CLASS OF 1993 | 2023 | SPRING ISSUE
Hi, Wes friends. We have exciting news—overseas trips, career updates, and a wedding held at the Boston Public Library. We hope 2023 brings you holiday cheer and the chance to attend your 30th Reunion on campus during the weekend of May 25–28, 2023.
Anne Beaven writes, “I just got back from a business trip to Italy. It was my first time there, so I took some days to go to Florence, eat gelato, eat pizza, eat pasta, see the David statue, and learn I am scared of heights when I climbed the dome of the Duomo.”
Noel Lawrence emails, “I moved overseas to Portugal where I am currently writing a U.S. remake of Giuseppe Tornatore’s The Star Maker (Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film). If any alumni are traveling through Porto, look me up and let’s enjoy a glass of Port. In case you didn’t know already, ‘Port’ is named after Porto. The outdoor cafes on my street have a lovely view of the Douro River as well.”
Andy Nordvall lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two kids. He teaches, writes children’s books and spends entirely too much time on the internet.
Karen Powell writes, “I recently became an Australian citizen, and will be between Melbourne, Australia, and Helena, Montana, for the foreseeable future. I’ve been appointed to the International Federation of Sport Climbing Governance Commission, so if anyone is interested in connecting about sport, sport law, governance, Olympics, or climbing, I’d love to hear from people. With that project I get to do a bit of traveling (Singapore and Switzerland in 2023), so also happy to connect with other global Wes alum. I’m still teaching law in Melbourne if there are other academics out there too. Cheers from Down Under.”
Jodi Samuels emails, “In September, I was promoted to senior director, Strategic Support for Colleges and Scholars, at the Foundation for California Community Colleges, where I’ll be marking my three-year anniversary on November 12th. Evan and I recently had to bid farewell to our beloved fur baby girl feline, Calypso, who graced us with nearly 15 years of wonderful companionship. We’ve now welcomed a new kitty from the local shelter to our household, a three-month-old orange tabby boy whom we named Louis XIV. (Say the Roman numeral in French, like the original Sun King, and it sort of sounds like “cat”orze 🙂.) We’re planning some international travel for January and have continued our frequent domestic travel to see family and friends and college football in Austin, Denver, Chicago, and Madison, and also a couple of trips to Hawai’i for vacation. I had two in-person work conferences this fall for the first time in nearly three years (!), including co-presenting a session at the Strengthening Student Success Conference in Orange County in early October.”
Antonia Townsend writes, “I’m living in dark but delightful London with my son and husband. We were recently thrilled to have Chris Mulhauser ’92 and his wife stay with us, and even had a too-brief visit from Erica Terry Derryck ’95. Please, let me know if you are in town, as I’m always up for tea and crumpets with a Wes friend.”
Diego von Vacano emails, “I am back in Texas as a professor of political science at Texas A&M University after some time in Europe. I have been advising the Bolivian government on its lithium resource for climate change policies in the last three years. I am working on a book about this experience for Oxford University Press to come out next year. I am also doing semiprofessional soccer photography, something I started at Wes in 1990, as I covered the EURO 2020 Final, the Finalissima in London, and the most recent Champions League Final in Paris for Bolivian outlets. Looking forward to the Qatar World Cup and also attracting more foreign investment to Bolivia’s lithium sector to work with the Movement Towards Socialism ruling party to help Bolivia develop, using all my CSS skills!”
Sadie Van Buren (maiden name Johnson while at Wes) married Michael Gilronan at the Boston Public Library on September 26, 2022. She will be Sadie Gilronan going forward.