Tag: 1993

Mac McCurry writes, “I’m starting my 20th year in the N.J. State Police (man, that makes me sound old). I am the senior detective sergeant in our Strategic Investigations Unit. I’ve been married to my lovely wife, Colleen, for almost 15 years. We still live in Sparta, N.J., with our 8-going-on-18-year-old daughter. She keeps us busy with basketball, softball, soccer, swimming, skiing, triathlon, karate, and chess club. When I’m not driving her around I enjoy hunting, fishing, shooting, and the occasional adult beverage. I am eagerly awaiting a bottle of Triple Divide vodka from our classmate Karen Powell in Montana.”

Mac’s frosh year Foss 8 neighbor, Derek Thompson, writes: “Our family recently moved to D.C. My wife, Ayanna, is professor of English at George Washington. I joined the faculty at Georgetown University Hospital, where I am helping to build a palliative care program. Our son, Dashiell, is 11, and our daughter, Thaisa, is 4.”

Over the past year Dan Crane has been writing pieces for the New York Times (including one about freezing his sperm!) and making music with a new band called Ray & Remora, whose debut EP, 1994, features covers of indie rock songs by Dinosaur Jr, Superchunk, Pavement, etc., that originally came out in 1994. The EP is available on iTunes, Amazon, etc. He also continues to compose music for film, and has a piece of music featured in the Oscar-winning documentary, Twenty Feet from Stardom.

Lisa O’Donoghue-Lindy has co-launched a blog on women making significant career transitions later in life. With a new story each week, career2.0blog.net profiles women who have left years of seniority, prestige, and salary to start entirely new careers in midlife. Understand why and how they did it? Are there lessons to be shared? Do their stories inspire you to finally take your dream down from the shelf and wipe off the dust? If any Wesleyan alumni have or know of great stories to share, she would love to profile them. You can contact Lisa through the blog.

Hillary Rosner writes, “I’ve spent the past 12 years as a freelance journalist, writing about the environment for places like The New York Times, Wired, and National Geographic from Boulder, Colo. In January, I’ll be joining the faculty of the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, helping launch a science journalism program. I’m slightly concerned about leaving sunny Colorado for bleak central New York, but excited about the opportunity. I’ll be moving there with my husband and our son, who was born in August.”

Jason Moss launched a new business, Metis (thisismetis.com), that provides intensive courses teaching job-ready skills for the new economy. Its first course is a software development bootcamp based in Boston for people who want to become entry-level Web developers. Metis is a part of Kaplan Test Prep, where he’s worked since 2007.

Eve Abrams writes, “I produced an hour-long radio documentary about the changes happening (gentrification, most recently) in my little corner of my adopted home town, New Orleans. Along Saint Claude aired on our local NPR station, WWNO, and got a tremendous amount of press, too. Here are links to the articles: In what remains of the Times-Picayune. In our weekly paper, Gambit. In the Baton Rogue paper, The Advocate, who’s expanding to give the Times Picayune a run for its money.”

Kim Frederick is suffering from extreme sleep deprivation. As she explains it, “The adorable cause of the sleep deprivation is Vince’s and my third child, Theodore Ellis Frederick Webb, who arrived May 23, 2013 (5 lbs, 6 oz.—he was an early little peanut), to join big sister Zora, 5, and big brother Isaac, 3. And here’s what I don’t recommend about this experience: We had a third child, moved house, and Vince started a new job all within a month. I recommend separating all of these major changes.”

Tim Olevsky writes, “I was excited to see so many Wesleyan alums at John Pollock ’94’s wedding in Montgomery, Ala., in November, including Leah Bartell ’95, Rob Mangels ’92, and Jennie Van Cleef ’92. I hadn’t seen Jennie or Rob in 20 years! And in December, I got to sing with the Boston Pops on their holiday concert tour of the Northeast.”

Jeff Juris has a new edited volume: Insurgent Encounters: Transnational Activism, Ethnography, and the Political. You can find it on Amazon.

SuZanna Henshon | suzannahenshon@yahoo.com

SARAH ESTOW | sarah_estow@hotmail.com

Hi, everyone! We have some exciting updates—weddings, babies, mini-Wes reunions, marathons, and new businesses. If you haven’t sent an update in years, please send us an e-mail. It’s always fun hearing from a fellow Cardinal. And now, without further ado, here is the news from our neck of the woods.

Joshua Buswell has been living in France since 1995. Now a husband and father, he is hoping to soon become a French national. Joshua is a certified and experienced guide for visitors in Paris and throughout France.

Therése Heliczer Casper writes, “I’m getting ready to go on an exciting trip to South Africa with my family. We have the opportunity thanks to my husband, Corey Casper ’92, who is traveling there for a medical conference. We will be spending Thanksgiving on safari (instead of with Andy Thompson ’92, Jill Fuss ’94, and Matthew Glozter ’92, which has been our family tradition). While we will miss our Wes buds, it will be quite a different experience from eating turkey.”

Jon Chesto sent an update: “This fall, a troika of distance runners from the Class of ’93 made strong showings at various East Coast marathons. Matt Schneider returned to the marathon after a decade away and recovering from knee surgery to quell the doubters by running 3:50 at the Mohawk-Hudson Marathon in Albany, N.Y. He was joined by Anne Noel Occhialino ’94 and her husband, Jon Gannon, who were running together to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. Arthur Magni qualified for the 2014 Boston Marathon with his second fastest marathon time, missing his personal best of 3:02 by two minutes at the Abebe Bikila Day International Peace Marathon in Washington. And Jon Chesto ran the Cape Cod Marathon in scenic Falmouth, Mass. His time of 2:41 was good enough to place third overall.”

Jessica Slade D’Arcy and Paul D’Arcy are still stirring up trouble in Austin, Texas. They have three kids in elementary school, including Maya (11), who at 5’7” is believed to be the tallest elementary school student in Texas by numerous experts. When not measuring their children, Paul runs marketing for job search engine indeed.com, and Jessica works closely with charter schools in her role leading a foundation. They were excited to be visited by Carl Byers and Suzi Byers ’94 on their recent swing through Austin.

Kim Frederick e-mails: “On May 23, 2013, my husband, Vincent Webb and I welcomed Theodore Ellis Frederick Webb (5 lb., 6.5 oz.) into our family. Big sister Zora (5) and big brother Isaac (2.5) were thrilled.

Kate Lewis Kenedi is a volcanologist living in Auckland, New Zealand, with husband Chris Kenedi and son Peter. “I am a researcher, currently studying volcanoes in Saudi Arabia, where I have been several times for collaborative work with a university there. The volcanic field near the city of Madinah is potentially active, so we are doing a volcanic hazard analysis to help figure out how much of a threat it is. My son and I do karate together, and I also am an ocean swimmer with a local group. I am working up to the swim from Auckland to the volcano in the harbour—4.5 kilometers! Chris is a neuropsychiatrist and internist at Auckland City Hospital, where he does clinical work and also research.

Ghassan Medawar got married last year, and is living in Dubai. He writes, “I have an advisory business working in partnership with businesses operating in the Middle East or seeking to enter the Middle East markets: fullcircleinvest.com . I’d love to hear from Wes alums in the Middle East.”

Tim Olevsky spent Veterans’ Day weekend in Montgomery, Ala., at the marriage of John Pollock ’94 and Katie Rose. Also in attendance were Rob Mangels ’92, Jennie Van Cleef ’92, Leah Bartell ’95, and numerous other Wes alums. Tim is enjoying life as a band teacher, and the chorus that he sings with will be touring with the Boston Pops during the holiday season.

Casey O’Neill and his wife, Michele, are busy filming season two of their acclaimed childrens’ webtv series Kidsploration (Kidsploration.org) and are excited their 6-year-old son, AJ, has been able to contribute his talents to webisodes!

Karen Powell just opened Triple Divide Spirits, a distillery and tasting room in Helena, Mont. “We’re currently producing vodka, and will be rolling out other products next year. We welcome any Wes alums to stop by when they are visiting! See photos at tripledividespirits.com.”

Maura Solomon married Greg Woosley on Sept. 1, 2013, in Arlington, Va. Her sister, Erin Solomon Gaffen ’97, was the matron of honor, and Lynne O’Connell Murphy was among the bridesmaids. Lots of Class of ’93 alums celebrated the event, including Jen Roff, Julie Han, Joe McLaughlin, Lori Vaughan, Jessica Aronoff, Adam Wolfe, Andy McGrath, and Brad Schiff. Maura is a managing director in the federal government affairs office of Citi in Washington, D.C.

Antonia Townsend writes: “I moved to San Francisco a couple of years ago. I see David Derryck and Erica Terry Derryck ’95, as well as Chris Mulhauser ’92 quite a bit. I’ve recently launched my own business, Enclosed (TheEnclosed.com), a luxury knicker-of-the-month club. I also caught up with Georgia Winston and a few other Wes folks at Lucius Outlaw’s wedding earlier in the year.”

Suzanna Henshon and Sarah Estow
suzAnnahenshon@yahoo.com
sarah_estow@hotmail.com