CLASS OF 1997 | 2023 | FALL ISSUE

Hi Everyone,

We are heartbroken to report that we have lost another member of our class. Mike Mittelman wrote, “In sad news, Brandon Cook, who was class of ’97, lost his fight with leukemia on Easter Sunday of this year. There were many members of our class who had a chance to visit him and say goodbye in San Francisco this winter. Two of us, Adam Rodnitzky and I, spoke at his celebration of life. He was a huge personality and we all miss him terribly.”

Andrew Frishman reached out to share a few of his recent Wes-related connections. “Leigh Needleman ’96 and I are still loving living in Cambridge near Central Square—our kids (age 10 and 13) are attending the Cambridge Public Schools, where they are classmates with the daughter of Laura Warren ’98, who lives a few blocks from us. It’s been great to have our families hang out together. Leigh and I attended a Wesleyan event at an alum’s home who is a professor at MIT—they hosted an introduction to the proposed new design for the newest addition to the Wesleyan CFA . . . . Sounds like they are planning on converting (and expanding) an existing building into a new dance (and theater?) complex not far from Low Rise? . . . . It was interesting to see the ways in which they were seeking to create something new while also preserve some of the building’s original architecture . . . . Speaking of architecture, I recently had a phone call with Alex Jermyn in Berkeley, California, and his architecture firm/studio has been taking off and building all sorts of super-cool houses (particularly up in the mountains) that have been celebrated and featured in a number of prestigious architecture publications—check it out here: https://www.aj-a.co/. I had a phone call with the inimitable Sasha Cooke, (Wes alum and squash coach) who is currently in Tucson, Arizona, and anticipates relocating to Vermont sometime in the coming year(s).”

Andrew wrote, “My work as co-executive director of ‘Big Picture Learning’ continues to be invigorating and inspiring. If there’s anyone out there interested in collaborating to create new forms of public education that focus more on interest-driven real-world learning situated in the community beyond the walls of the classroom/school, I’d be glad to [re]connect.”

Sadia Shepard wrote, “I just finished my third year as an assistant professor of Film Studies at Wesleyan, and I am loving the chance to engage with the Wesleyan community in a new way. If you are back on campus, please drop me a line! You can always find me at sshepard@wesleyan.edu.” Congratulations, Professor Shepard and good luck with your fourth year!

And for our latest update . . .  Ashvin Shah “still doesn’t have his shit together.” We get it, Ashvin—don’t most of us, if not ALL of us, feel the same way, despite all of the adulting? We wish everyone the best, always. Thank you for sharing.

Sending positive energy to you all as we continue to navigate 2023 together.

Sasha and Jess