Author: classnotes

We heard from several classmates this time around.

Two classmates are in graduate school: Gayon Yang wrote to say that “I started school at UC Irvine. I’m [getting] my master of arts in the teaching program.”

And Sofia Colorado said, “I am just entering my second year of a PhD program in computational biology in Denver, Colorado. Could not be happier with the program.”

Two other classmates are working and living in big cities: After a year working for the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, D.C., Andrei Pinkus switched over to the nonprofit world in July. He is now a coordinator on the Corporate Climate Solutions Team at Conservation International, working to facilitate business investment in protecting, managing, and restoring nature at scale to limit the worst effects of climate change. He is living in a two-person house in downtown D.C. and making plans to move abroad after a little while longer in the nation’s capital!

And Kiki Vetoulis-Acevedo wrote, “It’s about a year since graduation and I’m currently living in Manhattan and working in immigration law. The Wesleyan-to-New York pipeline is definitely not the road least traveled but being here with so many friends (like my wonderful roommates Luca LaFayette and Lina Marcinczyk <3) made the transition to real world living as easy as it could be. Mostly, I’m writing this because my parents and sister read this magazine, so: mamá, μπαμπά, and Mari, I love you and miss you; thank you for everything!”

Mariel Baitenmann-Middlebrook and Isaac Klimasmith got married on the 25th of July 2022 and were thrilled to celebrate their wedding with friends from Wesleyan. Isaac has published three scientific articles and is just beginning his third year of a PhD program. Mariel has started a new job as a dual language social studies teacher. Mariel and Isaac continue to spoil their rat children and enjoy life in their little house on the prairie.

Eiji Frey is finally moving toward a freelance career in furniture and custom fabrication after figuring out life in LA as a tradesman and fabricator for the past couple years! He is super down to hit Wes homies with good deals if you want him to make you cool stuff!

Andrew Hirsh is growing in his Yiddishkeit at Machon Shlomo Yeshiva in Jerusalem and is still working on his crazy start-up: olivebranchpictures.org.

King Emeka has settled into his own in LA. He works at a commercial production company and creates things in his free time—music, films, and experiences. He has also developed a routine of trying new foods and discovering LA through the perspective of its many different cuisines.

Nick Ticali says, “Life is good!!” Nick starred as Jack Kelly in a production of Newsies at the Cultural Arts Playhouse. The show ran every weekend through August 21st in Syosset, Long Island. He also worked with his mother as a teaching assistant in her summer school program, Mentoring in Medicine; continued his work as an EMT with Northwell Health; and prepared for PA school, which was set to begin on September 1st!

Emilio Weber is moving to Washington, D.C., after two years postgrad working at City Year Philadelphia. He will be attending University of Maryland, College Park, and studying for a MA in sociology of sport.

Alec Haas finished his two-year commitment with Teach for America as a second-grade teacher at a charter school in East Harlem, New York. Concurrently, he also completed a MA in teaching from Relay Graduate School of Education. He is proud to have finally been able to walk at our in-person graduation this past spring.

Amir Daouk has been living in NYC with Alec Haas, Teddy Kennedy, and William Humphrey for the past two years. He just finished his first year at EY where he works closely with Mike Gallo as a finance consultant. Amir is still very connected to the Wesleyan community and always enjoys running into fellow Cardinals on the streets of New York!

As for me, I’m so glad I got to catch up with so many of my fellow Class of 2020 classmates at our much belated graduation this past June. We’ve all been on such a journey since we left campus in March 2020 and it was so amazing to hear about what everyone has accomplished since. I’m still in Chicago working in health-care consulting, so if any of you venture out to the Midwest, let me know!

Hey everyone! Hope you are all doing well and staying safe. Here are some updates from our peers:

Michelle Fisher begins her master’s in library and information studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison this fall. In January 2022, she left her job at Epic to start a new position as the nights and weekends supervisor at Memorial Library on campus. Michelle continues to play ultimate Frisbee with fellow Throw Culture alumni Kylie Moynihan ’17 and Ben Kaufman ’16, and she is always excited for other classmates to venture away from the coasts and join her in the Midwest!

Gabriella (Gabby) Castorena graduated from the University of St. Thomas in May 2021 with her master’s in clinical mental health counseling. Gabby is enjoying her 16-hour shifts at a psychiatric emergency room as a master level clinician on the weekends and is a therapist at an inpatient mental hospital during the week. Once Gabby finishes her LPC–A hours to be fully licensed, she plans on working part-time and furthering her education in the medical field. Before applying to medical school, Gabby is exploring travel opportunities.

Josh Nodiff is beginning graduate school at Columbia University for a master’s in climate and society. He will be studying narrative media, climate science, and public policy at the new Columbia Climate School.

Dennis White recently finished a master’s degree in labor studies at UMass Amherst and is working as a staff organizer at the American Federation of Teachers New Mexico, organizing the faculty union at the University of New Mexico.

Helen Karimi graduated again from Wes with an MA in 2020. She then went on to pursue her MS at the University of Connecticut, where she learned about the field of neuromonitoring. She is currently a first-year medical student at Tufts University School of Medicine and is really excited about a start-up she co-founded this past year called Neuroplex Industries, Inc. Her and her business partner’s mission is to increase the safety of surgeries by providing resources for improving intraoperative neuromonitoring services. Helen invites you to learn more about her recent endeavor at www.neuroplexindustries.com.

Special thanks to everyone who reached out with their life updates. Keep an eye out for my next email about the next edition of the alumni magazine soon.

Please send news and updates to your class secretary.

Please send news and updates to your class secretary.

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer of 2022! I’m very excited to present what the members of the class of 2016 have been up to since the last issue:

Jordan Farber is a passionate environmentalist currently working at an environmental consulting firm in the site remediation center. He is concurrently enrolled in the Energy Policy and Climate program at Johns Hopkins University, with the intent to pursue a career in climate change consulting. He is also the voice of “Lawrence the Owl” in a newly released children’s animated special.

Ellen Paik is a dual-degree MBA/MPA candidate at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Kennedy School. She is studying real estate/urban policy and is excited to continue exploring the ways that inequities throughout our society may be addressed by reimagining the built environment.

Alton Wang graduated from the UCLA School of Law with a JD and earned the Equal Justice Works fellowship. He was elected in June 2022 to serve as a trustee for the Pasadena City College Board of Trustees, representing his hometowns of Arcadia and Temple City.

Alexis Fineman is a climate advocate and currently moonlights as the mayor of San Anselmo, where she is working on all things at the intersection of climate change and local government. She’s also working on bringing progressive policies and programs forward. Her day job is focused on climate change and sustainability education in K–12 education. If you are thinking about getting involved in climate work or advocacy, please reach out—it’s all hands-on deck!

Since 2019, Matthew Stein has been a full-time puzzle designer, creating puzzle hunts, alternate reality games, and escape rooms. He also writes about immersive gaming for Room Escape Artist. On the music front, he released a new album of Yiddish art song called Kosmopolitn with his klezmer trio Baymele and Tsvey Brider; and they had an album release tour through California and New England (including a show in Brooklyn where he was delighted to see many Wes classmates)! He’ll also be playing violin in the San Francisco production of Indecent this fall.

Linsin Smith has graduated with a PhD in genetics from University of Chicago this July!

Melissa Leung finally made her return to a city where spices are bountifully found on menus (TYJ). But she will long for the woods where her friends include bears, moose, and Eric Jones. 😉 Best of luck to Lara Peng ’15 who will begin her MBA also at Tuck in the Dartmouth woods. Back in the city of Cambridge, Xian Hui Ang ’15 journeyed from Kuala Lumpur to Melissa (!) and to fall equally and madly in love with the Dedham, Massachusetts, Costco and all of their Asian selections. Nothing like chilling with peeps from the past such as the magnificent KADA aka Kate Davis to go on reflective journeys through both the cringe and delights!

Sarah Mi and Taran Carr have moved to sunny San Diego for Sarah’s residency in pediatrics at UCSD. They are enjoying being pet parents to their puppy Rosie and cat Remy. Taran continues to live that nice work-from-home life and has been consistently rock climbing. Hit him up if you want to rock climb with him in SD!

Tabs Gillombardo moved to Philly and is still figuring out how to use “jawn” in a sentence. She is a Levy Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Her career interest is in challenging state-sanctioned violence by advocating for incarcerated people and reproductive justice. Tabs has loved hanging and learning with Sam Rudovsky and Lizzie Shackney ’17!

Since this spring, I have been running around Atlanta through all the different Emory hospitals during my clinical year in med school. I have also loved almost every rotation I’ve been on so far, so deciding on a career path will be a tough decision to make by the end of this year, all while planning my wedding.

Stay well and keep in touch!

’15ers had lots to share this round:

Kate Linde wrote in to say that she is “a bicoastal media mogul who works for Wunderkind, loves a California sunset, but can never resist taking a bite out of the Big Apple.” Kate also had updates on other Wes friends:

Alexa Burzinski is now an international art swindler at Marlborough, with ties to Mexico City and Chelsea, Manhattan. . . . Haley Keyko ’16 just got her learner’s permit . . . for the third time! She won’t drive anything but carbon-efficient vehicles. . . . As a doctor at Mount Sinai, Lauren Nelson has been preventing brain injuries by day and learning to drive ambulances at night. (Thanks for the news, Kate!)

Ming Zhu shared: “I first left Shenzhen for Middletown when I was 18, and after having been abroad (Middletown, Boston, San Francisco, Dubai, and back to Boston) for over a decade, now I’m finally back in Asia. I recently graduated from Harvard Business School with my MBA and have since relocated to Singapore to work at Innosight, a global strategy consulting firm founded by an HBS professor, Clay Christensen, focusing on innovation and growth strategy consulting. The four years I spent at Wes was the most formative period of my life so far, where I built the core of network; and that thought got reinforced once again when I moved to Singapore this June and quickly found myself having dinner and drinks with many of my Wes friends who are also based here, as if no time had passed since many of us last met. I appreciate all the friendships and this tight community, and hope we’ll continue to sustain and nourish it together wherever we might be. If you are routing through Singapore, do drop me a note!”

Jessica Seidman recently relocated to New York City, where she joined Condon & Forsyth LLP as an associate attorney in their aviation litigation practice group. She would love to connect with more Wes folk in the area, so feel free to reach out and say “hi!”

Kate Gibbel started a letterpress postcard operation in March 2022 called Send Me Press (https://sendme.press). She publishes one poem every month as a limited-edition letterpress postcard. Earlier this summer, the project was profiled in The Boston Globe! She first got the idea for Send Me Press while chatting with Virgil B. G. Taylor, James Gibbel ’19, and Alex Kelley ’13 in May 2015. Kate looks forward to seeing many of you at the five Wesleyan weddings she is attending this calendar year.

Trevor Dorn-Wallenstein said, “It’s been an incredibly exciting year for me, so it feels like a good time to send in my first class note. After six or seven long years of graduate school, I’ve successfully defended my PhD thesis in astronomy, and will be moving to Los Angeles to start a postdoctoral position at Carnegie Observatories in September. More importantly, I just got married!”

And Steven Susaña-Castillo reports that he moved to San Francisco in July 2022 and is excited for his new adventure.

Those with class notes, please contact classnotes@wesleyan.edu.

Please send news and updates to your class secretary.

Different types of good news to share this round. On the wedding front, Katherine Mullins let us know that she is marrying Omar Hunter Craighill ’09 in September 2022 in Brooklyn, New York, and looks forward to celebrating with many friends from Wesleyan at the wedding.

New babies have arrived too! Luke Erickson and Hannah Berkman welcomed their first child, Oscar “Ozzy” Lawrence Erickson, in Washington, D.C., in February. Everyone is doing well, and Ozzy is lucky to count several Wes babies among his friends. Also, Matt Hurwit and Angela Allan ’11 had a baby this last May in Berkeley, California. Her name is Margot Allan and she’s just started sleeping through the night (thank goodness!).

In the realm of books and education, Dr. Alex Ketchum (FGSS) published Engage in Public Scholarship!: A Guidebook on Feminist and Accessible Communication with Concordia University Press this June! Her second book, Ingredients for Revolution: A History of American Feminist Restaurants, Cafes, and Coffeehouses, will be coming out later this fall, also from Concordia. She started her research on this subject when she was a student at Wesleyan University as part of her senior thesis. Both books are available for order in paperback and will be made available in open access later this year. Kamar Thomas wrote in to say he is a “professor of art at Centennial College in Toronto, Canada.Tula Telfair taught me. I will have a book coming out next January tentatively titled The Artists’ Creative Vision.” And AhDream Smith reported that on May 8, 2022, she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a master’s in fine arts for acting and completed a three-year acting residency with PlayMakers Repertory Company. Upon graduation, she attained an agent and management and is excited to be relocating back to New York City this fall.

Others wrote in to share about life in general. Sandy Leung said, “In 2020, I was preparing to take the GRE to apply for business school when an opportunity came to make a career shift into investment management, but then the pandemic hit a month after. Two years and two layoffs later, I’ve finally landed at a growing private equity firm where I hope I’ll be able to grow for a few years, and hopefully find the time to take the GRE and apply to business schools to attend part time. In the meantime, I’ve been hanging out with my cat Koji, a gray-and-white rescue that I adopted last year and eating my way through some of NYC’s best local food.” Sandy also said, “Wes alum sightings this year include catching up with David Barach and Will Miller over dinner and visiting Daisy Chen and Neil Ni’s (’14) store, Yoseka Stationery, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, for delightful goods and refills.”

And Abaye Steinmetz-Silber is living in Park Slope, Brooklyn. “I work at a nonprofit called Fifth Avenue Committee, building new affordable housing in NYC, and play music on the side. Was great to see so many people at our 10-year reunion in May!”