CLASS OF 1988 | 2024 | FALL ISSUE

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Happy fall, classmates. Steve writes for this column.

Two quick personal notes. First, a round of applause and gratitude to our classmate, Hillary Ross, who served the Class of 1988 for so many years as co-secretary. Hillary, on behalf of all ’88ers, THANK YOU for keeping us in connection with each other. Second, it’s my honor to pick up the torch and work with Peter Bond going forward. Thanks to all who have written so far and please stay in touch and keep it coming. 

With that said, on to the notes!

Christina Pugh, a professor in the Program for Writers at the University of Illinois in Chicago, was awarded Distinguished Scholar of the Year in Humanities, Arts, Architecture, and Design and has two new books published in 2024. A book of essays called Ghosts and the Overplus: Reading Poetry in the Twenty-First Century (University of Michigan Press, 2024), and a book of poems titled The Right Hand (Tupelo Press, 2024).

Lucas Platt’s daughter, Amelia, follows in dad’s proud footsteps as a rising senior at Wesleyan, Class of 2025. Congratulations to both!

Stephen Morison Jr. and his partner, Emily Allen, have checked the international adventure box for this season’s column. This summer they moved to Marrakesh, Morocco, where Stephen is the headmaster for the American Schools of Marrakesh, and Emily is the director of counseling for ASM and two sister schools, The American Schools of Tangier and Ban Guerir. 

Julie Schwarzwald, after 34 years in New Jersey, has moved to Minnesota.  She will be the Fiterman B’nai Mitzvah program and ritual director (rabbi-educator) at Beth El Synagogue in Minneapolis. So far, she reports, the transition is amazingly smooth—the big adjustment is no longer being able to just drive anywhere on the Eastern Seaboard. Julie asked me to say that all visitors are welcome.

Nathan Ainspan continues his more than 10 years as senior research psychologist with DOD’s Military-Civilian Transition Office (MCTO). Nathan’s 20 years of research on the subject guides curriculum designers and policymakers to help service members and their families transition to civilian life and find meaningful post-service employment. His most recent of four books on the subject is Military Veteran Employment: A Guide for the Data Driven Leaders (Oxford University Press, 2021).  Nathan says his son, Isaac, a rising 10th grader, inherited his grandfather’s musical abilities and they’re looking ahead to college visits, including Berklee College of Music in Boston and, yes, Wesleyan! Nathan’s pursued his own love of musical theater (your humble author can verify this, we were both hosts of the Broadway show on WESU) as a contributor to Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, and a research contributor to the Helen Hayes Awards.

Finally, we had previously shared the sad news of the passing of our classmate Tim McCallum. Roger Scholl and Tim’s mother, Lenita Witherspoon, penned an obituary that reminds us all of the joy and meaning of Tim’s life. I encourage you to read it and celebrate a life richly lived. Thank you, Roger and Lenita.

A happy fall and winter to all.

PETER V.S. BOND | 007@pvsb.org

STEVE PIKE | SLPSyracuse@gmail.com