catching up.”
John “Sparky” Ferrara writes, “In July, a Chi Psi reunion party was held at my Massachusetts home. The celebration was a weekend-long party that included the 1980s campus favorite Tommy O’Carroll, Irish folk singer. Attendees (60-plus) represented 13 Wesleyan classes spanning over 35 years, traveling from 10 states. Wes ’88 alumni included Jim Van Hoven, Stephen Worth, Andy Campbell, and Roger Scholl, among others.”
Tim McCallum reports some major changes in his life: “In 2014, I sold my business. In 2015, I moved to Hawaii. In 2016, my first kid arrives. In 2017, I can’t even imagine…”
Linda Brinen-Stout writes, “We are living in Mill Valley, Calif., and I’m still at UCSF, as an associate professor of pharmacology. In July and August, my husband, 11-year-old son, and I took an amazing trip to Alaska to celebrate the combination of my 50th birthday and seven years of survival post-brain cancer. We took a small plane into McCarthy, Alaska and explored from there. Unbelievable sights and experiences on land, glacier, in the air, and on the water throughout the trip.”
Jennifer Taylor writes, “I’m three weeks into my new position as director of design and construction at OHSU in Portland, Ore. This is an exciting career shift for me from practicing architecture to working on the owner side overseeing the department that runs all the construction projects for the hospital and university. It also means a return to Portland from the Bay Area. My whole family is enjoying being back in our house and neighborhood! I also had the pleasure of seeing Dina Goldman and meeting her son when they passed through Portland.”
Peter V.S. Bond | 007@pvsb.org
Hillary Ross | hrossdance@yahoo.com