CLASS OF 2010 | 2017 | ISSUE 1
Greetings, Class of 2010. Just a few updates to report in this first column of 2017:
Henry Kaplan reports that he is based in LA and is working as a music video/short film/commercial director. He adds: “A short film, We Together, I directed was accepted to Slamdance Film Festival and will be playing in Park City, Utah, in late January! Slamdance is a renowned festival that runs alongside Sundance every year in Park City. The film tells the story of a zombie who comes to remember the person who he used to be before he was a zombie. The film premiered online this fall and garnered a lot of buzz from the online film community. After getting into Slamdance, we’ve taken the film offline and it will have a ‘re-premiere’ at the festival. Find out more at wetogetherfilm.com.”
Additionally, several Los Angeles-based Wesleyan alumni were involved in the film, including Ben Kuller ’11, producer; Elizabeth Litvitskiy ’15, co-producer; Caillin Puente ’15, first assistant director; Matthew Wauhkonen ’08, digital VFX artist; Peter Cramer ’14, grip; and Jeffrey Kasanoff ’15 and Dan Fuchs ’15 as production assistants.
Sherry Sybertz writes, “I am living in Monterey, Calif., and graduated with an MBA from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. I am working with Dole Fresh Vegetables focusing on transportation logistics, while enjoying all that Monterey has to offer like the aquarium, beautiful hiking, and great weather!”
Dave Brustein writes, “After graduating, my mind was set on becoming an alternative television producer. After working on my latest show, American Ninja Warrior, I harked back to my athletic experience in high school and at Wesleyan. I reached out to my high school, Milken Community High School, a Jewish high school, to become the defensive coordinator of the football team. I want to show that no matter what religion, ethnicity, and nationality you might be, anybody with the right football mindset has the potential to play in the NCAA. My goal is to develop well rounded student-athletes who can use football as a platform for opportunities in college and life.”
Luke Pang oversees international restaurant expansions of Les Amis Group and he’ll be happy to host anyone passing through Singapore. Please contact him at lukepkf@gmail.com.
Hannah Masius reports that she “is living in the Bay Area, [expletive] the patriarchy.”
Michael DeFranco and Jason Krigsfeld have continued to build Lua, a secure messaging platform. They focus on the healthcare market and have launched a patient-facing messaging side of their system to increase doctor-to-patient communication before and after visits. Michael spent time at the Standing Rock camp in North Dakota to support the Sioux’s fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. He is a member of the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, was listed as a featured leader for the Global Peace Foundation, and is serving as United Nations delegate at the UN’s 55th Session of the Commission for Social Development.
Finally, it is with profound sadness that I must report the loss of a dear friend and classmate, Matthew Lamothe. Matt passed tragically on Jan. 16 in NYC, where he was pursuing a successful and burgeoning career as a film producer. Anyone who had the privilege of knowing him at Wesleyan, or elsewhere, would no doubt agree that he was a man with a distinctive enthusiasm for life, and an unflinching loyalty to his friends. I had the pleasure of sharing Hewitt 10 with Matty sophomore year. In particular, I recall how much Matt loved hockey, and he was perhaps the biggest fan of the Cardinal Men’s Hockey team that year. I remember coming home from road trips, exhausted and usually discouraged, to find Matt waiting for the boys to come home to discuss the weekend’s games. It wouldn’t take long for Matt to turn our weekend frustrations into smiles and laughter.
After Wesleyan, Matt stood out as a person who refused to fall out of touch with friends. I looked forward to hearing his news from LA, where he quickly put his talents to use in the film industry. Most recently, he worked for Tommy V Productions, but was perhaps proudest of his work on I’ll See You in My Dreams, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, and Intruders, which played at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. As busy as he became with his career, he was always good for a round with the boys when we found ourselves together. Matt lived every day to its fullest, and left his friends with more good memories than we could count. While Matt leaves us far too soon, he leaves us smiling as we reflect on his life, and I’m sure he’d have it no other way. He is survived by his parents, Laura and Dr. Henri Lamothe ’80, and siblings, Barrie, Brooke, Luke, Noah, and Austin.
As always if anyone has notes to add—anytime—feel free to send me an e-mail.
David Layne | dlayne@wesleyan.edu