Class Notes | 2010s

Hi everyone! Here are some updates from our peers:

Devon Cooper has wrapped up her time as UMass Memorial Health’s first genetic counseling assistant where she had the opportunity to work with an amazing group of genetics professionals and provide care to the central and western Massachusetts communities. This past summer she made the cross-country trek back to California to pursue her master’s degree. And this fall she is joining Keck Graduate Institute’s Class of 2025 in their Master of Business and Science Program. Devon is also excited to be so close to home—she hasn’t lived within driving distance of her parents since starting school at Wesleyan in 2015!

Kati Young is now working in ministry, serving at Grace Lutheran Ministries in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. She also loves her mini-goldendoodle, Boaz!

Nicolas Fernandez currently serves as a sergeant in the U.S. Army. He recently completed the DOD’s 10-month Special Operations Combat Medic course that turns ordinary soldiers into medics, capable of administering lifesaving medicine in austere environments worldwide. The program culminated in a one-month rotation to emergency departments throughout the United States where he used his skills to save and treat real patients.

His current path is that of a civil affairs medical sergeant (38W). As a 38W, he will receive additional training in veterinary care and public health principles (i.e., infectious disease, water, sanitation, hygiene) in order to provide humanitarian assistance to people, local governments, and NGOs in remote regions around the world.

Josh Nodiff graduated from the Columbia Climate School with an MA in climate and society. After researching climate policy and urban design with the mayor of Cartagena, Josh is now assembling a climate arts and storytelling consortium between universities, museums, magazines, and more.

And as for me, I have recently begun a position as a research fellow at the NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy where I study affordable housing and land use policy.

Ryan Dobrin is the associate director on the first Broadway revival of Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez. Come see it at the Hudson Theatre in New York City through March!

Submitted by Nat Warner: Erica Arensman graduated law school from Michigan after winning a whole bunch of awards for oral advocacy and helping lead the law school’s public defense organization. She lived in LA for several months where she got the worst sunburn of her life, watched The Wire for the first time, and saw a million Wesleyan people. She took the bar exam in July and is starting work as a public defender in D.C. for PDS in November. She also got engaged in January!

Over the past couple of years Mark Otdelnov has tried working as a brand manager, product manager, and (of all things) a teacher since he has had a pretty good track record at that from his time at Wesleyan and graduate school (from elsewhere). That said, he does want to get a real industry job so he asked his brother to get him an interview at an investment bank (he’s well connected). Now he’s just sitting tight waiting for an offer to come by (“at my expense, of course, since I have some debt left over from his failed business project, but it’s a whole another story”). Overall, things are good. His family is supporting him and he loves them very much.

Zach Lambros is currently in Virginia after a brief stint in Arizona. No girlfriend found in either. He’s running out of states.

And ending on this sad note, in between issues of the Class Notes, we received news of the passing of David Schwartz last spring. His obituary said he loved living in California and enjoyed, among other things, piloting drones/aircraft. In 2015 David was featured in a Wesleyan Connection article about founding the Wesleyan Radio Control/Drone Club. Our condolences to his family and classmates.

I hope you are all well! 🙂

Please see updates from our classmates:

After six years living in the San Francisco Bay Area, Matthew Stein has moved to NYC to start a new job as an enigmatologist (yes, that’s real!).

Sadichchha Adhikari is in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, happily living in her new apartment and is glad to be closer to her parents in NYC. As an added perk, she loves being near Wesleyan pals and sees them on a regular basis. She’s also always looking for food/drink/travel recs in and around NYC, so hit her up if you have any!

Tim Israel went to Topgolf in San Jose with Jack Reuter and played Splendor with Emerson Obus recently. Also took a big hike with them and Ella Geismar. All Wesleyan people. Let’s go!

Emily Greenspan has been working as a college counselor and teacher since 2016 (some of her students have been accepted to Wes!) and recently started her own company, Aspire Counseling & Tutoring. She is pursuing her MFA in nonfiction creative writing at Ashland University. She writes about how scuba diving became a balm for her anxiety and about her identity as a granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. You can check out her website: emilygreenspan.com.

What up what up what up?!? Melissa Leung has left Cambrizzy (Cambridge, Massachusetts) for Cali and made a trek to San Diego to visit her parents, Sarah Mi and Taran Carr, and her furry siblings, Remington ’38 and Rosie ’40. She may perhaps find herself tethered to the sunny chill vibes but that’s still to be determined.

Caroline Shadle married Rob Hansen on August 19 at First Unitarian Church in Chicago. Rebecca Brill, Jordan Friedland, Eury German, Greg Goldstone, Joanna Paul ’18, and Lily Taylor shared readings as part of the ceremony and Professor Patricia Beaman, Sara Ben-Ezra, Maya Berkman, Helen Handelman, and Miranda Orbach ’15 were all there to celebrate. There was a lot of dancing.

I have been busy with research and completing my application to ophthalmology residency. Interviews are coming up, so if anyone has any tips/pointers/advice send them my way! I can’t wait to know what next year will look like.

Stay well!

Mariam

Marjahn Finlayson was recently named as a climate change science pioneer by King Charles III in his address to the nation for the 50th Independence of The Bahamas (her home country). She has been working as a climate change specialist for about 10 years. For more information about her work, check out climateedubahamas.com.

Kate Gilpin and Alex Kamisher ’17 got married September 2023 with lots of Wesleyan friends by their side. They are moving from Brooklyn to Long Island (“please still be friends with us!”) so that Kate can start medical school.

Nikki Dodd is helping Lynx Mitchell ’18 raise funds to support her in her fight against ME/CFS (a chronic and debilitating illness), and invites anyone who might want to contribute to reach out to Nikki directly at nikkizdodd@gmail.com.

Camille Casareno and her husband, Gordon Petty, just moved to a new place in Harlem. Gordon had his dissertation defense on August 4, finishing up six years of a PhD in neurobiology at Columbia University.

First off, Chelsie and I wanted to introduce ourselves as the new co-secretaries for the class of 2014. In reality this is just a fancy way to say we will be the ones who beg you all to send in a short note for the class updates section of the alumni magazine . . . . 😊 For those taking to the quill: We want to know what you’re up to AND what you’re into these days. One of the aspects of the Wesleyan community that we miss most is the exposure to such fascinating and passionate people, so we would love to hear what you’re reading, listening to, or learning about. And of course, in typical fashion, we would like to hear about your achievements, your joys, and where you’re at in the world.

Cynthia Tong wrote: “The inhabitants of 72B Home, who have been scattered around the globe since graduation, reunited in Maine this August.”

Go Wes!

Please send news to your class secretary.

Greetings from your new Class of 2012 secretary, Amanda Schwartz. A proud Angeleno as always, I’m currently getting my MBA at the USC Marshall School of Business, working at construction software company, Bluebeam, and continually perfecting my In-N-Out order.

Please enjoy the following updates from your classmates:

This year Miriam Berger, a reporter with The Washington Post, got the most adorable terrier, Charlene. She was also part of the team of female journalists at The Post awarded The International Women’s Media Foundation 2023 Courage in Journalism Award for coverage of the Ukraine war.

Noa Borkan and her wife, Danya, have recently expanded their family! They got three  new houseplants, another cat, and their daughter, Aviva, was born on April Fools’ Day! She recently got her first cold from her second day at day care.

After five years of living and working in the DMV area, Ashley Garrett moved home to Boston. Additionally, Ashley was selected by Boston’s mayor Michelle Wu to sit on the SPARK council to help boost civic engagement in the city of Boston among millennials and Gen Z. The SPARK Boston Council advises the mayor on city policies and programs affecting 20- to 35-year-olds. Leadership staff from the mayor’s team come to monthly meetings. The council has increased voting registration in the city and representation of Bostonians in city government. It also has served as a pathway into careers with the City of Boston. Ashley is looking forward to increasing the outreach and community building even more this year.

Tasmiha Khan writes, “I want to share that Rajeeta Iyer and I had a blast at Niagara Falls recently. I’m also working on some criminal justice projects.”

Chelsea Reutcke writes, “I have just begun a postdoctoral fellowship in British Studies at the University of Utah, where I will be teaching on early modern Britain and serving as the assistant editor for the Journal of British Studies. I completed my PhD at the University of St. Andrews (Scotland) in late 2020, focusing on Catholic print networks in late 17th-century England and will shortly be publishing my third academic article.”

Trevor Rhodes writes: “A couple of updates on my end: despite all odds, someone has agreed to marry me. The wedding will be in late August and we’ll for sure be celebrating in person with fellow [Cardinals], Dave Brunelli, Ana Alvarado, and J. R. Mannetta ’13. Also in August, I finished a master’s in global business administration from the Fletcher School at Tufts. I may be part Jumbo now but ya boi will fly as a Cardinal for life. I also visited Cameron Davila in February where I got to meet his new daughter, Lucy, and catch up with him over beers while lounging on the beach. Some things never change!”

Lizzie Simon is sad about her break ups and happy about her friends’ babies. She is entering year 12 in Seattle, year 16 of playing ultimate (thanks Throw Culture!), and year three as a nurse practitioner in community health, and plans on sticking with all three. Several of her best friends are still from Wes.

Thanks to those who contributed and feel free to pass along notes at any time.

Laura Heath-Stout writes, “Allegra ’12 and I and our toddler, River, are moving to California! I’ll be starting a postdoc at the Archaeology Center at Stanford, and Allegra will continue working remotely for JOIN for Justice, an organization that trains Jewish people in community organizing. We’re excited to spend more time with our Wesleyan friends in the Bay Area!”

Siena Kramer is working as a nurse educator in the Neurocritical Care Unit at Tufts Medical Center and got married to Charles Tandler on June 23, 2023! They will be moving back to Palo Alto, California, in June 2024.

Emily Pontecorvo contributes, “Earlier this year I joined Heatmap News as one of the founding staff writers. Heatmap is a subscription-based online magazine doing original reporting and analysis of the most pressing stories of climate change and the transition to clean energy for a broad audience. Check us out at Heatmap.news!

Kara Perez lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her partner, after a decade in Austin, Texas. She owns Bravely Go, a financial media company, and has discovered a deep passion for explaining what an index fund is.

Susie Howe writes, “2023 was a year of changes for me! I got married on July 1 to Sam O’Connor-Divelbiss in Wayne, Illinois. We both got new jobs on Chicago’s North Shore– Sam will be teaching math in Wilmette and I will be teaching Latin at Lake Forest High School after seven years at Elgin Academy. Those who knew me from the Wes equestrian team will be happy to learn that I bought my first horse in 2021. My time at Wesleyan developed my love of horses and Latin and both have become major parts of my life.”

A. J. Chan and his wife, Hilary Burke Chan ’10, welcomed their second child, Oliver Tobias Chan, in November 2022. Ollie and his older sister Rosie were able to visit Wesleyan this summer and sit on Foss Hill!

Tim Morley and I welcomed our first child, Joseph “Joey” Arthur Morley on June 8 in Hartford, Connecticut. Joey and his friend Ollie got to sport matching Wes onesies when they met each other this summer!

Thanks for the contributions this cycle!

Please write to your class secretary.