CLASS OF 1985 | 2018 | ISSUE 3

Hello, ’85ers! Caroline writing this time.

First, I’d like to thank my co-secretary, Marybeth Kilkelly, for her wonderful columns and great energy working on the class notes for the past however many years. I’ll be pulling them together on my own from now on . . . unless one of you wants to volunteer (hint, hint).

Mary Duke Smith is living in Silver Spring, Md., with her husband of over 25 years, Philippe Varlet. She has been working as a personal trainer and wellness educator for the past several years and “finally feels like [she] has found [her] dream job.”

Paula Kay Drapkin writes, “I am happy to report that my son, Jack Drapkin, just graduated from the D’Amore McKim School of Business at Northeastern University. He is attending Major League Soccer’s sales training in Blaine, Minn., and will be interviewing for a full-time job with one of the MLS teams in October. My daughter, Jordan Drapkin, is a junior at The Ohio State University double majoring in business and sports industry.”

I heard from Rosalin Acosta, who shares my astonishment that we’ve been out of college for 33 years: “After graduating from Wes, I decided to move to Massachusetts and not my home state of New Jersey. I got married two years after graduation and began my journey into motherhood and a professional career in banking. I spent 32 years in banking in the Greater Boston area and more importantly had five beautiful children during that time. Today they range in age from 19 to 31. I was remarried in 2015 to Ed Lynch, and we live south of Boston. In June 2017, I was honored to be asked by Governor Baker to become the Commonwealth’s Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development. It’s been an extremely fulfilling journey so far; I’ve been able to combine my business experience with my passion for social impact. Spending a few years in the public sector has always been a dream of mine. Now that I’m there, it’s been exciting, rewarding, and truly a great learning experience. Ed and I love traveling and spending time in both Boston and Chatham.”

Finally, we lost our classmate Susan Eastman Allison to cancer in May. Susan majored in African Studies at Wes, and shortly after we graduated she started Ibis Books & Gallery in Middletown. Later, the shop became The Buttonwood Tree, a performing arts and cultural space which remains a fixture on Main Street. Best known for her poetry, Susan published three volumes with another forthcoming; in addition, she was the first poet laureate of Middletown. She is survived by her husband, Stephan Allison, and their son John. Her loss is mourned by all who encountered her light.

Keep in touch, ’85ers. Much love,

CAROLINE WILKINS | cwilkins85@yahoo.com