Class Notes

Barney Kathan sent me copies of two extraordinary books he had authored over the past year-and-a-half. The first one, My Prospects: Growing Up and Growing Old in a Small Connecticut Town, detailed his journey through life from a small farm to his career in the ministry and beyond. He was involved in some of the major changes in his town, church, library, and school district, and was a leader in the town’s successful celebrations. Barney’s second book, American Holy Days: The Heart and Soul of Our National Holidays, provided an invaluable primer of the history and significance of America’s special days. Again, Barney goes into extraordinary detail about these special days and how they came about.

Chris DeGraff wrote from West Hartford that he and his wife, Sandy, had a family get-together for the Thanksgiving and the Christmas holidays. Chris was looking forward to hitting the slopes and had already bought his season pass. They thought about taking a trip to Europe this past summer, but decided against it because of the turmoil abroad.

Frank Hassell moved into a retirement residence at Bay Village in Sarasota, Fla. He wrote that he is no longer up for traveling, but fortunately family members are able to visit him. He reminded me that during our undergraduate years, he, his wife, and subsequent two sons, lived on campus, sponsored by his family and the G.I. Bill, which helped many of us. Frank is much older than the rest of us and at 95, still holds that distinction. Frank wrote, “Wesleyan was a very meaningful experience for me and I am grateful for the advantages I received. A gift to Wesleyan will be forthcoming after I pass on.”

Along with Frank’s note, I received word that Dean Egly, a fraternity brother of mine, had passed away on March 26, 2017. I’d appreciate hearing from any class members who received this magazine.

DAVID M. PHILIPS | davephilips69@hotmail.com
43 Cannon Street, Cranston, RI 02920-7620

Classmates: I regret to inform you that Bob Fithian died in June 2017. Bob was president of Delta Tau Delta, and the summer after graduation he and I toured Europe together. He was employed by Sears for 40 years, and lived in Marietta, Ga. He is survived by his wife, Becky, two children, and two grandchildren.

BUD DORSEY | margiedorsey5@gmail.com
121 Renegar Way #105, St. Simons Island, GA, 31522 | 912/638-5616

Noting my failure to submit notes for the December issue, Donald Dunn sent me an encouraging email urging me to stay the course, refute the arguments of advancing age, and keep 1945 class notes alive, if not well. And thus, the following fragments of Dunn-inspired musings on whoever remains a ’45-er.

May all your days be smooth as silk;

May all your nights be inviolate;

May all your cereal be crisp in milk;

May nothing clog your toilet.

I’ll probably never be famous,/ Or rich, or even well-bred;

I’ll likely amount to just nothing,/ So I guess I’ll go back to bed.

Those Celtic fairies are everywhere,/ And they see everything you do,

So you’d better watch yourself, classmates,/ Or they’ll lay a curse on you.

Friends like you/ Don’t grow on trees,

You’re always true blue,/ Always aiming to please.

I figure I’m lucky/ To call each of you “friend”;

You’re lallapaloozas/ … and like that … The End.

And, slán go fóill.

FRANCIS W. LOVETT | lovettfrancis@gmail.com

315 14th Street, Unit A, Windsor, CO 80550 | 907/460-9338

Save the date for our 60th Reunion on May 23-26, 2019! Ellen and Herb Steiner are in Del Ray January through March. They see Sibyl and Tim Martin and Diane and Joe Vander Veer. Herb is in email touch with the “three Bob’s” Bob Mann, Bob Waterhouse, and Bob Ogren. Racquetball every morning and violin practice daily. Herb plays in orchestras in New Jersey and Florida, and “though the old arm ain’t what it used to be, I love making music!”

Wayne Fillback, now 81, responded to a birthday postcard Skip had sent. After leaving Wesleyan, Wayne graduated from Colby, where he taught history and coached. Married for 53 years, with two daughters and four grandsons the happy result! Wayne still officiates at track and field events and helps with the four boys. He remembers Dick Root and Gerry Hanford ’64 especially fondly.

John Fowler sent along a note with his annual check saying he enjoyed his “Big 80” birthday postcard. Bravo John on both counts!

Ted Nagel is in great fettle, still doing some doctoring, but largely retired from his practice at this point.

Phil Pessoni has written a book about his 18 years at the helm of Lexington Photo Labs, which is not yet available for public consumption, calledDeveloping Friendships at Lexington Photo Labs New York City 1964-1981, about the amazing friendships he made: Isak Dinesin, Peter Beard, Caroline Kennedy, Jackie Onasssis, Lee Radziwill, Anne Marie Rasmussen Rockefeller, Jay Mellon, Richard DuPont Andy Warhol, Cheryl Tiegs Linda McCartney, Claude Picasso, Ginger Rogers, and Mick Jagger. Phil staged seven major exhibits at his gallery and made all the prints for 15 photo books.

Dr. Owen Tabor retired from his orthopedic surgery practice after being supplied with two new knees compliments of his oldest son, who now guides Tabor Orthopedic in Memphis. Owen is in touch with Elizabeth and Jack Lambert in London at their beautiful home in Islington, and he and Margaret enjoy time with their children and grandchildren. He writes, “A recent letter sent by Walter Burnett, with a picture of the current members of Skull and Serpent made me realize what a special time we had at Wesleyan at that most critical time in our lives.”

Marsha and Bob Gillette stopped to see Peg and Weg Thomas on their way back from watching the total eclipse in Wyoming, their second after Zambia. Apart from non-stop hospitality, and continuous Wes style bull sessions, we also got to see Weg’s passion, the 25,371 acres of the McHenry County Conservation District. He is the behind the scenes director and lives the mission of the conservancy “to preserve, restore and manage natural areas for their intrinsic value and for the benefits to present and future generations.” He writes, “Everywhere we travelled we saw the marks of Weg’s work: trail maps, photographic explanations, and magnificent photographs of the scenes we marveled at. We were thrilled to share in his passion.”

Paul Hadzima lives less than an hour from campus. He wrote, “It wasn’t until our 50th that I rediscovered what a great place Wesleyan is! I began attending lectures and concerts, then joined the Friends of the Wesleyan Library, on whose governing Board I now sit. Then a decision was made to put on display the objects housed in the old museum on top of Judd Hall. I happened to be the last student curator of the Museum.” He was featured in a blog post by students in the earth and environmental sciences department (wespeoplesfossils.blogs.wesleyan.edu). “The rock, mineral, and fossil part of that collection is now in the Exley Science Center (Joe Webb Peoples Museum). Professor Peoples chaired the geology department while we were there. As one of two geology majors in our class, along with Skip McAfee, Joe played a big part in my life at Wesleyan.”

Dick Cadigan writes of two terrific ideas: “Number one: I want to get a campaign going for a banner in the Silloway Gymnasium for the 1959 varsity basketball team. We were the first Wesleyan basketball team to play in the NCAA Tournament, were Little Three Champs after a 10-year drought, and barely lost to Harvard (four points). I am sure we could raise the money to fund the banner! Number two: And admission of what was one of the best Wesleyan basketball teams ever to the Wesleyan University Athletic Hall of Fame at our 60th Reunion.”

The Eklunds win ’59 Most Traveled Award: February, Maui and Florence, June, Nantucket and the Cape, July, Lake Tahoe, August, Nantucket for Mary’s 75th, Dave to fish in Alaska, September, visit to Cornell grandson and Brown granddaughter, Thanksgiving in California, Christmas in Jackson Hole, back to Tiburon for Dave’s big 80 and to keep the sanitation department running.

Our thoughts are with Joyce Harbinger. Wayne died on Christmas Day 2017.

At the end of the year, Tim Day is retiring as chairman of the board of directors at Bar-S after being with the company for 36 years.

Skip Silloway is still skiing Alta and promises to send us pictures. In the meantime, he and Molly have been married 53 years and are settled in Salt Lake City, about halfway between their two sons. One lives in Northern California and the other in New Mexico, each a day’s drive away. The boys have one child each; one boy, one girl.

Charlie Wrubel reports: “After 19 years of traveling to the children for Thanksgiving, the decree went out to Bill ’85and Jen ’92in Beverly Hills, Rob ’88 from Colorado Springs, Julian Scottsdale and Andrew ’85 from Brooklyn to attend the master in his lair for the celebration.” Charlie has a new valve and other certified new parts and is fine.

Shirley and Larry Keddes will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in June, just after Reunion. Larry had successful lower back surgery 18 months ago and is now back building his model railroad in his old home office. Are there any other railroaders in the class? “Every doctor I see, and there are many, make me think how young they are!”

Bill Moody missed the fall mini-reunion lunch in Washington as both he and Janet were in and out of the hospital at the time. All is well, however. Moods highly recommends Dave Potts’ History of Wesleyan 1910-1970. “It is a must read for the Class of 1959 in my opinion. It puts our time there in perspective.” Plans are afoot for a mini Eclectic reunion chez Leverich including the Moodys, Chases, and the Gillettes.

Walter Burnett wrote in, “It hardly seems possible that the 60th is so close. Assuming that all goes well, I plan to be there. The weather has been a bit out of sorts in the western North Carolina mountains so access to my mountain home has been a bit problematic with unexpected freezing and re-freezing of the mountain roads. Even Atlanta has had some winter weather problems. The 2017 eclipse was full over my North Carolina home. It gave me the opportunity to gather my children and grandchildren along with my brother and his children and grandchildren, It was quite a house full, but we all had a great time with members of the family coming from eight states.

“I retired from the Emory School of Public Health faculty in 2014 and much to my surprise I enjoy the freedom of retirement. I continue to travel a fair amount. Last summer a friend and I explored the lakes of Northern Minnesota and drove the north shore of Lake Superior. This year we plan to explore some of the Louisiana bayou country and the lake country of Texas with a drive home on the Natchez Trace. I still day hike weekly as the weather permits and spend time in Atlanta where I can enjoy the Atlanta Symphony and spend time with friends.

“As time goes on it hardly seems possible that my grandsons are fast becoming adults. The older one is finishing his freshman year at Bowdoin and the younger one will head off to his freshman year in the fall. His high school graduation will take me to the D.C. area in June for a family visit.

“I am fortunate that my health is good and that live a one of the most beautiful parts of the country. I hope all is well with you.”

Wolfram Thiemann, in Germany, who attended Wesleyan as Foreign Scholar, wrote in with an interesting update of life after Wes, including a career in nuclear and environmental research. He writes, “I was not a typical class ’59 mate. I had been invited to enjoy the privilege as a Foreign Scholar to spend an entire academic year at Wesleyan as an undergraduate, whose major subject was chemistry, fleeing literarily from a country which was still suffering from the aftermath of a terrible Nazi dominated history, meant to last 1,000 years as a Third Reich, but was fortunately finished by the Allied Forces after only 12 years by a heroic bloody fight, called World War II.

“In contrast to many of my elders—relatives as well as teachers—we, the younger generation, called the end of Nazi terror in Germany a liberation instead of a defeat of the Hitler regime. At the time when I came to study at Wesleyan, I was registered as an undergraduate student at the Ludwig-Maximilian University Mÿnchen and the Freie Universitÿt Berlin, where many of my chemistry professors had served during the Nazi time and continued to teach in the post-war era of new democratic (West) Germany. The curriculum in the 50s was terribly old-fashioned, boring, and ultra-conservative. Full professors had absolute power and dominated the faculty. They could not be removed from their “chairs,” residing like gods. So, my chance to be given a scholarship to Wesleyan (inspired by the late Professor L. Gemeinhard) was a true revelation. It was like paradise compared to my German experience.

“Wesleyan, the small elite New England experience at Wesleyan saved my career. Having returned home to Berlin after this one-year experience I recovered my love for science again, which I had almost lost before, and continued my studies at Berlin (The Freie Universitÿt Berlin was a gift from USA, sponsored by Henry Ford Foundation, sworn in for defending democratic values—quite in contrast to the communist-ruled Humboldt-Universitÿt in the East Sector of Berlin!).

“After my graduation as a Diplom-ChemikerI received my Dr. rer. nat. (PhD degree in English) from the Technische Universitÿt Berlin, having performed my experimental work in the laboratory of the Hahn-Meitner-Institut fÿr Kernforschung in nuclear research. This was the first nuclear reactor, serving as a pure research instrument in West Germany. From here I had joined the nuclear research facility in Juelich, Germany, and in 1976 I was installed as full professor of physical chemistry in the young University of Bremen. My main research areas circled around the environmental research, focused on water quality and sanitation issues and on the search for the origins of life on earth and for extraterrestrial life.

“In 1980 I returned back to U.S. for sabbatical to be spent at the University of Maryland. My curiosity for the possibility of life or at least for its precursors on extraterrestrial bodies was—at least partially—satisfied with the soft landing of the space vehicle PHILAE released from the mother ship ROSETTA on a comet Chruy in November 2014 after a 10 years’ journey travelling around 400 mio kilometers. And—alas—we detected highly complex organic materials on this comet, resembling pretty good-looking precursors of living species having rained down on the early earth some 3-4 bio years ago.

“In 2003 I retired from teaching in Bremen, but have been busy still writing papers, chapters in monographs, lecturing on various topics in environment and astrochemistry, touring through China, India, Egypt, Brazil, France, and other regions of the world, helping to establish and enforce research cooperation among academic institutions.

“If possible, I would love to attend Reunion next year at Wesleyan. I still have contact with some of my former mates from Wesleyan. My old classmate Uli Kogelschatz, also a foreign student from Germany, with whom I had crossed the entire U.S. coast-to-coast on a second-hand Vespa. 150 ccm motorscooter over 6,000 miles. Unfortunately, he passed away last year. I think you received the information from his family living in Switzerland?”

We end with some wisdom by Frank Laubach, a famous missionary and teacher. “I have good news for you. The first 80 years are the hardest. The second 80 are a succession of birthday parties.

“Once you reach 80, everyone wants to carry your baggage and help you up the steps. If you forget your name or anybody else’s name, or an appointment, or your own telephone number, or promise to be three places at the same time, or can’t remember how many grandchildren you have, you need only explain that you are 80.

“Being 80 is a lot better than being 70. At 70, people are mad at you for everything. At 80, you have a perfect excuse, no matter what you do. If you act foolishly, it’s your second childhood. Everybody is looking for symptoms of softening of the brain.

“Being 70 is no fun at all. At that age, they expect you to retire to a house in Florida and complain about your arthritis and you ask everybody to stop mumbling because you can’t understand them. (Actually, your hearing is about 50 percent gone.)

“If you survive until you are 80, everybody is surprised that you are still alive. They treat you with respect just for having lived so long. Actually, they seem surprised that you can walk and talk sensibly.

“So please, folks, try to make it to 80. It’s the best time of life. People forgive you for anything. If you ask me, life begins at 80.”

Skip Silloway | ssillow@gmail.com; 801/532-4311 

John Spurdle | jspurdle@aol.com; 212/644-4858

“When I was at Wes, I was initially opposed to bringing kids onto this crazy planet. But then, at some point, I decided that the most radical thing I could do was to raise great kids—kids who would be part of making the world a better place. It turns out, I was prescient beyond my years. Now in my ‘back 50,’ I feel particularly good that I’ve made the world a better place by bringing three extraordinary humans onto the planet—now fascinating young adults whom my radical, feminist former self would have loved!” Does anyone agree with these sentiments of Elaine Taylor-Klaus?

“I’ve had a super year fighting against this dumpster fire of an administration. Participating in the resistance movement has been a source of joy and inspiration the likes of which I haven’t experienced in over 30 years of activism. Whether joining the crowd of 750,000 at the LA Women’s march, or rallying with 75 people at the Kauai ‘Show Us Your Taxes’ protest, I’ve been overwhelmed by the camaraderie, patriotism, and creativity on display. And it’s a great way to catch up with fellow Wes alumni!” And maybe some agree with these sentiments from Lisa Rosen.

Carlie Masters Williams: “This has been an incredibly challenging year for us here in Washington, DC. We thought politics couldn’t get any worse and lo! We were wrong. But the protests have been incredibly invigorating. I am excited to see people speaking out about the things that matter to them. The Women’s March was a sea of pink hats and women speaking loud enough to be heard across the country. We hosted seven southern women I know through work and it was a beautiful thing. We will continue to shout about facts and data and science until we can drown out the voices of ignorance. As for physical feats? My office did the 100 push-up challenge this summer. As a group I am proud to say we did literally HUNDREDS of push-ups and had a good time doing it. I bought everyone a jump rope as a prize at the end. That requires a whole ‘nother level of coordination so I am not sure we are going to be doing Double Dutch anytime soon.”

Lucy Seham Malatesta was sworn in as a CASA (court appointed special advocate) on September 11 in Newark. “In this volunteer position, I advocate for children who have been removed from their families and are ‘in the system.’ With access to school and medical records and the right to contact teachers, professional providers, and visit the child at his/her residence, I present my findings to the court quarterly to help determine the best next steps. ‘To be for the child’ is my response to the current state of our country and our world.”

Jeff Liss: “My wife Susan and I love living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan since we became empty nesters (children number five and number six are now in college). I am currently between jobs, doing some independent consulting and also fulfilling one of my bucket list items as an adjunct professor, teaching digital marketing at the Fashion Institute of Technology. I met up with Geoff Weinstein in San Diego during the summer. I also run into Dan Seltzer in the city every so often.”

Debbie Halperin: “While there is so much in the world that I don’t feel very good about, I also have a lot to be grateful for. I feel good about my family (celebrating 24 years of marriage this year to my husband Gil) and my kids who are in 11th and 12th grade. I feel good about the wonderful friendships I have formed over the years that sustain me, including those I met freshman year at Wes, Sarah Bosch, Nancy Cagan, Emily (Zaslow) Hourihan and Joanna (Feinberg) Miller. I feel good that my parents are healthy and close by. I feel good about relaunching my jewelry line, maycamehome.com after many years’ hiatus. Finally, over the summer we visited Tokyo for the first time and survived an emergency landing on the way home—so I feel good that those pilots were well trained!”

Tomas Mendez: “I’ve been in advertising for 50 years and it’s been pretty great. This year, for the first time ever, I’ve gone to the ‘client side.’ I’m at Dell EMC and really like it. It is so much less intense than the agency side. My wife Tracy (Juilliard ’96) came out of dancing retirement a couple of years ago and is so amazing—our son Daschle, 9, and I got back from seeing her perform about an hour ago (as I write this) and it was awesome. Over Labor Day we got together with Garth Battista ’85 and his wife Lilly in Maine. They sailed in on the boat Garth built himself and used my mooring near our family summer home on South Harpswell. At least 10 folks from ’86, ’87, ’88, and ’89 have been there so hopefully you guys are reading this. By you guys I mean Chris Gould ’87 (great chatting the other day!), Linnea Berg ’88, Mike Edson ’87, Bill Love, Mark Woodbury ’87, Lisa Bogan ’87, Anna Luhrman, Paul Sutherland ’85, Allegra Burton ’87, Michael Tomasson, and I’m sure a couple of others who my aging brain isn’t conjuring up. I stop at Wesleyan on the way up and back from Maine (live in New York) so I’ve been visiting Wesleyan twice a year for 30-plus years and for those who haven’t visited in a while, I highly recommend it. The place is insanely amazingly fancy and has so much more land, versus the lovely but humble physical plant and grounds we all experienced.”

Lydia Crawford learned to drive a manual as an adult (husband is British and he really wanted a manual transmission car, so she agreed to have him teach her—and they are still married!). “Our son Owen is happy as a sophomore at Lawrence University in Wisconsin (about a five-hour drive from Saint Paul where I have lived since finishing law school in Virginia) despite going through a college application and selection process that should not be emulated by anyone. Our 15-year-old daughter Vivian is willing to engage in fairly meaningful conversations with me somewhat frequently and has learned that rolling her eyes at her parents is not appreciated. I am able to keep pretty physically fit (despite back surgery last February), including going to a 6 a.m. workout class where I regularly see Beth Haney ’91. My husband and I adopted a stretch of state road in southern Minnesota (a Department of Transportation program) where we pick up trash periodically and now some friends are coming along to help. Who knew that picking up trash could be so social!”

A traveling summer for Ben Schneider: “Washington, D.C. for the National LGBT Resistance March and the Profession of Vows ceremony for the Washington D.C. Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, home to Maine for the Yarmouth Clam Festival with Dan Kolbert and Greg Wildes. Then to Seattle to officiate at a wedding, my 15th time. Then Lithuania to teach meditation. And, finally the North Carolina Smokey Mountains as the keynote speaker at the annual Fall Gay Spirit Visions Conference. Bought a bike, walked away from a serious car accident, and went to a doctor for the first time in 20 years. Still see Melinda Newman and Lisa Rosen all the time, as well as Kevin Pratt ’87.”

Sam Atkinson is still umbilically attached to Boston. Peter Hammond and Mark Woodbury ’87 made their annual pilgrimage last weekend to join him for a mini-reunion.  Sam sees Tom Matlack once a year at a big card game. He’s kept in touch with Tony Antonellis and Kevin Freund (his Clark 312 freshman roommates, along with Pete) and two close friends both from Cheltenham, Pa.: Paul Levitan ’85 and Margery Bank Bates ’87 (who is moving to Nantucket), but misses Liz Turner (“love you, Blue Lady!”) and “Chucker-V” Vuono.

Emily Hourihan: “Sorry, Wes. We are a Tulane family now (Avery ’14, Zoey ’15, and third daughter, Charlie ’21). Highlights: My 35-year-long friendships with Debbie Halperin and Laura Harrington. Seven wonderful years with husband, Todd Magazine. Boston Marathon in 2016, and, most recently, my first Ironman-70.3 in Atlantic City (6:37.13). Very proud of that one!”

Ellen Santistevan says: “If I am ‘halfway’ between graduation and retirement, I think I am way behind the curve. I spent most of the first ‘half’ odd-jobbing and raising my children. In the second half, now, I am learning to take care of myself, and studying to do things that I am really good at and enjoy. Deepening my studies and practice of craniosacral therapy is probably the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. I will probably always be in service to others, whether to my family or my clients or the various causes that I care about, but discovering that it’s ok to say no and to have good boundaries has been life-changing. Sounds simple, perhaps even dumb, and yet…”

Samuel Connor is also feeling good. “Feeling particularly good about my decision in 2015 to start my own business (running a consulting group focusing on innovative cause marketing). The variety of work coupled with the immeasurable value of flexibility to be with my three teenage sons has been super.” Kate McIvor also made a career change. “After working in public health in Helena, Mont., for 25 years, I now own a fabric store in Missoula, Mont. Learning how to run a very small business has been a welcome challenge for me. And, my core purpose remains the same: to uplift and empower people to be healthy. How does a fabric store help people be healthy? By providing the tools and materials necessary to slow down and create for ourselves and others; and, by reducing the need and desire to buy cheap, fast fashion.”

Steven Cohen feels great about finally getting married last year! “I met Müge on eHarmony. Our first date was an architecture lecture on the Guastavinos, a father and son from Spain who created beautiful tile ceilings and domes all around New York. Müge’s mother had worked as an architect on the design of Lincoln Center and can trace her lineage back to a Sultan and a sect that migrated from Spain to Ottoman Empire during the Inquisition. I’m also finding out how hard it is to learn to speak Turkish!”

Sue (Erikson) Bidwell took advantage of “local summer” at the Jersey Shore, otherwise known as when the vacationers go home. “I’ve spent my bonus time painting the outside of the house, and that is what I feel particularly good about. It’s my Zen time to contemplate the world while actually accomplishing something. I’m blessed that I can take my laptop with me and still work remotely as the office support for my husband’s company while enjoying these other perks at the shore.”

Zahara Heckscher:  “What I feel good about at this point in my life is having a son on the cusp of adulthood who is kind person, full of delight, and a husband who loves me despite my flaws. I had a long career doing nonprofit work but what I feel best about professionally are the books I’ve written and contributed to, including a little book of poetry I just published, and my father’s memoir about escaping the Nazis. Because of health challenges (breast cancer) my life has slowed down. I have a heart full of gratitude for the support of network around me including my sister and her family moved from Hawaii to be close to us. Life continues to be rich and meaningful. Life is good. I wish for classmates the ability to slow down and appreciate life, and focus more on what’s important—without having an illness that forces it!”

I think we can all agree to that.

Eric Howard | ehoward86@wesleyan.edu

After graduation, Maddy Johl and Anna Lu moved to Brooklyn. Anna is working at Success Academies at Ditmas Park Middle School, as a fifth grade associate science teacher. She wrote, “I’m loving the classroom, but the scholar-athletes on my cross country team are also beasts. Wishing everyone else in the class of 2017 the best and hope senior year has been going well, ’18!”

Nisha Grewal spent this past month at her high school as a physics substitute, which has been a really fun learning experience. The opportunity has allowed her to use her physics degree and teach at the high school level. She always enjoyed teaching (and TA’d many classes at Wes), and this has certainly been her favorite summer job. In October, she started her official job as a technology consultant at IBM, and in the meantime she has enjoyed the exposure to a very different field.

Nicholas “Nicky” Antonellis, a BA/MA student in physics, was one of 14 students in the U.S. selected to receive a $10,000 scholarship from the Directed Energy Professional Society (DEPS).

Elizabeth Farrell is working at a tech company in NYC called Icreon Tech as the executive assistant to the CEO, and living in Bed-Stuy. She also took a grad trip to Costa Rica.

Annie Cooperstone is working as a financial consultant in Seattle. She enjoys math and the rain.

Susannah Clark is enjoying a year-long artistic fellowship at the Shakespeare theatre company in D.C.

Rachel Waugh began her master’s in food studies at Chatham University. She is incredibly excited about the program.

Ali Felman is completing a year-long teaching apprenticeship at The Park School in Brookline, Mass. Her current placement is in the upper division English department, where she experiences the joy and weirdness of the middle school thought process and emotional-moral development on a daily basis. Adorableness abounds!

Cindy Horng is enjoying life as a management consultant based in New York, and is always excited to connect with other Wes alums, both virtually and in the city.

Rit Chirathivat is working in e-commerce and omnichannel retail in Thailand.

Adam Mirkine had an awesome double-whammy experience at the end of August. It started off with a 10-day WWOOF, a farm stay through World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, just north of Middlebury, Vt., at Golden Well Farm and Apiaries. He was lucky with the weather and had an unbelievable experience taking care of their animals, harvesting produce for the farm stand, making fresh jam, farm meals, and kombucha (he wasn’t a fan until he tried theirs, and dang it was good), meeting new people, and exploring the area. “Enjoyed some serious beginners luck WWOOFing and I can’t wait to do it again,” he said.

He then went on to volunteer at the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival (MNFF). It’s a three-day film festival that takes over the town of Middlebury at the end of August and features the amazing work of first- and second-time filmmakers from all walks of life and every corner of the world. MNFF attracts a swarm of Wes alumni, including the founder, Lloyd Komesar ’74, various attendees, and a handful of filmmakers. He got to hang out at a Wesleyan event with Sofia Taylor (whose film was screened at the festival), Maia Nelles-Sager, and Connie Des Marais. He highly recommends making the trip up next year and to submit films if you make them!

As for me, I’m living together in Denver with Sarah Lazarus, Wyatt Rees, Kate Suslovic, and Avery Kimmell. Come visit!

Keyonne Session | ksession@wesleyan.edu