Class Notes

Hello, Class of 2024! Please enjoy these postgrad updates from our classmates!

Sam Anderson has been working as a project assistant for a lab at USC, using novel machine-learning models to identify risk factors for Alzheimer’s via a combination of neuroimaging (MRI and CT) and genetic data. 

Rachel Wachman is working as a journalist at the Concord Monitor in Concord, New Hampshire, where she moved in August. Rachel says, “Missing my Wes friends but enjoying the mountains!”

After graduation, Luka Netzel began working in professional theater. Luka says, “A few weeks after graduation, I got a last-minute company management gig at a small theater in Lincoln, New Hampshire, for their summer stock season. After this, I headed south to Sarasota, Florida, where I am currently working as the company management apprentice at the Asolo Repertory Theater.”

In other professional news, Lucas Hughes got a job as a clinical research coordinator at MHM research in the Hudson Valley, Rebecca Drucker moved to Bethesda, Maryland, to begin a teaching fellowship, and Savannah Ryan got a job as a biochemist at a biopharmaceutical company and a new car! 

Naomi Whitlock spent her summer after graduation working in Yellowstone National Park and recently moved to Colorado to work as a dogsled musher and guide. Naomi says, “In other news, the manuscript I wrote about my genomic research in Barry Chernoff’s lab was published in Scientific Reports in December!”

Other Cardinals continued their education postgrad. In the spring, Emma Dhanda will be graduating with an MA in psychology through Wesleyan’s BA/MA Program. Sara Beth Bouchard is in the PhD program in chemistry at UConn, in a lab that studies proteins as polymers. Sara Beth says, “I never saw myself joining a synthetic polymer lab . . . so I will have plenty to learn! I am hoping to kick-start my research project this spring. Missing the Wesleyan sailing team and looking forward to the Parent Alumni Regatta!”

As for travel, Max Fan, Chris Noh,and Oliver Wang took a road trip across the U.S., while Naya Jorgensen moved overseas. Naya says, “Hello, fellow Wes alumni! Thanks to the support of the Wesleyan French department, I’m currently living in Paris and teaching English at a university, which gives me a new appreciation for what our professors went through with us! I hope to cross paths with some continental Cardinals as time goes on. Hope everyone is having a great start to 2025!”

Happy New Year, everyone!

Please send news and updates to your class secretary.

Last summer, Amy Guaman-Dumancela was a summer associate for the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) in Alexandria, Virginia. She worked in the Operational Evaluation Division of IDA’s Systems and Analyses Center. Amy graduated with a psychology degree from Wes and is currently working toward her master’s in clinical psychology at Columbia.

Happy New Year. I hope you had a warm holiday season. Here are some updates from Class of 2021:

Gayon Yang is working as a grade 5 homeroom teacher in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The international school is going through expansion at the moment; please let Gayon know if you are interested in learning more about their employment opportunities. Gayon can be reached by gyang01@wesleyan.edu.

Leah Seldin co-founded The Girls NYC, an exclusive social group for NYC women in their 20s looking to make meaningful friendships. In the past two years, The Girls NYC have amassed 1,400 active members and hosted over 150 events, including private movie screenings, brunches, dinners, book clubs, and more. The events offer a safe, friendly environment where all women attend alone with bravery, vulnerability, and a desire to meet new people.

The Girls NYC have partnered with multiple brands and grown a social media presence of more than 3,400 and consistently receive over 400 applications a month. Through The Girls NYC, lifetime friendships have been created from best friends to roommates.

On November 2, 2024, The Girls NYC was featured on ABC News Nightline. In addition, The Girls NYC was featured in a Bon Appétit magazine article, which can be read here. Congratulations to Leah and the group for their achievements!

You can learn more about The Girls NYC on Instagram and their website: www.thegirlsnyc.comwebsite.

Garrett Kaufmann is happy to organize a Wesleyan meet-up for the greater Detroit/Michigan area and keep a greater network connected. If you are in Detroit (or the rest of Michigan) and would like to join, you can contact Garrett at gkaufmann@wesleyan.edu.

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to send me updates throughout the year and look out for new submission requests.

Congratulations to Gabrielle Bennett who was awarded the Obama Foundation fellowship for the 2024–2025 academic year, as a master’s of social work candidate at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice!

Nick Ticali is finishing up the final semester of his physician assistant master’s program. He will be looking to practice family medicine in a medically underserved area. He asks that you reach out if you have any contacts in the Brooklyn, Queens, or Manhattan areas. Nick would also like to give a quick shout-out to Sam Petersen and Shana Laski ’19 who just announced their engagement. He sends love to both!

From Jiayao Chen: “I recently got certified as a mental health coach by Headspace. Simultaneously, I am completing my last semester of [a] psychology and virtual reality master’s based in Paris and Barcelona.”

Thank you to all who submitted updates! As always, I love hearing from y’all. Though my mom did not win her race for Georgia State House District 53, I do appreciate the continued support I’ve received from the Wesleyan community. As for my life updates, I am defrosting from Chicago winter and staying busy trying to bring good energy with me and others into the future!

Hi everyone! Excited to share some updates from our fellow peers:

Zachary Obstfeld is working as a presidential management fellow for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Eliana Donner-Klein and William Geraldo Maldonado were married in February 2025 in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. They celebrated with many Wesleyan friends and their extended family. They currently live in Washington, D.C., with their cat, Sansa.

A big thank you to everyone who sent in updates this time around! Keep an eye out for an email from me soon about the next edition.

Congratulations to Ivy Poon BA ’18, MA ’19 who got engaged to Bakar Hassan PhD ’23 in January and are planning their wedding for next year!

Also, congratulations to Abby Cahn-Gambino, whohas joined the law firm of Hollingsworth LLP in Washington, D.C., as a first-year associate. Abby is a graduate of Georgetown Law and will be working as a litigator. While at Wes, she double majored in chemistry and economics.

Annie Cooperstone teaches English at Stuyvesant High School.

Zander Porter completed an MA in choreography at DAS in Amsterdam in 2023. Their thesis, “Transindividual Equations/Matrices: Schizoid Therapeutics for a Post-neoliberal Cyber-worlding,” is published in volume eight of Performance Philosophy. Their work, 3M0T1NG{/n3tw0rk1ng}, explores techno-spiritual connections through movement, emotion, and inter-relational communication. Collaborators included Isis Andreatta, Raoni Muzho Saleh, Li Yilei (music), Dynno Dada (costumes), and others. Link to thesis: https://vimeo.com/990266355.

Nicky Antonellis, Aaron Stryker ’19, and Miles Bukiet ’11 are expanding Dharma Gates, a nonprofit offering donation-based silent meditation retreats for young people. Learn more at dharma-gates.org.

Mica Fisher is opening BOYFRIEND co-op, a café and bar in Bushwick, Brooklyn, designed to build community for queer women. The opening is planned for February 2025. Follow @boyfriendcoop on Instagram.

In case you missed it, Max Friedlich was featured in the digital Fall Issue of the magazine: “A DIY Path to Bringing Job to Broadway” profiles Max and his journey to becoming a playwright and getting Job from idea to the stage. Recently, Max said he wishes the most recent presidential election had gone differently.

Alex Garcia gained permanent residency in Taiwan, completed MBA coursework at National Taiwan University (with a thesis pending), and consults on transit data for cities like Sydney, Taipei, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.

Marina King and Michael Glasser got married in Brooklyn this past September! Their officiant was friend Conor Hunt, and they had lots of Wes pals in attendance, including Marina’s brother, Aiden King ’14 and Trustee Emeritus Darryl Hazel ’70. They’re living happily in New York City with their rescue dog, Cashew.

Tim Israel writes: “Living in Oakland with the Jack Reuter and Ella Geismar. Come thru!”

As for me, I’m halfway through my first year of residency and still loving Albuquerque!

Stay well,

Mariam

Eric Lopez has tied the knot with Yuki Davis (of Brown University, the Wesleyan of Rhode Island). After a COVID date turned into a willingness to share space as the world ends, they affirmed their love with a double-feature Boston/Los Angeles wedding celebration—alongside Andrew Kang, Jasmine Masand, Emily Garvin, Antonio Robayo ’16 (honorary ’15), and Anders Dohlman.

Elaine Maskus feels like that person at 2013 senior cocks—the year they went too hard—who “fell down the up escalator. And continued falling as if in a perpetual motion machine,” (via The Atlantic).

Andrew Postman is newly single, if you know anyone. 😉