Tag: 1995

Hi, Class of ’95. It’s good to keep connecting with our classmates, including after last year’s 30th Reunion. This round, I have a couple of focused updates—a fun theme going of our talented classmates in film!

Laramie Dennis (my wonderful first-year roommate!) writes: “I made a movie!! Where in the Hell, an art house buddy comedy about a pair of defectors from the crumbling LA film industry, marks my feature film debut as a writer/director. Justin Ring ’98 executive produced, and Sarah Hirzel consulted on title design. We played a bunch of festivals this past year, scooping up awards including Best Comedy Feature (Poppy Jasper), Best Feature Screenplay and Best Narrative Feature (Queens World), and the She’s On Fire Award (Female Filmmakers Festival Berlin). Where in the Hell will be available on Amazon and elsewhere this spring—watch for it!!”

Soraya Selene writes: “The past year has been wonderful and eventful for me, particularly as I got to reconnect with so many friends around the country. A feature documentary I directed, Who in the Hell is Regina Jones?, screened at numerous festivals, won several awards, and had its theatrical premiere in Los Angeles last June. It [had] its broadcast TV premiere in February. On the festival trail I got to connect with Angela Tucker ’96 in New Orleans (whose documentary about Barbara Jordan, The Inquisitor, you must see!), and I had the awesome experience of bumping into Damon Smith and his lovely family in Martha’s Vineyard, when my film was screening there. I also got to spend time with my bestie Stacey Samuel ’96, who recently moved back to NYC from D.C. She visited me in Los Angeles and graciously watched over my 11-year-old twins while I traveled. It takes a village! More big personal news . . .  after living in Los Angeles for 19 years, I moved to Lisbon with my children this past summer! During my trip to San Francisco for my appointment at the Portuguese consulate, I got to hang out with Diana Ip and Isabella Gralinska. So fun! If any Wes folks are in Europe and want to connect, I’d love to hear from you. It was so wonderful to reconnect with so many of you at Reunion.”

Lastly, big thanks to Bo Bell, my co-secretary for the past nine (!) years. Bo is stepping aside to focus on other things, and I will continue as your class secretary. Gratitude to Bo for his enthusiastic presence these many years!

Hi ’95ers!

We had a very successful Reunion in May, and it was terrific seeing everyone. We had a bit of a hiccup with gathering notes this round, but we look forward to sharing everyone’s updates in the next issue.

Eric Meyerson sent this to us just after we gathered on campus in May:

“Reunion 2025 was amazing—seriously one of the highlights of the 2020s for me. What I love best about reunions is that I end up spending time hanging with people who I maybe didn’t hang with so much when we were in school, and yet, it always feels like being with old friends. It’s a shame we only do this once every five years. Even with weirdly cold weather, hanging on Foss Hill until the wee hours was so good for the soul. 

“Update on me: I’m going to mark 25 years in San Francisco this summer. My wife, Annette, and I decided to settle here permanently in the late 2000s, and it was an excellent decision, even when I miss my East Coast family and friends. My daughter, Ellie, is now getting a full blast of the eastern liberal arts experience at Smith College. (We’ll see if her younger brother has a similar desire.) When I’ve visited her, I’ve been able to see Eitan Mendelowitz, who’s been in Northampton for a long time. And at Reunion I found out that Greg Rolland, Peter Follet, and Stephanie Flaherty are also in the hood, so I’m excited to get back and catch up with everyone.

“I do see my Wes people here in San Francisco when I can. I grabbed lunch with Ben Foss a couple weeks ago and Roxane Williams a few days later. Both are doing great, and both sent their regrets for Reunion—you were missed! I also just went for a hike with Vivek Asija ’96.

“If anyone wants to come visit us in San Francisco, I have a little cottage out back with your name on it. If you need a break from the summer heat, it’ll probably be 62 and foggy here. Leave your swimsuit at home.”

Thanks, Eric!

Katy writes: Hi, Class of ’95. Thanks for writing (including first timers!) with news exciting, ordinary, and sad. Reminder that May 22–25 is our 30th Reunion! Registration should now be open—join us if you can!

First, the very sad news of the death of a classmate, Michelle (Willis) Gosselin. Born in Vermont, after Wesleyan Michelle earned a master’s in IT from Drexel and spent her career living and working in New Hampshire. She was very active in her town of Weare, helping with PTA events, dance programs, and sports activities. She loved to read, take walks, spend time with her family, and especially to be at the ocean. She is survived by her husband, Kevin, their two children, Kaitlyn and Ben, her parents, Fred and Betsy Willis, her brother, Matthew, and extended family. Some of our Wes classmates attended the funeral in December, and Michelle will be greatly missed by all who knew her.       

Channing Kelly writes: “I remain in Albuquerque, New Mexico, running my boutique real estate firm and raising my almost-teenage twin boys as a ‘single mother by choice.’ Occasionally I see fellow New Mexicans Sarita Nair and Esme Finlay ’96, and also have seen Greg Kunkel and his wife, Jill ’98, David Goodman and his wife, Tanya, Margaret Drew, Erica Walters ’94, Jessica Peterson, and Sarah Tarrant Madden ’96. Wesleyan connections are a big part of my life, and I received significant financial aid, so this year I’m issuing a challenge to support the current generation. I’ve pledged to match $1,000 gifts from any classmate who has never donated at that level (up to a maximum of 15). Please join me in giving back this year and reach out to me at channing@idakelly.com. See you in May!”

Max Brummel writes: “My wife and I have been living the good life in Minnesota for the past 18 years and have kept very busy raising our son and daughter. This past summer, my son played in the world’s largest youth soccer tournament in Gothenburg, and we enjoyed a few weeks in Sweden, Denmark, and Germany.”

Jack Walsh writes: “Thirty years in a blink of an eye. For the past 20, I’ve been practicing law in Dallas, Texas, raising three kids with my wife, Kathleen. My oldest daughter, Ali, just graduated from college, while my middle kid is looking to attend college in Germany. My youngest son, Brady, aims to attend high school at Portsmouth Abbey in Rhode Island. Hope he gets in because it will mean more time returning to my home state. Still miss the four seasons of New England and Boston sports radio.”

Seth Kaufman writes: “Last year marked my 25th as a lawyer for the federal government in D.C. and fifth with our dog, Canelo. This year Roberta and I will celebrate our 20th anniversary. I had great times with some of my favorite Wesleyan people in 2024: Michael “Mo” Ouyang ’96 and his wife, Zoe, and Ethan de Seife. Both times my 16-year-old daughter and I went to Mets home games [and] Eric Lane met us. Recently, my daughter and I took a tour of Wesleyan on a perfect October morning. Looking forward to seeing people at the reunion!”

Jen Levine-Fried writes: “My boring update is that I am nearing three years with the International Institute of New England as its controller and have really enjoyed my time here. We work with refugees and immigrants, resettling them across Massachusetts and New Hampshire. My exciting update is that my son, Jonah, was accepted to Wes and will be enrolling in the Class of ’29! He had an overnight visit with Laurel Williams Wise’s son, Will, as his host, and that really sealed the deal for him. I’m looking forward to experiencing Wesleyan in this entirely new role!”

Masha Raskolnikov writes: “Last fall I returned to Wes as an external examiner for the College of Letters Junior Comps. The new COL library houses our bound senior theses, which is a little terrifying, but no professors from when we were undergrads remain. In other news, my twins are 12 and becoming scary tweens, and I continue to teach as an associate professor in the English department at Cornell University.”

Brandon Patton writes: “Kick-starting a board game about mushrooms called Caps & Stems this spring! After years as a musician, I pivoted to tabletop games. Would love to connect with any Wes alums in the Seattle area (where I moved in 2020). I’ve reconnected with Michael Roufa ’96 and Eric Fox ’98. Let me know if you can think of anyone. I’ve stayed in touch with Emily Halderman and Michael Ouyang ’96 and recently saw Morgan Fahey.”

Lara Tupper writes: “Thrilled to report that my speculative/literary novel, At the Center, in which paper shortages make books taboo, will be published by Regal House Publishing in the spring of 2027.”

See you at the reunion in May!

Hello fellow ’95ers!

Bo Bell writing this time with class notes ahead of REUNION 2025! I’m excited to see many of you next May, as are some of our other classmates, as you’ll see here in their notes! Personally, I’m still in the idyllic town of Cold Spring in the Hudson Valley of New York, working for a digital product shop called StudioLabs and raising a teen and a tween, hiking the mountains, playing lots of soccer, and drumming for several local acts. Now, on to the notes!

Andrew Dickson is still living in and loving Portland, Oregon: hosting storytelling shows for The Moth, auctioneering events for nonprofits, rolling out a new performance art piece—AC Dickson: Life Coach—and recently published a book of stories. He’s happily married with a 16-year-old and soon-to-be 14-year-old and recently hung out with fellow Portlander, Ryan Myers—they’ll both be making the trip east for reunion!

Ed Lee wrote, “I’m ecstatic to write that I got married to an amazing woman, Nina Moe, on August 3 in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The small ceremony was beautifully officiated by Jenny Gotwals. I was also thrilled that Ethan de Seife, David Goodman, and Bill Wolkoff made the trek from California to celebrate.” They live in Arlington, Massachusetts, where Ed is in his eighth year of “professoring” at Emerson College.

Sarah Kirkland Snider is a freelance composer and co-artistic director of Brooklyn-based New Amsterdam Records, living in Princeton, New Jersey, with her husband and two kids, Jasper (15) and Dyo (13). Sarah is currently writing an opera on 12th-century theologian/composer, Hildegard von Bingen, as well as orchestral, chamber, and choral music. 

I heard from old friend “Meanne” Jeanne Bonner, who writes: “I am happy to say I am planning to attend the reunion and also happy to say I’ve been reminiscing a lot about our times on Foss Hill because I am teaching a GLSP course on memoir this fall. If you haven’t been back to campus, I can tell you it looks amazing! I will publish my first full-length translation next year with Paul Dry Books (Paul Dry, the publisher, has a daughter who attended Wesleyan)—it’s called This Darkness Will Never End, and it’s a short story collection by a Holocaust survivor who settled in Italy after World War II. Finally, I’m eager for my 12-year-old son, Leo, to experience the Wesleyan campus when it’s full of ‘my’ Wesleyan people.”

David Biello is living in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, with two teen kids. “Beatrice is 17 and thinks Wesleyan’s brutalist performing arts buildings are scary, while Desmond is 15 and couldn’t care less about college, yet. I work at TED Talks, leading the charge for TED Countdown (their only issue-specific event series and talks), which is focused on climate change and aims to amplify solutions, accelerate progress, and maybe give us a little inspiring hope amidst the doom and gloom. We had an amazing summit in Detroit in 2023 and next year, just after reunion, we’ll be holding our next one in Nairobi.”

Curtis Nelson writes: “I’m looking forward to the reunion and I hope to be able to attend. I recently visited Connecticut in May as my oldest daughter, Carter, graduated from Trinity College. My wife, Krystal, and I had a great time visiting family and friends and celebrated with a trip down to the Brushmill, which was just as nice as I remember it from my days at Wesleyan. I hope to be back on the East Coast a couple of times this year as my youngest daughter, Nicole, is playing hockey for RIT and will be graduating in the spring. Attached is a picture of Krystal, myself, Carter, and Nicole at the waterfall outside the Brushmill for graduation dinner.”

Finally, Eric Meyerson recently started a new job running marketing for a computer vision company called Mashgin. He reports: “During my unemployment period, I got to see Wes people all over, including Morgan Fahey and Mo Ouyang ’96 in LA, and Mark Ladov ’94 in NYC. My daughter just started school at Smith College, and she is loving it. And my old Foss 7 homie, Eitan Mendelowitz, lives just a few minutes from campus—it was a delight to grab dinner with him there. I’m really looking forward to our 30th Reunion. I’m not usually THAT GUY but I already booked a hotel. Hope to see y’all there!”

Please write to your class secretaries.

Katy writes: Glad to close out 2023 with updates from our fellow classmates. We all have things going on in our lives and communities—big and small. This issue features some great snapshots of everyday life, including from some first-time contributors.

Carolyn Renzin writes, “Nothing much has changed in YEARS. . . . I’ve lived in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, for 13 years, with my husband of 21 years, Lee, and our two kids—one a college freshman, the other a high school junior. Maggie McLean Suniewick ’97 and Josh Suniewick ’97 also live in Hastings-on-Hudson . . . we were all friends from the pool/swim team/water polo/lifeguarding days and now our kids hang out! I love watching the next generation from town head off to college—many to Wes. [A] college visit this fall to Wes for my daughter had me texting old friends: Rachel Hitch, Jieho Lee, and Susannah Kerest, as thousands of memories flooded in. And work (I’m lawyering at online betting company, FanDuel) and life continue apace with gratitude as we—the sandwich generation—parent our kids and care for our aging parents.”

Marc Schleifer writes, “Update on my end is that after nearly 20 years in D.C. (how that happen?), have relocated to New York after my wife took a job here. We still have our place in D.C. and my work is still there, so I haven’t entirely cut the cord. But it’s wonderful to finally be in the Big Apple, only took 28 years after graduating from Wes!”

Brandon Patton moved to Seattle in 2020 and connected with former Wesleyan Spirit Michael Roufa ’96 after the pandemic ended, getting roped into performing in an Earth, Wind & Fire–themed performance of the story of Esther for Purim at a local synagogue in 2023. The rabbi wore platform heels and Bootsy Collins sunglasses.

Jason Segal writes, “All well here in Manhattan. Approaching our 15th anniversary of our climate-focused merchant bank, Javelin Capital—welcome all Wes grads who are fighting the good fight against climate change and undergrads interested to work in the space to reach out. Children Julia (10) and Ari (8) are doing great and all enjoying life in the city.”

Rick Meyerson writes, “I’m still living in San Francisco with my wife, two teens in our public schools, and a weird dog, [and] working in climate tech. My older kid is a senior in high school, and we had the honor of touring Wesleyan in October. It’s amazing how beautifully both the campus and Middletown have evolved. I visited Klekolo World Coffee and I donated a 30-year-old business card, advertising a logo contest, from when they first opened. My daughter loved the campus tour, especially the WestCo kids who launched into a wild improvised breakup scene from their balcony when they saw our tour walking by. Why did they need to cancel legacy admissions this year of all years? (Kidding. Kind of.)”

Lara Tupper is one of 11 authors included in a charity anthology, Maine Character Energy (Rogue Owl Press). The book features stories and poems that celebrate Maine’s small towns, rugged wilderness, rocky coasts, and the everyday characters that make the state special. All proceeds from the sales of the book will support Everytown for Gun Safety, in honor of the victims, survivors, and families affected by the Lewiston-Auburn massacre that took place in October 2023.

Finally, a couple of alumni encounters of my own. Recently I was glad to run into Jessica (Gerald) Young at our town’s high school orchestra concert (where her son, Joey, was playing violin in a group along with my eldest). And last month I had the fortune to see alumni, staff, President Roth, and others at Boston’s Celebration of Something Big. The event was a fun chance to see acquaintances old and new, and I enjoyed saying hi to Brendan Coughlin. The evening culminated at the Wes alum–owned Cantab Lounge, with a performance—featuring President Roth on the keyboards—of a spirited rendition of the Beatles’ “Money (That’s What I Want),” encouraging our support of Wes.

Take care everyone, and best wishes to you and your loved ones for 2024.

Please write to your class secretaries.

Please write to your class secretaries.